“Maryanne, wake up… It’s time.”
I opened my eyes sleepily and saw Alberto at the doorway of my cabin. It was 4.30am. I got out of bed and walked through the connecting toilet and knocked on Moa and Tuula’s cabin door and woke them up as well.
Alberto had checked the weather and wind forecast last night and it was said that we would have good winds starting from 5am to about 10am, heading to the direction of Lesvos.
We had to quickly get ready “Gaia” to catch the winds and cover as much distance as we can. We headed to the deck and it was chilly! I quickly put on my Kathmandu soft shell jacket (my 1st time using it!) and prep the boat for the long road ahead.
And the winds were good! We managed to cover at least half our distance before the winds died down, and caught the Greek sunrise for the 1st time!
After about 9 hours out at sea, we finally reached Lesvos. We made our way towards the port of Mithimna town, which is characterised by many small houses perched on every single space you can find on a small hill, each overseeing a beautiful skyline and sea view of the town.
At the top of the small hill is the Fortress of Mithimna (which seems to be much smaller than the Fortress of Myrina in Lemnos).
We decided to take a walk up the climbing slopes of the town to visit the castle. After about half an hour’s climb past beautiful views of the bays, we reached the top and was disappointed that the Fortress was closed, as it was a Monday.
Nevertheless, we took a nice and slow leisurely walk through shaded passageways of houses and cobbled walkways lined with shops and restaurants.
I got interesting stares and approached by some as they were curious about what I was doing in Lesvos and how I got to the island.
I didn’t see any other Asian on Lesvos, and suppose it is because I was Asian and it wasn’t common for them to be receiving strangers from Asia!
Interesting facts :
- Lesvos produces more than half of the world’s population of Ouzo (aniseed-flavour liqueur).
- The word “Lesbians” seem to have come from this island! This was because there once lived one of the greatest female Greek poet on this island named Sappho, who wrote sensuous and erotic poems dedicated to a number of women devotees.
It was later realised that the poems had some connotations, which in modern terms may be regarded as lesbianism.
Today Sappho is a lesbian icon and every year in September, a women Internationale Festival is held in Skala Eresson (Sappho’s hometown) which is attended by many lesbians around the world.
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