Samos

Within spitting distance of Turkey, one km from it in fact, is the Greek island of Samos. Despite being closer to the Turkish coast than it is to the Greek mainland, the character of this island is definitely Greek.

We arrived in Samos on yet another gorgeous hot and sunny day and docked right in the centre of town.  After an early workout and a yummy late-risers breakfast we made our way to shore. Walking along the wide waterfront promenade lined with restaurants and cafes, but also with hardware stores, banks and other such mundane commercial outifts, we realize that this is not precisely a tourist mecca; While there are plenty of historical and archeological sites within a few kilometres of Vathy, the capital, there are not many tourist attractions in town. It is nevertheless a very pleasant port town rich in Greek tradition and natural beauty.

The pedestrian-only main shopping street sports as many butcher shops as it does kitchy souvenir stores. I score three gorgeous and unique (at least I haven't seen others) pillow cases with flat weave designs depicting typical Greek motifs. We make our way to the cathedral to admire the beautiful iconography and then to the archeological museum which turned out to be closed.

The island's economy revolves around agricultural products (primarily olives, grapes and a delicious Moschato wine), but is also dependent on tourism.

After a few hours in town we made our way back to the ship for a bit of pooltime and downtime.  We have been sailing from port to port for the last few days and are missing the opportunity to enjoy the ship. Tonight we sail towards the Dardanelles and tomorrow we sail through the Sea of Marmara and transit the Bosphorus Straight en route to the Black Sea.