Making our way thru the Dodecanese Islands.

 

Monastery of the Archangel Michael

From Rhodes we sailed to Symi, mostly north and a little west of Rhodes.  It is not so easy going the direction we are headed (west) as the prevailing winds are from the NW.  So far, we have been sailing very close to the wind but we keep changing our strategy for hopping across the islands to try and improve our sailing conditions.  

Monastery

We anchored in the bay at Panormitis on the island of Symi.  Such a lovely bay... by the end of the night there were 10 sailboats at anchor and 2 big power boats.  Once we were all settled with our super new anchor we dropped the dinghy in the water and headed over to the town to see the Monastery.  

 

Monastery

Panormitis is home to the Monastery of the Archangel Michael. The Archangel Michael is a super angel or chief angel.  And better yet Archangel Michael is the patron saint of sailors!  What luck!!

Monastery - the walk is all done with pebbles

As we were looking around the Monastery we heard a ferry pulling in.  Next thing you know a large group of tourists (likely from the cruise ships in Rhodes) exited.  They and their guides all headed to the Monastery.  So... that was the end or our Monastery visit 😞.  But we did manage to find the Monastery bakery and bought a small apple pie.  

Monastery

Apple pie will make for a nice breakfast before we leave for Tilos in the morning.  

Entry to the Monastery

After the bakery we made a bee line for Talaria to escape the maddening crowds.  A nice meal, glass of wine and a beautiful sunset capped off a great day.  It was so nice to see a sunset again.  In Turkey there are too many mountains obscuring the view.  

Next stop Tilos - a small island that does not receive many visitors.  A few sailors stop by and bird watchers as the island is a haven for rare birds.