A magical walk at dawn through the narrow streets of  Pothia

Down towards the harbour, through the streets & alleyways, overlooked by  bowed iron clad balconies adorned with pots and flowers,  back 50 years in time to when those hand decorated pots, & beautifully-carved iron- clad marble balconies , were made by hand with hammer and fire.

Wooden window surrounds, look down, with shutters, two meters high, welcoming  the warm, dawn sunlight to gently dry the damp of the night, gradually bringing life to the streets, changing the dark, austerity of the night with the warm, gentle  glow of dawns light.

I look toward the sea & the harbour, just as the dawn breaks, watching the dawn light overtake, the dark night skies, bringing  fresh, new, colours: blue, purple, red orange & yellow; the sea reflecting the beauty of the sky,  dressing the moored boats with the warmth of dawn after the cold of night.

There, at first light, at the harbour wall, the first morning trawl is being unloaded: fish of every kind, in  wooden crates , swung upward on the fish ladder ready to go to the shops & restaurants, fresh fish ready for the grill: Mackerel,  Bream, Sword Fish, Lobster & shrimps. Early risers, lovers of fresh fish, are waiting with their bag in hand for fish for their  midday grill with ouzo.

A long-lineman is loading his baskets with baited hooks previously prepared, his hands& face  tanned by the sun and the sea, sorting them one by one into the baskets: he has the clear look of the sailor, wishing for the endless blue embrace of the sea, his tanned, wrinkled face reflecting so many fishing journeys: thousands of farewells, feasts, joys and sorrows; all written in his weather beaten face.

These are moments worth seeing, waking up to walk the quiet streets, alley-ways & the harbor; to see, the hidden  vision of Kalymnos, just before the Dawn.

Story: Stathis Klimis

Photographs: Stathis Klimis