Sorry we are so far behind... wifi has conspired against us!! Hope you enjoy this long missive!!
We are having a great time and pull Mae out on the 8th... back in NZ 18th Oct... looking forward to terra firma for a while... but don't stop reading as there is still a bit of blog to come...Naked nutters!!
I see from our last blog that we failed to tell the story of the naked German nutter!!
It’s a comical tale of innuendo, naivety and sheer embarrassment, so sit back and relax, let Tinkerbelle turn the pages…
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a girl called Cate who hadn’t seen much life and was very naïve in the ways of the world. On this particular day she was anchored in a small bay minding her own business when another boat arrived. Seeing a New Zealand flag she immediately thought warm and kind thoughts about the fact that they anchored very close, so much so she swam out to wish them a happy holiday. Strangely the new boat people were not as friendly as expected being German (two had emigrated to New Zealand but obviously had missed the kiwi host lessons) leaving a slightly sad taste in her mouth so she swam back to resume cleaning her pride and joy (that’s the boat not Murray). Shortly afterwards the newcomers thought better of their rebuff of Cate’s attempts to be friendly and one was sent out to make amends. “That’s nice”, thought Cate, “but too little too late”, however her Mummy had brought her up well so she made polite conversion whilst floating about in the water cleaning her hull (that’s the boats hull, not Cate’s). During this slightly strained conversation Cate thought to introduce Murray who was scowling from the cabin top and then politely declined an offer to go across and clean their boat when she had finished. With enough niceties out of the way Cate made her way around the back of the boat thereby encouraging the interloper to swim back to his boat. “Whew” thought Cate “what a weirdo” and proceeded to go on board for beer. Much to her surprise Murray was uncommonly snakey considering it is beer o’clock and asked if she is going for drinks over there or what. “What” said Cate, “I am pretty sure he was just making a joke about cleaning his boat when I had finished mine, but anyway, no way they are a bit odd” Enough said she thought although Murray continued to be broody late into the night… well one day followed the next and sometime later Murray brought up the incident again… it turns out that not all can be seen from water level, cabin tops give a completely different view and said visitor was actually a gingernutter where it counted and cold water can be very unkind to men! Needless to say Cate was highly shocked and very embarrassed to have been placed in such a compromising position and promised never to go visiting strange boats again! The End.
Sloppy’s Revenge…
We have just had a few days with Uncle Richard (a.k.a. The Mushroom, thanks to Auntie Mena’s hat)… a mixed bag of weather as usual and some fun and games with finding space in the ever crowded Saronic, but a grand trip out none the less! One of the highlights was visiting Vathi after a two day grind to windward. We are sure it has shrunk but more than likely it’s the boats that have got bigger!! Everybody breathe in and don’t mind the gelcoat. Not being able to back all the way to the quay however, did present an opportunity for Sloppy to express his sense of humour once more. Whilst operating as a floating bridge he bided his time and when the appropriate moment came he acted without warning… my “for god sake don’t let Uncle Richard fall in” to Murray met with a small squeak and a splash as soon as I turned my back, followed by a very bedraggled Uncle Richard arriving back in the cockpit and the need for a complete change of clothes before venturing out again. Our apologies but it was a good laugh! P.s. the pork chops are still to die for here!
The last of the Kalamaki…
Whilst in Poros waiting for news of our next guest (victim), Jez, we caught up with Big Richard again and spent a great evening at the Karavolos Restaurant dining on plates of sumptuous Greek fare. Yes, there is good food out here you just have to know where to look for it and Theo’s is some of the best!
After an entertaining evening of chat and food (boy that bloke with a She 36 was a real yapper!) we ended the evening at the Asteria Café for drinks. It is a sad day when you realise that the Greek male has lost his mojo and it is even more blatantly obvious they have when you meet Thanassas. Shirley Valentine eat your heart out this man is the real Costas! Long jet black hair (in a ponytail of course), olive skin, white shirt, black trousers and a smile that lights up the night sky! Well maybe that is a slight exaggeration but you get the gist. Ahh, Thanassas, the last of the Kalamaki (that’s fisherman to the rest of us, only it usually doesn’t apply to catching fish if you know what I mean!)… A quick check with Big Richard reveals it’s true… young Greek men have lost the knack with the ladies! Worse still… horror of horrors, he says they don’t seem to even be that interested in girls… Never fear though (Sonya) we are determined to seek out the truth of this matter and form a network of Greek gods that can be relied on to get the job done so to speak!
Thanks for the great night Pete and Shirl (Jade)…
What a way to wind down. In our day between guests we head up the Poros channel to Russian Bay. We were in here a few days earlier and saw a NZ catamaran and as luck would have it they are still there. Well one thing leads to another and we get invited aboard. Lets just say it is very relaxing to be in the company of other New Zealanders and a great night was had by all… slightly fuzzy for some and I’m not sure I would have liked to have been Pete the next day, schlepping up the Acropolis in the blazing Athenian sun but it did result in a great book swapping session that was just the icing on the cake!
What ever flots your boat, you can’t Seafarer than that!
Well it has been a busy few days we can tell you. Jez arrived (yay!) and announced that we had to tail the flotilla for a couple of days… sounds like fun we reply… and it was!!
First day it was Ermione… the south side… never been in there… not much space and plenty of fishing and flotilla boats. We jump the queue and slip into a very nice spot, ahh the joys of being an independent boatie! After a pleasant night away from the madding crowds of flotilla billies (billy bunters… punters) we watch the morning’s entertainment. First up is one flot boat which immediately hooks another yachts anchor. We wait for a rescue to be mounted but are told by Jez that that sort of thing doesn’t really happen anymore. We are a bit shocked by this callus disregard for client welfare but overjoyed to see the Neilson skipper ride to the boat’s aid in a dingy… Well folks, I know they say what comes around goes around but boy we have never seen karma in action this quick… who should be next on the chopping block of life but Jez himself… yep a real doosy… mooring buoy, rope, chain, anchor, you name it they pulled it up… and where was the rescue team??... we seize the opportunity to zip out, lift part of the mooring chain attached to Jez, neatly free ourselves and leave the rest of them to it. A couple of hours later we hear them still on the radio explaining it to the Port police and the irate fisherman. Five boats in total stuck on various bits of chain… who says the cosmos doesn’t have a sense of humour!!
We were still chuckling over it when we hit Leonidion (yep as in the place we have been to recently!) and find a group of floties milling about outside waiting for the lead crew… well we think they aren’t going to be here anytime soon so we ply on in and grab the last of the easy spots (hee hee!) and proceed to act as lead crew for Jez slotting flotilla boats in left right and centre. Murray thoroughly enjoyed himself!! The flotilla billies and crew seem none the wiser however and are slow to put two and two together that the big boss of the company they are sailing with (aka the Fat Controller) is actually hanging out on our boat and therefore it was not random we keep turning up and helping.
And so to Astros… considering the help we have been giving these people we are surprised to hear ourselves called “that damn English boat” so we retaliate by driving through a few and parking in an impossible space! Even 2 out of the 3 of the lead crew seem to be bemused that we are everywhere they are… nice but dim springs to mind!
We have a great meal in Astros drinking Zestos beer (locally brewed) and yarning to the restaurant owner and friends about the state of Greece till 3 in the morning… it was to be a slow following day!!
By now we are just a little sick of the flotilla life but it’s beach party night so off we go to Spetses… what a polava… we anchor up and take bets as to how long it will take the flotilla to form a raft… after an hour Jez loses patience and he and Murray go and park the lead boat!! Sadly I won in my bet of “by 8.45pm” even though Jez and Murray did their darndest to get it done quicker. Murray is really in his element now and even offers to stand in if they sack the skipper!! Whoa there boy, have you really thought this through! Now we really have had enough and take Jez off to Khinitsa and Dhokos for a couple of days chilling out before hitting Poros again, where, luckily, Jez has a change of heart and Murray is not called into action and after two nights at the Karavolos (man, the food is great there!) we are once again footloose and flotilla free… watch out the Cyclades here we come!!
There she blows… and blows and blows!
So it is windy in the Cyclades. We had heard as such but you know things are… who believes everything you hear!
It has been an extremely blowy few weeks since I last sat down to write; so much so we nearly went back to the Saronic many times over!! Our route has been a convoluted one with many days in harbour and out in the bays sitting out the worst of the meltemi. From Poros we headed to Aegina and were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm and then on to Sounion and Kea. Sounion was stunning especially when they light up the temple at night but here we got our first taste of the meltemi and didn’t feel comfortable leaving the boat with the wind gusting into the bay and boats careering about all over the place. Kea is a fantastic island that has been discovered by the Athenians once more and is slowly being converted into a beautiful weekend getaway (if you can afford the prices!). The houses are all being built in local stone and the hard landscaping and walling are amazing in their own right! Murray sampled the local “small fishes”; not to his liking but thankfully I had befriended the restaurant cat and it had a whale of a time sitting on our knees being fed these little delicacies till it exploded. These same “small fishes” had the last laugh though when they transformed into “small killer fishes” that leap upon unsuspecting dingy drivers in the dead of night (boy, Murray squeaks when slapped around the ankles by a wet fishes, luckily Sloppy holds enough water to keep them alive long enough to be rescued.) Then we headed off to Kithnos. We had a great sail across, then the wind really started to build and we discover it is more than common to have 30+ knots in the anchorages in the Cyclades. Not such good holding in the first bay but we hang in there for the night but the need for a few groceries lures us out and so we head sideways down the channel to the town and attempt anchoring in a small bay outside… several anchoring manoeuvres later a local gentleman points out the holding isn’t very good… no kidding! It’s chaos in the town bay with charter boats popping in and out and a rogue powerboat blowing about with no engine so I left Murray slowly drifting down the bay and fetched the food, arriving back just in time to move the boat before it touches the other side. We bashed back up the bay into another arm of the harbour and drop the hook before deciding to attempt long lining. Eventually we get an excellent spot under the rock cliff in the lee and settle in for a couple of days to wait out the wind. Beautiful spot, Kithnos, but you have to have the right position! In a lull we head around the other side of the island reprovision again and have a night in a wonderful if shallow spot. Quite freaky looking over the side and seeing every blade of seaweed! Thinking no one else would be so stupid as to come in there we find ourselves surrounded by 4 “yashmack” ribs, (little ribs with hoods on that have become all the rage with Greeks), and spend a peaceful night listening to the gentle sounds of octopus being tenderised and ouzo being drunk to the sound of Bubble house musik.
As an aside it is really great to see the Greeks getting into discovering their environment. All this new found love of beaches, boating, snorkling and diving etc has really had a spin off effect on reducing the amount of rubbish you see on the beaches and in the bottom of bays… once more go the Greeks!
Mighty Mykonos
The next day we headed off to Siros in next to no wind but soon had a good breeze for the run across to the south of the island and a really nice spot in front of a Greek holiday destination. We are intrigued but the amount of people playing bat and ball on the beach and set ourselves the task of procuring a set of bats and giving it a go.
Next day we wake bright and early to the tranquil sound of Greek gardening at its best… takker, takker, takker, takker!!! Jack hammers really are the way forward when gardening in solid rock but maybe not at 7am. We motored around to the capital of Siros and moored up to the town quay. Really neat town but hugely bumpy quay with ferries coming and going all night. Even pulled right off as far as the boarding plank could go it felt like we were about to mount the “kerb” at any moment. Plenty of comings and goings to watch and we help some Polish people in several times till they kind of had it right! Later, after feeling guilty about what a large gap there was on either side of us, we were surprised to see a large stinkpotter bearing down on us and realised that the dockworker union had been using us to reserve a space for it. Needless to say we managed to squeeze up and it popped in using the rib that used to be next to us as a giant fender!
In the morning it is chaos as the wind had got up increasing the bumpy ride and after a small detour across the harbour for water we headed off towards Mykonos.
We had decided that Rinia Island sounded good so we surfed our way across huge waves and increasing winds to the bay on the south side. “Good shelter from the meltemi but gusts into the bay” the pilot book said. We are to discover that this is code for “really windy outside and in the bay, just less waves in the bay”. We anchor in 30 knots and settle in for a “gusty” night. After two nights we bravely decided that there must be better shelter than this and hopefully less people trying to anchor on us, in us and around us so we poke our nose out and head off round the coat to the bays on the west side… very rough and 18hp engines don’t really go together but we eventually slog our wet way into the bay where two enormous stinkpotters are dancing about at anchor. We head into the smallest bay to anchor in “sand”. Don’t think Mr Heikell has been in here as it isn’t sand at all but in fact a large rock shelf. Luckily this is to our advantage and we anchor on it. No chance of us drifting out now without removing half the island with us. Really windy now and we were shimmying all over the place so we threw out the kedge and settled in for three nights!!
Windy day occupations: Book reading, cleaning, fixing things, eating and rummikub. Yes; rummikub the mind bending game of champions. One game can last hours; great for those windy little moments you find in the pleasant isles of the Cyclades.
On the last day we checked over the hill and it was really pounding. The only things moving about are ferries and mega yachts but the lady on Olympia Radio insists the wind will drop “agotara” (later). Armed with this information we battened down the hatches (not well enough as it turned out, with a few damp cushions to show for the trip!) and left our snug spot for Mykonos… well, we got there but it wasn’t pretty!! Huge waves all over the place like a massive washing machine and gusting force 8. Later obviously means “aviro” (tomorrow) in radio speak as we finally struggled in the boat harbour late afternoon. In there it was a mere force 6 and Murray uses his patented parallel parking technique to secure us a spot alongside the quay and we collapsed into a heap! Mykonos boat harbour has been built with the best intentions but not much thought as to how it might be used by yachties. You are meant to go bows or stern-to but the holding is so poor everyone that tried that ended up dropping back on their anchor and going alongside making it even more difficult to get in alongside past all the anchor chains. Then there is the nature of the quay… lovely and smooth at the water line and hard and gnarly above. Great for shredding fenders and fraying ropes. We deployed all our fender and rope guards and still ended up with tattered fender covers and rubbed new mooring warps… arhhhhh! And don’t get us started on the orientation of the harbour to catch the meltemi at just the right angle to pin you to the quay!! (Toilet block and showers were a real find though!!) Still, no wind the next day and lulled into a false sense of security we visited the town (very beautiful) and did chores etc. The next day the wind starts again and we hunker down with 30 knots grinding us into the quayside. Undaunted we wander the narrow streets of Mykonos town and laugh at the amount of tat for sale. The gay scene is not as overt as implied in the “brochures”, just the odd well muscled man mincing his way though the narrow cobbled streets and posters declaring a good time can be had every night at the “Ramrod Bar”.
The next day we are jolted awake at 6am by a big crunching sound and a loud scream… never a good way to wake up and when we shot out of the companionway we immediately see there is a problem two boats down. (Sorry Sonya it still sounds like a melodrama but really we are having a great time!) Murray rushed off to catch ropes and I stopped to put knickers on… good job really as I spent the next hour holding hands with a Turkish man as his skipper (a very competent German lady) and I stabilised his broken leg and Murray raised an ambulance. Turns out they were trying to leave and a gust (over the 30 knots it was already blowing) caught them and forced them into the Hungarian boat in front trapping the guy’s leg between the pulpit of one and the pushpit and winch of the other. Very messy but he recovered well in Athens hospital apparently. Still blowing so we went to Delos for the day to recover and have some cultural time out. Some really cool stuff to be seen but you need to go off the beaten path a bit (and away from the whistle blowing do not touch police!) Not as good atmosphera as some of the places we had been to but it was the centre of the world at one stage so you kind of have to go!
That night we hit the “Blue Ginger” Thai restaurant (joys of being in a resort town; “not another Greek salad” is finally coming to a fore in our eating habits!!) and have a spectacular meal overlooking Mykonos town. The waiter was a real hoot too. A really camped up Philippino with excellent patter…
…”The Greek food is very heavy”, a small titter followed and then with his hand discreetly over the mouth he whispered “just like the people!” With an unabashed chuckle he shimmied away to get our main courses.
The next day it was, guess what??!, windy so we hopped on the local bus and went to visit some of the beaches on the south of the island. While avoiding “Super Paradise” we did find some great Greek hangouts and worked on perfecting our bat and ball techniques… a lot of work to do there! After a great morning and lunch at a cafeteria style restaurant accompanied but boutique local beer we decided to walk between beaches. It was great fun wandering about until we got to the sign saying no entry… still that never stops Murray and a few fences, one cow paddock and a sewage line later we arrived scratched and dirty at the final beach. I had already resolved to speak no English if stopped and certainly no Greek!! Top day out!!
The morning brought yet more wind but by this time we were getting a little harbour crazy and with each passing moment little Mae was in danger of losing something vital to a charter boat with no manners so we were thinking hard about leaving... final decision was kind of made for us when yet another billy aimed for the gap in front of us and missed on the way in (crunch on our pulpit) and the way out (crunch on our pulpit) and the way back in (crunch on our pulpit). I could see Murray hair stand on end as I used my hog calling voice to encourage the driver to use the “FORWARD” gear to prevent yet another ding! Then we spied the boat that just left from behind us coming back to have a go at our stern and we opted to leave while we could and with the help of six burly Germans pushing and shoving us off the quay (18hp really doesn’t cut it in the Cycladic winds!) we motored out into the hell of Mykonos bay. Oh joy, a mere 40+ knots now and even larger waves but Mae was happy to lift up her petite transom once out into the Delos channel and surf down towards Paros… Primo, dude, gnarly wave action man! As we neared Paros the wind reduced (no, it’s true!!) and once inside the bay it was calm (no it’s really is true!!) and we anchored in no wind or waves (would we lie to you?!). So this is what cruising is meant to be all about?! Just wonderful… still, quiet, calm and a warm sea to play in! Ahh and rest!
Peace and quiet?
Paros turned out to be a great spot. Really sheltered and a great little town just a short Sloppy ride across the bay. We took the opportunity to swim, read, play bat and ball and generally chill out before heading off towards Naxos for my birthday. Jez was back in town so we arranged to meet him in Naxos for a few days R n R and hopefully some sailing!
My birthday day was just lovely. Sunny blue skies, virtually no wind and calm seas. I spent the afternoon lolling about on my new blow up crocodile lilo enjoying a deserted bay before we headed into Naxos town.
We had intended to anchor off the beach but the peeping port police (everyone in Greece in a position of power is issued with a whistle!) assured us that was a crap idea and could we tell the Americans that had also anchored to move… being American they were less than impressed even when Murray pointed out the port police carry guns. (Yes: Handguns, handcuffs (no getting excited Penelope!), a night stick and goodness knows what else… not sure what the penalty is for disobeying an anchoring order but I imagine it could escalate quickly! All adds to the pretty uniform though!)
Naxos Marina is the usual Greek Marina; designed with the best intentions but just somehow falls short of the mark on home comforts due to the ferry wash and its orientation to the prevailing wind. Free power and water were a bonus though and we got a good deal compared to the charter boats so we tied up nice and snug on the inside pontoon.
Naxos is a wonderful place; tiny lanes and alley ways with little venetian touches here and there and a gentle pace of life. That night we found a Thai restaurant and had an excellent meal! (Are you noting a theme here?!)
The town was hosting a Latin American concert as part of an international music festival and it was interesting to watch the Greek locals reaction to the lively music and dancing… all the tourists were boogying on down and Greeks sat quietly and clapped at the appropriate moments… all very restrained.
Jez arrived bright and early the next morning and then proceeded to go to sleep… overnight ferries are great but not great for a restful nights sleep. Just as well really as the wind was rising again and everyone on the quay had pretty much decided to stay put no matter how sloppy it got. Murray and I went off to practice bat and ball…
That night we ventured into one of the open air cinemas that are so popular here to see Mama Mia (thanks Liz, you never mentioned it was a musical… Murray’s face was a picture when they burst forth into the first number!) Good movie though and we laughed the whole way through it aided by a couple of Mythos’s.
On the way back it was Greek music night but the boys decided that the Greeks answer to hillbilly was a bit much so we retired for a bouncy night sleep…
The next day dawned windy and wild so we hired a car and set off to explore Naxos. The island is famous for “Citron”; liquor distilled from the leaves of a tree that looks like a spiky orange, so we visited the distillery and sampled the wares… very different! The villages in the centre of the island had a certain charm and the island was incredibly green on the eastern side. The giant “Kouros” was a real treat even if we did make Jez walk an unneeded 500m uphill! The marble statue remains in its unfinished form where it was rudely hacked from the marble. Cracks meant he would never leave the hillside. Turns out there are three of these giants around the island and many other smaller ones were successfully honed from the mountains and distributed around Greece.
The next day was even windier so it was another day in port; reading, rummikub and rithmetic… Our bat and ball skills are improving and a trip to the beach bought out the competitive spirit somewhat and we managed nearly thirty pit pats without dropping the ball… Ok so still some room for improvement!
The quay once again is a little rough and when the wind dropped the next morning we headed off with Jez muttering about lulls and false sense of security etc…
Turns out the pessimist is slightly right as the wind picked up in the afternoon and the bottom of Naxos was copping the worst of it… anchoring in thirty knots is old hat now! Lovely bay though and turns out the new wee boat harbour has become the second home of Pete and Shirl and they plan to leave “Jade” to over winter there under the watchful eye of the local taverna owner.
The next day we headed off to the Little Cyclades in light winds and all agreed the little islands were the best. Lack of wind does this! Skhindusa was a really pretty spot; a tiny harbour with one taverna and lots of fishing boats. We managed to back onto the locals quay and snug as a bug had an excellent nights sleep in a ripple free environment… Jez and Murray didn’t seem to notice the huge midnight ferry that backed onto the outer quay and played Greensleeves at top volume… oh to be a sounder sleeper!
In search of the nudist…
Ios is meant to be home to the last of the nudist colonies and Jez was determined to hunt them out so we headed off to the place of the last known sightings.
Dismally it was another dreadfully windy day and although we finally anchored close enough to view all the comings and goings of the original colony there were no nudists to be seen. Taking a chance we moved further along the coast the next day but still no luck. Finally when heading out of a newly developed bay we spied a shy pair making their way along the rocks far from the reaches of civilisation. Further deliberations indicated that it could have been a breeding pair pushed to the very limits of their habitat by the prudish Greek mamas. And so here in the wilds of Ios on the brink of extinction the last of the nudists melted away into the distance leaving nothing but a bum print on the sand to indicate they had ever been there… Sorry Jez we tried!
Easy rider…
Ios town turned out to be an awesome spot with tailed moorings to the quay and great protection from the meltemi… so good Jez said he expected to get a text to say we had decided to live there permanently!
As it was supposed to windy for the next couple of days we decided to have a few adventures on shore and popped across to Thira (Santorini) by ferry. Spectacular place but not somewhere to bring your yacht… no where to tie up for a start! We watched while yachts came and went attempting to moor up to the giant cruise liners buoys by one piece of string… not pretty when the trip boats went past or the wind changed. It was a huge day of walking and sightseeing. The archaeological museum followed by a viewing of reproductions of the wall frescoes found provided the cultural portion of the day while Murray got his fill of donkeys on the track down to the port. His fame must have spread as the first thing the old dudes wanted to know was whether Murray wanted a ride on a donkey…
Santorini is not as we expected however and despite our best attempts we could not find more than three blue domed churches… on close inspection we realised that there are only three blue domed churches and that the postcards and advertising are all based around different angles of the same three! Consumer affairs could have a field with that…
The next day we decided to rent 4 wheel motorbikes and see the rest of Ios. Jez, having never been on one, was dubious but took to it like James Dean to a Harley. You have the vespa, the ape and then these little beasties. Nicknamed the “bumblebee” after the first corner we soon came to realise that 50cc and Greek hills aren’t really compatible. 15kph into a 30 knot headwind on a 1 in 5 hill made for slow going initially but we managed to slowly crawl our way to Homer’s tomb… “The most underwhelming place” Murray has ever been to… but at least we made it unlike the drivers of the rental car parked in an olive tree further down the road!
Still doing our impersonation of the “banana bunch”, we then toured a couple of beaches, had lunch and decided to get funky and head off road down the cutely marked “bad dirt road”. Great fun; bumping and bouncing down the hill. Jez had a grin a mile wide and an arse as tender as a rookie cowboy after the first days droving… (ooh that could be misconstrued couldn’t it!!?) Fantastic fun!!
After Jez left us for the big outside world Murray and I loaded up Mae and headed off into the wild blue yonder in such of new adventures… sure enough we got them within about an hour of leaving port with a change in the wind and massive waves to contend with yet again… remind me why are we down this way again??
We aimed for Andi-Paros as the best option for a lee out of the wind. The bay was supposed to an old pirate haunt with “good protection from the meltemi”… yeah right. 30+ knots going in made it difficult to manoeuvre much and this was exacerbated by the old liveaboard trick of prop wrapping the dingy painter… buggers all round but luckily we had already started dropping the anchor and the sand bottom was great holding and we came to a screeching halt in no time. Two foot high waves in the bay made unravelling what was left of the painter awkward but again luckily not too much damage sustained… phew! As the wind had settled in for a bit so did we… two days of rummikub and reading before it finally dropped enough to motor ashore for dinner… good job we always plan for long bay stays now and had plenty of tucker on board!
Venus de Milo vs Aphrodite of Milos…
The next day we headed to the island of Milos. Slightly off the beaten track we had a good feeling about it and sure enough it turned out to be a wonderful spot. The sail over was a delightful downhill run and the first bay we stopped in had crystal clear water and a rocky beach like newly baked meringue. After a restful nights sleep we awoke to find ourselves surrounded by giant stinkpotters creating a cats cradle of lines ashore so we beat a hasty retreat to the main bay on the island; so much for our secluded spot. The visibility was much reduced by a sea fog most unusual for this time of year but no sign of rain.
Milos is an interesting place that is being mined within an inch of its life. Tiny islands around the perimeter are slowly demolished and the spoils of barium and kaolin shipped offshore, while the mainland also sports opencast scars and grinds to the sound of giant machinery and trucks.
Just so you know, the Venus de Milo is actually Aphrodite of Milos and she was found in field near the main town, not many people are aware of that but now you are in on the secret too!
We decided we weren’t ready for town yet and slipped across to anchor under the wind turbines. Tempting fate maybe but another ripple free bay and we felt well rested to hit the bright lights of Milos town.
The town was just how we like them; hot and sleepy. Not too much to do here but kick back and watch the bugs. The quay was tailed mooring with power and water but the sign warning of heaving waves caused by fast boats is not reassuring and we kept well off. Just as well, as the wind decided to get a look in and the night turned into a bit of a pasting, with the transom slamming and banging on the water surface all night. Interestingly there were three élans on the wall… us, a new 333 and a 45… all good looking vessels and obviously well suited for the slightly rougher conditions. (Bit of a skite there but had to be done!)
In a small lull the next day we headed off round the corner to Pollonia escorted by a small pod of dolphins including same babies. Dolphins haven’t been as plentiful as normal and apparently a virus had decimated the populations all over Greece so it was good to see some young ones.
In Pollonia we discovered that the locals had decided it was an excellent bay to leave your boat and the sea bed had sprouted a garden of colourful mooring buoys. We took a chance and picked our way through them until we found a tiny clear patch and anchored. Really sweet place with a tiny church and newly renovated houses… where is all this money coming from? We hoped for a good nights sleep (and had a siesta just in case) as the next day was to be a long one towards the Saronic…
Hydra or bust…
60 miles to Hydra and luckily the wind was in our favour when it chose to blow so we made good time… 13 hours! We knew we wouldn’t have a hope of getting into the harbour so settled for anchoring in Mandraki. Someone really should point out that swimming areas and anchoring don’t mix and we spend all night bumping around in the flashing buoys! Still better than the boats next to us the managed to anchor on the sunken remains of goodness knows what and despite my best free dives yet (approx 12m) I couldn’t get the last chain wraps off their anchor. As the wind was picking up we decided to head off to Dhokos and then when it got rougher opted for Poros instead. Downhill all the way and into Russian Bay. Home territory yah!
Russian bay is an extremely popular place and much to Murray’s amusement also seemed to attract the more radical Greek… we decided to rename the bay… Shaggers Beach… enough said…
Rain, rain and more rain…
We are really getting the feeling that the season is drawing to a close and have had to break out the winter woollies and duvet. It has done nothing but rain since we hit the Saronic and we are discovering all our deck and window leaks at once!
It is nice to trip around the old haunts though and we try to get into Aigina town with no luck too busy and end up anchoring off then head for Perdika for two days then on to Vathi. Apart from Aigina it is pretty quiet and we had a prime spot in Vathi and so took the opportunity to go walking. This was much to the amusement of Costas the Harbourmaster who spent the day driving past us on the roads tooting… the number of times I thought I was going to need a new pair of knickers were uncountable, you would think you would get used to being scared witless! We walked to Methana town and had a spectacular meal in Zorba’s on the waterfront. Homemade food by the traditionally dressed in black grandmama; really tasty spinach and rice, bean stew and beef casserole. We stuffed our faces and probably could have eaten more… must be the exercise and colder weather! The walk back was slow and we took some shortcuts… yeah right… but saw heaps of things we didn’t know were there like stonewalled donkey tracks, little churches and the old acropolis of Vathi. Really fun day out and the volcano to look forward to tomorrow! Sure enough bright and early we headed off to have breakfast on top of the volcano with Costas shaking his head in disbelief. Greeks have a policy; why walk when you can ride and why ride when you can drive. The walk proved to be really interesting and the volcano is actually just that, the vent right on the top. Pretty spooky even though it’s not active… at the moment! The village down the road was kind of built into the last lava flow and the people seemed really laid back, I imagine you would have to be living like that. Murray was excited by the number of donkeys in the area that were still being used for transport and checked the condition of each one we passed. He is becoming quite the expert!
Vathi was also the scene of the great “Ousting”. As we know Skippers don’t do toilets but unfortunately when you block it you fix it and so Murray could be seen upside down in the heads muttering between breaths fumbling with various pipes and stop cocks. Finally I took pity on him and said I would be in charge of clean up… the words “Oust me, Oust me” could be heard ringing around the hill and nearly a tin of Oust polluted the atmosphere in the process!
Despite the rain we are having a great time and the next day cruised up to Korfos, a place we have never been to before. Again very sleepy with it being end of season but still enough places to keep us interested. With not too long to go before laying up Mae we decided that a trip to Athens was in order so we headed over to Aigina via Kiri, Angistiri and the Metopi shoals. It was bath day and the wind was blowing and the temperature was very low but we still braved the sea and had a good wash down… brurrrrrr… its nice to have some warm clothes to change into. To think, Murray pooh poohed my insistence that we might need them! It’s down jackets all round at night now!
I see from our last blog that we failed to tell the story of the naked German nutter!!
It’s a comical tale of innuendo, naivety and sheer embarrassment, so sit back and relax, let Tinkerbelle turn the pages…
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a girl called Cate who hadn’t seen much life and was very naïve in the ways of the world. On this particular day she was anchored in a small bay minding her own business when another boat arrived. Seeing a New Zealand flag she immediately thought warm and kind thoughts about the fact that they anchored very close, so much so she swam out to wish them a happy holiday. Strangely the new boat people were not as friendly as expected being German (two had emigrated to New Zealand but obviously had missed the kiwi host lessons) leaving a slightly sad taste in her mouth so she swam back to resume cleaning her pride and joy (that’s the boat not Murray). Shortly afterwards the newcomers thought better of their rebuff of Cate’s attempts to be friendly and one was sent out to make amends. “That’s nice”, thought Cate, “but too little too late”, however her Mummy had brought her up well so she made polite conversion whilst floating about in the water cleaning her hull (that’s the boats hull, not Cate’s). During this slightly strained conversation Cate thought to introduce Murray who was scowling from the cabin top and then politely declined an offer to go across and clean their boat when she had finished. With enough niceties out of the way Cate made her way around the back of the boat thereby encouraging the interloper to swim back to his boat. “Whew” thought Cate “what a weirdo” and proceeded to go on board for beer. Much to her surprise Murray was uncommonly snakey considering it is beer o’clock and asked if she is going for drinks over there or what. “What” said Cate, “I am pretty sure he was just making a joke about cleaning his boat when I had finished mine, but anyway, no way they are a bit odd” Enough said she thought although Murray continued to be broody late into the night… well one day followed the next and sometime later Murray brought up the incident again… it turns out that not all can be seen from water level, cabin tops give a completely different view and said visitor was actually a gingernutter where it counted and cold water can be very unkind to men! Needless to say Cate was highly shocked and very embarrassed to have been placed in such a compromising position and promised never to go visiting strange boats again! The End.
Sloppy’s Revenge…
We have just had a few days with Uncle Richard (a.k.a. The Mushroom, thanks to Auntie Mena’s hat)… a mixed bag of weather as usual and some fun and games with finding space in the ever crowded Saronic, but a grand trip out none the less! One of the highlights was visiting Vathi after a two day grind to windward. We are sure it has shrunk but more than likely it’s the boats that have got bigger!! Everybody breathe in and don’t mind the gelcoat. Not being able to back all the way to the quay however, did present an opportunity for Sloppy to express his sense of humour once more. Whilst operating as a floating bridge he bided his time and when the appropriate moment came he acted without warning… my “for god sake don’t let Uncle Richard fall in” to Murray met with a small squeak and a splash as soon as I turned my back, followed by a very bedraggled Uncle Richard arriving back in the cockpit and the need for a complete change of clothes before venturing out again. Our apologies but it was a good laugh! P.s. the pork chops are still to die for here!
The last of the Kalamaki…
Whilst in Poros waiting for news of our next guest (victim), Jez, we caught up with Big Richard again and spent a great evening at the Karavolos Restaurant dining on plates of sumptuous Greek fare. Yes, there is good food out here you just have to know where to look for it and Theo’s is some of the best!
After an entertaining evening of chat and food (boy that bloke with a She 36 was a real yapper!) we ended the evening at the Asteria Café for drinks. It is a sad day when you realise that the Greek male has lost his mojo and it is even more blatantly obvious they have when you meet Thanassas. Shirley Valentine eat your heart out this man is the real Costas! Long jet black hair (in a ponytail of course), olive skin, white shirt, black trousers and a smile that lights up the night sky! Well maybe that is a slight exaggeration but you get the gist. Ahh, Thanassas, the last of the Kalamaki (that’s fisherman to the rest of us, only it usually doesn’t apply to catching fish if you know what I mean!)… A quick check with Big Richard reveals it’s true… young Greek men have lost the knack with the ladies! Worse still… horror of horrors, he says they don’t seem to even be that interested in girls… Never fear though (Sonya) we are determined to seek out the truth of this matter and form a network of Greek gods that can be relied on to get the job done so to speak!
Thanks for the great night Pete and Shirl (Jade)…
What a way to wind down. In our day between guests we head up the Poros channel to Russian Bay. We were in here a few days earlier and saw a NZ catamaran and as luck would have it they are still there. Well one thing leads to another and we get invited aboard. Lets just say it is very relaxing to be in the company of other New Zealanders and a great night was had by all… slightly fuzzy for some and I’m not sure I would have liked to have been Pete the next day, schlepping up the Acropolis in the blazing Athenian sun but it did result in a great book swapping session that was just the icing on the cake!
What ever flots your boat, you can’t Seafarer than that!
Well it has been a busy few days we can tell you. Jez arrived (yay!) and announced that we had to tail the flotilla for a couple of days… sounds like fun we reply… and it was!!
First day it was Ermione… the south side… never been in there… not much space and plenty of fishing and flotilla boats. We jump the queue and slip into a very nice spot, ahh the joys of being an independent boatie! After a pleasant night away from the madding crowds of flotilla billies (billy bunters… punters) we watch the morning’s entertainment. First up is one flot boat which immediately hooks another yachts anchor. We wait for a rescue to be mounted but are told by Jez that that sort of thing doesn’t really happen anymore. We are a bit shocked by this callus disregard for client welfare but overjoyed to see the Neilson skipper ride to the boat’s aid in a dingy… Well folks, I know they say what comes around goes around but boy we have never seen karma in action this quick… who should be next on the chopping block of life but Jez himself… yep a real doosy… mooring buoy, rope, chain, anchor, you name it they pulled it up… and where was the rescue team??... we seize the opportunity to zip out, lift part of the mooring chain attached to Jez, neatly free ourselves and leave the rest of them to it. A couple of hours later we hear them still on the radio explaining it to the Port police and the irate fisherman. Five boats in total stuck on various bits of chain… who says the cosmos doesn’t have a sense of humour!!
We were still chuckling over it when we hit Leonidion (yep as in the place we have been to recently!) and find a group of floties milling about outside waiting for the lead crew… well we think they aren’t going to be here anytime soon so we ply on in and grab the last of the easy spots (hee hee!) and proceed to act as lead crew for Jez slotting flotilla boats in left right and centre. Murray thoroughly enjoyed himself!! The flotilla billies and crew seem none the wiser however and are slow to put two and two together that the big boss of the company they are sailing with (aka the Fat Controller) is actually hanging out on our boat and therefore it was not random we keep turning up and helping.
And so to Astros… considering the help we have been giving these people we are surprised to hear ourselves called “that damn English boat” so we retaliate by driving through a few and parking in an impossible space! Even 2 out of the 3 of the lead crew seem to be bemused that we are everywhere they are… nice but dim springs to mind!
We have a great meal in Astros drinking Zestos beer (locally brewed) and yarning to the restaurant owner and friends about the state of Greece till 3 in the morning… it was to be a slow following day!!
By now we are just a little sick of the flotilla life but it’s beach party night so off we go to Spetses… what a polava… we anchor up and take bets as to how long it will take the flotilla to form a raft… after an hour Jez loses patience and he and Murray go and park the lead boat!! Sadly I won in my bet of “by 8.45pm” even though Jez and Murray did their darndest to get it done quicker. Murray is really in his element now and even offers to stand in if they sack the skipper!! Whoa there boy, have you really thought this through! Now we really have had enough and take Jez off to Khinitsa and Dhokos for a couple of days chilling out before hitting Poros again, where, luckily, Jez has a change of heart and Murray is not called into action and after two nights at the Karavolos (man, the food is great there!) we are once again footloose and flotilla free… watch out the Cyclades here we come!!
There she blows… and blows and blows!
So it is windy in the Cyclades. We had heard as such but you know things are… who believes everything you hear!
It has been an extremely blowy few weeks since I last sat down to write; so much so we nearly went back to the Saronic many times over!! Our route has been a convoluted one with many days in harbour and out in the bays sitting out the worst of the meltemi. From Poros we headed to Aegina and were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm and then on to Sounion and Kea. Sounion was stunning especially when they light up the temple at night but here we got our first taste of the meltemi and didn’t feel comfortable leaving the boat with the wind gusting into the bay and boats careering about all over the place. Kea is a fantastic island that has been discovered by the Athenians once more and is slowly being converted into a beautiful weekend getaway (if you can afford the prices!). The houses are all being built in local stone and the hard landscaping and walling are amazing in their own right! Murray sampled the local “small fishes”; not to his liking but thankfully I had befriended the restaurant cat and it had a whale of a time sitting on our knees being fed these little delicacies till it exploded. These same “small fishes” had the last laugh though when they transformed into “small killer fishes” that leap upon unsuspecting dingy drivers in the dead of night (boy, Murray squeaks when slapped around the ankles by a wet fishes, luckily Sloppy holds enough water to keep them alive long enough to be rescued.) Then we headed off to Kithnos. We had a great sail across, then the wind really started to build and we discover it is more than common to have 30+ knots in the anchorages in the Cyclades. Not such good holding in the first bay but we hang in there for the night but the need for a few groceries lures us out and so we head sideways down the channel to the town and attempt anchoring in a small bay outside… several anchoring manoeuvres later a local gentleman points out the holding isn’t very good… no kidding! It’s chaos in the town bay with charter boats popping in and out and a rogue powerboat blowing about with no engine so I left Murray slowly drifting down the bay and fetched the food, arriving back just in time to move the boat before it touches the other side. We bashed back up the bay into another arm of the harbour and drop the hook before deciding to attempt long lining. Eventually we get an excellent spot under the rock cliff in the lee and settle in for a couple of days to wait out the wind. Beautiful spot, Kithnos, but you have to have the right position! In a lull we head around the other side of the island reprovision again and have a night in a wonderful if shallow spot. Quite freaky looking over the side and seeing every blade of seaweed! Thinking no one else would be so stupid as to come in there we find ourselves surrounded by 4 “yashmack” ribs, (little ribs with hoods on that have become all the rage with Greeks), and spend a peaceful night listening to the gentle sounds of octopus being tenderised and ouzo being drunk to the sound of Bubble house musik.
As an aside it is really great to see the Greeks getting into discovering their environment. All this new found love of beaches, boating, snorkling and diving etc has really had a spin off effect on reducing the amount of rubbish you see on the beaches and in the bottom of bays… once more go the Greeks!
Mighty Mykonos
The next day we headed off to Siros in next to no wind but soon had a good breeze for the run across to the south of the island and a really nice spot in front of a Greek holiday destination. We are intrigued but the amount of people playing bat and ball on the beach and set ourselves the task of procuring a set of bats and giving it a go.
Next day we wake bright and early to the tranquil sound of Greek gardening at its best… takker, takker, takker, takker!!! Jack hammers really are the way forward when gardening in solid rock but maybe not at 7am. We motored around to the capital of Siros and moored up to the town quay. Really neat town but hugely bumpy quay with ferries coming and going all night. Even pulled right off as far as the boarding plank could go it felt like we were about to mount the “kerb” at any moment. Plenty of comings and goings to watch and we help some Polish people in several times till they kind of had it right! Later, after feeling guilty about what a large gap there was on either side of us, we were surprised to see a large stinkpotter bearing down on us and realised that the dockworker union had been using us to reserve a space for it. Needless to say we managed to squeeze up and it popped in using the rib that used to be next to us as a giant fender!
In the morning it is chaos as the wind had got up increasing the bumpy ride and after a small detour across the harbour for water we headed off towards Mykonos.
We had decided that Rinia Island sounded good so we surfed our way across huge waves and increasing winds to the bay on the south side. “Good shelter from the meltemi but gusts into the bay” the pilot book said. We are to discover that this is code for “really windy outside and in the bay, just less waves in the bay”. We anchor in 30 knots and settle in for a “gusty” night. After two nights we bravely decided that there must be better shelter than this and hopefully less people trying to anchor on us, in us and around us so we poke our nose out and head off round the coat to the bays on the west side… very rough and 18hp engines don’t really go together but we eventually slog our wet way into the bay where two enormous stinkpotters are dancing about at anchor. We head into the smallest bay to anchor in “sand”. Don’t think Mr Heikell has been in here as it isn’t sand at all but in fact a large rock shelf. Luckily this is to our advantage and we anchor on it. No chance of us drifting out now without removing half the island with us. Really windy now and we were shimmying all over the place so we threw out the kedge and settled in for three nights!!
Windy day occupations: Book reading, cleaning, fixing things, eating and rummikub. Yes; rummikub the mind bending game of champions. One game can last hours; great for those windy little moments you find in the pleasant isles of the Cyclades.
On the last day we checked over the hill and it was really pounding. The only things moving about are ferries and mega yachts but the lady on Olympia Radio insists the wind will drop “agotara” (later). Armed with this information we battened down the hatches (not well enough as it turned out, with a few damp cushions to show for the trip!) and left our snug spot for Mykonos… well, we got there but it wasn’t pretty!! Huge waves all over the place like a massive washing machine and gusting force 8. Later obviously means “aviro” (tomorrow) in radio speak as we finally struggled in the boat harbour late afternoon. In there it was a mere force 6 and Murray uses his patented parallel parking technique to secure us a spot alongside the quay and we collapsed into a heap! Mykonos boat harbour has been built with the best intentions but not much thought as to how it might be used by yachties. You are meant to go bows or stern-to but the holding is so poor everyone that tried that ended up dropping back on their anchor and going alongside making it even more difficult to get in alongside past all the anchor chains. Then there is the nature of the quay… lovely and smooth at the water line and hard and gnarly above. Great for shredding fenders and fraying ropes. We deployed all our fender and rope guards and still ended up with tattered fender covers and rubbed new mooring warps… arhhhhh! And don’t get us started on the orientation of the harbour to catch the meltemi at just the right angle to pin you to the quay!! (Toilet block and showers were a real find though!!) Still, no wind the next day and lulled into a false sense of security we visited the town (very beautiful) and did chores etc. The next day the wind starts again and we hunker down with 30 knots grinding us into the quayside. Undaunted we wander the narrow streets of Mykonos town and laugh at the amount of tat for sale. The gay scene is not as overt as implied in the “brochures”, just the odd well muscled man mincing his way though the narrow cobbled streets and posters declaring a good time can be had every night at the “Ramrod Bar”.
The next day we are jolted awake at 6am by a big crunching sound and a loud scream… never a good way to wake up and when we shot out of the companionway we immediately see there is a problem two boats down. (Sorry Sonya it still sounds like a melodrama but really we are having a great time!) Murray rushed off to catch ropes and I stopped to put knickers on… good job really as I spent the next hour holding hands with a Turkish man as his skipper (a very competent German lady) and I stabilised his broken leg and Murray raised an ambulance. Turns out they were trying to leave and a gust (over the 30 knots it was already blowing) caught them and forced them into the Hungarian boat in front trapping the guy’s leg between the pulpit of one and the pushpit and winch of the other. Very messy but he recovered well in Athens hospital apparently. Still blowing so we went to Delos for the day to recover and have some cultural time out. Some really cool stuff to be seen but you need to go off the beaten path a bit (and away from the whistle blowing do not touch police!) Not as good atmosphera as some of the places we had been to but it was the centre of the world at one stage so you kind of have to go!
That night we hit the “Blue Ginger” Thai restaurant (joys of being in a resort town; “not another Greek salad” is finally coming to a fore in our eating habits!!) and have a spectacular meal overlooking Mykonos town. The waiter was a real hoot too. A really camped up Philippino with excellent patter…
…”The Greek food is very heavy”, a small titter followed and then with his hand discreetly over the mouth he whispered “just like the people!” With an unabashed chuckle he shimmied away to get our main courses.
The next day it was, guess what??!, windy so we hopped on the local bus and went to visit some of the beaches on the south of the island. While avoiding “Super Paradise” we did find some great Greek hangouts and worked on perfecting our bat and ball techniques… a lot of work to do there! After a great morning and lunch at a cafeteria style restaurant accompanied but boutique local beer we decided to walk between beaches. It was great fun wandering about until we got to the sign saying no entry… still that never stops Murray and a few fences, one cow paddock and a sewage line later we arrived scratched and dirty at the final beach. I had already resolved to speak no English if stopped and certainly no Greek!! Top day out!!
The morning brought yet more wind but by this time we were getting a little harbour crazy and with each passing moment little Mae was in danger of losing something vital to a charter boat with no manners so we were thinking hard about leaving... final decision was kind of made for us when yet another billy aimed for the gap in front of us and missed on the way in (crunch on our pulpit) and the way out (crunch on our pulpit) and the way back in (crunch on our pulpit). I could see Murray hair stand on end as I used my hog calling voice to encourage the driver to use the “FORWARD” gear to prevent yet another ding! Then we spied the boat that just left from behind us coming back to have a go at our stern and we opted to leave while we could and with the help of six burly Germans pushing and shoving us off the quay (18hp really doesn’t cut it in the Cycladic winds!) we motored out into the hell of Mykonos bay. Oh joy, a mere 40+ knots now and even larger waves but Mae was happy to lift up her petite transom once out into the Delos channel and surf down towards Paros… Primo, dude, gnarly wave action man! As we neared Paros the wind reduced (no, it’s true!!) and once inside the bay it was calm (no it’s really is true!!) and we anchored in no wind or waves (would we lie to you?!). So this is what cruising is meant to be all about?! Just wonderful… still, quiet, calm and a warm sea to play in! Ahh and rest!
Peace and quiet?
Paros turned out to be a great spot. Really sheltered and a great little town just a short Sloppy ride across the bay. We took the opportunity to swim, read, play bat and ball and generally chill out before heading off towards Naxos for my birthday. Jez was back in town so we arranged to meet him in Naxos for a few days R n R and hopefully some sailing!
My birthday day was just lovely. Sunny blue skies, virtually no wind and calm seas. I spent the afternoon lolling about on my new blow up crocodile lilo enjoying a deserted bay before we headed into Naxos town.
We had intended to anchor off the beach but the peeping port police (everyone in Greece in a position of power is issued with a whistle!) assured us that was a crap idea and could we tell the Americans that had also anchored to move… being American they were less than impressed even when Murray pointed out the port police carry guns. (Yes: Handguns, handcuffs (no getting excited Penelope!), a night stick and goodness knows what else… not sure what the penalty is for disobeying an anchoring order but I imagine it could escalate quickly! All adds to the pretty uniform though!)
Naxos Marina is the usual Greek Marina; designed with the best intentions but just somehow falls short of the mark on home comforts due to the ferry wash and its orientation to the prevailing wind. Free power and water were a bonus though and we got a good deal compared to the charter boats so we tied up nice and snug on the inside pontoon.
Naxos is a wonderful place; tiny lanes and alley ways with little venetian touches here and there and a gentle pace of life. That night we found a Thai restaurant and had an excellent meal! (Are you noting a theme here?!)
The town was hosting a Latin American concert as part of an international music festival and it was interesting to watch the Greek locals reaction to the lively music and dancing… all the tourists were boogying on down and Greeks sat quietly and clapped at the appropriate moments… all very restrained.
Jez arrived bright and early the next morning and then proceeded to go to sleep… overnight ferries are great but not great for a restful nights sleep. Just as well really as the wind was rising again and everyone on the quay had pretty much decided to stay put no matter how sloppy it got. Murray and I went off to practice bat and ball…
That night we ventured into one of the open air cinemas that are so popular here to see Mama Mia (thanks Liz, you never mentioned it was a musical… Murray’s face was a picture when they burst forth into the first number!) Good movie though and we laughed the whole way through it aided by a couple of Mythos’s.
On the way back it was Greek music night but the boys decided that the Greeks answer to hillbilly was a bit much so we retired for a bouncy night sleep…
The next day dawned windy and wild so we hired a car and set off to explore Naxos. The island is famous for “Citron”; liquor distilled from the leaves of a tree that looks like a spiky orange, so we visited the distillery and sampled the wares… very different! The villages in the centre of the island had a certain charm and the island was incredibly green on the eastern side. The giant “Kouros” was a real treat even if we did make Jez walk an unneeded 500m uphill! The marble statue remains in its unfinished form where it was rudely hacked from the marble. Cracks meant he would never leave the hillside. Turns out there are three of these giants around the island and many other smaller ones were successfully honed from the mountains and distributed around Greece.
The next day was even windier so it was another day in port; reading, rummikub and rithmetic… Our bat and ball skills are improving and a trip to the beach bought out the competitive spirit somewhat and we managed nearly thirty pit pats without dropping the ball… Ok so still some room for improvement!
The quay once again is a little rough and when the wind dropped the next morning we headed off with Jez muttering about lulls and false sense of security etc…
Turns out the pessimist is slightly right as the wind picked up in the afternoon and the bottom of Naxos was copping the worst of it… anchoring in thirty knots is old hat now! Lovely bay though and turns out the new wee boat harbour has become the second home of Pete and Shirl and they plan to leave “Jade” to over winter there under the watchful eye of the local taverna owner.
The next day we headed off to the Little Cyclades in light winds and all agreed the little islands were the best. Lack of wind does this! Skhindusa was a really pretty spot; a tiny harbour with one taverna and lots of fishing boats. We managed to back onto the locals quay and snug as a bug had an excellent nights sleep in a ripple free environment… Jez and Murray didn’t seem to notice the huge midnight ferry that backed onto the outer quay and played Greensleeves at top volume… oh to be a sounder sleeper!
In search of the nudist…
Ios is meant to be home to the last of the nudist colonies and Jez was determined to hunt them out so we headed off to the place of the last known sightings.
Dismally it was another dreadfully windy day and although we finally anchored close enough to view all the comings and goings of the original colony there were no nudists to be seen. Taking a chance we moved further along the coast the next day but still no luck. Finally when heading out of a newly developed bay we spied a shy pair making their way along the rocks far from the reaches of civilisation. Further deliberations indicated that it could have been a breeding pair pushed to the very limits of their habitat by the prudish Greek mamas. And so here in the wilds of Ios on the brink of extinction the last of the nudists melted away into the distance leaving nothing but a bum print on the sand to indicate they had ever been there… Sorry Jez we tried!
Easy rider…
Ios town turned out to be an awesome spot with tailed moorings to the quay and great protection from the meltemi… so good Jez said he expected to get a text to say we had decided to live there permanently!
As it was supposed to windy for the next couple of days we decided to have a few adventures on shore and popped across to Thira (Santorini) by ferry. Spectacular place but not somewhere to bring your yacht… no where to tie up for a start! We watched while yachts came and went attempting to moor up to the giant cruise liners buoys by one piece of string… not pretty when the trip boats went past or the wind changed. It was a huge day of walking and sightseeing. The archaeological museum followed by a viewing of reproductions of the wall frescoes found provided the cultural portion of the day while Murray got his fill of donkeys on the track down to the port. His fame must have spread as the first thing the old dudes wanted to know was whether Murray wanted a ride on a donkey…
Santorini is not as we expected however and despite our best attempts we could not find more than three blue domed churches… on close inspection we realised that there are only three blue domed churches and that the postcards and advertising are all based around different angles of the same three! Consumer affairs could have a field with that…
The next day we decided to rent 4 wheel motorbikes and see the rest of Ios. Jez, having never been on one, was dubious but took to it like James Dean to a Harley. You have the vespa, the ape and then these little beasties. Nicknamed the “bumblebee” after the first corner we soon came to realise that 50cc and Greek hills aren’t really compatible. 15kph into a 30 knot headwind on a 1 in 5 hill made for slow going initially but we managed to slowly crawl our way to Homer’s tomb… “The most underwhelming place” Murray has ever been to… but at least we made it unlike the drivers of the rental car parked in an olive tree further down the road!
Still doing our impersonation of the “banana bunch”, we then toured a couple of beaches, had lunch and decided to get funky and head off road down the cutely marked “bad dirt road”. Great fun; bumping and bouncing down the hill. Jez had a grin a mile wide and an arse as tender as a rookie cowboy after the first days droving… (ooh that could be misconstrued couldn’t it!!?) Fantastic fun!!
After Jez left us for the big outside world Murray and I loaded up Mae and headed off into the wild blue yonder in such of new adventures… sure enough we got them within about an hour of leaving port with a change in the wind and massive waves to contend with yet again… remind me why are we down this way again??
We aimed for Andi-Paros as the best option for a lee out of the wind. The bay was supposed to an old pirate haunt with “good protection from the meltemi”… yeah right. 30+ knots going in made it difficult to manoeuvre much and this was exacerbated by the old liveaboard trick of prop wrapping the dingy painter… buggers all round but luckily we had already started dropping the anchor and the sand bottom was great holding and we came to a screeching halt in no time. Two foot high waves in the bay made unravelling what was left of the painter awkward but again luckily not too much damage sustained… phew! As the wind had settled in for a bit so did we… two days of rummikub and reading before it finally dropped enough to motor ashore for dinner… good job we always plan for long bay stays now and had plenty of tucker on board!
Venus de Milo vs Aphrodite of Milos…
The next day we headed to the island of Milos. Slightly off the beaten track we had a good feeling about it and sure enough it turned out to be a wonderful spot. The sail over was a delightful downhill run and the first bay we stopped in had crystal clear water and a rocky beach like newly baked meringue. After a restful nights sleep we awoke to find ourselves surrounded by giant stinkpotters creating a cats cradle of lines ashore so we beat a hasty retreat to the main bay on the island; so much for our secluded spot. The visibility was much reduced by a sea fog most unusual for this time of year but no sign of rain.
Milos is an interesting place that is being mined within an inch of its life. Tiny islands around the perimeter are slowly demolished and the spoils of barium and kaolin shipped offshore, while the mainland also sports opencast scars and grinds to the sound of giant machinery and trucks.
Just so you know, the Venus de Milo is actually Aphrodite of Milos and she was found in field near the main town, not many people are aware of that but now you are in on the secret too!
We decided we weren’t ready for town yet and slipped across to anchor under the wind turbines. Tempting fate maybe but another ripple free bay and we felt well rested to hit the bright lights of Milos town.
The town was just how we like them; hot and sleepy. Not too much to do here but kick back and watch the bugs. The quay was tailed mooring with power and water but the sign warning of heaving waves caused by fast boats is not reassuring and we kept well off. Just as well, as the wind decided to get a look in and the night turned into a bit of a pasting, with the transom slamming and banging on the water surface all night. Interestingly there were three élans on the wall… us, a new 333 and a 45… all good looking vessels and obviously well suited for the slightly rougher conditions. (Bit of a skite there but had to be done!)
In a small lull the next day we headed off round the corner to Pollonia escorted by a small pod of dolphins including same babies. Dolphins haven’t been as plentiful as normal and apparently a virus had decimated the populations all over Greece so it was good to see some young ones.
In Pollonia we discovered that the locals had decided it was an excellent bay to leave your boat and the sea bed had sprouted a garden of colourful mooring buoys. We took a chance and picked our way through them until we found a tiny clear patch and anchored. Really sweet place with a tiny church and newly renovated houses… where is all this money coming from? We hoped for a good nights sleep (and had a siesta just in case) as the next day was to be a long one towards the Saronic…
Hydra or bust…
60 miles to Hydra and luckily the wind was in our favour when it chose to blow so we made good time… 13 hours! We knew we wouldn’t have a hope of getting into the harbour so settled for anchoring in Mandraki. Someone really should point out that swimming areas and anchoring don’t mix and we spend all night bumping around in the flashing buoys! Still better than the boats next to us the managed to anchor on the sunken remains of goodness knows what and despite my best free dives yet (approx 12m) I couldn’t get the last chain wraps off their anchor. As the wind was picking up we decided to head off to Dhokos and then when it got rougher opted for Poros instead. Downhill all the way and into Russian Bay. Home territory yah!
Russian bay is an extremely popular place and much to Murray’s amusement also seemed to attract the more radical Greek… we decided to rename the bay… Shaggers Beach… enough said…
Rain, rain and more rain…
We are really getting the feeling that the season is drawing to a close and have had to break out the winter woollies and duvet. It has done nothing but rain since we hit the Saronic and we are discovering all our deck and window leaks at once!
It is nice to trip around the old haunts though and we try to get into Aigina town with no luck too busy and end up anchoring off then head for Perdika for two days then on to Vathi. Apart from Aigina it is pretty quiet and we had a prime spot in Vathi and so took the opportunity to go walking. This was much to the amusement of Costas the Harbourmaster who spent the day driving past us on the roads tooting… the number of times I thought I was going to need a new pair of knickers were uncountable, you would think you would get used to being scared witless! We walked to Methana town and had a spectacular meal in Zorba’s on the waterfront. Homemade food by the traditionally dressed in black grandmama; really tasty spinach and rice, bean stew and beef casserole. We stuffed our faces and probably could have eaten more… must be the exercise and colder weather! The walk back was slow and we took some shortcuts… yeah right… but saw heaps of things we didn’t know were there like stonewalled donkey tracks, little churches and the old acropolis of Vathi. Really fun day out and the volcano to look forward to tomorrow! Sure enough bright and early we headed off to have breakfast on top of the volcano with Costas shaking his head in disbelief. Greeks have a policy; why walk when you can ride and why ride when you can drive. The walk proved to be really interesting and the volcano is actually just that, the vent right on the top. Pretty spooky even though it’s not active… at the moment! The village down the road was kind of built into the last lava flow and the people seemed really laid back, I imagine you would have to be living like that. Murray was excited by the number of donkeys in the area that were still being used for transport and checked the condition of each one we passed. He is becoming quite the expert!
Vathi was also the scene of the great “Ousting”. As we know Skippers don’t do toilets but unfortunately when you block it you fix it and so Murray could be seen upside down in the heads muttering between breaths fumbling with various pipes and stop cocks. Finally I took pity on him and said I would be in charge of clean up… the words “Oust me, Oust me” could be heard ringing around the hill and nearly a tin of Oust polluted the atmosphere in the process!
Despite the rain we are having a great time and the next day cruised up to Korfos, a place we have never been to before. Again very sleepy with it being end of season but still enough places to keep us interested. With not too long to go before laying up Mae we decided that a trip to Athens was in order so we headed over to Aigina via Kiri, Angistiri and the Metopi shoals. It was bath day and the wind was blowing and the temperature was very low but we still braved the sea and had a good wash down… brurrrrrr… its nice to have some warm clothes to change into. To think, Murray pooh poohed my insistence that we might need them! It’s down jackets all round at night now!
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