Leros, Day 6 – A Picture Emerges

After another very lovely breakfast on my balcony in the warm, early morning sunshine, I set off to meet Nikos in Lakki. I am feeling very pleased that I had got in breakfast supplies for the week, as most mornings so far I have been waking feeling tired and a little stretched. This trip was proving to be remarkable, and I was discovering, quite emotionally taxing, so it was good to have this quiet time to myself first thing in the morning.

After the short drive, I pulled up at our now regular meeting spot outside the cinema that was built by the Italians during the Mussolini era. Nikos was there ready and waiting. I parked and we had a chat. I wanted to explain that my energy levels were prone to drop rapidly after a few hours of activity, thus my needing to call it a day after our exploration of Meraviglia the evening before. He totally understood and was grateful for the heads up, asking that I let him know when I had reached my limit on any given day. We were rapidly developing a good understanding.

I decided the first place I wanted to go was Partheni. This is where my father would have led a group of SBS comrades to, through the rugged hills from Meraviglia shortly before the surrender on November 16^th 1943, to make good their escape, so as to be able to return to fight another day.

It was a pleasant, easy drive to Partheni in the north west of the island, 10 to 15 minutes at the most. Nothing is much further away than 10 minutes on Leros.

We parked up in a small, paved parking area where there was a small church and a small building where exiles were held during the junta of 1967 to 1974, the coup bringing them to power being a hangover of the divisions formed during the struggle against the Germans in WW2.

It is a beautiful spot, and the church is full of fascinating religious images painted by the prisoners. Very unique and different from the traditional style of the Greek Orthodox Church, they tell their own story and that of those incarcerated there. Sadly the church and the paintings were now falling into disrepair due to neglect by the municipality, something which deeply saddened Nikos. He is very much a man who believes in the preservation of the stories and places that tell of what has gone before, and he is very much a man that devotes his time to that work himself.

After checking out the church, we walked down the path to the bay, it was such a beautiful spot. A small cove, perfectly secluded, thus allowing boats to come in and leave with a good chance of not being spotted. Strategy, making plans for high risk operations, and carrying them out was my dad’s speciality, and he would have chosen this spot as it was an area where there was no German activity during the invasion. He would then have secreted away the boats and supplies that would be needed if defeat was imminent and evacuation necessary. It was a good job he did.

I could feel my dad in this place, and as I write this, I feel a certain pride and awe for the man he was, and what he did during that time. It is not the whole man, but it is a very important aspect of him, and one not to be ignored or forgotten. Fair play to you dad, you were quite a man.

Whilst walking down the track that led to the beach, a young couple drove carefully past and parked on the beach looking out to sea. Two young lovers taking some time to be alone together in this quiet, secluded spot. Did they know what had happened here 83 years ago? Probably not. In how many places have any of us unknowingly stood where dramatic events have unfolded in the past?

As we stood on the sands of this peaceful cove, Nikos spoke to me of this evacuation, and pointing back towards Meraviglia vividly described the treacherous journey it would have been during those last hours of The Battle of Leros raging on this small island.

He also spoke of another place, east of here and far more inaccessible, where dad would have returned time and time again during the German occupation, Agios Nikolaos. Nikos was hoping that his friend might be available with his 4WD to take us there before I leave the island.

It left me feeling quiet and sombre, and, leaving the young lovers in peace, we headed back to the car in silent companionship.

We then drove to Alinda Bay, which is now the main tourist spot on the island, and where my father would have first cruised into back in 1943. There is a documented story of a minesweeper that had been struck and damaged during The Battle of Leros and was stranded out at sea, leaving it and its crew highly vulnerable to enemy attack. My father had boarded it and oversaw makeshift repairs to its steering gear and successfully brought it back into the relative safety of Alinda Bay, thus saving the lives of those on board at the risk of his own.

Nikos had with him a book full of photos mainly from the German occupation. It was fascinating to see exactly where they were taken, the area not having changed massively since 1943. One of the photos was taken in the exact spot we were standing, in the background being the exact same wall, unchanged, with the now larger three trees still standing there.

We went for a coffee and a bite to eat. It was nice to talk and get to know each other a little better, and the lives we have lived. Life is all about connection.

After our break, I dropped Nikos back to Lakki. I was very aware that I only had two full days left before leaving on Sunday, and I wanted to make sure things didn’t just come to an end all of a sudden, so I suggested that on Saturday evening I would take him and Thanasis to dinner at the Paradisos, where I had had dinner the previous Saturday.

Nikos was delighted with the idea, especially as Manus who runs the place was a very good friend of his. He happily accepted the invitation, and said he would contact Thanasis to see if he was free.

We said our goodbyes, saying we would be in touch later about meeting the next day, hopefully to visit Agios Nikolaos if his friend was available.

I arrived back at my hotel happy and contented, and then walked up to the Paradisos to book a table for the Saturday night. It is a very popular place, and even at that time of year it can be busy on a Saturday when they have live music in the evening. Manus is very enthusiastic saying Nikos is his best friend, and that he knows Thanasis too; how did I meet them? I told him why I had come to Leros, and he was even more enthused, assuring me that we would be well taken care of and have a fabulous night.

When I get back to the hotel I get a message from Nikos to say that Markos can take us too Agios Nikolaos that evening at 7.00 pm or possibly the next evening. I feel into it for a while. These few days had already been quite remarkable for me and when thinking about heading out into the hills that evening I begin to get a sense of mild overwhelm, and decide that it would be a bridge too far for me that day.

I message Nikos back to suggest tomorrow evening would be better for me, and perhaps we could meet for a relaxed afternoon visit to the Castle of Leros, which, perched 600 metres above Leros town had great panoramic views, especially of Alinda Bay. He replies straightaway to say he totally understood and would let Markos know that tomorrow would be better, and yes, let’s visit the castle.

I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, processing all that I had taken in since setting out for Leros, and in particular the last 48 hours. It was all wonderful and amazing, and also quite emotionally exhausting, and I definitely needed this downtime.

That evening I enjoyed the rest of the spaghetti with the sauce I had made, with a couple of beers and then headed for an early night and a satisfied sleep.

What would the next day bring?