Kos

I weight different options for spending the day, including and excluding Zia and climbing the mountain, trying to figure out if it's going to rain or not. Sonia promises that the weather will be nice with no rain. Doubtful, Norwegians predicted light and heavy rain and the cloud is already waiting.
Finally I drop Zia. There will be plenty of mountains on the other islands. Instead I go and buy the ferry ticket and check out where the ferry leaves in the night. It comes from Piraeus and that's why it arrives in the night.
Tourists are unevenly dressed. Some according to the weather and some according to the understanding that they are in the South. The mountain in the distance is wrapped in dark blue cloud. Good, that means it's cold and wet there and no view.
After initial sunshine it starts to rain. I take cover in a café where it is possible to get a decent non-instant coffee after some negotiations. Rain stops. I hire a bicycle and cruise off along the beach. It's fun at first but then the road starts to go steadily upphill and it looks more like sports not like chilling by the seaside. Strong headwind. At a viewpoint it appears that the front tyre is kind of flat and break and gear shift don't work. Seems to be wise not to go much further from the cycle hire booth. I park on the beach and spend some time with a book. Sun comes and goes.
On my way back a grape seller stops me. I'm already about to buy when he starts to ask too many personal questions. The connection with the desired information and grapes remains unclear so I pedal on without the grapes. I got one useful piece of information though. The big island across the water is Turkey. Good that I didn't ask.
A lunch break in a taverna. French fries and no taste. It's not only because of peace and quiet why it is better to go to non-tourist places.
I return the bike and walk around the city. Some ruins, an amphitheatre. No bookshops which would sell maps of the other islands. Only about Kos.
It gets colder and I go and put on more clothes. Get totally wet looking for a place to have dinner. Manage to find a place that serves tasty fish. In the neighboring table someone from the stuff is trying his pick-up lines on a girl who has a Turkish boyfriend. When the girl leaves then the guy moves over to my table buying me a beer in the process. I direct the talk fast to Greek economy and Vassilis holds a speech starting with Papandreou's populism and ending basically with Krugman. Then he's commanded into kitchen. Rain is over and wind has died down.
In the hotel we have different opinions with Sonia about the question if the price has already been taken from my credit card or not. Seems that we both keep our original views.