Nisyros

Our sailing route was generally to make our way westward. So the next easy day-sail on that trajectory put us in the almost square Island of Nisyros Greece. So we pulled anchor from Pedi at 09:00 on May 18th and motored till we Med-moored at 16:00 (N36°37.181' E27°10.268').

On approach, we could see that Nisyros was more mountainous and slightly greener than previous islands we had visited and it had terraced slopes. Apparently the terraces were built over centuries to retain the meager rainfall so that olive and citrus trees could be sustained.

Terraces

Nisyros is known for its volcanic origins of 600 BC with a major active crater still hot and bubbling, even though it hasn't erupted since 1873.

The 4 of us (Aaron, Dee, Jordan, and I) rented a car and drove the 9 kms (5.5 mi) up the winding road then down towards the caldera. We then walked down to the bottom of the 4 km (2.5 mi) wide crater where we were met with the unavoidable smell of sulfur from the various vents.

Jordan, Aaron, and Dee at bottom

The slopes and ground were a bright sulfur yellow where hot steaming sections were roped off. What a strange feeling to be at the bottom of a hot, currently active but not erupting, volcano caldera!

Fresh sulfur crystals at bottom

We also drove around the rim...

View from above

...and visited 2 of the villages where we completed the day at a little ocean-side tavern feasting over grilled calamari and Greek salad.

Upper village restaurant for snack