Kos

When the ferry arrived on Kos island it was a short stroll to my hotel in Kos Town. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos. Tourism is the main industry nowadays, its beaches a primary attraction.

Kos Town however was founded in 366 BC and some archaeological sites are the prove of that. The ancient physican Hippocates is thought to have been born on Kos and in the center of Town there is a Plane Tree on where Hippocrates is supposed to have taught. Since then, Kos has been influenced by many cultures. In the 14th century Neratzia Castle was built by the Knights of Saint John.

The last few years Kos island is one of the main arrival points in Greece for refugees coming over in small rubber boats from Turkye, 3 nautic miles away. During a long beachwalk around the northern Cape Skandari I noticed some life jackets and rubber boats from refugees arriving the night before. It was a sad contrast to the holidaymakers enjoying Lambi beach.

After 3 nights in Kos I moved to Tigaki, a small beach resort town, to enjoy my last days of this trip on the beautiful white sand beach. Unfortunetly it rained and stormed on one of days (for the first time since six months). At least it added some water to the Aliki Salt Lake, where a few white flamingos where feeding themselves.