Kalymnos Island, Dodekanese, Greece, pictures and information, beaches, nature, car rental

<XMP><body> </xmp> Kalymnos Island, Dodekanese, Greece, pictures and information, beaches, nature, car rental
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KALYMNOS ISLAND

It has been more than twenty years ago that I visited Kalymnos, on my first real hopping-trip. I didn't have much experience island-hopping then and I didn't know what to expect, but I was hoping it would be nicer than the island of Kos, from which we had flown. The harbour of arrival was already big and busy then, too busy, noisy and with a lot of traffic, and since we were looking for something more quiet at the time we immediately jumped into a taxi and said: 'please take us to the other side of the island'. We ended up staying a week in the village of Mirties, which was really small then, and I loved it. It had a disco and a cocktail-bar, nice restaurants, very friendly and outrageous inhabitants that hardly saw any visitors, and a good beach. We didn't need anything else, we just had fun. I've never gone back to Kalymnos since that time but I'm sure it has changed a lot in the past 24 years (maybe not for the good). I just remember I loved it and that the people were very nice. I still think back to the nights sometimes when I would lay on my back on a brick wall outside our apartment counting the shooting stars (because there were so many) and making wishes. We did the daytrip (by wooden kaik in those days) to the opposite small island of Telendos and climbed the hills there that were scattered with remains of old pottery, but all the other days we just laid at the beach and went out at night. But then again, this was 1982 and I was 20 years old. I think maybe I missed out a bit because I do believe that there are things to be seen and places and beaches to be explored. By the way there were people that swam all the way from Kalymnos to Telendos or who made dives in between the two islands and then came back to the surface with old amphora's in their hands.
Kalymnos
Kalymnos is a medium sized island, located in the Aegean Sea, which is one of the Dodecanese archipelago, northwest of Kos, southeast of Leros and it belongs to Greece. Kalymnos is the fourth largest island in the Dodecanese. Pothia, the capital of the island of Kalymnos is a town with about 11,000 residents and Pothia is also one of the main ports of Greece. The waterfront makes an Italian impression. The construction of the city is built against a hill (amphitheathrical) and the houses have different colors. Pothia has a beach boulevard, a cave (Nymfs cave) and a fortres (Chrysochera).

Sights and things to do on Kalymnos
The island of Kalymnos still has to embrace the real mass tourism. The first impression is that of a dry island, but hidden in between the mountains are parts with beautiful green nature. The big speciality of Kalymnos are its caves, of which there are many to be found on the island. The best known and most visited cave is the small Kefala cave as it is included in local excursion programs and is easy accessible both from the sea and from the land. The largest and most beautiful cave on Kalymnos island known until now is the Skalia cave. Easy accessible but difficult to enter as you have to descent a staircase of about 5 meters high to reach the first level and another one of about 4 meters high to reach the main room plus you must be careful on the wet slippery floor. Not to be visited without someone who has been there already and without the appropriate outfit. But it is worth as you will be recouped from the spectacular - huge - amazing formations of stalactites and stalagmites. The island of Kalymnos is also a favorite for people that love mountain climbing and diving. Kalymnos is a rocky island and climbers come to Kalymnos from all over the word all year round. The quality of the rocks is superb and most of the cliffs are easy accessible. Kalymnos island is famous as The Sponge Diver's Island. Sponge fishery, processing and trading were the main professions on Kalymnos island for hundreds of years now. Kalymnos is actually the last Greek island with active sponge divers. Because of the caves in the sea and the rocky bottom it is also one of the best places for scuba diving and snorkeling. Kalymnos has kilometers of unique coastline reserved for scuba diving. Kalymnos has the first underwater park in Greece and also the first underwater Archaeological park in Greece. There are opportunities to visit diving museums and buy the best sponges direct from the sea and there are qualified dive guides and dive schools.

How to reach Kalymnos?
Until August 2006 Kalymnos was only accessible by boat, but since that date the island has its own airport with domestic flights to Athens. This given the island has still retained its own identity. One can also take the ferry to Kalymnos from the island of Kos (the crossing takes about 45 minutes). Another way is the daily ferry from Athens (port of Pireaus trip) to Kalymnos (14 hours). Pothia (the capital of Kalymnos) has also connections with several other islands, amongst which are Leros, Pserimos, Nisyros, Astipalaia, Rhodes, and even a day trip to Bodrum Turkey is possible. When I was on Samos there was also a ferry that went from there to the islands of Agathonissi, Patmos and Leros and the final destination Kalymnos.
THe landscape of Kalymnos
The rocky mountains of the island are generally unfertile and barren with in between them two fertile green valleys, of which the valley of Vathy is well known and very beautiful. It is the places where mandarins and other citrus trees grow. What does grow everywhere is oregano and thymne and there are many beehives on the mountain slopes and so the special Kalymnos-honey is for sale everywhere. Kalymnos has many caves on the island, for example, the Cave of the 7 Virgins and the Cave of Kefalas with archaeological finds and these caves are free to visit. The local population of Skalia village know where the cave is situated. In the afternoon, the caves of Kefala are closed for security reasons. The caves of Kefala lie in the south of the island and can be visited by boat. The caves of Daskalio lie on the east side of the island near Rina. From Rina you can go with a kaik to the cave. Most of the local taxi drivers know where the caves are and know the way there or have the key to access and know where it is. It is wise to go into it with a flashlight because there is no lighting in the caves. The beaches of Kalymnos are predominantly on the west coast of the island, including Myrties and Masouri. Here are the most popular beaches. The sea water temperatures range from 23 degrees to 27 degrees in May at the end of August and September. On the nearby island of Telendos are small and quiet beaches, including a nude beach.

Hotel Elies on Kalymnos Island
Hotel ELIES *** (3 star), remains a simple and comfortable easy accessible accommodation although it is the biggest on Kalymnos island. It is built in a garden, 100 meters from the center of the vast green conservative village of PANORMOS in which you will find the best restaurants, bars and ouzo taverns of the island. Hotel ELIES is located:

5 kilometers from POTHIA the capital and main port of the island.
2 kilometers from CHORA the first capital of Kalymnos in which you will find the recently renovated Big Castle and the Archaeological site of The Temple of Apollo - Jesus of Jerusalem.
500 meters from the beaches LINARIA, KANTOUNI and KSISITOS, 1 kilometer from PLATY GYALOS beach and 2 kilometers from MYRTIES jetty where from you get the boat to TELENDOS island and the Sunken city of POTHA.
20 minutes walking to the Climbing Sectors "MONASTERY" and "AUSTRIANS" (the first ones to be equipped) while the rest of the Climbing sectors are located in a distance of 1-10 kilometers.
Hotel ELIES has 64 rooms (62 double and 2 single). Each one has it's one veranda and has telephone and music. 30 rooms are equipped with self catering facilities (fridge, kitchenette etc). All rooms are equipped with Air-Condition and TV(local channels) while fridge is available on request. Hotel ELIES has a 24 hours Reception, safety boxes, pool, pool-bar for summertime, inside bar for wintertime, restaurant - breakfast room, comfortable common areas and parking. From summer 2005 a fully equipped Amphitheater is available and it is the only one on the island. Besides, from summer 2005 Hotel ELIES offers special services and facilities to Divers. The friendly personnel of Hotel Elies will be happy to help you for an unforgettable vacation.
Send an e-mail to Hotel Elies on Kalymnos. Tel:0030-22430-47890 Fax: 0030-22430-47160.

Hans Huisman, http://www.angelfire.com/super2/greece/ & Nikolas Reissis Hotel Elies Kalymnos, 2008