Sailing Away to Greece by Sol & Taylor (Part 2)

August 3: We had (a delicious Marina made) breakfast on board before motoring to Lefkas to wait for the bridge to open so that we could pass through the canal.  It opens only once an hour so boats line up and jockey for position as they wait. 

Little bit of excitement when the horn finally sounded signalling the opening especially as the boat in front was attempting to rescue a fender.  We came close to t-boning them as they blocked the way through the canal but we managed to evade them after a tongue lashing from skipper Matt. 

Once through the canal we anchored in the Lefkas marina to take the dinghy in for provisions and the best-ever gyros, yummy! 

After lunch we continued our journey south to Back Flip Bay (so named by the Alexanders for the time Jessie taught some other teenagers how to front flip off a boat while learning how to back flip from them).  Got in nearer to twilight so we didn’t swim ashore and had to re-anchor as we were getting a bit close to a sailboat astern of us.  Had dinner on board as there were no amenities on shore, just a taverna closed for the night.  So Greek salad with leftover chicken kebabs, hot pita bread and hummus.  Delicious!  

August 4: Next morning a very friendly man from Barcelona chatted to us while on his morning swim.  His life had taken him and his family to various places in the world but they seemed to love living in Costa Rica just outside San Jose, where life is more relaxed and less regulated and restricted than other parts of the world.  Pura Vida!!  A lot like Greece I’d say.  

Our motor over to Atherinos afterwards was uneventful which was a juxtaposition to the excitement later on while watching other yachts trying to find an anchorage in the small bay with a strong wind blowing .  But before I relate that part of the story, I’ll just interject that Jim and I went for a snorkel before all the excitement and made our way close to one of the shores.  There were more fish the further out we went but not much on the bottom which was almost silt-like. In the meantime, Matt and Marina had gone ashore to one of the two tavernas where Matt was able to set himself up to watch the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Marina was back on board with us when the fun began.  Matt somewhat missed the “shit show” as “Upside down dinghy boat” spent 45 minutes looking for an anchorage while dragging his dinghy upside down, “Foul your prop/run aground boat” actually bumped into shore having wrapped a rope around his prop,

The boat at right is almost ashore with the wrapped prop. 

“Lift the anchor boat” snarled a neighbour’s anchor, “Italian bumper boat” whacked a smaller neighbour, and “Blue Knight also known as ballsy or stupid” came to the rescue repeatedly.  Talk about great entertainment - like watching 13 year olds in a go kart race!  Marina even had to jump in the dinghy to help two boats with anchors wrapped around each other get untangled while we stayed aboard letting boats know where our anchor was. The large Dutch contingent (the same crew from the Pargas water taxi, with 8 or 9 boats) that was responsible for most of the chaos finally tied up to the mole successfully before crowding into the taverna above for dinner.  We did the same a bit later and had a delicious meal alongside this big group while feeding bits of lamb fat to a couple of cats.  A female grey tabby was especially sweet and affectionate.  

A peaceful next morning

August 5: The next morning we had breakfast at the other taverna before Matt and Marina went for a long walk up the hill and Jim and Sol headed back to the boat.  Jim went off to snorkel and Sol just relaxed aboard until the alarm for the anchor went off which panicked her a little as she was alone.  After texting with Marina, though, her fears were put to rest as the 180 degree swing from the night before triggered the alarm.  Sol took a quick dip to cool off and managed to unfortunately break the cold water knob on the outdoor shower when she was closing it.  Ugh!!  Luckily Matt, handy man extraordinaire, was able to replace it when they returned with little effort as he had a spare.  We were then off to Nidri but via Mitikas first.  We saw two pods of dolphins (unfortunately they didn’t come over to play in our bow wave) as we motored into Mitikas which has a beautiful mountainous island to its south. 

We anchored for a bit, enough time for Jim and Sol to swim ashore and back. 

Marina got a bit leery of a white baseball-capped swimmer who was hanging around the boat so we decided to pull anchor and head to Nidri rather than take a look around town.  That turned out to be an excellent decision as we caught some awesome wind (20 knots gusting to 25) and were able to sail on a starboard tack all the way to Nidri. 

So much fun with the music blaring and nary another boat in sight until we got close to shore.  M&M were very patient with us amateurs, showing us how to read “puffs” of wind (super hard to do for a rookie) and get a feel for how to steer a boat at over 8 knots with a beer in hand.  We sailed into Nidri around sunset with magical lighting. 

Nidri is a larger town with lots of tourists and ferry boats too.  We had dinner at L’Approdo, an Italian restaurant that is a favourite of Matt and Marina’s.  And gelato for dessert, of course!!  Even managed to find Jim a replacement Aussie hat which he wore jauntily as we made our way back to Tara for the night.

August 6: Breakfast was ashore again after going to a couple of stores for some groceries, beer and water.  We met Matt, who had ventured off to find some marine supply store, at a cute cafe where Tom & Jerry cartoons were playing on a TV at the back and large fans were blowing mist to keep customers cool.  The eggs Benedict weren’t as good as at home but the pancakes were delicious with all of the fresh fruit on top.

The seas were calm as we set off so we motored for a while before arriving at Atokos where there is a small chapel set back from the beach.  Unfortunately our timing was a little off as the wind had come up making it a short visit. 

Matt stayed aboard while Jim and Sol swam to shore with Marina paddling in with the SUP.  We visited the chapel to remember loved ones no longer with us, reflecting privately as we formed a circle and watched the flame of a BBQ lighter (had to make do with that as there were no candles in the chapel to light). 

Then we swam back to the boat where Matt relayed that a piece of paper with a journal of our trip had flown overboard in a strong gust of wind.  We searched for it a little with no success so off we turned in the direction of our next destination - Vathy on the island of Ithikas.  

We took advantage of the wind and put out the jib sail on another starboard tack.  We even managed 8.9 knots at one point, so exciting!!  Jim helmed some more and Sol took a turn as we came nearer the island.  Matt raced another sailor into the harbour passing them easily which the other skipper didn’t seem too happy about. 

Vathy is a lovely town ringed by various small hills with houses climbing their flanks.  We counted at least three churches identified by their steeples and crosses.  The harbour was full of boats of all sizes and shapes but our eyes were drawn to the super yachts tied up at the mole.  Some of them were like small cruise ships, at least 200 feet long! 

After making our way to shore we chose a restaurant for dinner away from the shoreline as the wind was still blowing very hard.  Unfortunately the food wasn’t that great and the wine they brought Marina was undrinkable.  We probably should have joined the Dutch contingent we had spotted at the restaurant next door.  A walk after dinner on the boardwalk led us to where we could ogle the super yachts up close. Their sizes are so impressive but they must go through so much diesel as they make their way around the Mediterranean.  Jim and Matt capped the night off with, you guessed it, gelato before we returned to Tara and our beds.

August 7:  After another lovely breakfast on board, we headed northwards with little to no wind.  So lots of powering, unfortunately, but it gave us time to laze about, read our books and journal about our trip.

We motored past Nidri to the west and Meganisi to the east before arriving at Back Flip Bay again.  The wind was quite heavy but we managed to anchor without incident.  Jim went off to the southern end of the beach to snorkel (and saw an octopus!) while Sol went for a swim into shore.  We eventually met up with Matt and Marina at the small taverna for some drinks and then siestas on the lounge chairs set up on the beach.  A swim and paddle back to the boat for our final night: dinner on board courtesy of Marina’s fine cooking (Sol and Jim were typically on dish washing duty), then Matt’s guitar playing with chats about politics, kids, formula one, how Christopher Columbus navigated by sun and stars, and many other things.

August 8: We powered back up past Lefkas (sadly no time for those yummy gyros this time!), trying to make the 12 o’clock gun through the canal, as the floating bridge only opens on the hour. 

With five minutes to spare, we passed through behind a pushy Slovenian sailboat and then unfurled the sails for a relaxing sail on a port tack to Preveza.  For the first time, Matt took Tara in stern to the mole (smooth and easy, with his back to the steering wheel), so we could tie up, power up and fill Tara with water.  We forgot to put a bumper down at the back of the boat and Jim made a hash of tying up one of the ropes, but a little help from an American in the neighbouring yacht got us in with little trouble). Preveza was busy with tourists strolling along the water front, stopping in at the many tavernas and cafes.  Even more were checking out the shops one or two streets back from the sea side, which we did as well - this is a good place to find gifts for family and friends.  

Sol and Jim found nothing but a lot of sweat while shopping in the mid-afternoon heat, so retreated to the refuge of a fan-cooled taverna next to Tara.  M&M joined us after a little while, pausing to help a 55 foot yacht settle in beside Tara. 

We had a nice and cheesy, meatless lunch and then Marina very kindly took us out shopping to her favourite places, where we found everything we needed, while Matt stayed in the cafe enjoying WIFI.  We ate supper at the same seaside cafe as lunch, though the food was not as good this time.  At least the rosè and beers were tasty, and there were some very friendly community doggies around our table.  What do the doggies eat in winter when there aren’t any tourists around? 

Time for a traditional gelato stop and then off to the taxi stand at the end of the seawall, where we said goodbye to our amazing hosts M&M.  

One last comment...if you are looking for an airport hotel in Athens and the Sofitel seems pricey, consider the Holiday Inn on Attica Avenue.  The only added costs are a 15 minute, 30 euro taxi ride (zero cost if you wait for the free hotel shuttle) and a very reasonable 15 euro for the buffet breakfast.  All told, the Holiday Inn costs about half the Sofitel and you’ll get a good night’s sleep with WIFI, AC and lots of space.