High Winter Winds and Hot Swims in Kos

7 December 2008



We are now spending a bit of time dodging the wind which has been howling in from the south - straight into the cockpit, so need to keep the washboards in while we are on board as it brings with it lots of red dust straight from the Sahara Desert. It is not cold - just fierce!

There is a good strong high sea wall around the marina so the water is very flat inside contrasting with the waves crashing against the wall from the outside. The fuel dock which is outside the wall gets a fair thrashing and would not be tenable at all in a southerly wind.

We regularly go to sleep with the sound of the wind howling around us.

This brings with it problems of being a bit stir crazy, so the bikes are coming in handy. We take a long and energetic bike ride out to the 'hot springs' we have been told about. It is around 10 km with a gentle uphill to start with to get us warmed up and then a real slog up and over. We find the "therma" which is down a winding metal road from the main road high above where we leave our bikes. It is all very Greek style and rustic - hot sulphuric water bubbling in a deep hole in the black sand and seeping through the warm sand down to the sea shore. We lie in the hot water until we cannot bear it any more and then swim in the sea to cool off. The ride home is a fast freewheel downhill past the marina and straight to the ice cream shop...mmmm. A well deserved treat!

The Christmas lights are all up around Kos Town and it is even more lovely than usual.

This morning we wake up to a rainbow over the boat.