Three Summers: Kalymnos and the sponge divers

What a surprise is Kalymnos! A small rocky outcrop of an island in the Dodecanese near the coast of Turkey. The island is small, just over 110 sq kms, so I guess we were expecting quiet, perhaps a bit forgotten in time and not as luxurious as some of its better-known neighbours. Oh, how wrong we were. Over the past weeks as we've travelled around and met Greek people who have asked us about our summer travel destinations, they are at once enthusiastic about some islands - Tinos and Astypalea, for example, and then, well, less enthusiastic about others, Kalymnos for example. And now that we have arrived on Kalymnos we're really confused about their reaction. The first thing that we noticed as we disembarked the ferry at the Kalymnos port of Pothia (nearing midnight) was the broad, vibrant port promenade lined with ships from simple to uber luxurious, and a kilometre sweep of brightly lit cafes, tavernas, restaurants and shops still full of people enjoying the warm summer's night. Even at midnight it is easy to see the difference in architecture now that we're in the Dodecanese - gone are the white washed cube homes, the Kalymnos port is distinctive for it more classic shaped peak-front homes of pastel colours and all shades of ochre.

We've rented a traditional town house in the old neighbourhood of Pothia, just steps from the harbour. It's immaculately restored. Between the kitchen, living room and bathroom (on the first level) and the bedroom and terrace (on the top level) sits the original and very elegant iron spiral staircase. It's beautiful and it is also a visual reminder to limit one's evening liquid intake - negotiating the steep, narrow spiral in the sleepy hours looks a little treacherous!

The neighbourhood is a collection of alleyways, white painted stairs, hidden courtyards with a mixture of restored and unrestored homes. Common to all are small overhanging balconies with decorative iron railings, and external spiral staircases of all designs and colours. It's a busy neighbourhood and it's great to watch from our first floor verandahs the goings on below - daily life, kids playings, the noise of 2-stroke scooters always with a safety 'beep' as they round a corner, dogs barking, greetings called, and conversations that sound as if they're happening right next to us. Our host, Eleni, left us a note; SOS it said, "it is a busy, traditional neighbourhood, the windows have extra sound protection, so when you want to relax, close all the windows and turn on the air-conditioner!" How right you are, Eleni, with the windows opened it really is as if everyone is living in each other's homes. Eleni, and then her own children, grew up in this home. Her father died last year at 98 years old and was the captain of one of the last sponge diving vessels before the sponge blight ended the industry in the 1980s.

We rented a car and driving around the island it is obvious to see that Kalymnos has enjoyed great prosperity due mainly to its long history as the sponge diving capital of the Mediterranean. As we leave Pothia and drive into the interior we pass many large and elaborate homes with commanding seas views.

The road north follows the continuous sheer cliffs of the mountain range that run like a spine through the the island. In recent years Kalymnos has become a paradise for rock climbers from all over the world. The barren and rocky limestone mountain ranges apparently are full of escarpments, crags, caves and grottos that climbers love to hang off. Obviously, we're not here for the climbing, our sport is more leisurely - finding the best cafe with the best sea views and breezes, exploring the fishing villages, the most turquoise water to swim in, an afternoon walk, maybe an archaeological site to explore, or a museum and then the exhausting choice of which taverna to choose for dinner.

It was a beautiful 4 night stay in picturesque Kalymnos, the friendly welcoming locals, the great seafood, the beautiful landscape, and rich history, we loved it all. We saw something else that we haven't seen much of this summer - clouds - but don't be fooled by those pretty fluffy white clouds though, the humidity had us dripping!

Kalymnos harbour

Dive right in to Kalymnos!

Nike the winged goddess, Pothia harbour

A restored sponge diver boat in Pothia,
Kalymnos's harbour

Vintage Kalymnos

'skafandro' - the sponge diver's suit was
introduced around 1865 - previously the
divers were naked.

Kalymnian sponges

While walking around our neighbourhood
we saw this large smooth stone bolted to a
pedestal, it's called a 'skandalopetra' and it's
a flat stone weighing about 15kgs that the
naked sponge divers would tie to themselves
to enable them to sink quickly to the bottom
of the sea.