Buy prints - August at Kalymnos island - 5373

Kalymnos is the 26th largest island in Greece and is very close to Turkey, less than 14 nautical miles.

Our partner, Blue Star Ferries, kindly provides us with all the travel accommodations to the islands they operate and this is one of the reasons I picked Kalymnos for my summer photography trip.

The boat to Dodekanisa departs from gate E1 of Pireas port and the trip lasts about 10 hours. It has to cross through the Aegean sea but thankfully the summer weather provides for a quiet and calm sea. I prefer to travel during the day as I enjoy looking at the beauty of the sea and some of the Greek islands that the boat stops to before it reaches its destination.

I always try to bring with me a small power strip. The boat has many electrical outlets but most of the passengers try to sit near a power source to charge their devices. I like to do some work on my laptop while travelling.

As for food and drinks, the boat's restaurants offer everything that I need.

Mid-sea mobile phone signal isn't always very good but thankfully I can buy wifi cards from the gift shop that provide good satellite internet.

Every place has its own customs but Kalymnos has some of the less known, hidden traditions in Greece.

On the 14th of August, I decided to travel to Kyra Psili, a monastery for Holy Mary which lies at the top of a 700m mountain near the village of Vathi.

I arrived by car near the trail just before the sunset. The landscape offers a wild beauty. It's very dry without any vegetation and very rocky. The trail to the monastery is of average difficulty and it requires comfortable shoes. It takes about 30 mins to arrive at my destination with the usual stops for photos.

When it got dark I had to use my phone's flashlight to light my way. At the same time, many locals follow the trail to visit the church for the evening ritual many of them were also carrying sleeping bags so they could spend the night at the monastery.

On the 15th of August, the locals carry the icon of Holy Mary all the way to Vathi village. Unfortunately, I hurt my leg on a rock the day before and I didn't manage to follow the litany.

For the rest of my trip, I tried to find sponge divers. While walking at the port of Kalymnos I saw a man selling sponges immediately I asked him about the divers. He told me that he used to be a diver when he was younger and offered to be photographed. He told me about an old storage house he owned where he keeps his sponges and his equipment but he insisted that I wouldn't really like it as it was old. I know that I'm into something when I hear something like this.

Back at his house, I met his granddaughter who offered to get dressed in a traditional outfit.

At a local cafe shop, I met a diver who was playing cards with 3 of his friends. He offered to take me to his house and show me his photos as a diver and for a photoshoot. We arranged to meet in the afternoon. Just right when I was paying to leave the cafe he came back and whispered in my ear that we had to cancel our meeting cause his wife wouldn't let him be photographed!

Finally, the locals gave me the phone number of a diver that still works with sponges and we booked an appointment to meet him. When I arrived he was working, never the less he offered to wear his heavy diving suit for my photo. I have to thank him as this was no easy task as 2 people had to help him to wear the very heavy suit.

The following day I visited the Highschool of the Greek women where I met with the director and asked her if a girl would like to wear a traditional outfit for a photo shoot and her daughter who was visiting the island for the summer holidays offered to help.

Before I left the island I had to visit some of the smaller villages with very few locals surrounded by nature.

I'm certain that there are many places that I didn't cover but I feel content for the things I saw and the friendly people I met.

August at Kalymnos island - 5373

Michael Pappas

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