After ferrying our bikes across to the beach and securing the dinghy we set off to Lakki, the port on Leros Island. The main aim was to visit the Wind telephone shop and get some more credit as the company had swiped our telephone credit to pay for internet access. We had to wait awhile to see the right person but added some credit eventually and learnt at the same time that calling another Wind customer did not incur a charge, unusual for a telephone company. Lakki's buildings and wide boulevards are a legacy of the short Italian occupation in the inter war period of the last century and are quite distinctively diferent from elsewhere in the islands.

After that problem was solved we cycled in the direction of the castle, basically up the hill from Pandeli village and Platanos, the island's "capital", but at one point we parted company when the lead cyclist taking a left turn and the one behind not noticing took the next right turn. After that error it was about three hours until we finally met up again back at the boat. One of us actually managed to get to the castle by partially pushing and riding the bike while the other one just hung around but in not a very suitably visible place. The castle sitting high up between two bays was beckoning to be visited.

The actual panorama on these hot, clear and sunny days was captivating. Ancient wind mills dotted on one side, some now being used for housing and high up on the northern slopes were the towering modern wind turbines. The sparkling clear waters were ever present here as they have been ever since we arrived in the Mediterrean over a year ago.

The small town of Lakki had some quite useful services apart from Cosmote, Wind and Vodaphone shops - it had a number of computer shops, a couple of well stocked supermarkets, a sheltered anchorage with the option to tie up stern in to the Port wharf or take a marina berth in the marina or just simply drop the anchor.

Sunday morning in Xirokhambos Bay at the South end of Leros was greeted by the male chorus at the local Orthodox church, somewhat reminiscent of the cries from the mosque that had heralded every dawn virtually for the last two and a half years as we transited numerous moslem contries.

There seem to be a number of well kept churches in every community and even some are precariously perched on top of quite high mountains as well as being constructed half way up hills on overhanging cliffs and in the centre of villages. Most of them are well painted and maintained. One of the most unusual ones had been constructed inside the walls of the Symi kastro.