The next day, I left Chora for Vroutsi. There, I visited the ancient city of Arkesine, an old settlement founded in the ninth century BCE. After exploring the ruins, I took a swim in the tiny bay below. Then, I continued on to the modern village of Arkesini. At a local tavern, I met Isidoros, and we decided to hike together to Korakas summit — the second-highest peak on the island.

I cycled back to Katapola, met up with my friend again, and we hitchhiked to Kalofana village for a panigiri at Agia Paraskevi church. We feasted on patatato (goat with potatoes) and groats offered at the event while drinking psimeni raki and dancing until late at night. When the panigiri ended, we helped clean up; local volunteers were thrilled that two "foreigners" wanted to pitch in and welcomed us into their company with more food! After dawn, we started looking for a place to sleep until we were offered a small room meant for volunteers but was empty!

Leaving Amorgos, I noticed my backpack had a big tear along the top handle down the length of the back. Luckily, upon reaching Patmos, I found someone who could fix it — good as new! Patmos had a much different vibe than Amorgos. In Scala — the biggest town — I discovered a book kiosk where anyone can borrow or take books off its shelves. After browsing for a while, I picked one at random that turned out to be an excellent read! I reached my camping spot at an awesome small cove with a tavern and some massive salt cedar trees. Later that afternoon, I visited Chora with its unique architecture, tiny alleys, and castle-like monasteries.

I arrived in Leipsoi late at night and took a stroll around its quiet main town. The next day, I made my way to where I'd camp at the beach while passing various small family farms along the way. At one farm, I bought some cheese, and the old lady running it insisted on treating me to a bottle of olive oil from their trees! Despite trying to explain that carrying extra weight wasn't ideal since I couldn't cook on the road, it was futile; so I had an extra 0.5 L of olive oil from that point on. I spent the next few days meeting new people and exploring mainly the eastern part of Leipsoi.

Next up was Arkioi — a tiny island right next door to Leipsoi — so small it doesn't even have paved roads; most paths are concrete or dirt tracks! Spent one lovely day visiting one of its few accessible beaches by road — such a charm packed into so little space! Little else can be said about Arkioi other than it's just this peaceful little gem!

While resting, I also helped organize a fun treasure hunt activity! It was the perfect chance for me to give away the bottle of olive oil I'd been carrying since Leipsoi as a prize for the winners, along with a jar of honey that someone else provided. We came up with clues that led people to various spots around the camp. Each of us had a role that involved giving out helpful information in exchange for solving a riddle. My role was musical; I would play a song, and players had to guess its name before I answered their question. So, I spent the afternoon sitting next to the canteen playing bouzouki. When the hunt ended, we all gathered in the canteen for a massive glenti, playing music for hours with over 50 people singing together.

Sadly, during my first few days, I got sick — probably due to the constant strong winds we faced at night and my all-nighters in Tilos. I took a COVID test and even visited the local rural doctor. With a fever and runny nose, I felt exhausted and couldn't cycle long distances; staying alert was a struggle. I took a sick day from work to chill out and hoped I would get better. Another frustrating incident occurred when I returned to my beach spot one night only to find someone had moved my stuff elsewhere. Since my tent was already damaged and too risky to set up again, I'd left my mat, sleeping bag, and some other gear neatly packed at my spot. After searching around in the dark, I found them on top of some rocks — so I had to find another place to sleep among all the tents crowded on the beach.

On August 15th (a big-deal Christian holiday in Greece), I felt somewhat better and decided to check out one of the local panigiria. There was music, dancing, eating, and drinking as always! I danced as much as possible but left early to catch some sleep afterward. The next day, I needed to find a way to reach the northern port of Ikaria and take the ferry back to Piraeus. There was a bus heading there; however, initially, the driver wouldn't let me put my bike in the baggage compartment! Stressing over how I'd get off the island crossed my mind — maybe hitchhiking or paying someone for a ride? Thankfully, the driver took pity on me, and after some rearranging of the luggage we made room for my bike!