A small fishing village on the Greek island of Lesvos

We have now crossed over into the eastern islands of Greece. The island of Lesvos is only 14 nm west of Ayvalik and the capital Mitilini was our first stop being a port of entry. Greece seems to take a very official line with all craft entering their ports, as we had not long entered the inner harbour of Mitilini when we were hailed by a young customs officer, instructed to tie up in a particular quarantine area and not leave the boat until all checking- in had been done. All this is normal procedure, but we have found that many countries are quite lax compared to Australia, but Greece is on the ball! We spent a week backed into the wall in this lovely Greek seaside town, with a few other yachts and motor cruisers. The choices of fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, wines, olives and olive oil were excellent, as were the restaurants. Lesvos is the third largest of the Greek Islands, very green and lush, covered mostly in olive groves, thus it enjoys a reputation for good quality olive oil and of course olives. We hired a car for a day and drove to the NW point at the top of the island and spent a few hours in another very pretty seaside town called Molyvos. Like Mitilini, a large castle dominates the town and is strategically situated on the highest point overlooking the harbour. The castles in both towns were built for defensive reasons and have passed through the hands of various rulers over the centuries. It is interesting to see that once ownership passes from Christian to Ottoman rule, some of the architecture changes with the addition of a mosque and minarets being the most obvious. Also of interest was the use of ancient carved blocks of stone in the building of the castles, proving that recycling was in full swing way back in the 11th century.

We are now anchored in the harbour of Plomarion on the south western side of Lesvos. It is a beautiful old town with cobbled laneways and small shops sandwiched between the sea and the mountains. Very early this morning the local fishermen were selling their catch from their boats in the harbour. We could hear calling out "calimar fresca, calimar fresca", so Bern dashed out and for 3 Euros we have the makings of a delicious dinner tonight.

By the way you might have noticed that the name Lesvos sounds like the word lesbian..... well you are right, there are links! In the past Lesvos was actually called Lesbos. Sappho the great Greek poet was born on Lesvos. Much of her work was devoted to love and desire and the object of her affections were often female. So her name and birthplace have come to be associated with female sexuality. Apparently these days Lesvos is visited by many lesbians paying their respects to Sappho and is a very gay friendly island!