Greek Islands – Sailing Azure Seas

Efcharisto (Thank You) Greece! Buongiorno, Italia!

We had our last night in Greece in the small harbour Ormous Ammou on the Nisos Othoni. There on this small outer island, north of Corfu, one would have found a Venetian lighthouse and medieval fortress, with views over to Albania. We had two days on Corfu with Ric and Sandy, what was one highlight you ask? The boys might say it was watching Lateen rigged boats sail on Corfu harbour. Once the sail was in they rowed. How would Davo go with all that weight?

Lateen Rigged Boat - Corfu Harbour — Lateen Rigged Boats – Corfu Harbour

We had time to sit on board and think about how much we enjoyed Greece, how hospitable the people were, how beautiful the harbors and bays are. Its history is the history of Western democracies. I feel the connection all the way back to Athena and Aphrodite and the Virgin Mary. The food is superb and fresh fruits and veggies are so ripe and wonderful.

All through this trip, we have wondered if there would be trouble travelling in Greece, with the IMF and Angela breathing down Greek’s neck. We haven’t had one difficulty, not with diesel or ATM’s or any of the myriad problems that travel agents in Europe had been forecasting like ancient Jocastas.

So my take is: visit Greece, it is inexpensive compared to the rest of Europe, it has something for everyone and it is beautiful. The food is wonderful and so are the people.

Today we have sailed across to Santa Maria di Leuca, Italia. Usually we are on the lookout for ships, lobster pots and dolphins, but today we narrowly missed hitting a tree. Ok, afterwards we reassessed “tree” and think maybe it was a big shrub, but it seemed to pop up as we glided right by it. It was quite strange but we think a storm might have taken it off a cliff and it was floating just below the surface until we went by. Soon after, beautiful dolphins did come and play with us jumping up two by two for several minutes. We think they were saying “Buongiorno”.

Spanakopita

If you send Sandy and Gaila off to get a loaf of bread; you will find a loaf of bread, apple tarts and spanakopita for lunch in the bag. Add a few cucumbers, tomatoes and tzatziki and you have a wonderful lunch.

The food here in Greece has been great, although you have to be lucky with tavernas. The food has ranged from average to excellent, but we are winning. Everything is so inexpensive and the fruit and tomatoes are exquisite in flavor. The nascent wine industry is getting better and we have tried Greek bottles of wine that were surprisingly drinkable.

We haven’t seen a dolphin but we have had some great sunsets, thunderheads and we did see a double rainbow. The double rainbow which is a lovely omen as our time draws to a close in Greece. Ric and Sandy are planning to go to experience the magic of Meterora before heading back to Sydney’s chilly climes. They will probably bring the warm weather back with them.

We have sailed through salt flats at Lefkas, past Cleopatra’s ignominious retreat at Preveza, had a swim at Paxos walked through alleys and into churches.

Now we are at Corfu and soon we have to leave Greece. Now there is a sad thought, where can we get Spanakopita in Sydney?

Paxos garden note the barnacle covered airplane propeller

Happy Birthday to my sister, Linda. Enjoy!

Sailing the Inland Sea, Ionian Islands

If your route constitutes sailing to windward, there may be no better place to sail/motor than the inland sea. Sailing from harbour to anchorage through this area is a dream. Why you ask? You can easily get up early and get to your next anchorage with light winds, get anchored in time for morning coffee before the wind gets fresh. Get off the boat for the afternoon sightseeing and have dinner ashore, then by about 9:00 the wind has died down and the boat is quiet for a good night’s sleep. We call it the Gentleman’s Breeze. You have plenty of time then to walk around and enjoy the sights, shop or find a bakery.

If you want to sail, hopefully going south, then you have a sleep in, morning coffee, sail to a lunch spot, swim and in the early afternoon the breeze comes in and you can sail for miles under fresh breezes.

Jimbsail.info is a wonderful resource for sailors sailing in the Mediteranean and he has information about the Inland Sea of the Ionian enclosed by Kephalonia, Ithaka, Mainland Greece, Meganisi and Preveza. In all the Med, this is sailing that most reminds me of Sydney Harbour. The Inland sea is good area for novices and families. It is a great place to sail in Greece and not have to work around the Meltemi or struggle going to windward.

The captain and crew on Mercier, have wooden boats in their veins. Squadron friends know Ric and Sandy have the lovely classic yacht, Rapunzel. On Ithaca, both In Vathi and Kioni, we spotted the classic wooden yacht Rubicon, and Rubincon’s owners, Lance and Charlotte. They are also members of the Cruising Association. Hello quickly turned into a chat about wooden boats and their beautiful Rubicon, which they will keep in Greece. Lance calls this “resonance”, finding people with a shared interest and continuing to bump into them.

Saint Nikolas's Cave — Saint Nikolas’s Cave

So our last few days have taken us to Vathi and Kioni on Ithaca as well as Porto Spilia, Meganissi after a swim near St Nicolas’s Cave. We are enjoying the trip, even though we are moving, but Sandy and I decided it is just the right pace.

Meanwhile, fair winds to Rubicon, Charlotte and Lance. We’ll see you in Sydney.

Zakynthos with Friends

One morning in April, we were having coffee with Sandy and Ric Lawson at the Careening Cove room. They had met fellow Squadron members and Mediterranean sailors, Arti and Dimitri (Artemis V) at a RSYS Cruising Experience meeting and invited us to meet them for a coffee. This turned out to be a great plan.

If you like cruising, hearing about other cruisers’ experiences can be beneficial in so many ways. You can learn about the best ports and anchorages, how to avoid a pitfall, new equipment and even which is the good restaurant or supermarket. Talking over coffee or wine about a shared passion is a veritable icebreaker. Let me assure you, sailing in the Mediterranean is a true passion and yesterday proves how effective a meeting over coffee can be.

Just let me go back a few days, Ric and Sandy met James and I in the Peloponnese harbour of Katakolon. The next morning we motored over to Zakynthos and made plans to meet Arti and Dimitri the next day, upon their arrival from Cephalonia in the afternoon.

Zankynthos is a beautiful island, so we hired a car and drove north. First we drove over hairpin turns to Kampi, which overlooks Schiza Bay, for a coffee. We saw a sign pointing us to Mycenaean tombs, which were carved out of rock on a hillside overlooking a verdant valley.

We continued up to the lookout of Shipwreck Bay. Here the limestone cliffs fall down to aqua milky water and a beach the colour of cream below. It is a place of incredible beauty, which always leaves me full of joy.

In the afternoon, back in Zante town, we see that Artemis is tied to the town quay and we go and say hello and make plans for dinner. Drinks on Mercier, Giostra di Zante – a local festival of Aeolian and Ionian dancers and then dinner.

Take it from me there is nothing better than Greek friends taking you to a Greek restaurant. We had local food: wild greens, briam, melanese, rabbit,beef, cockerel and pork. This was Yiayia’s cooking.

James, Gaila, Arti, Dimitri, Sandy and Ric — James, Gaila, Arti, Dimitri, Ric & Sandy

We had local music too and before they turned the lights out the ladies were being shown how to dance – in a Greek style. We might just have to find a Greek restaurant in Sydney.

Fair winds and good sailing to Artemis V. Arti and Dimitri, we think you should have joined us.

Chilling in Chania

Sometimes it takes a combination of elements to bring out the best in a place, a person or a task.

Cania seems to bring the three elements of Greek: Xania, Ottoman Turkish: Hanya and Venetian: Canea to create the superb town of Chania.

We ate in wonderful restaurants, walked Venetian fortresses, visited the mosques and the churches. One Venetian palazzo was roofless but housed a quirky restaurant with trees growing in the midst of the tables. The streets are narrow and winding, reminding us that a narrow windy path is easier to defend against pirates. Pirates like the dreaded Barbarossa had a cave full of followers and ships not far away.

narrow lanes, Old Town Chania — Narrow lanes, Old Town Chania

We walked the Venetian Breakwater, that was full of fisherman, families taking walks out to the lighthouse and a film crew filming a soap opera or ad.

Barbara watching the fishermen on Venetian breakwater.

The town was so beautiful that we weren’t without cameras in our hands.

Barbara, wisely, decided to return home from Chania rather than sail to Kythera with us. So far we haven’t seen a ferry. We had a wonderful dinner one street back from the waterfront.

Restaurants and bars are great in Chania, Barbara’s farewell dinner

The sunset was wonderful and James left the boat to go and take this photo of the Venetian Lighthouse.

Chania gave us a warm welcome and I can forsee a visit to Crete without a yacht to walks its gorges and canyons and see the middle and southern part of the island.

Knossos – home of the Minotaur

Do you remember the myth of Theseus slaying the Minotaur? The Minotaur was half bull – half man and liked to feast on the children of Greece. The children who were good gymnasts could stay alive by leaping over the bulls back, but in the end Theseus slayed the Minotaur and escaped the Labyrinth. There is conjecture that the Palace of Knossos was the labyrinth because it was so large and had so many rooms and corridors.

The frescoes are painted in rich, vibrant colours. They are so large and bright, their effect is visceral. The buildings are almost modern in construction. Here are some photos.

Charging bull fresco shows the building shape — Charging bull fresco shows the building’s modern shape

Olive groves flourish in the volcanic soil

One’s eyes are drawn to the green in the distance and then to the bright, intense colour of the frescoes surrounded by cream stone buildings.

Spinalonga, Crete

Dear Feral Swans,

Remember when we read Victoria Hislop’s ‘The Island’? That haunting story full of love, life and death had us spell bound. Spinalonga offers all those feelings and more, but the story starts for us at Agia Nikolas, where we thought we would sail to Spinalonga and anchor there over night. Before we could depart, the wind started gusting fiercely. We went to plan B and left Mercier in the marina and took a day tripper boat over to visit the Venetian Fortress and former leper colony of Spinalonga.

While the Ostria left the harbour, James second guessed himself and thought perhaps we should be sailing but then we turned the corner and saw what force 7 wind looks like. Just hazard a guess, much better from a large tripper boat than our small yacht.

As you approach Spinalonga, you can see that the Venetians were here circa 16^th Century and built a fortress, which managed to keep the Ottoman Empire at bay for over 70 years after Crete had been under Ottoman rule. Finally the Venetians left and Turkish families found the island a safe haven.

When Crete regained autonomy in 1898, they asked the Turkish families to leave and after several discussions, in 1903 the Cretan strategy seemed to be, Spinalonga will become a Leper colony. The Turkish families departed.

According to the guide, the Cretan lepers initially lived in caves on the island and then moved into the Turkish homes. As people across the economic spectrum came down with leprosy, so it was not long before one could find several tavernas, a hairdresser, teachers, doctors and priests on the island.

The Walk, this was the area of shops, tavernas and markets.

They began their own gardens and food production and while they were bereft at leaving their families, Spinalonga became a refuge against the ignorance and hate people had experienced in their former homes. It was interesting to note that the Germans invaded Crete, but they never broached Spinalonga.

The rocky island is harshly beautiful and with all the wind, it seemed spooky at times because the old curtains were blowing in the breeze. You could almost hear a tinkle of a leper’s bell, but the 1948 cure meant that Spinalonga was vacated in 1958.

The curtain blowing out the window added to the haunted feeling.

Our journey so far:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zkkfRzDGj2mE.kO4m-3hTL-cs

Kalki, Karpathos and Sitia

We motor sailed south from Symi to Kalki. We pulled into the small but colorful harbour about lunch time, tying up to the ferry wharf. That gave us four hours to explore the village before the ferry docked and we retreated to anchor.

We went for a walk in the village, Kalki used to be a sponge diver’s island but then the sponges died out and many people from Kalki migrated away.
Tourism seems to be the new economy for Kalki. There are colorful B and B’s and apartments for rent. Tavernas line the harbour shore. It is quiet and lovely with sandy beaches.

The next morning we were met by dolphins, they were so petite and friendly. We were on our way to Karpathos, then Kasos in an area Heikell calls sea-swept. They are the two most southerly islands of the Dodocanese, in a very angry sea. Heikell certainly called it right, confused seas were the order of the day. Predicted wind was 15 knots but we had almost 20 knots as we got close to Karpathos. We went into a narrow opening between high hills of rocks, to the abandoned village of Tristoma. The wind howled all night and my active imagination thought of what would happen if a rock tumbled in behind us and we were captured in the inlet. There was no phone service, not even an SOS service.

We left at first light the next day, with the wind on our nose on the course for Kasos. A decision was made, it was a longer trip but a tight reach to go straight to Sitia, Crete. By this time, we weren’t surprised with our 25 knot breeze and waves slapping Mercier from every angle. Things were a bit wet in the cockpit, even wet down below. We were thrilled being greeted by dolphins on our way into Sitia Harbour, a day early but safe and sound. James’ sister, Barbara, flew in almost simultaneously.

Sitia is a quiet town and we ambled up to the Venetian Castle, had baklava for afternoon tea, a reward for doing the laundry by hand. The three of us wandered around people watching at the tavernas. Backgammon and cards were being played at many tables. We enjoyed the respite from the drenching waves and prepared for our next adventure.

Farewell Turkey, hello Greece

Richard Niebuhr said “Pilgrims are poets who create by taking journeys.” James and I discuss what it means to leave Turkey, which we are very fond of, which we enjoy and its history we are amazed by. But the farewell is tinged with only a small feeling of sadness, because we hope to come back again. When sailing, we are almost by definition looking forward.
The planning, down to hours and days that one requires to sail, adds to the feelings one experiences in the new port. We pray for good weather and we wait for it. Wednesday”s five hours of sailing with fluky winds, is like a penance we do to get to a prize.

Thank you, Turkey. We have had a great time

Wednesday’s prize is Symi. Here is an island of Neoclassical houses, stacked up the hills surrounding the bays of the islands. It is an island where oregano runs wild by the road. Churches have pride of place and wonderful views. Another penance is walking up hills to get to the views and Symi affords plenty of hills. Symi is a jewel, with wonderful tavernas, shops and cafes and beautiful churches.

Symi - a beautiful town — Symi – a beautiful Neoclassical town

We hike up to the Chora and stop for a coffee at the Olive Tree, while waiting for our coffee, a pack train of horses bring building materials up the hill.

After our quiet respite in the Marmaris Yacht marina, we were back on a town quay in Symi. We had forgotten about the duf duf music and parties on nearby yachts. There would have been 20 people on the 70 foot yacht next to us, singing, dancing and partying until 5:00am. No amount of earplugs blocked their good-humored noise. Ah yes, now we remember. Amazingly, they left before the rosy fingers of dawn on to their next destination. Thursday’s excitement was watching new arrivals collecting other yachts anchors. This is a game where the goal is for a boat to manage to keep its anchor ensconced in the mud, while other boats see their anchors come unstuck. Our new arrivals brought our neighbour’s anchor up to the surface interlocked with their own. Excitement.

Symi, looking from the top of the island

This morning we are on our way to Kalki, heading southwest and saying Hello Greece.

The journey so far:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zkkfRzDGj2mE.kO4m-3hTL-cs

A few more photos – Kas, Kekova and Kastellorizo

There are a few photos we think we would like to squeeze in.

First, we went to the markets and the sunflower seed display was very interesting.

We are intrigued with the fact that local sarcophagi are integrated into every day life, including markets.

In Kale Koy, tombs started out with water views but with subsidence, they have become waterfront properties.

The turtles swim in front of Hassan’s. The food was yummy but after lunch we needed a swim, so off to Whitehouse Bay.

In Kale Koy, tie up to Hasan's, visit the castle, watch the turtles and have lunch. — In Kale Koy, tie up to Hasan’s, visit the castle, watch the turtles and have lunch.

This little kitten was trying to hide in the bougainvillea blossoms. Adorable, don’t you think? (It can’t all be about sailing.)

kitten in Kastellorizo — Kitten in Kastellorizo

The ubiquitous eucalyptus, on the way up to the castle on Kastellorizo. We said, you know we will be home within the month. It will then be only a short walk to see plenty of gums, lorrikeets and mates.

Category: Greek Islands