Tradition – Page 3 – Sailing Azure Seas

Cokertme, Okluk Koyu and Yedi Adalari

We left Bodrum after morning coffee on Monday, not sure if we would have access to electricity or internet, we planned on one last coffee. Off to the Gulf of Gokova Korfezi, an area resplendent with beautiful anchorages.

We did the gulet run and sailed up to Orak Adasi for lunch and surprising us after lunch here comes the Algida ice cream man. How did Algida/Streets know that these Magnum fans were in this little bay? Actually, I think they do a roaring trade with the gulet traffic and it’s very similar to cappuccinos at Yeoman’s Bay.

Algida Ice Cream men bring Magnums to the gulets and us.

On to Cokertme, please note I don’t have all the Turkish letters on my keyboard, so the actual spelling is very different. Here we went to the redoubtable Rose Mary’s, Rose Mary’s have showers, electricity and we ate on one of the piers under the sky for dinner. The scene sounds romantic but the pier jumped like a trout in August. Every time one of the young waiters ran to the next table with their food orders the whole pier lofted into the air and then thudded back into the water.

The next day, we journeyed on to Okluk Koyu. Here we passed the mermaid, who sits on a reef, saving many a hapless sailor from ruining their keel. Heikell says the sculpture was erected by Sadun Boro, the first Turk to circumnavigate the world in a yacht. The setting is verdant with a market garden and quite a bit of corn being farmed, perhaps for the cows’ dinner. You go in and select the dishes you want from the fridge cabinet in the store and then they cook your meal and bring it out.

Our sojourn on Wednesday morning was to Seven Islands or Yedi Adalari, a beautiful bay with the meltemi funneling through whipping white water up over and through the islands, islets and rocks. Once we battled through the bay to the East Creek, we were able to anchor and lower the swimming platform and spend the rest of the afternoon in the water.

Happy Birthday to Philippa Gray, hope you are spoiled.

Asklepieion, Odeon and the Agora, Kos then Farewell to Greece

The range of antiquities in Kos Town and on Kos makes me want a virtual game, so I can just wander round and meet the players: Apollo, Asklepeion, Hippocrates, Hadrian, the Venetian Knights of the Crusades and Sulemain, the Magnificent. What a cast of characters, over centuries of occupation by gods and man, Kos casts a spell of inspiration.

In prime of place, is the Plane tree of Hippocrates, before the Asklepeion was built, Hippocrates taught his students “first do no harm” under the giant plane tree, near the waterfront.

Hippocrates' Plane Tree — Hippocrates’ Plane Tree

Hippocrates was a descendant of the god Asklepios, the god of healing. After Hippocrates death, the Asklepieion was built as a temple and hospital on a hill overlooking the sea and the coast of Turkey.

Perhaps there was a sanctuary to Apollo on the site but by the 4th Century BC, there was a temple built to honour Asklepieion. There patients would bath in springs, priests would listen to their dreams and feed them nutritious food in the middle of a pine grove with beautiful views.. Just the cleanliness and food may have solved many problems, but listening to dreams while taking in splendid views sounds like early psychotherapy.

Asklepieion - Corinthian Temple — Asklepieion – Corinthian Temple

This is all still here but the Asklepieion was ransacked by the Knights to build their fortress, so it will never be fully restored.

Antiquities abound in Kos, the Romans were here in 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. Greeka.com offers quite a good history, recalling the Casa Romana and the Odeon all within walking distance of the marina and Kos Town.

Apartment for sale, Views of Roman Agora

So finally, it is time to say farewell to Greece. We have to leave after such a short time due to the Schengen Agreement.

We are off to Turkey and Bodrum. I hear there is a temple to Apollo there too.

Happy Birthday to cousin Ed De Angelo, hope it was great.

Tinos Villages to Syros

What to do in a meltemi? Swimming in the churned up water is not an option nor is a nice quiet sail. We decided to take the city bus all around the hill top villages of Steni, Monastiria, Komi, Krokos to see all of the dovecotes and gardens we had read about.

The Venetians were part of the history of Tinos creating a safe haven on the great rock, Exompourgo. The Venetians found creating dovecotes meant they would have meat and eggs but they would also garden with the collected droppings. Over the centuries in these barren islands Tinos with it dovecotes is one of the lushest. The dovecotes or peristeriones were highly decorated with some houses looking rather romantically, just like a dovecote.

On Tuesday morning, we slipped away from Tinos town early and headed over to the island of Syros. After days of 50 knot winds, we would have been lucky to have 5 knots for our journey.

We motored into the sleepy harbour of Finikas, with it’s lovely marina, beautiful bay and beaches and only a short bus trip to Hermoupolis. Hermoupolis is sacred to Hermes the god of commerce, this is the largest city in the Cyclades. Also known as Ermoupoli, it has a beautiful natural bay and gorgeous buildings rising up to Ano Syros. It has a beautiful town square, Plateia Miaouli, paved in marble lined in palm trees and cafes.

Ciity of Hermes, Syros — City of Hermes, Syros

There will be more on Ermoupolis, we hope you come back to take a look. Friday and Saturday we expect another meltemi but we are snug at Finikas, waiting for Debbie and Geoff Davidson to join us. We hope Stephen and Rosemary made it home safely.

Hydra

At times we have to work harder for the better things in life. Hydra is certainly worth the extra effort. The effort was in the finding the entrance, which you can’t see until you are immediately upon it. We went over early and luckily a yacht left just as we arrived. That was the only berth available on the dock. We jumped off the boat and went exploring.

Hydra was a privateers’s den for quite awhile, so small and distant from mainland Greece’s bureaucracy, that it was able to ‘trade’ under the radar. In the mid-19^th century, the bureaucracy caught up with Hydra and the population declined. By the 1960’s, tourism became a very lucrative money maker for the island. There are no cars, scooters or motorcycles allowed, boats or ferries bring in supplies and small carts fueled by man power. Burros and donkeys also cart materials, often so laden down with supplies you don’t see the donkey.

No mosquito like drone noises on Hydra, no motorcycles allowed.

It is hard to break away from the waterfront and watching boats arrive- four super yachts and a few sailing boats and many fishing boats.The super yachts obviously have a number to call, as they approach the Harbourmaster arrives with his crew and they receive the mooring lines as big as a fender and tie the stern lines.

We watched groceries being delivered on the quay, first the veggies and then Hen’s night’s brides, bridesmaids and friends, as well as day trippers.

We walked to the west of Hydratown and saw the Spilla swimming hole with jumpers throwing themselves into the Aegean.

We went to a wonderful restaurant for the sunset views and lamb cutlets, it was out of the hubbub and fresh breezes in Hydratown. We saw a restaurant full of people dressed in white having a big party on the way back.

The dock was incredibly busy with six super yachts and their staff running up and down boats and polishing the steel and serving drinks. One of the motor boats across from us had a huge wide screen TV, so we could watch the World Cup soccer.

Delphi

There is so much antiquity here in Greece, at times it is hard to comprehend that Delphi was first settled in the Bronze Age and it became an important sanctuary or shrine to Apollo around 800 years BC.

Delphi was considered the centre of the world, with an Oracle who would speak in tongues and priests that would ‘interpret’ after gathering all the gossip and chat from all corners of the world and then repeat it back as the message from the Oracle. It seemed all the city-states of Greece had treasuries here, so much wealth poured in as offerings to Apollo.

This was our first warm day in Greece, walking up the side of Mt Parnassus in 35 C degree heat (95F). Our idea was to stop in the shade and then finally get up to the Stadium where we were high enough to capture the breezes.

There must have been six tour buses, including ours so the idea was to stay just behind one crowd and just in front of the next. There is also a museum at Delphi, which we didn’t have time for as we had to make our way to Meteora.

Amphitheater at Delphi, musical competitions were also held here

Earthquakes changed the area and the Gulf of Corinth which once lapped the base of Mt Parnassus, is not as close and there is a fertile valley floor full of olives and pines.

Olympia – a Sanctuary

As you leave Pyrgos and wind up the hill to Olympia, it is easy to understand why this is thought to be the playground of the gods. From ten kilometres out, the air gets clearer and all the vegetation seems more lush and fragrant. There is a zephyr breeze and the temperature is perfect.

We first visited the Olympia Archaeological Museum. It covers the history of the site beginning with prehistoric artifacts until the Sanctuary’s demise under Theodosius ll.

One of two beautiful pediments recovered from Zeus' temple. — One of two beautiful pediments recovered from Zeus’ temple.

James and I watched many videos of Greece recently and now we wonder why we had never seen an aerial of the site as a whole. Olympia is remarkable. Imagine kicking a goal in your city’s biggest stadium and then imagine winning a race under the gaze of the gods and your country’s stadium. The games were “a pole of attraction for Hellenism”*

Meanwhile, it was a men’s only event. Women, particularly married women could not view the athletes compete. Not gods, kings nor husbands want to suffer by comparison with the strapping young nude athletes.

The Phillippeion, a monument to Alexander the Great and his father, Phillip ll

There are 23 separate monuments, including temples on the site. We wished we could see more and next time we would consider finding a guide. To this day, we are inspired by the passion and commitment it takes to take part in the Olympics.

*Olympic site brochure

Anthony and Cleopatra

On Friday, we found ourselves motoring to the mainland port of Preveza. This is a non-tourist town for the most part, a working city of Greece. For us it was the right place to purchase a new Manson Supreme anchor. For other sailors, we are finding the Ionian Islands to be a well spring of ship chandlers. We were able to moor alongside the Town Quay and easily lift the anchor onto the boat.

Back to Anthony and Cleopatra, about 64 BC, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra came to these isles to fight Octavian Caesar and Agrippa in battle. Despairing of defeat, Anthony and Cleopatra lost their nerve and raced back to Egypt, ultimately to commit suicide. Caesar commemorated his win by building a fortress, Nikopolis about six miles from Preveza. Aptly, the largest marina in the Preveza area is the Cleopatra marina in Aktion across the harbour from the Town Quay.

Earthquake proof Clock Towner — Earthquake-proof Clock Tower

Lefkada is an unusual ‘island’. It is surrounded by canals, which separate it from the mainland and nearby salt marshes. There are a surfeit of bridges, some are artistic and others look very industrial.

Lefkada is like other Ionian cities and towns with small lane ways and alleys even in the newer areas. Housing is remarkably different in Lefkada. In 1953 there was a huge earthquake, many towns in the area were leveled. Here in Lefkada, they continue to build the first floor of houses in stone or brick but all of the second stories are built using corrugated iron. There is even an earthquake safe town clock. Between rust, a myriad of colours and graffiti, Levkada certainly has its own style.

Yesterday found us motoring over to Lefkada in almost no breeze. We had to arrive at the canal which separates Lefkada from the mainland, in time for the opening of the “floating bridge” coming past ruins of castles and shallow silt dredged canals. We were very happy for the lack of the wind in these shallows, we had all sails stowed before we attempted to file into the ‘waiting room’ of yachts.

Castle at Lefkada canal entrance — St Maura Fortress at Lefkada canal Northern entrance

This canal was begun by the Corinthians in the 7^th Century BC, according to Heikell. Augustus improved it during the Roman occupation, the Turks and Venetians added a bridge and its ruins are nearby. To draw breath here in the Ionians is to absorb history.

Sibenek to Skradin

Sibenek (pronounced Shibenik) is noted as the first Croatian City, because it was founded by the Croats in the 10th Century. We left Trogir with a 4 hour sail in front of us. There would be a stop in Primosten for lunch and a swim. With the exception of a day near Hvar, we hadn’t seen so many boats sailing and motoring, as we saw between Trogir and Sibenek.

We moored stern to on the Sibenek town quay and went wandering around the medival city. As with many towns there are a large number of churches. We really related to the Cathedral of St James. It was beautiful, with a gorgeous statute of Micheal the Archangel over the entry. More remarkable are the 74 faces on the Apse, who are said to be the realisation of the common man but ‘My Croatia’ says were the collective faces of the 74 prominent Sibenik citizens who refused to contribute to the building fund.

Lesley, James and I climbed to the Monastery garden of St Lawrence, which was very lovely. A classic medieval parterre garden, with herbs and medicinal plants in the shape of a cross. It was beautiful and peaceful.

We walked through a cemetery to get to St Michael’s Fortress, we had followed a monk in brown robes, but he disappeared and we couldn’t see how he entered the Fortress – the Da Vinci code sprang to mind. Sibenek was heavily bombed in the 1991-95 war, but it is recovering.

We were up early for the short trip to Skradin, through the beautiful, narrow channel which winds up the River Krka. Much of this part of the river is covered in mussel and oyster farms. See the photo for an idea of Eating Local.

Eating Local - close to the source — Eating Local – close to the source

Arriving at Skradin, we were left without a doubt that we were in the right place.

Moreska Korcula

Korcula is a lovely island northwest of Dubrovnik, with a walled city fortress and history going back hundreds of years. Francesco Da Mosto did a documentary (Francesco’s Mediterranean Voyage Ep.3) including the Moreska Korcula or the traditional sword dance of Korcula. In this land narrated by its history of invaders, this story is about a lovely girl who is captured by the Black Prince and saved by the Korculean prince.

We were in Korcula on the night the Moreska was playing and had a most interesting evening. First people watching as every seat was taken in the ‘theatre’ space, the welcome by a CJ Craig* look alike MC in five languages, traditional songs sung acapella by the Korcula equivalent to the Circular Quay chorus and finally the Moreska itself. Here are a few photos.

The Black Prince taunting the Korculeans

Face Off with the Princess in the background

Sparks fly off the swords, the good guys win but the interesting fact is that this is a family tradition. These men are following in the footsteps of their fathers, grandfathers and other ancestors. Croatia is a land of tradition and new beginnings.

* CJ Craig of West Wing, played by Alison Janney.

Category: Tradition