Continuing one of the Patmos tours...more walking through this hilltop village, past this tiny chapel,

appealing stairs,

and a tiny window.

And here, a random "weed"--a volunteer fig tree which no one has yet pulled up.

Soon, however, we were on our way to the highlight of our tour, a visit to the Cave of the Apocalypse.  This is the place where John, the Apostle, exiled from Ephesus, had a divine vision, and where he wrote the Book of Revelations.

A nice decoration outside, but no photos allowed inside.  The Cave itself now has an active chapel in it, with the further reaches of the Cave screened off with a wall of icons.  From legend, they have decided that the right corner just outside the screen was where John had his bed, and another place, a shallow hole, is where John, up in his 90s by then, would put his hand to help himself stand up (and we all placed our hands in the now silver-lined hole, too).  The local guide also pointed to the spot from which she said the voice proclaimed, "I am the Alpha and the Omega." There would have been an amazing view from this cave, before everything was built around and on top of it.

Outside, those traces of visitors,

and some twisted trees, dropping perhaps sap, perhaps some white moss--??

And then the wind-up of our tour, a visit to a tavern at the port, where we got a complementary drink.  I tried a Greek beer,

then wandered around the port village a bit, looking for that elusive Byzantium t-shirt.

including the many piles of locally harvested sponges...

And soon, back to the boat.

later, bob