Original subtitles

- My travels around Greece as part of this odyssey

have taken me from the heart of the nation, Athens,

and throughout several of the major island groups.

We've cruised around the coast of the Peloponnese,

and traveled amongst the Ionian islands.

Then we made our way across to the northern Aegean,

before spending time exploring the hidden gems

of the western side, Cyclades.

And man, was it beautiful.

This series sees us steering Mia Zoi further eastward,

and into the Dodecanese.

This episode sees me on the Island of Patmos,

one of the most important locations in the Christian world.

It's a place of pilgrimage for thousands of people

from across the planet.

Beyond the religious importance,

there's fantastic beaches, amazing food,

and an atmosphere that draws you in.

From there, I'm making a quick dash across

the three barely inhabited islands to the east.

Hidden gems not often explored by tourists.

No doubt, you'll be adding them to your wishlist.

Hear we stand on this rock of Kalikatsou.

This rock that has risen out of the sea,

much like all of Patmos.

Patmos is actually a caldera of a volcano

that was created 2 million years ago.

But we're not here for that.

We're here for what's up there.

This island is famous in the Greek Orthodox religion.

It's one of three.

There's Mt. Athos, Constantinople,

and the holy island of Patmos.

But in the Christian world,

Patmos ranks much, much higher,

because John the theologian, St. John,

was banished here by the Roman emperor

for his Christian belief in 96 AD.

It's here that he wrote the book of Revelations.

It's here that the last chapter of the Bible was written.

Pilgrims come from all over the world to come here.

And I'm here right now.

I'm so excited, I'm going up right now.

Patmos is a tiny island, only 34 square kilometers in size.

Sitting in the far north of the Dodecanese island group,

just below Fuorni, with Leipsoi to the East.

In summer, there's around 3000 people living here,

with tourists making the main port a busy hub.

However, the numbers drop quite a lot in the winter months,

as the holiday homes empty, and people head back

to the bigger cities for work.

It's this small footprint and tiny populace

that makes Patmos such a quaint place to visit.

The vast majority of tourists coming for just a few days

to see the famed monastery and cave of St. John.

But there's so much more to the island than that.

One of the positives for those who want

to dig a little deeper,

and get a more complete picture of Patmos,

is that the rest of the place is like

taking a step back in time,

relatively free of the traveling masses.

And there's only 3000 residents here in Patmos,

but like 10 or 20 times that in tourism.

Which is not really a lot for a Greek Island,

but you know where they come?

Up there, up to see the monastery, the cave.

But there's a whole lot of other things to see as well.

I'm looking forward to it.

I am the Alpha and the Omega.

The first and the last.

It's one of the most powerful and haunting quotes

from the book of Revelations.

It's hard to believe that St. John had his dark epiphanies

of mankind's demise while in such a beautiful part

of the world.

He was the youngest apostle, lived longest,

and passed away last at the ripe old age of 96.

To tell me more about Patmos, I met with Antonis,

a long time local who has written extensively

about the island.

Such is his passion for the place,

that despite having traveled the world,

he hasn't found a spot he'd rather spend his life in.

Antonis, I hear that the Patmian houses

are the best in the Aegean.

And looking at them, I can see that that is true.

But why is this?

Why are they so beautiful

over and above the rest of the islands?

- The story began in the year 1453,

just before the downfall of Constantinople,

the queen of the cities.

About 100 families, Byzantine families,

with very high standards of culture and education

fled the city and came here,

forming their neighborhood around this square.

Now we are at the core of this settlement.

Why they did so, because they knew

that they are going to be protected

living next to the walls of a protected monastery.

- Can we go and have a look at some of these houses?

- Yes, of course. - Let's go.

Typically Greek monasteries are built far from towns,

perched on mountaintops.

After all, monks want sanctuaries,

so they can dedicate their time to studying the Lord's word.

In the case of the monastery of St. John,

two towns were built up around its walls.

This is thanks to it holding such a high place

in the Christian world.

And as a consequence, being protected by the power of Rome.

Pilgrims that were under the tyranny of the Ottoman empire

could find refuge around the monastery,

as long as they supported the monks.

Had this not been such a holy place,

chances are there never would have been

such a big settlement here.

So, Alloteina was basically Byzantine families from

Constantinople.

- Exactly.

But also, in 1669, we have another settlement.

Some Cretan families, as a result of the war

between the Ottomans and the Venetians,

Cretan families with also high standards

of culture and education,

fled the Island of Crete, and came here

forming their neighborhood east of the walls.

- Right.

- The so-called area, Kritika,

around the square that now we are heading on.

- Let's go.

Having been settled by families that were fleeing war,

and starting new lives,

it created a certain energy and passion

within the townspeople.

They'd come with little, seeking safety,

and surrounded by others in a similar predicament.

It bonded the community together,

which in turn helped the island to eventually prosper.

So, it's about 1700.

There's a hundred families from Constantinople.

There's 50 families from Crete.

And they created the Patmian school,

which I understand is an awesome school.

- The Patmian school,

the so-called university for archipelago,

was founded in 1713, close to the cave of the apocalypse.

And played a very significant role

preparing a new generation, educated one generation

which plays very significant role in the Greek uprising.

Think about that.

The founder of the revolutionary society of friends,

Filiki Eteria, was scholar of this school.

And also, 33 Patmian, 33 locals,

became member of this secret society,

which prepared the Greek uprising against the Ottomans.

- Wow, wow.

These 150 wealthy and educated families that settled here

started an intellectual revolution on the island,

which still exists today.

Some of Greece's greatest writers and politicians

originate from here.

And the Patmian school's considered

one of the best in the country.

This prosperity and knowledge is reflected

in the beautiful architecture throughout the two towns.

You don't have to be a builder like me

to appreciate what they've created.

Every morning, captain

enjoy their peaceful cup of coffee before everybody gets up.

They know the best places on every island.

Where are we going today?

- Today, we're going to drink coffee

in one very famous place that they make Greek coffee

with the proper and traditional way.

- Awesome.

- So here we are.

Houston Cafe.

- Fantastic.

Houston?

Houston Cafe.

Wow.

Good to meet you.

Alex, is it?

- Alex, Alex, nice to meet you.

So, we're gonna have some great coffee in here.

Captain's just ordered a double

with a little bit of sugar in for me,

and a single for him without any sugar in it.

Now, this is the traditional Greek coffee.

It's actually originated in Turkey, but I think it's...

Alex, what sort of, it's Arabica coffee?

- Yes, it's Arabic coffee.

And....

It started from Arabic, now we call this Ellinikos.

- Ellinikos, great coffee, it's great coffee.

Now it's great coffee.

But, traditionally, that's where it comes from.

And what sort of mix are you using there of coffee?

- Here, we...

It's from Brazil.

The coffee we use here to this town,

it's from Brazil and Guatemala.

It's a blended coffee.

- Okay.

And I see the sand here, and my understanding...

- So, what he does, you're gonna put in the sand now.

- Yes.

This is a traditional machine of Greek coffee.

And I'm going now to put the coffee to the hot sand.

- Okay.

- Which is in 300 degrees of Celsius.

- 300 degrees!

- Yes.

- And so it gets around the--

- Yes.

- The briki, as we say.

- This is a briki.

- Yeah, that little pot.

And it's consistent heat all the way around.

Awesome.

- The point of this is that they're scooped

very, very slowly.

- Right, okay.

- So, this is the reason of a better taste

of the Greek coffee.

So, tell me Houston, Houston cafe,

what's the story there, man?

- Yes, it's a strange story.

It's a family story.

Here is the first owner of the Houston cafe.

- Right.

- Who was in Houston later in 1930.

- Right.

- Due to earn some money, he returned to Patmos,

to his island.

He bought this place, and he opened it.

This is the first coffee place in Patmos island.

- And he named it after the place he made some money.

- Yeah.

- So he must have loved Houston in America.

- Yes, yes, that's the reason,

because there he made the money

in order to do this business.

- Fantastic.

- So he came, and with his four children, around this place

since 2011.

- Now, I've heard that your coffee here is very, very good.

Now, captain wouldn't tell me if it wasn't, right?

- Yeah, you will take it by your own.

- You've got a lot of expectations to live up to.

So, I'm looking forward to it.

I'm gonna go and sit down there.

- Okay.

- And wait for this awesome coffee, okay?

- Okay.

- It's awesome.

- Thank you, where's the paximadi?

There's no paximadi.

- I bought you some paximadi.

- I need a paximadi with my coffee.

A biscuit or a koulouri with my coffee.

Thank you, thank you, Ioannis.

'Cause sometimes they don't serve the biscuit.

And my view, you need the biscuit to dunk.

The Greek oven, look at that.

See that stuff on top?

That's kaimaki.

And it's very, very important if you've got kaimaki,

that surplus, light brown layer.

It looks like a chocolatey layer.

It's very, very important.

You know if there's kaimaki, it's an awesome coffee.

Good coffee, Alex.

Excellent work.

Anyway, can I have one?

- Yep.

- Let's see, let's see, let's taste it.

Awesome, awesome.

Oh, wonderful.

Now, great coffee is not as popular as it used to be

in Greece,

but it's still drank a fair bit.

In a diplo, in a double grade coffee,

there's about 180 milligrams of caffeine.

In a single that captain's having,

there's 90 milligrams of caffeine.

But let me tell you, if you want to jumpstart,

this is the best stuff.

And it's actually better for you than normal coffee,

because they say, there's been recent studies,

that it's good for your cardiovascular system.

The people from Ikaria,

who are part of the blue zone that live to a hundred,

they have one of these every day, every morning,

they wake up with one of these.

So, I'm following suit and seeing if I can also

increase my age by drinking Greek coffee.

The coffee may not increase my lifespan,

but it certainly got the heart rate up.

I'm full of energy at the best of times,

let alone after one of those hot starters.

The camera crew had a hard time

keeping up with me for the rest of the day.

It's a long walk up to the monastery from the port,

and I suggest you drive.

But if you can,

I think the walk is the better.

Now, I'm blessed to be meeting Nickolaos,

who's got more degrees than you can poke a stick at.

But the important one being his theological academics.

Now you'd be,

you could be mistaken thinking that this is a castle.

Well, it's built like one 'cause they had to

protect themselves from the pirates.

But it's a monastery.

Pirates had little regard

for the protection afforded by realm.

They're opportunists.

So, like other island monasteries,

this place needed to fend for itself.

It has stood the test of time.

A result of having been built so well,

with thick stone walls.

Millions of people would have walked the same path,

yet the condition of the centuries-old structure

has weathered little.

The tearing walls, intricate columns, and pebbled walkway

are awe-inspiring, fitting for a place that's so spiritual,

and of such religious importance.

Yet, despite its grandeur, there's an inviting feel to it.

You're drawn to the top to explore what lies ahead.

And when you eventually get to the end of the path,

you're well and truly rewarded for your efforts.

Nicko, look at where we are.

We can see all of the northern Dodecanese islands.

We're up high.

It's just a magnificent spot.

I feel that spiritualness.

I mean, this is one of the most important spots

for Christianity.

- It is indeed.

The island of Patmos is characterized as the Jerusalem

of the Aegean Sea.

Visiting Patmos means you visit the cave

where John received the revelation.

He saw Jesus Christ inside.

That's why the cave is characterized as

the Mt. Sinai of Europe.

- Wow.

- You see also monastery on top,

a monastery of continued spiritual life of 931 years.

It's an amazing place.

- It is an amazing place.

Where would it rank in the world of Christianity?

- Let's say, Jerusalem.

The second Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem of the Aegean--

- So, it's top two or three.

- Of course, of course.

- And we're right at the top of it.

And it's beautiful.

I mean, you don't have to be Christian

to come up here and feel the spiritualness.

See this beautiful view, this fortress that's a monastery.

There's a bit of irony in it, but it's fantastic.

I love this place.

I reckon it's awesome.

- It's a divinely touched island, generally.

- Yes, yes, it's awesome.

Look at that view.

A divinely touched island.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

From here, I could see all the surrounding land masses.

Leipsoi, Leros, Kalymnos, Samos, Fuorni,

Ikaria, and even Turkey.

This 360 degree view meant the monks could see

any approaching vessels.

And with heavy fortifications,

and embrasures atop every wall,

the monastery was well protected against potential invaders.

One person that has called the monastery home

longer than any other, is Father Efimios.

He's been living here for 70 years,

and one of the oldest monks in residence.

For someone that's 95 years old, man, he looks good.

I was hoping he might let me in on the secret of longevity.

He looks so good.

Not a lot to eat.

After 900 years, you'd expect the monastery to have aged.

But outside of prayer and study times,

the monks were continuously on the upkeep of the place.

It's simply stunning.

But perhaps the most impressive thing I saw while here

was the museum.

It's full of important artifacts.

Some of which must be priceless.

Nickolaos, you have some wonderful pieces

in this magnificent museum.

- Yes, of course.

There is one El Greco, over there.

There is also the purple codex

of the sixth century Anno Domini.

And there is also the deed of the monastery

of the 11th century.

- Wow.

So this is the deed.

- Yes, this is the deed.

This is the official contract

between the founder of the monastery, Christodulos,

and the emperor of Constantinople,

Alexios Komnenos, the first.

This document says, more or less,

that the whole island of Patmos,

plus some lovely islands around Patmos

belong to the monastery of John.

Material is parchment.

Language is Greek.

It's the lower case.

And it is dating back from the 11th century Anno Domini.

- Wow.

Nickolaos, tell us about this piece.

It's sixth century AD.

- Sixth century AD.

This is my favorite.

One of the oldest copies of the gospel of Mark.

Mark the Evangelist, the apostle.

The disciple of Peter, the apostle.

Which is dating back from the sixth century Anno Domini.

Material, parchment.

Language, Greek.

And it is called the purple codex.

Specialists say that these two pages here

referred to one miracle of Jesus Christ.

The one with the possessed man,

you know, the man with a bad spirit inside him.

- Awesome, awesome stuff.

I can't believe it's right in front of us.

- Yes.

- The collection inside the vestry museum

is of global significance.

Within the walls are manuscripts, silverware,

mosaics, icons, and more.

It's like taking a walk through a timeline

of Christian history.

One of the many highlights on display

is an icon of Jesus in chains,

believed to have been painted by El Greco.

It's a powerful work that stirs the emotions.

While the museum is open to the public,

two floors below in the bowels of the monastery

is the library.

It's only accessible to scholars and theological academics.

I was blessed to be invited into the space,

an experience I'll never forget.

Ioannis, how many books in the library right now?

- We have over a thousand manuscripts, hand-written books.

And over 5,000 printed books.

- Wow.

So when you say manuscripts, we're talking

really old books, basically, aren't we?

- Exactly.

For example, we have a gospel book.

It's the oldest hand-written book of the monastery.

- Yeah.

- From sixth century.

- Can we have a look?

Such a beautiful piece.

This is it here.

Now, what is that made of?

- From vellum.

- Vellum, this is like a skin of an animal, is it?

- Very, very thin.

- So, for a book like this,

how many animals are in this book?

- You can imagine how many goats or sheeps.

- 10, 20?

- Many, no, no, no.

- A hundred?

- A hundred.

- Wow, just for a book.

Amazing.

It's hard to imagine that something so delicate

has managed to survive 1500 years,

and be in such good condition.

Today it's housed in a climate controlled room,

away from harmful UV rays, and prying hands.

But through the centuries,

it would have been exposed to all sorts of threats,

including invaders that did their best to destroy

the Christian faith in Greece.

The monks have always been devoted to the protection

and restoration of religious works.

In the present day, Ioannis and his dedicated team

spend their lives painstakingly toiling away

at preserving the texts in the library.

This particular work

is an early 16th century Venetian print.

And while it looks to be in disrepair,

Ioannis assures me they're able to bring it back to life.

He went on the show me examples

of how good their restoration efforts are

at cleaning away mold and wormholes,

and rebinding the books.

So they look similar to their original state,

and a protected for centuries to come.

- This first

- The new part of--

- This is all restoration.

- It needs time to--

- Of course. - To do some--

- How long would it take to do one book?

- Ah, maybe months.

- There are numerous books within the library archives

that are hidden away,

awaiting Ioannis and his team's expertise.

This type of work is the job of skilled artisans.

And with so many in the collection,

it's likely to be a multi-generational effort.

- the exiled by the Romans,

son of Zebedee and Salome, John the apostle

received the book of Revelation in this particular spot.

And actually, on this flat inclination where this book is--

- Right here.

- Yes.

John dictated the book to his disciple, Prochorus.

John dictated the seven seals, the seven trumpets,

the seven vials, to this disciple whose name was Prochorus.

Because his visions actually are the book of Revelation.

- This is the last chapter of the Bible.

- Correct, the 27th book of the Corpus of the new Testament,

and last book of the Bible.

- In this cave.

- In this particular--

- And this is 2000 years ago.

- 95 AD, at the end of the first century.

- Wow.

- Early Christian times in historical terms.

- Watching as visitors came in and out of the cave,

it was clear the impact that standing

in such a place can have.

People from across the world would enter in wonder.

Greeks, Germans, Americans, Japanese,

pilgrims from every corner of the globe.

And while they may all have different cultures,

and live thousands of miles apart,

this important work connects them.

And upon leaving the cave,

they're all in a state of spiritual high.

Looking down from the monastery,

you can't help but see the group of windmills

perched on the hillside.

There are a common sight on many Greek islands.

But the difference here

is that these ones are in pristine condition,

looking like they were built yesterday.

So, Corrine, I don't think I've ever seen a windmill

in the condition this one's in.

It's fully working, isn't it?

- Yes.

- Fully working.

And when was it refurbished?

- It was done in 2010.

- 2010.

How many are these, four?

- We have three windmills.

- Three windmills.

- But the only this one has the whole mechanism to grind.

The other one we are just opening them

for aesthetic reasons, which is very nice--

- So we're gonna grind today, aren't we?

- Yes, we are.

Let's try. - I'm looking forward to it.

This windmill actually works.

I don't think there is a windmill

I've seen in Greece that is in condition this one is in.

- Yes, it's quite unique.

We have one in Karpathos, I think.

Very old one. - But not like this.

- No, not really, not like this, no, no, no.

- So who refurbished this?

- Mr. Pictet, Charles Pictet.

He's a Swiss resident.

Owner of a Swiss bank.

- Yeah.

- He's a sailor.

And he spent all his life with his kids and wife

sailing in the Aegean Sea.

And he wanted to say, "Thank you Greece

"for all the magnificent holidays I spent here."

And he thought how to, let's say, give something who has...

- Significance.

- Significance with wind, sails, beauty of Greece.

And he thought, "Hmm, these windmills up there.

"Maybe we could do something."

- What a smart man, wow.

- It was a great project.

- Fantastic, yeah.

- The wheat, this is wheat from Samos.

Totally biological.

- Organic.

- Organic, yeah.

- And this is the monastery's wheat.

- Yes.

All the three windmills here, they belong to the monastery.

And when they heard that we are grinding,

they said, "Oh, we have some properties in Samos.

"Let's see what we can do."

And they started to grow wheat.

This kind of very beautiful, you see, it's very nice color.

And now, we have people working in Samos.

And they have really beautiful properties now.

- And the wheat looks so good.

- Yes.

- Can I just have another look at it.

Look at that, that's--

- You smell, you smell it?

It's really nice.

- Oh, just look at that wheat.

That is absolutely magnificent.

- Yeah.

- Can I take some flour out with me?

- Yes.

- Okay, Kyriakos will cook something for us.

- So, I better take this up.

- I think it's quite heavy.

- I think it's a bit heavy, I'll take it up.

Oh, geez.

- Can you? - Yeah.

- You'll manage?

- I'll just mention Jesus' name--

- All right, let's go.

- But I shouldn't have done that, but it's okay.

Here we go.

- Take care, the steps are very high.

May I help you?

- No, it's okay, I got it, I got it.

- All right, perfect.

I'm even gonna take you as a miller.

- Okay.

- So what happens now? - Great.

So, basically it's quite easy.

You see, when we are going to open the sails,

you have this big shaft,

who will take all this huge wheel to turn.

And this wheel will make this to turn.

And that's the time we open here.

Look at it. - Oh, okay.

- And you see?

- I go, "No, no, no, no, let's leave him down.

Let's leave him down there."

- Very slowly the wheat--

- And there is a stone underneath here.

- There are two stones.

- Two stones. - Two stones.

The one on the top of the other.

The down stone is sleeping stone, so it doesn't work.

The other one is working.

So, when they turn, the one on top of the other,

the wheat that we've put in inside here,

will slowly goes to the extremity.

And when each grain arrived at the extremity, it's flour.

- Well, let's go and start the mill.

- Okay, let's go.

- Below this timber covet,

is the massive circular stone block,

that must be at least a ton or two.

The power required to make it spin is immense.

And in preparing the wind vanes,

you get a sense of the energy required

to turn that heavy stone.

It's not an easy job.

- I don't know if I want to hold this anymore.

I'm gonna walk away because this thing is gonna go off.

That's enough, isn't it?

- Let's see.

- Look at the power of the wind.

This is a heavy machine.

- Yeah.

- And we only have unfilled a little bit of the sail.

- Yes.

And all of this to grind a very small piece of wheat.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

So, now, you have the result.

You see?

- Okay.

- You see the flour?

- So, the wind stopped?

Oh, it's gonna start again.

- Yeah. - And this is the flour.

Can have a look?

- Yes, of course.

- Oh, look at that. - Smell it.

- Look at that, look at the flour.

- Strong flour.

- Hang on a second, look at this, look at this.

Yeah

Oh, I don't think I've smelled flour like that

since I was a little boy.

- Yes.

- And that was a long time ago.

Wow.

- So, this is what is going out from the stones.

- Right. - All together, okay?

- Oh, that's everything, right?

- Everything together, so I'll show you.

If we sieve by hand, you have the bran here.

- The bran, and you've got the flour.

- And this is the flour.

- So, this is the bran here.

What do you do with the bran?

- So, the bran is the envelopes of the grain.

And this is to feed the animals.

- Feed the chickens and--

- Chickens and--

- And this is to make my pie.

- To, yes, pie, bread, whatever.

- Well, you know what, Corrine?

I'm gonna go and make some pie now.

We're gonna get some of this flour out,

I'm gonna take it back to Kyriakos, okay?

- Okay.

- Thank you very much. - You're welcome.

- This has been fantastic.

I love it. - It was a pleasure.

- Having seen these windmills over the years,

it was awesome to step inside an operational one,

and see how it works.

But what impressed me most about the whole experience

was the story of the Swiss benefactor that restored it.

Having loved the Greek islands so much,

he felt that he had to give back.

What a great story.

As I mentioned earlier, your average tourist comes to Patmos

to see the religious sites.

Ferries come into the port,

and visitors head straight to the monastery.

This leaves the rest of the island relatively peaceful.

So you can explore the countless bays and beaches

free of any crowds.

Other than a few yachts and fishing boats,

there's usually little else.

This particular beach

is probably the busiest you'll come across.

This holy island of Patmos is not known for its beaches,

but let me let you in on a secret.

It's got plenty of them, and they're awesome.

This beach of Agriolivado,

Agriolivado meaning wild meadow,

named after the area behind us.

It's absolutely magnificent.

And the water, just a nice temperature

because it's shallow here.

As a result, it warms up better.

There's families, kids can't shut up behind me,

I'll tell ya.

They're having such a good time.

And we're headed to this really groovy beach now

called Kambos.

And there's some nice bars there.

We'll check it out.

See you soon.

The majority of beach dwellers here are Greeks.

The few foreigners you'll find

all share a common denominator,

in that they've typically been to Patmos numerous times.

You see, once you've been here,

and gone beyond the tourist hotspots,

you quickly fall in love with the place.

And like these families, you'll feel at home,

and start to treat the island like your own backyard.

On this trip, I met several people,

including three Norwegian women,

who've been traveling here with their friends and relatives

for many years.

It's a story you'll hear over and over

when chatting to tourists.

They rarely visit just once.

35 years.

When did you come here, you were five years old

when you first came?

- Oh yes, sure, yes.

- What keeps bringing you back?

- It's very quiet island.

- Right, quiet island.

- And you can see the local people.

- Yes.

- And live like local people.

- And you like the local people?

Good people.

- Yes, yes. - Yeah.

- What is it about the local people that you like?

- Friendly.

- And then...

- Make good food.

- Yeah.

- Smiling.

- Good food?

I know, good food.

- Honest.

If you forget something something someplace,

you'll always get it back.

- Wanting to live like a local is the ultimate compliment

a tourist can give a destination.

It proves how good the place is beyond the landmarks.

In the case of those lovely ladies,

it was the people that made Patmos so special.

For me, it's a little bit of everything.

I love the history and religious significance.

Then there's the fantastic food that all the small cafes

and taverns serve up.

Next, you've got the beaches.

The island has a rugged coastline

that's dotted with alcoves.

From remote pebbled shores, to long stretches of fine sand,

where you can hire a deck chair, and enjoy a cold drink.

There's a beach for every fancy.

But with the Norwegian women I spoke to earlier,

it's the locals that complete the picture.

They're a welcoming bunch, hospitable,

and always willing to give you some tips

on what to see and do.

So, if you're the type of traveler

that just wants to sit on the beach,

and watch the passing scenery,

you can happily do exactly that.

But to get the most out of what Patmos has to offer,

I encourage you to think a little wider,

and embrace the myriad of things

available to the inquisitive tourist.

Pop on the hiking shoes,

and walk to one of those mountaintops.

Jump on a scenic cruise,

and see some of the lesser known places.

Visit the museums, or try the local delicacies.

You'll be surprised at just how much there is

to this tiny island.

One of the discoveries I made while here

was a local boat building business

owned by two brothers with a passion for the sea,

and shaping timber.

Despite Greece's long history with shipbuilding,

it's a dying art in the islands of the Aegean,

where it once thrived.

As boats moved from being made of timber,

and grew in scale using steel instead of wood,

the small shipyards were unable to compete,

or even transition to the new requirements of buyers.

Bucking the trend of closures,

these two carpenters have established a thriving business

on an island that was never known for boat building.

And some of the vessels they make are beautiful.

Sozon, these are all handmade?

- Yes.

- Everything?

Even his kayak here's handmade?

- Yes.

- You make kayaks too?

Anything?

- We can do everything about the wooden sail.

- Ah, it's just so beautiful.

- This is for my nephew.

For your nephew?

- Yes.

He's a lucky boy. - Yeah.

- Let's keep going, he's a lucky boy.

Once you meet Sozon and his brother,

and take a look at their work,

it quickly becomes clear why their books are full.

I've met plenty of carpenters,

and been to many joinery factories.

The work these guys do is of a standard I rarely see.

Their eye for detail and pride in their workmanship

is impeccable.

This takes you a year to build, one year.

- Yes.

- Oh, look at the lines.

Fantastic.

- It's handmade boat, let's say.

- Handmade, it's handmade. - Yeah.

We build with meraki.

We love it, let's say. - Yeah, yeah.

This is the only way for you have--

- This is your family.

- Yes.

- This is your family. - Exactly.

To have a boat like this,

you need to be with emotion, let's say.

Actually, all what you see is by eyes.

- Wow.

- It's piece by piece, and sediment by sediment, let's say.

- Wow.

- To make the form, to make the curve, to make the...

We build it and we change, we build it and we change

to make it the best good-looking, let's say...

- We gotta go before I buy this boat,

and my wife kills me, you know.

I'm gonna have to sell a house.

You know.

From designing these bespoke luxury craft,

and selecting the right lengths of mahogany,

to truly know how, and piecing everything together.

It's a painstaking process.

Unfortunately, craftsmen like these are slowly being lost.

But thanks to Sozon and his brother,

a new generation of boat builders are being trained.

The hope is that they'll keep this industry alive,

passing their knowledge on to others in the future.

Leaving Patmos, we had a whirlwind tour of three islands

that don't often get mentioned.

As much as I would have loved

to have spent more time on each of them,

I had to make a few sacrifices,

so I could properly explore some other islands

later in the trip.

To the east of Patmos in only a stone's throw,

is this beautiful archipelago.

It's called Arkioi or Arki,

and this island of Marathi,

the smaller of the two inhabited islands.

Now, Marathi is only one square kilometer.

And there are only two families that live here.

Basically five people.

That taverna, and that taverna behind you.

Five people live on this island.

They collect rain water,

and they get power from Arkioi.

It's gotta be one of the smallest inhabited islands

that I've been to.

But here, all these private yachts come in

and enjoy this wonderful blue water.

I don't know what it is, but I feel at home here.

No hustle, no bustle.

Maybe it's too quiet for me.

I love my peaceful islands,

but when you've got a young son,

and a boat full of guests to entertain,

sometimes you need a little bit of action.

Mind you, a few days here would have been nice.

It's just too good to be walking and not swimming.

But so many people say to me,

"Stop taking your clothes off and getting in the water."

So, I'm not getting in the water

I'm gonna get in the water when the camera stops anyway.

The taverns are popular with yachties,

who use a small protected harbor for shelter,

or is a brief stopover.

But you don't need your own boat to visit.

There are water taxis that will transfer you across

from any of the larger surrounding islands,

including our next stop, Arki.

In the center of this majestic archipelago,

is the island of Arki.

Now, only 40 people live here.

There's two horses, a couple of pigs, and quite a few goats.

Three tavernas, a cafeteria.

There is no council.

There are no police.

There are no port police.

But what's wonderful is there's one teacher for one kid.

You can do whatever you want on this island, but they don't.

These are just good people.

And all you do here is just relax,

and enjoy the beautiful Aegean.

I'll tell you what.

I could stay here for a long time.

It's beautiful.

Oh, that's, the sun.

Fantastic.

In a place like Arki, it's easy to get to know the locals

like Manolis.

He owns one of the taverns and spent all his life here.

Incidentally, he's the brother of Ioannis,

the librarian I met a few days ago.

It's a small world, aye?

- My captain, he came here and he says,

"I really like this island."

He said, "I prefer it to Patmos."

- Yeah, for the first moment, everybody loves this place.

- Everybody loves this place.

There's only 40 people.

What's gonna happen in 20 years time?

Do you think it will grow?

- No.

- It won't, right?

It's hard to sustain it, isn't it?

- Yes, it's hard.

But slowly, year by year, we've been less and less.

- Less and less.

- Yes.

And then, there's no families to get married,

to make children,

to hope that in future is come again.

Now it's the island who, it's not for young people,

but middle and after the age, they come.

- They come, yeah.

- When they realize what is going on here--

- It's a beautiful island, it's relaxed.

- They come to peace for the rest of them life.

- Arki might be small, but there's a heck of a big ferry

that serves it.

It's one of the things that I like about Greece.

Knowing that these little islands

often can't afford such facilities,

the Greek government subsidizes ticket costs.

And there are other amenities they support,

like power generation, water production, schooling,

and the list goes on.

Without these subsidies, places like Arki wouldn't survive.

It would enter the long list of uninhabited land masses

across the Mediterranean

that people have been forced to abandon.

Another example where this government support is occurring

is further to the east on the island of Agathonissi.

Except here, thanks to it being much larger,

the cost per capita for infrastructure is far higher.

However, they're quite an independent bunch,

and have done a lot to be self-sustained.

For me, Agathonissi is one of the reasons why

Greece is the quiet achiever of the European Union.

This island of 14 square kilometers

has only 100 inhabitants.

And yet it's got a great road system.

They make their own power.

They make their own water.

The school has eight kids and seven teachers.

Now, this is supposed to be the poor country.

And yet, look at what they've done

for a small island like this.

Now on the other hand, I'm not a big fan of Agathonissi.

I only came here because the goats

outnumber the people 20 to one,

and the goats are absolutely awesome.

And Ioannis loves the goat here.

I still wave the flag for this country

because I have the DNA.

And yet the water here in Agathonissi

is comparable to the best beaches in Greece.

And finishing it off is always good with a swim.

See you soon.

We're probably gonna get a few complaints about my bathers.

But hey, I'll do whatever it takes

to draw some attention to Greece.

But back to that comment I made about

Agathonissi not being a place I like to visit.

Don't get me wrong.

I love the people, and do enjoy my time here.

But it's just so far out of the way.

And there are plenty of other places

I prefer to spend my holidays in.

This was actually my second visit.

The first time I came, was because I was told the goat here

is the tastiest in the Aegean.

When I arrived, a local farmer was waiting

at the port for me,

and invited my family for dinner.

He then lent me his motorbike,

so I could explore the island.

To top it all off, when we were leaving the next day,

he rushed to the boat to give Helen some fresh cheese.

I'll never forget that hospitality.

We've been filming 12 hour days for three weeks.

And today, it's our day off.

In this beautiful island of Arki, this is Tiganakia.

And we're gonna have some fun testing out our new toy.

Coming to this remote part of the country

was the breath of fresh air

the production team and I needed.

It had been a busy few weeks,

with long days in the summer heat.

It might sound like the dream job,

but they're lugging gear around

from the early hours to late in the evening.

And I'm always keeping them busy.

So, spending a day enjoying the beautiful scenery,

and a swim in paradise was the perfect reward.

Mind you, I opted for something

a little more exciting than a swim,

and the team ended up working anyway.

Such is their dedication.

They were happy to forego time in the water

to get some shots of me having a little fun.

I did eventually let them have a go too.

In the next episode, the good times continue,

as I head to the island of Fuorni.

It's another one of those less touristy destinations,

that few outsiders visit.

But it won't be like that for long,

because as I'll be showing you,

there's a whole lot of stuff

that makes it one of the best islands in the region

to spend some time on.

I'll then be heading to Ikaria, the land of the long lived.

It's a beautiful slice of the northern Aegean,

just 10 nautical miles

from the better known island of Samos.

But before making waves through our next stop,

there's still some fun to be had here.