Fram's Voyages

Greece West

 

 

30 August 2010

N 38 10.714 E 20 29.384

Cephalonia, Greece

We set sail in the usual hot sunny weather, from Taomina on the eastern Sicilian coast somewhat south of Messina. We had spent the night in the most beautiful bay below Mt. Etna, with the ancient town of Taomina on our other side. It's perched atop a mountain peak so quite a trek to go up there. We contented ourselves with seeing it from below and spent the day on the boat swimming and relaxing. Did some snorkeling; there are tons of fish in the Med. All kinds, but of course, what we see is mostly small coral type fish. The bay is owned by Maltese/Italian racketeer who has put down bouys and rents them out under the trade name "Yacht Hotel". We paid 40 Euros for the night. This way the boat would be "protected against any misfortune that may come and visit us during the night". Kind of steep, we thought, but we really liked the bay and we didn't want to get on the wrong footing with da Family. Not too many boats here so felt rather luxurious.

The sea was very rough as we crossed the straits of Messina with big breaking swells. But the wind was good so we were making good time and right on course for Cephalonia. We saw 4 porpoises swimming past us. We were able to sail for most of the day, till about 20.00 when the wind died completely, but so did the swells so it was calm and smooth motoring for the night. I took the first night watch from 22.00-02.00 while Dan slept and at 02.00-06.00 we changed places. Felt very nice to sleep 4 full hours. We had a full moon both nights which made it very easy to see the water and our immediate area. Sort of felt like companionship when sitting in the cockpit all alone. The stars are amazing, and saw lots of shooting stars. In the morning while we were sitting in the cockpit drinking our coffee, a porpoise surfaced right beside us and not 50 cm from the boat. It happened so suddenly that I jumped in shock and sent my coffee splashing all over Dan and the cockpit. We both ran up on deck to watch it and it swam along our bow for a couple minutes. Was so lovely. I could see that it was looking up at us, before it took off straight down into the depths of the sea and disappeared. That was the most exciting thing that happened to us all day. There was no traffic. In the 56 hours we were at sea, we didn't see more than 3 or 4 boats and they were tankers far off in the distance. We were starting to wonder where everyone was and if they knew something we didn't know.... .

The wind came up on Day 2 at about noon and we sailed for a couple hours till it died, motored for 3 hours, then sailed again and managed to sail all through the night which is unusual as the wind normally dies completely in the evening. We were very happy for this as had not managed to put more than 20 liters of diesel in our fuel tank when we were in Messina and had 20 liters of spare fuel in the hold. (Messina marina doesn't have a fuel dock so Dan had to take our gerry cans and walk to a gas station and lug it all the way back to the boat). After having a swim in the late afternoon, we thought, maybe a good idea to put the last 20 liters into the tank just in case. As we walked back to the cockpit, the engine died. We had just run out of fuel. We put the last 20 liters we had into the tank but it was not enough to get us to Cephalonia on motoring alone, so we were determined to sail for as long as there was a breath of wind so we could be sure to be able to reach Cephalonia. We hoisted the sails and floated along at about 2-3 knots per hour for several hours, but then the wind picked up a bit and we were able to do 4-5 knots for the whole night and all of the next day as well. We only had to use the motor for a few hours in the early afternoon. It was very hazy so we couldn't see land until we were only 10 NM away from it. But as we closed in we could see that it was very high cliffs and very green. We could actually smell the pine trees from several miles out. We entered a long narrow bay on the southwestern side of the island and found this mooring which isn't exactly a harbor, it's more like a quay. No water, no electricity, but it's right by the town and there are fresh markets, bakeries and butchers shops right nearby. We were all settled by 19.00. The sail took us 56 hours and we covered 256 NM. Dan went to the harbor authorities to declare our arrival. Lots of paper and lots of stamps and some fees that Dan argued were not in accordance with EU regulations. The response he was given was that there were two laws, EU law and Greek law, and here in Cephalonia the Greek law applied. Most of the boats here, and there aren't many of them, are from the UK. We were invited over for drinks to the boat next to us; Miss Behavin with John and Diana who are from England. Their boat is a proper racing boat and they seem to do alot of it. They spend 6 months down here on their boat and 6 months up in England. We had a very nice evening with them and they were able to give us tips about the shopping and things to see on the island.

This morning we set about getting things done. I went to the tourist office and got the address for the laundry, supermarket, and an electronics store(for Dan). Also needed to find out where we could hook up to WIFI. They told me that WIFI is not at all common in this part of Greece and the only place I could go was an internet cafe on the other side of town. Bummer. Must find another solution. Then went to the harbor office and asked about showers. "No showers" I was told. "Maybe you go to hotel". Brill. Dan meanwhile, was tidying up the boat and adjusting our anchor line and bowlines. On my walk back to the boat, I stopped in at the bar across the street from us and asked about WIFI and was informed by the bartender, Leonardo, that not only do they have WIFI, but they have bathrooms and showers just for sailors:) Leonardo has become my new best friend:) I got back to the boat armed with a city map from the tourist office, picked up Dan, a backpack and our laundry and off we went on our errands for the day. Our first stop was the laundrymat. To my happy surprise, it was more like a dry cleaners, they do the wash for you!!! Oh happy days:) All I had to do was hand it over and was told to come back at 16.00 to pick it up. I can tell you, it was worth every penny of 10 Euros. Next we went to a supermarket, an open-air market and finished off with the bakery and a butcher's shop. Everything looked marvelously fresh and clean. For lunch we had our first Greek dish; Greek Salad. Divine. When it gets a bit cooler we will go over to Leonardo's for some interneting and showering and try a glass of Ouzo.

 

 

2 September 2010

N 38 10.714 E 20 29.384

Argostoli, Cephalonia

Today we have sun again after 2 days of rain and wind. All the Greeks say this weather is very unusual as doesn't normally rain at all between June and October. Wind was Beaufort 8 from NNW. It created a bit of a surge in the harbor so everyone put on spring lines to the shore to prevent being blown into the next boat. A couple boats tried to leave but came back after an hour as swells were so big. Dan and I stayed tucked in at the quay and spent the 2 days fixing things on the boat, reading and chatting at Leonardo's with the other sailors. One of Dan's jobs was to change the oil and oil filters on the engine. While doing so he also checked the oil in the sail drive and found that water had gotten in; the oil was milky white. Not good. Today he is contacting Volvo to get advice on what to do but we will most likely have to lift the boat in order to take the sail drive out and put in new packings or some such thing. There is a good boatyard in Levkas so will sail there tomorrow and hope to get it taken care of quickly and painlessly!

 

3 September 2010

N38 18.110 E 20 35.918

Aghia Efemia, Cephalonia

Today we left Argostoli and headed for Ithaca. We had a few hours of good sailing, but then the wind died and we had to motor. As it was getting late, we realised we'd be making our targeted harbor, Frikes, in the dark so we opted to go to Aghia Efemia which is on the east coast of Cephalonia and exactly opposite the south coast of Ithaca. We anchored in sand just as it got dark. Aghia Efemia is a very pretty Greek village, with tavernas, though it is much smaller than Argostoli. Surrounded by mountains and very windy looking roads.

 

4 September 2010

N 38 27.570 E 20.39.884

Frikes, Ithaca

Woke up to a very overcast day. Big thick black clouds everywhere and intermittent sprinkles of rain. Waited until it looked a tad lighter and stopped raining before hauling up the anchor. As Dan and I struggled to get the anchor chain unwrapped around a big boulder, the sky darkened again and it began to rain. Luckily, the water was so clear that we could actually see clear as day how the chain was wrapped so just manouvered the boat to unwrap it. The rain continued to beat down as we left the harbor of Agia Eufemia on Cephalonia and as we neared the Ithacan coast, thunder started to rumble. It looked so threatening, but I couldn't see any flashes of lightning so we figured the thunder was in the valleys over the island. The thunder sounded like the heavy footsteps of a giant. My imagination was soon running away with me, caused most likely from reading the Odyssey. Could just imagine some giant trudging over the island to find Odysseus and crush him. We crossed the channel between Cephalonia and Ithaca under sail but then the wind became very shifty and even died down to nothing a few times so we motored the rest of the way up the east coast of Ithaca. Eventually the rain abated and it cleared up somewhat, at least so we could see the contours and details of Ithaca as we moved up its coast. We turned in when we got the northeastern end, at a place called Frikes. There is a very small fishing village here, with tavernas down on the waterfront. We tied up along the breakwall and went for a walk to the nearest town, Stavros, which is about 2km uphill from here. It was a lovely walk along Olive orchards, stone houses and old jalopy cars tearing along the road. Up at the top there is a village with grocery stores, a meat market and a couple very nice tavernas. In the center there's a small park with Eucalyptus trees and signs showing the travels of Odysseus, and a large bust of the man himself. The view from up there is incredible. One can see the sea from both the east and the west so can well imagine that Odysseus would have had his palace up there. Although Ithaca island is the accepted and official residence of Odysseus, there is a Greek Archeologist who claims that his palace was really on Levkas. When we got back to the waterfront again, we sat down at a taverna and ordered 2 Ouzos with ice and a backgammon board and played there under an Olive tree with cats wandering around our legs waiting for a tidbit. They didn't know Dan though.....

 

5 September 2010

Levkas, anchorage off Vlikho

N 38 41.028 E 20 42.428

The sun was shining this morning when we woke up but there was no wind so we had a leisurely Sunday brunch while listening to Swedish news online:) Dan changed the oil in the sail drive and then we motored off around 12.00 towards Levkas. After about an hour, we were able to sail and had lovely gentle winds. Onassis's island of Skorpios is just to the East of Levkas and we passed by there wondering if they still live there once in a while. Apparently, it's still owned by the Onassis family.

We came into this huge protected bay, surrounding by mountains and glided on just our genoa. Dan thought to anchor in Tranquil Bay which is just at the beginning. I suggested going all the way in nearly to the end of the bay, about where we anchored with Liberty 33 years and 2+ months ago. This cove of Levkas has changed a great deal since then. There are masses of boats anchored willy-nilly all over the place including the channel, charter boats with banners flying from all back stays, boatyards, hotels, condos etc built up on the shores. I could barely make out "our" taverna deep in the cove, there are so many other buildings crowding it. But the mountains surrounding it are just like I remember, the water is a gorgeous turquoise, and it is still as beautiful a spot as it was when we were here on Dad's last day with us. I am very happy to be here and remember his last day when we sailed from Ithaca, the place he dreamed so long of seeing.

We might go swimming once Dan has yet again changed the oil in the sail drive and all the water skiers and jet-skiers have finished for the day.

Tomorrow we will contact our Volvo dealer and see if we can get the parts needed for Roam's engine.

 

6 September 2010

N 38 37.444 E 20 41.027

Sivota, Levkas

Woke up in a bit of a rush this morning as we were very eager to get our sail drive on the motor fixed. Dan called Volvo Penta in the area, this one in Levkas town which was about 10 NM from where we were anchored in Levkas. They said to come in and they would see what they could do. Dan changed the oil in the sail drive yet again and hopefully for the last time and then we tootled off to Levkas. There was of course no wind, as there is never any wind in the morning around here, unless there's a storm of some sort. But we were there within two hours. The travel lift was empty so we drove right into the slip and there were people there just waiting for us so Roam was out of the water almost before I could even get off the boat! They took a look at the sail drive, saw some things that looked very wrong and set about fixing them. Dan stayed with the workmen, I took my backpack and went off to the supermarket, bakery, butchers and fresh fruit and vegetable stands. By the time I got back, Dan was nowhere to be found. Here I was with a shopping basket full of stuff, a boat up in a sling and no husband to lift my bags onto the boat. I walked around and asked a few people if they'd seen him but everyone just shrugged his shoulders and said "maybe on the boat", "maybe at the marine office", "maybe went to lunch" (I think not) "maybe in service building". Right, I thought to myself, best to just get on with it and get my goods up onto the boat myself. So I grabbed a backpack and a bag of vegetables and started climbing the ladder up to Roam's cockpit which was now several meters up in the air and the ladder was very wobbly. I was soon thinking that if I survived this it would be a miracle. Well, miracles happen. All went well though very shakey and touch and go. Just as I finished I saw Dan come walking from the town and right behind him was a Volvo Penta van with 2 guys in it who jumped out at our boat and started fiddling. In a flash, all was finished. Turns out, a screw on the sail drive that holds the oil tank had never been properly tightened, and that seems to be the cause of the water getting in. They also changed the seals just for good measure and even fixed the propellor which was not properly installed up at Vindövärvet. So that felt good to have taken care of. Once we had paid, re-fueled and filled up on ice, we were on our way again and feeling very relieved. We sailed most of the way back down the coast and stopped at a cove on the southern end of Levkas. It's really lovely, there's a bunch of tavernas and tourist shops here, but we chose to anchor in the bay so we can swim. The wind has completely died, we are surrounded on 3 sides by mountains, Greek music is drifting to us from the tavernas, life couldn't be better.

 

 

7 September 2010

Fiskardo, Cephalonia

N 38 27.683 E 20 34.555

Weather: Sunny, 32C

Wind: Light northerly, 4 knots

Dan and I left our anchorage at Sivota on the south coast of Levkas and motored the short distance over to Fiskardo to pick up Kimmie and Fredrik. We had been told that they could take a bus or a taxi for 15€ to Fiskardo. I subsequently found out at Fiskardo that the taxi costs 70€! So sent an SMS to both Kimmie and Fredrik to tell them to take a bus instead. But when Kimmie and Fredrik got to the airport they jumped in the first taxi and didn't start up their phones or ask the price till they had travelled a km. When they found out it was 70€ they demanded to be taken back. They went back in to the airport and asked about buses but were told there would be no bus to Fiskardo until the next day, so had to go back out to the taxi driver who was very kindly waiting for them as he of course knew there was no bus but figured they had to learn that for themselves. On the bright side, their taxi driver was very nice and stopped at all the beautiful views and told them some of the history of the island. And they arrived much earlier than if they had waited for a bus so we were happy. We had lunch then went to a beach and went swimming. Aftewards, Dan and I went running while Kimmie and Fredrik walked about the town to have a look around. Once we were all cleaned up we went to a cocktail bar on the waterfront for Ouzos and fried calimari. Yummmm! So good. Dinner was served on Roam. So happy to have Kimberly and Fredrik with us!

 

8 September 2010

Sami, Cephalonia

N 38 15.172 E 20 38.854

Weather: Sunny, 34C

Winds: Light Northerly 6 knots

After breakfast of Greek yoghurt, honey and peaches, we made Roam ship-shape and left Fiskardo and headed south at a very leisurely pace. We had to motor for the first 2 hours to our first stop, which was a lovely bay on the coast of Cephalonia, to go swimming and have lunch. Kimmie Fredrik and I swam to shore and it was so deep that we couldn't touch bottom until we were about 3 meters from the shore. Then it was small white stones, very difficult to walk on so we went back in the water and swam back to Roam. Dan stayed on Roam to make sure anchor held. On the way back from the beach, Fredrik took the mask and snorkel to check our anchor which was holding fine. We had a lunch of Greek Salad and bread and by the time we finished the wind had come up so we rolled out the jib, lifted the anchor and sailed out of the bay and onwards south towards Sami. This is a lovely little town, lots of tavernas along the waterfront and small gift shops. Sami was completely destroyed (along with every other village on Cephalonia except Fiskardo) by the earthquake of 1953 and when rebuilt, became the official ferry terminal for Cephalonia in place of Aghia Efimia. Part of this town was used for the filming of Captain Corelli's mandolin. We are here to pick up Stephanie who is due to arrive tomorrow morning.

 

9 September 2010

N 38 27.598 E 20 39.811

Frikes, Ithaca

 

Dan has just gone off on a rented motor scooter to pick up Stephie from Cephalonia airport. He had to leave at dawn in order to get there on time as she arrives at 07.45 and it's a very winding mountainous road across the island. The taxis are not initially expensive here but because it's so mountainous, the roads are twice as long as they would be on the flats. Steph's taxi would have cost 60€, the scooter cost 15€ for the whole day. Being part Scottish, the decision was a no-brainer for Dan:)

We are having a great time with Kimmie and Fredrik and are discussing where we'll put Stephie but I'm sure it will all work out. Fredrik has a map of Greece showing all the places that rent out kite-boards, wind surfers and jet-skis..... So you can imagine what we will be doing for the next few days.

 

Our camera battery has died and we haven't been to a marina with electricity in days so will have to wait with new photos, but they will come! Also put in an entry for 6 September now with details about the work we had done on Roam at Levkas Marina. Pictures will be forthcoming there also as soon as we can hook up to electricity and charge the camera.

 

11 September 2010

N 38 42.385 E 20 42.643

Nidri, Levkas

Weather: Rain, thunder and lightning, 30C

 

Stephanie, Kimberly, Fredrik and I hiked up to Stavros right after breakfast yesterday to see the site of Odysseus' palace, at least the official site. It really is beautiful up there. The Eucalyptus trees smell sooo good.

We set off for Nidri on Levkas' east coast on very gusty strong winds. Using just the genoa, we made 12 NM in 2 hours. Pretty good for Roam. Kimmie didn't feel so good, but sat stoicly in the cockpit and withstood both Dan's and my seasickness remedies. Dan tied an elastic shock cord around her wrist so tight it was like a tournequet. The better to touch the pressure point that controls seasickness. I got Stephie to go down below and cut a lemon wedge for Kimmie to suck on.  It was not helpful when Stephie shouted up that there was a bug in the lemon (it was a pit). Don't really know which of either of the remedies worked, anyway, she survived.

Nidri is a very buzzing town that consists basically of the waterfront and one road running parallel to the waterfront on the inside, bursting with restaurants, shops and little markets. Reminds me of cattle town out west:) Right in the middle of the waterfront there's a statue of Aristotle Onassis, a very complimentary likeness I must say; tall and slender with Greek chiselled face.....and of course, the thick eye glasses.

There are alots of tripper boats coming in and out here during the day, until about 20.00. Then things get a bit quieter. We went to the beach for a swim, to a bar for a drink(we couldn't figure out what liquor they were using for the cocktails but it sure wasn't rum.), to a gyro stand for a gyro and back to the boat to read and hang out before dinner. Dan, being the most senslible one among us, went running and discovered a falls about 4 km away that he says is definately worth seeing.

There is a rain system coming through here tomorrow and it got a bit chilly in the evening so we had a late dinner down in the salon. It was very cozy with candles and our kerosene lamp. Dan and I went along with the kids to a club but there weren't any people around after midnight. So just had a drink and then went back to the boat. Guess the busy season is coming to an end. The clientele seems to be mostly boat charterers now. All the hotels look empty.

 

Just as the weather sites predicted, today was a rain day. It rained almost non-stop from 09.00 to 15.00. We slept late, and after breakfast went to a cafe to hang out and play backgammon. Much to Dan's dismay, we all ordered Moussaka for lunch. It was truly delish! Once the sun came out again, Stephanie, Kimberly, Fredrik and I went up to the falls. Dan went to a ship's chandler and then puttered on the boat. He came and met us when we were on our way back again.

 

Tomorrow we start our long haul to Athens. We will travel up the Patras Golf, to the Corinthian Golf and hope to get to the Corinthian Canal by Monday morning.  Weather looks good.

 

17 September 2010

 

N 37 31.128 E 23 26.010

Weather: Sunny, of course, 34C.

Wind: Light northerlies which made for a perfect relaxing sail to Poros, southeast of Athens.

 

Dan and I walked Kimmie and Fredrik to the bus station outside our residence of 3 days; Alimoy Marina in Kalamaki, Athens this morning as they flew back to Copenhagen. Stephanie left from Athens on Wednesday, 15/9. We have had such an enjoyable week with them. Since my last entry in our log, we have played in Nidri during a rainy day, hanging out in a waterfront cafe playing backgammon and drinking Greek coffee and having lunch so we could all get our fill of Moussaka, souvlaki and gyros. Once the rain let up and the sun came out again, Stephanie, Kimberly, Fredrik and I hiked the 4 km up to a waterfall outside Nidri. Dan met us on our way back to the village and we had a cozy dinner down in the salon before turning in early in preparation for our night sail to Athens via the Corinthian Canal. 

 

Next morning, 12 September, we were all up before dawn and prepared Roam for a long sail. We had 156 NM to cover. It was a clear morning promising a sunny nice day when we left Nidri harbor. We had to motor the first 4 or 5 hours till the wind came up, and during that time we stopped the boat to go swimming. Fredrik dove right in, Stephanie jumped in after followed by me. Kimmie was freaked out at swimming in water that was over 100m deep off the back of the boat, but with some coaxing she finally got in and clutched the rope as long as Fredrik and I were in the water with her. She relaxed after a bit and actually enjoyed it....OK, she might not have actually enjoyed it, but we were all proud of her for overcoming her fear and getting in the water:) Once everyone had had their fill of swimming and Fredrik had done a couple flips off the side of the boat, grabbing the lifeline so as not to be left behind, we set the sails and turned off the engine. Greek Salad was the lunch menu of the day, and we sailed all day until it was dark. The wind was light and we didn't make very good time but it was nice to sail and enjoy the peace and quiet with just the lapping of the water against Roam's hull. The girls worked on their tans and we all took turns keeping watch while the others relaxed and read books. We had dinner together in the cockpit. I made Greek meatballs with rice and Greek salad. Once it got dark we started the motor as the wind had more or less died for the night, as it does around here. By 22.00 we were passing under the Rion-Andirrion suspension bridge that separates the Patras Golf from the Corinthian Golf. This bridge was built in 2004 and is, according to Rod Hiekell's Greek Pilot book, the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world at 2,252m with 3 navigable channels each 560m wide between 4 grandly lit-up pillars. We thought this was strange as Öresunds Bridge between Sweden and Denmark is all of 8 km long. After googling "longest cable-stayed bridge", we found that the definition of longest cable-stayed bridge is the length of the main span, but even so, Rion-Andirrion bridge is, according to Wikepedia, in 17th place and Öresunds Bridge is in 27th place. Anyway, it was beautifully lit up as we approached and we followed instructions and radioed in and announced our approach.We were told where to pass under the bridge and were asked to confirm, "three pillars to port one to star board", we also had to confirm that we had passed under so they could keep track of us. Once we were under, Dan set our course on the GPS and went to bed. Stephanie and I had the first watch from 22.00 - 02.00. It was a clear night with a slightly-less-than-half-moon. We had the autopilot on and spent our watch talking and looking out for shooting stars while keeping track of other boats and our course. Stephie seems to have no problem whatever going below and cooking or fiddling with things. So since we were getting a strange swell from the west making us rock a bit, I let her go below and make our snacks of chicken broth and popcorn. With the night folded around us and only the sound of Roam's engine as we passed through the Corinthian Golf, we chatted away about all the things that we normally don't have time or opportunity for. At midnight, Kimmie came up as her watch was split so she would be 2 hours on with us and 2 hours on with Dan and Fredrik. We all sat huddled in the cockpit and I told them the story I have been reading lately about the life of Catherine de Medici. Just before the end of our watch at 02.00 Steph went down and made chicken broth and sandwiches for Dan and Fredrik. She also woke them up so they could relieve us. We were pretty tired by then and Steph crashed immediately in her bunk in the salon. I went to our cabin in the bow but couldn't endure more than a few minutes there as Roam's bow was rising and crashing down on the swells and I could actually feel myself lifting off the bed, so moved to Kimmie's bunk opposite Stephie and fell fast asleep. When Kimmie came down at the end of her watch at 04.00, I had to shift to make room for her but we slept on very cozily with our heads together in the middle of the bunk.During Dan and Fredrik's watch the wind changed so that they could set sail and when I woke up to relieve them, we were sailing at about 5 knots. As I slowly rose to consciousness from my short sleep I could hear their voices as they discussed something that sounded very philosophical; something about their attitudes towards studies. They both went down to sleep,and I took the dawn watch until 10.00. It was a beautiful morning and as it got lighter and lighter I could make out the contours of the northern Peloponnisos coast complete with old volcano tops and landscapes full of fissures and deep gorges and stepped agriculture wherever there was space for it. It is amazing to think that people have actually settled here when it has obviously had a very dramatic and violent past, given the shape and form of the terrain. Kimmie joined me around 09.00 and took over so I could go down at make breakfast for everyone. I made French toast with ham and coffee/tea. The others surfaced around 10.00. By noon we were at the Corinthian canal but had to wait for more than an hour to enter as there were boats coming from the other direction. During the wait we sailed around in the bay with Kim and Fredrik taking turns practicing to gybe and tack single handedly.They both did a very good job. We entered the canal at about 13.30. It was a pretty cool passage. Very narrow, only 25 meters and about 3.2NM long. It's the most expensive canal per meter in the world. For our length, it cost 98 Euro, but we saved 150NM by going through here instead of sailing around Peleponnesos so we weren't complaining. We were the last boat in the group going east through the canal and we didn't keep up with the boats in front us so subsequently ended up about a half km behind. We had our VHF radio on and listened with some concern when an Englishman came on and told the authorities he was a boat of 50 meters and that he would now enter the canal behind the 2 boats that were just coming through. We knew that we were definately not one of those 2 boats coming through and wondered if he was just going to barrel in and collide with us. But the port authority came over the radio and said in a very flustered voice "Do not enter the canal, I repeat, do not enter the canal! There is still one small boat making passage, you must wait!" We listened with bated breath and watched the opening ahead of us wondering what would happen, but then the Englishman came on and said he "copied" and would await instructions. Whew, dodged that bullet! Once through, we had to stop, tie up and go to the office and register our destination and pay the fee. This took about 30 minutes of paper work and stamping before we could continue towards Athens. Meanwhile, Stephanie and Fredrik got a hankering for ice cream so disappeared in search of a café. We prepared Roam for departure and eventually they turned up with ice cream for everyone. It was really good and so refreshing as it was very hot out and next to no wind. 

We motored out eating our ice creams and ended up motoring the whole way to Aigina as the wind, when it came up was right on our nose. It took about 5 hours to Aigina's northwest marina and by the time we got there, we were tired, hungry and in dire need of showers. In total, the trip had taken us 38 hours. We had also run out of water so needed to fill our tank. We had some reserve jugs of water, about 15 liters. When we got to Aigina, the marina was completely full. We found a half-berth next to a Greek sailboat who waved us in and made room for us. The girls and Fredrik took the VHF radio and went in search of showers and water. They came back after about half an hour; no showers anywhere, and only a water fountain at the end of the pier. Brill. By now, hunger was the main issue, so we all opted for a quick shower under the shower bag using the last 15 liters of our water store, and within 30 minutes were dressed and on our way to a taverna for dinner. Tavernas can sometimes be a bit of challenge depending on your mood. As we walked by all the waterfront restaurants, the Greek waiters would call us in and try to get us to choose their restaurant. If we asked, " Do you have Moussaka"? they would invariably say, "yes, yes yes, we have everything, best in town". If you fall for it and sit down, they serve you bread and water quick as anything so you can't change your mind and move on to another restaurant and then inform you that, well, no, they don't have moussaka but they have coffee and ouzo... So we were very wary and tried not to get close enough so that they could pull us in. This resulted in our walking up and down looking like chickens with our heads cut off trying to find a place and not be pulled in by the waiters along the way. One guy said he had everything, but when I pointed out that he seemed to be working at a café with only coffee and ice cream on the menu, he shrugged and said "very good ice cream". We eventually found a place that looked nice and sat down for the best dinner we have had so far. We were all so hungry so ordered masses of starters, each delicious. By the end of the evening, we were very happy and laid back. Everyone seems to have enjoyed doing the overnight crossing and I must say, we were all rather proud of ourselves for doing it so easily.

Next day Kimmie and I got up early and went off in search of a supermarket which we found quite quickly. We think we have a nose for them... Dan went in search of diesel and was informed that there is a strike on in Greece now and no diesel available, but he did manage to get 20 liters from a traveling fuel truck that services the fishing boats. Fredrik took down our overhead awning and Stephanie slept soundly through all our activities. Once we were ready to leave, Fredrik was at the anchor, pulling it up when it suddenly stopped, stuck somewhere down on the bottom of the harbor. We tried manouvring the boat to get it unstuck from whatever it was stuck on, our Greek boat next door tried to help out, all to no avail. Dan eventually had to get his mask and snorkel and go down and investigate. Turns out our anchor was lodged under another anchor and chain. Using an extra rope Dan and Fredrik managed to get our anchor out of the mess and free and after an hour of delay we were on our way again. It was so hot out that the first thing we did when we got well and away from the harbor, was to stop the boat and go swimming. The water felt so good and was so clear and beautifully dark blue. Then we set off for Athens. There was no wind so motored the 3 hours to Alimoy marina, where Iwo and Tatiana had their Najad berthed when they lived in Athens. It's a huge marina; over 2000 boats are berthed there. After much paper work and registering with the local police authority, we were shown to a berth and fixed up with electricity and water. Joy! There were showers there too. The only drawback was that, being such a big marina, the showers were about 1.2 km away. But we were desparate so we all took turns trudging the distance just to get a nice fresh water shower and wash our hair. It was Stephanie's last night on Roam so we had a special dinner. We started with champagne in order to honor the 3 crew mates for successfully completing our over-night sail, then had scampi with roasted vegetables and pasta and halva for dessert. At 03.30, Dan and I walked Stephanie to the harbor office where our pre-ordered taxi was to pick her up at 04.00 to take her to the airport for her flight to Washington DC via Amsterdam. As we walked, Steph told us how she was eaten alive by mosquitos during the night and had so many bites that she felt the poison was in her bones. Neither one of us had gotten any bites, Steph seems to be a magnet for them. We waved her off and were so sad to see her leave. It's so much fun to share this wonderful thing we are doing with the girls. Dan and I walked back to the boat, slept for another 4 hours and then had breakfast with Kimmie and Fredrik. Poor Kimmie had also been attacked by mosquitos during the night. Her entire upper arm was covered with big swollen bites. The first thing we did when we took the tram in to Athens was to go to a drug store and get some antihistamine and cortisone cream for her. Then we fortified ourselves with lamb gyros before setting off for the climb up to the Acropolis. It was magnificent when we finally got up there after getting lost about 3 times. We have to say, the Greeks haven't put out very good directions to the Acropolis as we were not the only ones taking wrong turns, eventually, we noticed about 10 other people who were also looking desparately and not finding the Acropolis entrance. Once we got up there though, it was worth all the effort. It was truly beautiful and what a work of archeology to try and puzzle it all back together again. It was a beautifully clear hot day and the yellow-white of the marble stood out so gorgeously against the blue of the sky. We wandered down after a while and walked through Plaka and all its shops in narrow twisting streets.Kimmie and Fredrik stopped in at a games shops and lingered over backgammon boards. Dan looked for white cotton shirts but when we finally found some nice ones he tried one, hated the look and we moved on. We took the tram back to the marina which took about a half hour. We figured we walked about 10 km during the day and all felt exhausted. On our walk from the tram station to the boat, we passed a small lawn alongside the road where 7 homeless dogs reside. They are not terribly thin so we figure they get food, they seem to have formed a flock and look after eachother. That night after dinner, I took our leftovers to give them but when I got there, a Greek couple was there opening can after can of dog food and giving it to them. I complemented the meal by adding my couscous and vegetables. I got to talking to the couple and they say that the dogs are homeless. But lots of people come by and give them food and affection. Those that have collars, have them because people have put the collar on them so the authorities will not take them away. They have all been neutered and vaccinated and they seem to live very amiably alongside humans and are city-wise. One dog we came upon in downtown Athens was standing at the pedestrian crossing waiting for the light to turn green... as soon as it did, over she went along with all the people. She stopped when the light went red and waited till it was safe to cross before continuing. We thought it was amazing. There are quite a few of these homeless dogs but they all seem to have places to go and dogs/people to see. No one minds them, they even sleep outside the entrance to museums and shops with no problem whatsoever.

 

Yesterday was a shopping day for Kimmie and Fredrik. They went back to the games store and picked out a backgammon board in mohagony. It is beautiful. The store woman was wonderful, explaining all the different ways of playing backgammon and what dice are best, what pieces are best, etc. I also got into the act and bought a small board with magnetic pieces for Dan so we can play on the boat. It even has a chess board on the outside with magnetic pieces. Kimmie and Fredrik took us to a lovely square in Plaka for lunch, Dan went to Vodafone to get our dongle replaced so we can continue our internet connection and the rest of us strolled along Plaka taking in the atmosphere while waiting for Dan to be finished. Back at the boat we had our last dinner together. It was a lovely evening, warm and balmy and we didn't get to bed until the early hours of the morning.

This morning, after breakfast, Dan and I walked Kimmie and Fredrik up to the bus station for their journey back to Falsterbo. The airport bus was about 30 minutes late, but they were still in good time and we got an SMS that all went according to plan. It was so difficult to let them go. We all had such a nice time together and it feels that it was a long vacation with all the things we did. They were both so helpful and interested in learning how to sail and navigate. Fredrik took the heavy duty of anchor dropper and hauler.

Once we hugged them both good-bye, we went back to the marina, settled our bill and then left for Poros. We had a lovely sail with light northerly winds. Stopped mid-way when the wind was changing and took a swim. Now we are at an anchorage off Poros' south coast.