![Karlóvassi harbor, 4:00am floodlit cliffs behind a few vehicles boarding the ferry, which is out of sight under the photographer](pix/2009/img_0445.jpg)
![Vathí - Early morning rain Rain behind two-storey, tile-roofed buildings.](pix/2009/img_0460.jpg)
The ferry from Pireas arrives at Vathí, the capital
town near the east
end of Samos island, at the regrettable hour of 5:00am.
An hour earlier it stops at Karlóvassi in the
western part of the
island. Karlóvassi's port sits under a cliff which is floodlit - for
effect? to make it easy for boats to find? I dunno, but it made a
workable photo.
![West by Northwest plaza overlooking long sound towardd mountains](pix/2009/img_0476.jpg)
![North by Northwest plaza overlooking east shore of Vathě sound](pix/2009/img_0477.jpg)
Vathí sits at the inner end of a long straight sound that runs
northwest out to the open Aegean.
![Playtime Swingset near sound, one swing broken](pix/2009/img_0481.jpg)
![Spring field wild grass, yellow "sourgrass" flowers, and spiraling whatchacallem plants](pix/2009/img_0485.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0495.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0499.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0510.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0518.jpg)
To my delight, the attractive main square of Vathí is named, not for
some military or political figure, but for Pythagoras,
inventor of the eponymous geometric theorem.
Seems that Samos is in fact Pythagoras' birthplace. He is the
local boy who made it bigtime.
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0533.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0539.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0544.jpg)
![defaulttitle defaultalt](pix/2009/img_0547.jpg)
Curiously, the town hall is the same shade of pastel yellow as the
nearby Orthodox church.
![The Shadow Knows Agave shadow on wall, behind stone cross](pix/2009/img_0551.jpg)
Cartoonists know that the inner soul of a character is
revealed in its
shadow.
Is this little stone cross really an agave cactus at heart?
![Knick-knack Shop shop window with wood and glittery craft wares](pix/2009/img_0593.jpg)
![Not an eatery, fortunately Sign "Funky Fish", logo of fish skeleton](pix/2009/img_0583.jpg)
Along the main shopping street between the town square and the ferry
dock, more and more shops are opening for the impending season.
Funky
Fish - not an eatery, thank goodness - was a bare room when I
arrived five days ago. It is now a brightly-lit room full of plastic
purses, hair barres, and shopping bags.
This jewelry and crafts store, which has been here at least since I
arrived, has one of the more attractive window displays.
Contents Copyright 2012 Jeff Bulf