September 13 – Patmos

This port was not on our original itinerary but the itinerary was changed because of meltemi winds (high winds coming down through the Bosporus Strait) and rough(er) seas on the way to Tinos.  So Patmos it is.

Patmos is not as popular with the tourists because of its distance from Athens/Piraeus harbor. 

Phyllis and Jim enjoying the Zodiac ride into port.

However, it has religious historical significance as the brief home of St John the Apostle.  This is where he lived for a year and a half (at the age of 95) and where God spoke to him and gave him the information needed to write the book of Revelations.

The walk up to the monastery took us though the neighborhoods and we found some interesting photo opportunities.

The Monastery of St John was founded in 1088.

There was a very nice museum of Byzantine art and artifacts affiliated with the monastery. 

The monastery was high on the hill and afforded great views of the town and bay.

We also stopped at the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John supposedly lived while he wrote Revelations.  

The church that incorporates the cave is still in use so no photos inside.  We had quite a treat as while we visited there was a priest blessing 40 day old infant.  Per the guide infants are blessed as a precaution in case they die before they are baptized.  This dates back to a time when infants often did not live long.

Then it was down to the port town of Skala where Mary poked through a few shops (no purchases) and the four of us set down for refreshments at a harbor side taverna.  While there we saw the ship’s captain wander by doing his own sightseeing.

This afternoon our resident expert gave a talk on nautical archaeology and ancient ships.

This evening we had a sing-along on the Lido Deck…led by the Sea Cloud Sea Shanty Singers, a group of about a dozen crew members.  Singing was enthusiastic and fun.

After the song fest was over the John, the Expedition Leader, invited the crew to the bar for drinks.  They didn’t hesitate.

On most major cruise ships the cabin staff do a towel, folded into a different and interesting form, on the bed.  On the Sea Cloud it turned out that every day when we returned to our cabin the duvet on the bed was folded up into a different configuration...although for some reason it took us a while realize that.  Today, the folded duvet was particularly memorable.

And we ended the day with another great sunset.