Kos, Greece

September 21 to 26, 2022

More Fun in the Sun

Lovely Kos, Greece. More ancient history, more castles and Asklepions (ancient medical clinic), more gorgeous beaches, more super-dark tanned tourists, more explorations, and more mishaps. 

Kos Town

We arrived at 7:45 am, but couldn’t access our apartment until 1 pm, so on virtually no sleep, we started roaming Kos town. 

The Knights of Rhodes

The first place we stumbled upon was the Neratzia Castle (or Castle of the Knights), an ancient fortress with a beautiful view of the sea. 

The Castle was built by the Knights of Rhodes (or the knights of the Order of Saint John), for the fear of the Ottomans. The knights had captured the island, together with the rest of the Dodecanese islands, since 1315.

The Apartment 

Thankfully our digs were a bit newer. We stayed in a modern and spacious studio apartment with a kitchenette. Our cooking burners were built into the top of the toaster oven. Never seen that before!

We had a spacious balcony with a view of a cluttered courtyard, with plenty of room to hang dry our hand washing.

It was perfect. Great location right in the center of Kos Town. 

Museums Too

We spent our days in Kos at the beach, exploring ancient ruins, or at the archeological museums on the island.

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Asklepion

We couldn’t believe the cat reception we received at Asklepion. Luckily we already had our tickets from a multi-pass we purchased in town, so we didn’t have to disturb the cat in the ticket window.

Then we walk over to the entry point and there’s another, very serious looking cat, giving us the stink-eye. It let us pass. Meowww.

Our afternoon at Asklepion was well-planned out, until it wasn’t. 

Hippocrates Was Here

Asklepion was the ancient healing temple & medical school where Hippocrates once practiced. 

It’s All About Timing

We headed up the hill to the ancient site in the late afternoon, on the 4:30pm municipal bus. The soonest bus back to Kos Town was at 7:30pm, so we had plenty of time to explore.  

Asklepion was one of the only highlights on the island of Kos where it was crucial to have transportation. It’s located quite far from town on a mostly uphill country road with no shoulders or sidewalks. It’s basically out in the middle of nowhere.

Many people had rented vehicles or scooters. We rely on the bus. 

Oh Entitled Ones

As we toured the ruins, we continually found ourselves behind the same young and “beautiful” European couple, probably in their early 30’s. They were in front of us at almost every information board. 

They had an air of entitlement about themselves, and tended to dominate every information board, oblivious that others (namely us) were trying to read the information too. 

Cafe Break

At one point we decided to kill some time at the little outdoor café at the ruins. As we walked up to order we saw that the same couple that had been causing us difficulties were talking to the barista. It was obvious that they hadn’t planned how to get back into town. 

Outta Luck

There really aren’t a lot of options except the bus, if you don’t have your own transportation. For some reason there seem to be maybe one or two taxis for this entire island and they are never to be found.

Plan Ahead, People

After ordering we went and took our table, whispering to each other about how those people should have planned ahead like we did. 

We’d made sure that we had round-trip tickets for the bus and had a printed bus schedule in hand. So we knew what we were doing and we were all good. Our bus came in one hour. 

Vague Instructions 

The young couple wanted to leave pronto, so their only option, according to the barista, was to walk 15 or 20 minutes down the road to a villa (good luck finding that) and probably they could catch a bus. 

They walked away from the cafe counter looking a bit perturbed. We felt like it was a bit of karma, come their way. 

The Asterisk

Only problem was, that when it came time for us to leave, we pulled out the bus schedule and noticed that there was no asterisk by the 19:30 (7:30 pm) pick up time we were counting on. And the asterisk meant everything, as it turns out. Without an asterisk, no bus was coming. 

So, we’re not sure what we did to deserve it, but we had to walk an hour back into Kos Town, trying hard to get back before dark.  So much for our best-laid plans. 

Wins & Losses

The Walking Begins

Walking all that way back to Kos Town from Asklepion was somewhat torturous, especially after already walking all over the grounds for hours and up three massive staircases to the tippy top of the ruins. Those Greeks sure do appreciate a good view. 

Thankfully some wonderful surprises awaited us on our way down. Surprises we never would have seen if our bus had had an asterisk. 

A Good Omen

First, we happened upon a white goat. He was definitely saying a big chairete (hello in Greek) to me, since he could tell I’m a former goat owner and general all-around goat lover.

I decided the white goat was a harbinger of good things to come, and I was right. 

I Do

Continuing our trek down the hill, when the sun was almost set, we were just arriving in the small village of Platani.  There, we happened upon a wedding in the street.  A beautiful, festive, Greek wedding. 

One lovely bride and one handsome groom led the way up the street towards us, hand in hand. They were followed by the dancing bridal party and guests, with loud Greek celebratory music blaring. I was thrilled. What luck. 

Loss in Kos

The plumbing here on the Dodecanese islands of Greece isn’t set up to accept any toilet paper. It’s non-negotiable. You do what’s necessary, wipe, and toss the tp in the garbage can to the side of the toilet. 

As you can imagine, it’s easy to slip-up. Mostly we remember. But there is that unfortunate time now and again where we have to fish out the tp. 

We’re just trying to be good Greek citizens and not back up the entire island sewage system. 😳. Definitely in the losses category. 

Up Next: Symi Island, Greece