To Nisos Lepsos - Opah!

It's a new day and time to conquer the Pandeli Castle.

As we ascend we look back for scenic shots of the Pandeli Harbor and our anchorage. Jungle is just beyond the dark blue sailboat.

There is a 2 KM staircase (think a mile) up to the castle. We'll have none of that and show off my cool green scooter to boot. Besides, chicks dig guys on scooters.

Further up we see everything below.

This is the east side of the castle, looking south, away from the harbor. The sheer drop is incredible - hundreds of meters. (yards, again close enough) How many years did it take to complete? As many as 40.

We can handle the last few steps up. It was a breathtaking ride up on the scooter.

In the castle grounds the enormity is impressive.

We stopped in to St Johns Basillica and paid our respects, and one euro fee each - happy to do it. This sweet lady took us through the history. She lived for a time in Houston, TX and loved it. St. John was in these parts to bring the Virgin Mary to Ephusus, now part of Turkey. We plan to visit that later. This Basillica was built in his honor in the 7th century. The "icon" as she put it is almost 2000 years old and drove off the bad guys (Turks) from the island. I looked at this structure and asked, how old? The wood part was built in 1992. How about the gold part - made around 1942.

It is the brown portion that is the icon and it is made of leather. Now you know.

Back outside we take shots from all sides to see places we've visited on the island.

Behind Jenée off in the distance is the anchorage to the west.

Looking north.

To the north again, zooming in.

Another side of the castle.

We ran into this mother and son from Belgium. Jenée mesmerized them with tales of my skillfully sailing. Ok, I made that up, but they were nice folks to chat with.

We are now underway heading north to Nisos Lipsos and a look back at the castle.

We find a deserted anchorage.

Swim in this beautiful water.

And end off with our little champagne and cheese party. Nice.