Hello Greece... Again!

We are back on water! Actually, we have now been on the water for 5 days and are happily bobbing away in a protected bay (Ormos Vlikho) south of Nidri on the mountainous island of Levkas in the Ionian Sea.

Today is the first windy day – at the moment low 20’s knots and mid afternoon, but it is expected to be in the high 20’s over night and higher tomorrow so we are staying put. Temperature wise, the last few days have been mid 30’sC and around 24C overnight. The water temperature is 28.6C. Fine when there is a breeze but a bit sticky otherwise; but then there is always a dip to be had right outside the back door.

After 3 days and 4 nights of sweating it out at Cleopatra Marina, where Manali spent the winter on land, it was such a relief to be back on the water. Up before sunrise
(6.30am) and in bed before 10, we worked through the jet lag, the heat, the dust and the mosquitos to get back to sea asap. We arrived by bus from Athens at 6pm on the Sunday and did not have power until after lunch on the Monday as some work had been done on the electrics but no one could confirm the actual status until we spoke to the electrician who actually did the work (and who interestingly lived in Croydon Park, South Australia for 4 years while his wife did her PhD in speech therapy, they now live in Preveza for the summer and Athens over winter).

As always there were a few unexpected events. Firstly, the wild life had moved in. We were welcomed by a wasp nest in the cooking gas bottle locker. Thankfully the security guy at the marina is wasp whisperer and got rid of the darned thing. I was more surprised by the sparrows nest in the boom. Of course, when I looked at the other boats near by most had rags stuffed in each end of their booms. I think mum and dad birds cottoned on to what was going on and over the next days baby birds had learn to fly lessons and were out just before the crane came to put us back in the water – thank God!

Then there was the flood. Ross thought that the front water tank was taking a long time to fill only to find that the viewing hatch was not on and that we were taking on water – from the inside. After clearing all the front lockers (including the one with my computer in it!) we had to take up the floor boards and hand pump water out of every single crevice… 5 hours later… a very nice clean interior.

On the morning we were booked to go back in we were – as usual working right up to the last possible minute – attaching transfers of the name ‘Manali’ to the front of the boat (impossible to do on the water). The first transfer went on well and only after peeling off the transfer backing on the second one, we realised that we had the name on back-to-front. Of course by this time the guys with the massive crane were making noises about being ready to start work. While I refitted the transfer correctly, stowed anything not stowed and topped up the water tanks, Ross raced calmly over to the office to pay up. I distracted the crane guys with a couple of photos while Ross finished the lock down.

Honestly, we had little idea of what to do when we were back on the water – it was so sudden. The crane guys suggested we get out some fenders and mooring lines and we did. After a moment to check that we were not taking on water and that the engine was running ok, we were off. What a surreal feeling. After days of heat and sweat there we were on the sea with the breeze in our hair. What a feeling! So different to when we set off last year when we had to learn about every single little thing. This time we just knew what to do.

We re-traced old steps back to Ormos Vlikho, so after motoring back through Levkas Canal we anchored here in a familiar anchorage to complete some setting up tasks (servicing the engine, setting up the sprayhood, washing down the teak etc.) But most of that is now done and we are ready to explore new territory, which for us means heading towards the Gulf of Corinth, through the infamous Corinth Canal, into the Agean for some island hopping on the way to Turkey.

I did mean to finish off the blog from last year but just never quite got around to it. It was quite a shell shock to finish up on the water last year and return to Melbourne, settle, find work, house sit, etc, etc. It is hard to believe that only two and a half weeks ago I was working hard at a full time job (special hello to the excellent people at DIIRD!). So, for posterity, here is a brief rundown on where we went after Corfu and a few photos.

We spent about a week on Paxos tied up to the very quaint town quay at Gaios. Very happy to have been there late in the season as apparently it is absolutely chaotic in July/August. We had a lovely day on a motorbike exploring the olive tree covered island which included visiting a ‘museum’ which comprised an ancient olive oil press which had been in the family for centuries and was donkey driven, and memorabilia. It was also the end of the beach weather so we enjoyed a couple of afternoons where we rode our fold up bikes to the beach at the edge of town. We had some lovely neighbours, Marco and Claudia www.seandsail.it.

We took the Lefkada channel and anchored south of Nidri and Tranquillity Bay (where we are again now) in Ormos Vlikho. A few favourite things in Nidi include Taverna ‘Ta Kalamia’ where we had a fantastic meal; there were lots of quirky live-on-board boats anchored, like the ‘Guinness boat’ all decked out with a round Guinness sign above the cockpit and with flags and paraphernalia; plus an amazing boat graveyard which I thought was pretty creepy but Ross wanted to go and some closer investigation.

On our way to Ithaki (yes, Odysseus’ home) we went past Jackie O’s house on Scorpios and spent a couple of nights in a very quite bay, Ormos Kapali, on Meganisi.

We both loved Ithaki although the first couple of nights tied up at Frikes, we suffered the wake of passing ferries, but the town was delightful, set in a steep wooded valley, and we did some good walks including to the nearby town of Stavros. We then moved to Vathi for a few days which proved to be a reasonably protected anchorage as the weather deteriorated. Vathi is the main town of the island. We hired a car to do some exploring and found absolutely stunning views from the isthmus which connects the south and the north; incredible views from Mt Neritos and again in mountains further north; discovered the picturesque little Kioni Bay and talked to the friendly cats, goats and donkeys which abound.

After a very windy sail back up through the Levkas Canal to the Amvrakikos Kolpos (the gulf with Preveza at its head), we spent a couple of nights just off Vathi before hauling out on Tuesday 16th October at Cleopatra Marina.

Cleopatra Marina is on the other side of the gulf entrance to Preveza. It is completely weird. The countryside is quite beautiful; low lying land at the narrow entrance to the gulf, in the distance dramatic mountain ranges some capped with snow, close by farmlands and lots of water – and cows who wandered through the boat yard and mosquitoes.

We took a couple of days off from packing away and cleaning up for the winter and hired a car to head to Meteora, an amazing area in the mountains where, from especially the middle ages, monasteries were built atop of nearly impossible to access picturesque and rugged mountains. We travelled north through seaside towns where we could view Corfu across the water, then inland through remote villages, autumnal splendour and snow to get there. It was well worth the trip.

The very kind David from the NZ yacht Bandit gave us a lift to the bus stop with all our luggage and after a few days appreciating the wonderful sites of Athens (including the most amazing meat market that I have ever seen) and acclimatizing to life on land – a hotel room with four walls that did not rock’n’roll with the wind – it was the long flight home to Melbourne.

It is now gusting around 25 knots and time to cook dinner. With the wind up the original plan for a barbeque of veges and local sausages is not very sensible so I guess I’ll just go rustle something up in the galley.

You think that life on board is going to be quiet but this is not always the case. This evening we had an English skippered boat anchor about 5 metres away – WAY TOO CLOSE. As the guy was on his own Ross offered to help him out to anchor further away. Lessons learned: at all times, in all situations, make sure your dinghy is firmly secured. I was down stairs and heard a whistle so went up and there was our dinghy floating away from Ross and the other guy who were engrossed in anchoring. A fellow on the land spotted the situation and whistled (Ross was at pains to note that it was the other guy who had tied the dinghy up). After collecting the dinghy and successfully anchoring – away from us – Ross came home to tell the tale. The guy was out with his ‘lady friend’ of a year to do some sailing in the boat that he has a 5th share in. She decided to take a hotel room as they did not agree on how things were done so he was now on his own during the day and would catch up with her in the evening at the hotel. He was hopeless. Had no idea of how to anchor and should in no way be alone on a 38 ft sailing boat. No wonder she took the land option! Ross suggested he visit the Vlikho Yacht Club which we found the other night. An outpost of Englishness with a full retinue of old salts lined up at the bar; we had a Sunday Roast Beef for dinner and excellent Greek micro brewery draft beer. We also gathered some very useful information about marinas in Turkey and conditions in the Agean from some affable and very experienced cruisers.

And then there was the bush fire for dinner time drama – better than television. First we notice the smoke and then the fire came over the mountain and was spreading rapidly through difficult to access terrain towards houses when two planes arrived and bombed retardant on to the flames in multiple passes, fire engines and police cars made their way up the hill into the night – amazing to witness! And the almost full moon came up over the other hill.