Wish we were here: Patmos
Around half a decade ago, a friend and I decided to go Greek island hopping. “Hopping”, however, was somewhat over-ambitious as, due to light wallets, we ended up only managing to “hop” from Athens to Santorini to Patmos. Santorini was disappointing and we discovered that although the island is largely seen as the “epitome of Greek beauty”, in reality, it was incredibly expensive and full of Instagram influencers. So, when my godmother offered us a chance to escape and spend a week in her charming house on the small island of Patmos, we leapt at the opportunity – I have been lucky enough to revisit ever since.
If you head toward Greece’s Dodecanese islands, you will find a little whitewashed island bobbing in the southeast Aegean Sea. The island of Patmos is an important Christian pilgrimage site which explains why getting there seems like a pilgrimage in itself. When my friend and I took our first overnight ferry from the Piraeus port, we were not prepared for the rocky sea-voyage that awaited us, a journey which felt as if Poseidon was sharpening his trident in rage. However, both our nausea and fatigue soon evaporated when we saw the sun-kissed island perched on the horizon.
When staying in Patmos, short scintillating days are met with long effervescent nights. We would begin our days with fresh figs and yoghurt, eating in the blinding sun of a pink bougainvillaea flower-strewn garden. Life revolves around the beach and so occasionally we would set off – armed with sun cream – to play backgammon and bop to Bowie at George’s Place (at the height of Bowie’s fame he spent many a summer on the Aegean island). After a shattering day out, we tended to curb the exhaustion by heading to a taverna to line our stomachs with souvlaki before dancing ourselves into the night. The night would meet the day again, and we’d watch the sunset trickle over the sea with bleary-eyes and get ready to do it all over– la dolce vita.
Things to do:
Visit the Monastery of Saint John & The Cave of the Apocalypse
Patmos is often referred to as the ‘Jerusalem of the Aegean’ as it is best known for being the location where John the Disciple wrote his famous “Apocalypse” when Patmos was a prison of exile. Nowadays, instead of attracting devout Christians and Greek orthodox, the island seems to have become a mecca for Italians and fashionistas.
To cleanse yourself of cosmopolitan sin, visit the thousand-year-old monastery of St John, founded in 1088. It has a Byzantine church and is full of arched courtyards and prepossessing frescoes. There is also a museum which houses ancient texts and treasures but be sure to go early or late to avoid the sweaty crowds. Halfway down from Chora, you will find the “Cave of the Apocalypse” where it was alleged that John the Disciple received his vision from God and wrote his famous text back in 95AD.
Wine and Dine by the Skala seafront
Perch yourself in a little taverna by the waterfront and sample everything from: octopus with fava beans, chicken souvlaki, fresh garlic calamari, moussaka, and choose fish three-ways: grilled, cooked or fried. Use this time to watch the world go by as you get progressively more inebriated on grappa. As the sun slips into the night and the sea dissolves into the sky, keep an eye out for “the green flash”, a rare meteorological optical phenomenon that lasts no longer than two seconds.
People-watch in Chora’s Agia Levia square
The evenings in Patmos are electric and pulsating with energy. As you make your way through the labyrinth streets to the Agia Levia square, keep an eye out for the hunched nonnas who perch on wooden chairs and wish you “kaliserpa” as you venture into the night. In the square’s bars, crowds of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed faces huddle on top of one another and the air is thick with smoke and laughter. The square serves as an absolute haven for people-watching.
