KALYMNOS

SPONGES, THE BENDS AND ROCK CLIMBING

diver

We recently sailed with Variety Cruises on what they termed “Unexplored Greece”. The Panorama first took us to Ikaria, where the mythological tragedy of Icarus ended, Patmos, where St. John wrote the Book of Revelations and Lipsi, where we drank a lot of wine.

The next stop in our island-hopping adventure in Greece had us in Kalymnos, one of the larger islands in the Dodecanese with a greater population than any islands we had visited up until then. The island is famous for the harvesting of natural sponges that since ancient Greece have been harvested by divers. For centuries sponges was the main source of income on the island. Sons would learn the trade from their fathers and the island’s identity was with the sea.

A BIT OF HISTORY

For centuries men would freedive to depths reaching 100 feet. They would use a heavy stone, called a skandalopetra that was rounded with a rope threaded through a hole in the middle to help speed their descent and to preserve air. Depending on the diver’s lung capacity he could remain underwater for up to five minutes. The diver, usually naked, would fill a net with sponges before being hauled up by the crew at the surface. Since ancient Greek times this was the method of harvesting sponges.

Sponges at museum

Although freediving for sponges was a dangerous profession, the industry took a tragic turn for the worse with the use of diving suits, that began in the mid-1860s. Air would be pumped down to the diver wearing a helmet and suit. This allowed the diver to stay underwater longer and deeper than with freediving. Not understanding the dangers of decompression sickness, where dissolved gases, primarily nitrogen form bubbles in the blood and body tissues, causing excruciating pain. Also called the bends, thousands of men were crippled, paralyzed or died when they came up too quickly. 

When we took a tour of a sponge museum in Kalymnos the guide spoke of seeing men crippled from the bends. As scuba divers we know that we need a “safety stop”, about 15 feet below the surface for five minutes to allow our bodies to reacclimate to surface pressures. At the museum there was a picture of a diver on the surface smoking a cigarette. We were told that if a man could inhale cigarette smoke after he ascended, he was okay. If not, he would go back into the water to decompress.  

picture displayed at
Kalymnos sponge museum

Different safety protocols.

SPONGE WORTHY

Ancient Greek writings of Aristotle and Plato both mentioned sponges. Homer mentions sponges in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. They were used in a myriad of way, from bathing, as padding for helmets, portable drinking vessels, and as a contraceptive. The Romans used a xylospongium, literally a sponge on a stick, to wipe themselves after defecating.

By the mid-20^th Century though overfishing and pollution nearly drove the sponges, and the industry of harvesting them, to extinction. The introduction of synthetic sponges was another debilitating blow to natural sponge harvesting, which involves a labor-intensive process of cleaning and shaping to ready them for market.

Roman xylospongium 

 Today, the tradition of harvesting sponges continues on Kalymnos, albeit at a much lesser scale when fleets of trawlers would go out for months to harvest sponges. In Pothia the main town of Kalymnos, and where we docked overnight, there are still a lot of boats devoted to sponge harvesting and workshops and museums selling sponges to tourists.

CLIMBING

Less than 20% of Kalymnos can be farmed, the rest is barren and rocky, which has proved to be another tourist attraction to the island. In the past several decades Kalymnos has become a rock-climbing holiday destination with several outfitters serving this new reason to visit this island.  

OUR VISIT

After a swim stop on Kefala Beach where the Panorama’s tender ferried us to shore and the crew set up umbrellas for shade on the sun-splashed cove we docked the busy main port of Pothia, the main town of Kalymnos.

 

It was hot, but we had time to head into town for lunch. Several tavernas line the port and we went to To Steki Ton Nautikon as per a recommendation by our cruise director Kristina with four other passengers from the Panorama. The table shared several appetizers. Janet and I shared a Greek salad and a bottle (small) of ouzo. You’ll know the restaurant when you see it by the boat suspended over the entranceway.

TO STEKI TON NAUTIKON, KALYMNOS

Our tour began with a very touristy tram ride through the town with the guide pointing out different statues of a naked freediver and of Antonis Kampourakis wearing a dive suit. Still alive, Antonis dove until he turned 72. 

Freediver statue
Kalymnos

The tram tootled through town with the guide pointing out that streets here were not named, but are known by the church that is in that neighborhood. We then went to one of several little museums along the port for a demonstration about the steps to glean and shape natural sponges for market, shown artifacts like the diving helmets and skandalopetra and an array of sponges from luffa rough to silky smooth. All were for sale. They also had displayed a picture of a diver smoking a cigarette, obviously free of decompression sickness.

Variety Cruises made our stay on Kalymnos “Greek Night” and ouzo flowed freely and Greek food was served for dinner. On the sun deck afterwards we were entertained with traditional Greek dances including the Kalymnos Sponge Diver dance, which has a man crippled by the bends, at first unable to dance, but “cured” by the music.  

Antonis Kampourakis

Janet retired, but I wanted another walk around town and settled on one of countless tavernas in Pothias all blaring the Stoiximan Greek Basket League Finals for one more ouzo and meze.

BTW the Olympiacos Heroes defeated the Panathinaikos Fighters to take the Stoiximan GBL 2026 championship.

 Thanks for reading!

Love Janet and greg

© 2026 by Gregory Dunaj

Here is a Youtube video of a Kalymnos Sponge Diver Dance:

 

PATMOS / LIPSI

FROM THE END OF DAYS TO THE END OF A WONDERFUL DAY

Lipsi

 Two islands in one day.

The first one you might have heard of, but probably not the other. 

On our second day of sailing with Variety Cruises for their “Unexplored Greece” excursion aboard the beautiful three masted Panorama we got to visit Patmos and then sailed on to Lipsi.

PATMOS

The Book of Revelations was written on Patmos by St John the Divine, aka St John the Theologian, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ. He was banished to Patmos by the Romans, but only after they dunked him in boiling oil, but he emerged unscathed.   

Revelations is the final book in the New Testament and foretells the second coming of Christ and the end of days.

Monastery of
St John the Theologian
Patmos

Appropriately it was on a Sunday morning we visited this revered Orthodox Christian destination. We went on a guided tour of the Cave of the Apocalypse, where St John wrote Revelations, and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, of which the earliest parts date from the 11^th Century. Both are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The monastery also has a museum with several manuscripts and relics including, believe it or not, the skull of St. Thomas. (Pun intended.)

There was an admission cost to both, but that was covered by Variety Cruises.

After our tour we had an hour or two to idle away on this tranquil island. We found a shady table of an outdoor café in the quiet port town of Skala and relaxed over freddo espresso, (Greek iced coffee), with metrio (a little bit of sugar) before heading back to the Panorama. 

Monastery of
St John the Theologian
Patmos

Patmos

LIPSI

There is absolutely nothing to do on Lipsi except walk the 8-kilometer island, swim on any of the quiet beaches, go diving or sit at an Ouzeri along the lengthy quay to take in a brilliant sunset. There are no cultural attractions on Lipsi as there was on Patmos. The island of just 800 residents has no large hotels or resorts, and there is an ordinance limiting buildings to just two-stories. Janet and I thought the island was perfect, very peaceful and tranquil. It does get busier during the months of July and August, but it felt like we had the island to ourselves as we explored it on an early Sunday evening this past June.

Brilliantly white-washed buildings with daubs of color, usually blue (as this is the cheapest pigment) for accents lined the meandering pathways that served as streets away from the port.  Lipsi is an actively working marina, with lots of colorful fishing boats moored, the ship’s nets spread out drying in the sun. 

The island is a popular stop for yachts as well and this easternmost Dodecanese archipelago is closer to Turkey than mainland Greece.

Lipsi

WINE NOT

Our island excursion was a visit to the Nico Grylli Winery where our group was seated at a long table overlooking the marina and the vineyards to sample their five wines paired with different foods. The last was the Aposperitis from the unique and rare Fokiano grape variety which was served with perfectly spicy nibbles.

Seating at Nico Grylli Winery

We purchased a bottle of their Rose Water to take home.

NICE GRYLLI WINERY LIPSI

OUZERI

LIPSI

We opted to not take the van all the way back to the Panorama and decided to walk the quiet streets before finally settling in on the colorful chairs of the Asprakis Taverna (or Ouzeri) for Ouzo and a Mythos beer and meze to watch the sunset. Yacht kids tootled past on their scooters, people walked their dogs and it was just the perfect place.

We weren’t done for the night though. We ambled over to Nick and Louli’s Ouzeri for more ouzo and yet another meze. This place was even quieter and locals seated near a rack of drying Octopus tentacles happily waved at us when we approached to enjoy one final stop on this tranquil island where there’s nothing to do.

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

LIPSI

LIPSI

LIPSI

LIPSI WITH DRYING OCTOPUS

© 2026 by Gregory Dunaj

IKARIA, GREECE

 SO, YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER?

ICARUS

There are places in this world that just seem right. On Ikaria, the first island we visited on our Variety Cruises’ “Unexplored Greece” island-hopping adventure, we slipped easily into an easy way of approaching the day.

Perhaps it was because the island was our first stop of our 8-day cruise aboard the Panorama and everything seemed fresh and new? Perhaps it was because we alighted on Ikaria in the “shoulder season” and not at the height of tourist revelry in the months of July and August and the plateia tables of the port town of Agios Kirykos although filled that first night held a certain calmness to them? One would imagine a Saturday night would be livelier, but on Ikaria an easier unrushed approach to life is the norm. Afterall, Ikaria is an island where people forget to die.

AGIOS KIRYKOS

BLUE ZONE

Ikaria is a “Blue Zone”, one of just 6 in the world. This moniker is given to places where people live exceptionally long lives, often exceeding the centenarian mark. The longevity evidently stems from a combination of physical activity, strong social interactions within the community with low stress levels and maintaining a primarily plant-based diet. Whatever the reason the pace of Ikaria is slow, meals take a long time, people linger over conversations and drinks deep into the night. Sunsets are appreciated. 

Why hurry? The island ranks up there as the Bluest of Blue Zones.

To read more about this phenomena: IKARIA AND BLUE ZONES

RADON LOVE

Another reason …maybe… for increased longevity are the number of spas on the island that people soak in for the therapeutic effects of the radioactive waters.

COMMUNAL SPA IKARIA

 

Don't be too alarmed, but Ikaria has the highest concentrations of radon found in Greece and all of Europe and studies have shown that long-time beneficial rehabilitative effects can be achieved from the “therapeutic waters”.

You don’t believe me:

GOOD FOR WHAT AILS YOU

Our excursion on the island was to visit the spa town of Therma where we swam in the communal hot springs, although we were told to limit our time to just 20 minutes. Because there is a gentle ocean flow here the concentration of radon is less than other spas and there will be warm and cold spots.

When our noisy group arrived, there were several locals also enjoying the waters.

It’s rocky and the steps into the pool are steep. Make sure you wear water shoes.  

ICARUS 

MEZZE 

After our dip and with no one claiming hair loss our cruise director from Variety Cruises walked us over to the Icarus café, one of several hedging the beach for drinks and meze. Meze is the snack one often gets served when ordering drinks, like a Greek tapas.

Janet and I had ouzo, having grown fond of this aperitif while in Athens and we shared a craft beer brewed on Ikaria!

Ikariotissa Beer offers a porter, ale, unfiltered ale and a lager. We used the ale to help wash down the last of our meze.

Above the café’s doorway hung a painting of the establishment and the island’s namesake, Icarus.

In Greek mythology Dedalus and his son escaped King Minos and his labyrinth on Crete by fashioning wings of feathers and wax and flying away. Sadly, Icarus in his youthful exuberance few too close to the sun and the wax melted and he plummeted to this island. 

Great story, great beer, great island.

IKARIOTISSA BEER

The sad part of a sailing adventure is there never is enough time to fully explore a place. Our visit could have lasted days. You get a taste or an image before having to move on, never fully understanding where you just left, but it anything is to be taken from Ikaria it is to enjoy yourself, and forget to die.

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2026 by Gregory Dunaj