Several mornings during July, I ran into Kardamena from where I was staying. My hotel, Acti Beach, is around 2 miles away from Kardamena. Getting up early and watching the sunrise develop during the Golden Hour is an unforgettable experience. Two years ago I was here in August and the sun rose over the sea. In July, the sun rises behind the mountains. Therefore I saw the sun start to rise by the golden colours appearing on the white buildings of the town as I ran towards Kardamena.
The rising sun creating shadows on the walls of the whitewashed buildings.The sun appears from behind the mountains.
I run with my iPhone13 and I was able to stop for a few minutes and capture the golden rays. The fun is getting back to the hotel and seeing what the results are like. These pictures were taken on different mornings and when posted on my social media, they received a positive response. I certainly want to get back to Kos in the future and experience more sunrises on this beautiful island. This is the last of my Kos Island sequence and hope you enjoyed them.
Sunrise on the sun loungers at Malibu BeachA view of the sunrise from a jetty at Kardamena.Sunrise in the harbour with golden rays on the Pirate ship.The day begins.
A return visit to Kos and more pictures of the beautiful seaside village of Kardamena. An idyllic spot and a perfect base for the rest of the island. The long straight harbour front with the tropical trees adds character to the place and there are some delightful places to eat out and watch the world go by. Food is a must in Kardamena.
Sea Bass undressed
Thomas’s Meze is a favourite restaurant of ours and I enjoyed the traditional Greek foods that were served. The sea bass was particularly tasty and the bones were expertly removed by our waiter. The pictures show the before and after result. Other favourites included home made Moussaka and Feta Filo.consisting of feta folding in pastry, sprinkled with sesame seeds. The local honey that is poured over the pastry comes from those bees that I saw in the mountains. It was also a chance for me to become re-acquainted with Retsina. The taste of this Greek resinated wine is not to everybody’s liking with some people spitting it out as soon as they taste it! For me it is a refreshing taste and goes well with fish and other Mediterranean foods.
Spot the bottle of Retsina.
We also dined at the restaurant, Avli, which is based in one of the oldest houses in Kardamena. The restaurant is in an old courtyard which is cool and adds a local greek atmosphere to the proceedings. My choices here were the home made stuffed vine leaves to start with followed by the catch of the day which was red snapper. Both were delicious and prepared well.
Vine leaves starter at Avli restaurant.Red SnapperSea Food selectionEntrance way to Avli restaurant.
Breakfast was taken at the Harbour lounge on the sea front where you could watch the yachts and the various ships such as the Pirate ship leave for a tour of the islands. The owners prepare a sumptuous breakfast which can either be English or Greek depending on your tastes.
Greek breakfast at the Harbour Lounge.Watching the sails from the Harbour Lounge.
Coming back from Kos Town on our final evening, we had our last meal at Chris snack and cocktail bar. A friendly family run restaurant where we had some simple but tasty home cooked food. The seating is on several tiers and we sat close to the sea, enjoying the sight of local children catching a crab and watching the pirate ship come home for the evening.
The pirate ship on its way home to Kardamena.
Eating out in the town was excellent and was a welcome break from the all-inclusive food at our hotel, which was fine but unadventurous. After breakfast or evening meal, then it was only natural that we wandered along the streets of Kardamena. There was a chance to see the shops, view the boats in the harbour or see the antics of the local cat population. Here are a selection of photographs out and about Kardamena during the day.
View of the islands south of Kardamena.Villagers in the setting sunlight.Villagers and the tourists.The central building.Streets of KardamenaShopping in the town.Cats of KardamenaMotorbiking
The album “Reach for the Sky” was released by Sunderland Brothers and Quiver in 1975. The cover is very evocative and has an eagle flying across the sun. My picture of the Lesser Kestrel flying over the valley between Kardamena and Pyli reminds me of that LP record. It is one of many pictures taken on a day out with the wonderful photographer Sarah Longes (Twitter @miradordesign). With my 200mm lens working to its limit, Sarah taught me to be patient on taking photographs. Not one of my strongest virtues but I am learning.
A pair of lesser kestrels take a rest from huntingIf you look closely, a bee is following the kestrel as it sets off in flight.
Sarah spotted where the lesser kestrels were hunting on the edge of the valley. The view from our photography spot was spectacular and one of the interesting features were the large number of bee hives scattered across the landscape. Sarah has a sixth sense of where to find wildlife. I have known her virtually for a few years now and luck would have it we were both on Kos at the same time. She is a super photographer and teacher.
A gecko lizard out and about.
We left the Lesser Kestrels hunting in the mountains and moved onto Pyli to walk around the village. Pyli features a natural water spring. Although it was the heat of the day, there were several people filling up containers with spring water. It was quiet when we visited, although two coach tours did descend on the area whilst we were having lunch in a local restaurant in the square.
The water at the springs in Pyli is particularly sought after for its mineral content.Yannis, a local resident, filling up containers. The water will be taken to restaurants throughout Kos.Traditional house in Pyli, Kos Island Patterns of shadeThe high street in Pyli
Following lunch, we made our way to the Alikes Salt Lake that was next to the town of Tigaki. The lake was teeming with wildlife in spite of the serious levels of pollution present. The salt works are no longer operational and are visited by a few tourists and locals. More interest is from the paragliding sails that pepper the horizon. The salt lake was interesting with graffiti on old abandoned buildings, several varieties of birds and even some turtles swimming around. It was here that once again I learnt to be patient, as I photographed the birds, resisting my natural temptation to rush forward to get as close as possible.
Evocative image of the Black winged Stilt flying over the salt lake.Turtle and Bird not talking to each other.No talking please whilst flying.Looking out for food.These legs were made for wading.Nice reflections.Amy Whitehouse looks out from the abandoned salt works.The salt lake was so hot and this dramatic view of the mountains puts it in perspective.Heading out for the paragliding.
Our final stop was the Traditional Windmill of Antimachia. This is a restored windmill and the intricate sails were quite magnificent as they turned around. I chatted to the owner of the Windmill and accompanying restaurant/bar and showed him Chesterton Windmill near Leamington Spa. The owner was very interested, and I hope that I have forged an international link between the two windmills.
The striking Antimachia Windmill on KosThe Windmill sails.A black and white view.
A memorable day and thank you to both Sarah for allowing me to accompany her on her photography tour and Simon her husband for chauffeuring us around Kos. Hope you as the reader enjoy the pictures.
There have been many opportunities over the last couple of weeks to take pictures that rely on reflections. Surface water from all the rain leads to puddles on footpaths and pavements that are a good source for taking reflective pictures. Modern cameras have a flip screen that allow you to get low and take the picture without having to get too uncomfortable on the floor. The placement of the lenses has to be very low to take advantage of the reflective split. On the iPhone 13, the positioning of the lenses allows you to get closer to the water. However take care as in doing this you will find your mobile phone getting a little wet! Straight after the rain, I am always looking for a new angle for my photography using reflections from the water and here are a few examples. Most of them are taken with the iPhone camera. However during the visit to Upton House near Banbury, I discovered a very large reflective pool in the garden that provided a wonderful opportunity for a reflection.
The reflecting pool, Upton House and Garden. This was featured on the lunchtime weather news of BBC South.
There was some local and national successes with several of these pictures being picked up on Instagram by both National Geographic Traveller and BBC weather watchers. Some were successfully featured in local instagram pages. There are explanations behind all the images shown and whilst you are reading this blog post, I am still on the look out for reflections.
Taken on a wet night in Birmingham looking up towards the Bullring. This was featured on the Birmingham.City Instagram pages.The line up of trees at Umberslade Estate becomes the perfect setting for a puddle reflection.Waiting for the train home and I happened to catch these puddle reflections which were perfectly placed for the picture.A classic view of the IKON gallery in Oozells Square. The “river” of water provides the reflection.A puddle in Gas Street Basin provides a great reflection. He looks like he is walking on water. This was featured on the National Geographic UK traveller Instagram pages.
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