by Cosmo Samuel Brockway
•
31 Oct, 2019
For information about Patmos 2020, click here. Continue reading to find out what happened on one of our previous trips to Patmos... As the last days of summer drew to a close we, along with fifty ‘pilgrims’ of all ages and backgrounds, flew off to the Greek islands for retreat holiday ‘A Touch of Heaven’. This unique escape is led by speaker and author David Payne of CaFe and is the perfect combination of faith and natural beauty. The setting for A Touch of Heaven was the idyllic isle of Patmos, a place renowned as the the setting for St John writing the book of Revelation. The legend says St John was praying in a cave overlooking the sea when Jesus appeared and taught him the mysteries of what was, what is and is to come. David has been visiting Patmos for many years and lectures on its history and spiritual heritage so we were in good hands! Our first day saw us exploring the island of Kos, the nearest airport to Patmos. After sampling local ice-cream on landing, we visited the fascinating Museum of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine and heard about the island’s rich history including moving tales from the time of German wartime occupation. Later in the evening we boarded the ferry to much excitement and settled down to a delicious Greek supper with the local white wine and got to know each other to much laughter. On arriving at Patmos and the sleepy town of Skala later that night, we checked into the utterly charming Skala Hotel, with its bougainvillea covered balconies and salt water pool (with its own swim-up bar!) for a very good night’s sleep!