From the Roman times and perhaps earlier, sailing from Crete to Kythera and the Peloponnese has been fraught with gusty winds and wild waves. We left Crete a day early and early in the morning to beat the encroaching low weather system to Kythera.
It was an ten hour sail to Avelomona, southern Kythera but there were local boats in the small, crowded harbour. We decided as it was getting windy to press on to Dhiakofti. As we approached the ferry harbour of Dhiakofti, we saw the wreck of a cargo ship implanted on the side of an islet. We were feeling very sensible about getting there in good weather.
There is a ferry wharf at Dhiakofti and there was a space for us to tie up. There are stores and rent a cars there too, but they only open when the ferry comes in. Within thirty minutes of mooring, the winds were coming in at over 25-30 knots. We were happy to be tied up in the quiet harbour. The next day, James rode the bike into town and as it was Wednesday, every business was closed for the day. No taverna or mini-mart, no hotel or cafe, no one walking around or working in their gardens, it was incredibly quiet.
We departed on a grey Thursday morning for the lovely island of Elafonisos. A small harbour and a glorious beach, but the water temperature was only 20 degrees, a bit chilly on this early morning.
Given the weather, we pressed on to Porto Kayio, a small, snug harbour in the Peloponnese, the taverna here was open with two other boats from Australia, two from Germany and one each from Sweden, France and England.
Today we sailed up the coast to Kalamata, after sailing past the cape Ak Tainaron. In ancient times, it was called Tenaron, the entrance to the Underworld.Barren and empty,we were more taken with the mountains behind the hilly, green coastline.
I can see why Nero wanted to build the Corinth Canal. In the future, we will sail through the canal and visit these harbours on ferries. It is definitely worth visiting but it is a tough sail.