PATMOS : Patmos is surrounded...

Lying in the southeasterly area of the Aegean Sea are the Dodecanese group of islands. One of them, Patmos, is set like a rare and priceless jewel into the clearest waters in all of Greece. Only about 13 square miles, it is one of the smallest of the Aegean Islands.

Its coastline is studded with hundreds of beautifully formed bays that sparkle in the pure gold light from a warm and friendly sun.

It is probably the light in Patmos, as much as anything else, that brings the realization that one is experiencing a place of such phenomenal beauty that it caused one American businessman to announce, “It’s like looking at life through a thousand different rainbows.”

The Aegean Sea dances a dazzling silver beneath the morning sun, with rustic fishing boats painted in bright colors crisscrossing the bays, leaving tiny wakes across the still surface of the emerald and turquoise waters.

Flowers of every color swarm over white stucco walls, filling the air with the fragrance of jasmine, honeysuckle, lavender, gardenia, oleander, hibiscus and bougainvillea.

A necklace of outer islands shimmers invitingly on the horizon, luring the imagination into further realms of exploration. Samos to the north, in the late evening, rises from the sea in a purple mist, its peaks bathed in a scarlet light from the dying sun.

Patmos meanders slowly between two main areas: Chora, a medieval town at the top of a hill, and Skala, the main port. Farmers still transport their produce on donkeys, sitting sideways between bags of fruit and vegetables, urging their beasts along.

Pilgrims from all over the world make the long, winding trek up the ancient pathway to the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, which overlooks the town of Chora and the rest of the island.

The archives of the monastery contain a documented account of life throughout the area from the founding of the monastery in AD 1088. Its 13,000 documents provide a clear picture of political life, social behavior and economic history through the centuries. Fifteen priests and monks inhabit the monastery, all scholars of kind and gentle disposition.

Then there are the beaches. Literally hundreds of them. One can either take a boat, or for the adventurous, long treks through the rocky Patmian terrain bring the promise of a deserted strip of Paradise around every bend.

And what better reward, after having feasted your eyes on the spectacular views around you and having played like dolphins in a sea that is as therapeutic as it is gentle, than to return to your hotel, clean up and head out to one of the tavernas for dinner?

Vangelis in the main square of Chora is the most authentic and the most fun of all the restaurants on Patmos. It is run by Vangelis, his wife Maria and their two sons, Theologo and Manolis. The atmosphere is full-blooded Greek and the hospitality is famous. People of all nationalities and diverse backgrounds gather inside and outside, and during the busy summer season the garden at the back is opened to tourists.

Maria encourages her guests to wander freely through the kitchen and choose the most appetizing dishes. The menu includes fresh calamary, fried and served with a huge Greek salad of feta cheese, blood-red tomatoes, onions and black olives, all laced with an oil and vinegar dressing.

Tzat z iki is served as an appetizer, a mixture of yogurt, garlic, onion, cucumber and olive oil. And of course dolmades , stuffed grape leaves, served with French fries and hunks of bread. Lamb stew, meatballs, chicken, stuffed tomatoes and sizzling moussaka are also specialties.

Vangelis is a smiling man of great warmth and humor, and dinner at his restaurant is an experience not to be missed. Ask him for a plate of titsi titsi , watch his face light up and be prepared to receive whatever he deems appropriate for the evening.

Bottles of retsina, red and white Domestica and glasses of ouzo are poured with abandon. And when Manolis appears with his bouzouki, Greek men and women and tourists alike rise to the melodic and haunting sounds of this wonderful instrument and dance away their inhibitions in a twirling display of Greek tradition.

All the food in Patmos is local and at Vangelis one can eat a complete meal, including Greek coffee, baklava dessert and wine for less than $6.

More costly is Patmian House in hilltop Chora run by Victor Gouras, who used to be the maitre d’ at Maxwell’s Plum in New York. The prices there are two to three times more than at most other restaurants on Patmos, and although the atmosphere is somewhat charming, they have tried to produce an aura of sophistication that doesn’t seem to work in a place like Patmos.

In Skala, Panteles is a good bet, one street back from the waterfront. It has delicious stewed goat cooked with tomato sauce, olive oil and mixed vegetables. Or pastitsio, a bubbling dish of macaroni cooked with cheese and a delicious bechamel sauce.

After dinner go across the street to Edelweis and buy pastries oozing with honey and jams and cream and chocolate fillings. Take them to one of the cafes in the main square, order Greek coffee or Metaxa and watch the moon rising over the black waters of the Aegean Sea.

When the moon is full it casts a silver blanket across the tiny harbor, and sometimes shines with such a lightning brilliance that the cloudless blue-black sky appears as a velvet cloak into which are sewn the most brightly lit stars in all of the universe.

I recommend a motorboat excursion around the island for a full day that includes lunch and costs no more than $10 a person. It provides the opportunity to study the dramatic and magnificent coastline around Patmos with its picturesque bays and different beaches (some of sand, others of pebble).

Also, one will have the chance to see some of the outer islands such as Lipsi, Arki, Ikaria, Hiliomodi and Kalymnos. Some of the bays such as Kambos, Lambi and Aspri are irresistible; if you ask the skipper to name a particular place he will do so, and you can return to it at your pleasure. Here are some favorites:

Kambos on the northern side of the island offers one of the widest golden sand beaches. It is a delight for swimming and sunbathing and is easy to reach either by motorboat or by taxi from Skala.

Lambi is also on the northern side of the island (one can walk from Kambos up to Lambi). You will pass through orchards, vineyards and fields of fruit-bearing trees. The beach at Lambi is famous for its multicolored pebbles, and the bay, protected from the westerly winds, is ideal for swimming.

Grikos on the eastern side of the island, with its tavernas and small hotels, has become one of the most popular places with tourists. Grikos is easily accessible by road or by boat.

But by far the most pleasant way of getting to Grikos is by bus from Skala to Chora and then following the old mule path by foot to Grikos. This will provide you with panoramic views, a good look at the interior of the island and also the opportunity to meet some of the people who are more than happy to stop and pass the time of day.

There is an old farmer by the name of Alekos, who, the first time I met him, demanded that I give him my hat. I was reluctant to do so as it was a gift from a young man I know in Los Angeles. I finally relented, whereupon Alekos took my hat, filled it with figs from his field and returned it to me with the broadest grin one can imagine.

Small hotels and apartments on Patmos range from $10 to $30 a night. What they lack in luxury they make up for in cleanliness and the desire to please. The Skala Hotel is the largest and most modern; others include the Astoria, the Patmion and the Hotel Diethnes.

Lovely apartments can also be rented in Chora or Grikos. One is advised to book accommodations well in advance either through a travel agent or the Greek National Tourist Organization.

For the newly arrived visitor a trip to the monastery is a must. There one can take in the history and the culture of the island and at the same time visit the souvenir shop of Manos. Manos is a mine of information and one of the few Greeks on Patmos with a good command of English.

He can tell you where to get the best shopping deals, who has fresh calamary that day, the best boat rides going and he will even provide you with the latest American sporting results, whether it be the Super Bowl or the World Series.

And finally a personal note, which for the seasoned traveler, with all the strange twists and turns that such a life entails, reestablishes the conviction that there really is no other way of life for those whose blood runs thick with wanderlust and adventure.

Secret Pathway

In Patmos I met Prochoros, a priest in the monastery. For my last weekend in Patmos he invited me to stay with his family in a small village to the north called Kepos. He promised to show me a secret pathway known only to the priests and monks. It led to a secret and beautiful lagoon that he told me was hidden and inaccessible from the outer seaways.

We arrived in Kepos on a Friday evening. The house was set between the hills of a smaller village. We sat on the veranda and absorbed the familiar rhythms of evening: goats tinkling up and down hillsides, crickets chirping in the hedgerows.

The sun sinking below the western hills was leaving streaks of red, orange and purple in the darkening sky. We caught the pungent, delicious scent of jasmine. Curious neighbors passed and three or four children ran about our feet bringing little cakes and glasses of water.

Packed around the kitchen table for dinner that night were 11 of us (including Kitsos the canary). The meal is one I shall never forget. Two to three dozen glisteningly black and still alive sea urchins appeared on a huge plate and were promptly sliced in half with a sharp knife by Maria.

Taking half a sea urchin ever so carefully by its needle-sharp spines, she added a teaspoonful of olive oil and then scraped the pink salmon-colored flesh from the shell and, in all good faith, swallowed.

Fried octopus caught that very morning was served with French fries and hunks of homemade bread, tzatziki and pastitsio, accompanied by mounds of Greek salad.

With Prochoros’ brother-in-law making toasts at every opportunity with wine, and then at the end of the meal with ouzo, I was feeling, by the time the coffee arrived, no pain.

Before bedtime we decided to walk off a little of our indulgence. There was no moon that night but the black sky was a kaleidoscope of stars.

The following morning after a breakfast of coffee, husk bread, honey and fruit we set off in the direction of the secret lagoon, Prochoros in his black habit carrying a long wooden staff and a black umbrella to protect him from the sun and I in my jeans carrying a picnic lunch.

Highest Point

Up and down and around we went, until we came to a gate beyond which was a path that dead-ended in a thicket surrounded by trees. Beyond the dead-end and through some rather thick gorse, however, the path continued in a steep, winding climb.

By the time we emerged 20 minutes later at what seemed like the highest point of the island, it was as if we were in a place that even the goats would think twice about visiting.

Prochoros pointed out the rest of the way and left me to go on alone, saying that he would meet me at the gate when the sun had reached a point in the sky when it would no longer be warm enough to swim.

I trudged onward. Then I saw it. The lagoon. It flashed below like a large emerald. The place was totally secluded. An outer wall of rock protected the place from the open sea.

Having spread a sheet on the soft sand, I plunged into the water. Why was I so happy? There were no politicians here. I wasn’t going to get a speeding ticket or a parking ticket. Late tax returns somehow seemed unimportant and no one was going to put a gun against my head to rob me of my picnic lunch.

With the sun rapidly sinking on the western horizon I began my trek back. Prochoros was at the gate, and his knowing look told me that he understood my happiness.

For further information, contact the Greek National Tourist Organization, 611 West 6th St., Suite 1998, Los Angeles 90017.