Back in the UK

A Lagoon 440, a little different from Sandpiper!

22nd November  This will be our last blog entry for this year as we're now back in the UK. We returned earlier than planned as Cliff is crossing the Atlantic (again!) in December, this time on a 45ft Lagoon catamaran owned by a couple we met in Cartagena. I will be flying out to meet him in Antigua in January, then we will spend some time with our friends Richard and Rowena on their boat, Galene. After that we are flying to Florida where we will visit Cliff's friends Carolyn and Gary before heading back to the UK. We expect to go back to Greece at the end of February, so I'll start updating the blog again then.

Lefkas town

Lefkas town from the inner harbour

 

2^nd October We sailed down to Lefkas town today and are now in the marina on our official winter berth. The boat will be based here now until the end of April next year. It's a lovely marina, very smart for Greece, with a bar, restaurants, a chandler, supermarket and even a gym on site. There seems to be a thriving live-aboard community with lots going on. The weather is less settled now, with occasional thunderstorms, high winds and rain, but we're hoping to fit in some day sailing and cycling over the next few weeks before we leave for the UK in early November.

One of the church clocktowers

  

9^th October We are now getting know our way around town and have discovered a baker that sells delicious local pastries and a shop where you can buy nicely matured wine, sold by the litre and decanted from the barrel into plastic bottles.

The buildings in the town are unusual in that the ground floors are built from stone but the upper floors have a wooden framework covered with corrugated iron. This is to minimise the effect of earthquakes and prevent a repeat of the devastating damage caused by the quake in 1948. For the same reason, the church clocktowers are built entirely from steel and look a bit like something out of a Meccano kit!

The bell tower of the Santa Maura chapel

12^th October  Today we cycled to the fort of Santa Maura at the end of the canal. This was built in the 14^th century to protect the island and, over time, was home to Spanish, Turkish and Venetian armies.  The fort itself is now derelict, with cannons  scattered in the wild grass, but you can see the remains of the Roman galley port and the little chapel within the walls and is still used for services. 

The Roman galley port at Santa Maura

After the fort we headed out along the narrow spit of land that separates a shallow lagoon from the sea.  The seaward side is one long, white beach and we planned to stop at the far end for lunch, but  we had an enforced stop half way along while Cliff mended a puncture on his bike! 

 

The bike engineer at work

The wind got up as we approached the end of the beach at the village of Agios Ioannis and we weren’t surprised to learn that this area is used for wind and kite surfing championships.   At the very end of the beach is the tiny church of Agios Ioannis, the oldest on the island and said to have been visited by the Apostle Paul.  The village is very quiet at this time of year, but we managed to find a taverna open and had an excellent  lunch overlooking the bay.

 

Headland at Agios Ioannis

 

 

Meganisi with Mum



Storm clouds over Preveza

21^st September We’ve had dramatic weather in the last week with strong winds and thunderstorms.  This was the first real rain we have seen in three months, so it was a novelty to stand out on deck and get drenched! Luckily we’ve also had enough dry weather to give the boat a thorough cleaning inside and out before my mother arrives tomorrow to stay with us for a week. We’ve hired a car to take her to and from the airport and hopefully we’ll be able explore a bit more on land too.



Mum in Vonitsa

23^rd September Today we set out in the car with Mum to visit some of the places we haven’t yet made it to by boat: the lovely, castle-topped town of Vonitsa on the Gulf of Amvrakia, the bay of Palairos with the Sunsail base at Vounaki and the pretty fishing village of Ligia on Lefkas, where we stopped for a late and leisurely lunch at a waterside taverna.




Vonitsa harbour

24^th September The forecast is for gentle winds and sunshine for the rest of the week so today we motor sailed down to Lefkas and anchored in the sandy bay at Ak Kefali for lunch. Later we sailed/drifted in light winds across to Meganisi island and moored by the Spilia Taverna in Spartakhori, where we had a great meal accompanied by an excellent wine made locally in Lefkas.

25^th September Mum has said she would like to go for a ‘real’ sail (she may be 91, but she still enjoys the thrill of a fast sail) so today we headed for the famously windy channel between Lefkas and Cephalonia. Our plan was to sail to Fiskardo on Cephalonia, but the wind Gods disagreed. We got our strong wind, but on the nose. There was also a short, steep chop which made heading to windward wet and uncomfortable, so we turned left and had a brilliant sail on a beam reach along the bottom of Meganisi, then turned left again up the side of the island sailing downwind. We finally lost the wind at the top of the island, so dropped into the deep, wooded inlet of Ormos Kapali where we anchored for lunch.

We’re now moored for the night on the town quay at Vathi on Meganisi. I had planned to cook a meal on board, but as we tidied the cockpit I could smell gas, and we quickly discovered that the regulator on the top of gas bottle was leaking. So we’ll be eating out tonight, and we’ll have to buy a new regulator tomorrow.



Errikos taverna in Vathi

26^th September We experienced our first ‘crossed anchor’ this morning. Mooring in Greece generally involves dropping your anchor in the middle of the harbour and then reversing back to the quay where you tie up stern to. Boats are packed in so tightly, fender to fender, that it’s easy for one anchor chain to cross another and when Cliff pulled our anchor up this morning a second anchor appeared with it! Luckily the boat it belonged to was ready to leave, otherwise they may have found themselves adrift.

Next stop was the town of Nidri on Lefkas where Cliff managed to buy and fit a new regulator for the gas bottle. Then we did a tour of the east coast of Lefkas from Vlikho bay to Nikiana, an area that holds fond memories for Mum and she and Dad holidayed here ten years ago. We had considered staying the night in Nikiana but the port seemed bleak and was open to the prevalent wind, so we headed back to Vathi on Meganisi instead.

Mum enjoying the sun

28^th September We’re now back in Preveza. As we walked down the pontoon this afternoon Mum tried to make friends with a dog lying alongside one of the boats, and it bit her leg! It turns out it’s a stray that is being fed by the people on the boat, so we decided to take Mum up to the local hospital. We were very impressed with the treatment – she was seen immediately, they dressed the wound and gave her antibiotics and a tetanus injection. Luckily there have been no incidents of rabies in Preveza, and apparently the dog has had a full set of jabs. Mum appears none the worse for the incident and was in good spirits as we went out for our last meal in town.

29^th September Mum flew back to the UK today. It’s been a great week and we are impressed at how well she coped on the boat. She may find it difficult to walk unaided now, but she managed getting on and off the boat (even climbing over the guard rail) with a bit of help from us, and once on board she used the hand holds to move around. Most importantly, she really seemed to enjoy being on the boat and we’re hoping she will come out and visit us again next year.

 

Corfu and Paxos

Sivota island sunset

3rd September We’ve been back in Preveza for a few days now catching up with boat jobs and tomorrow we plan to leave for a cruise of the Northern Ionian visiting Paxos, Corfu and the Sivota islands just off the mainland.



Gaios on Paxos

4^th September We are moored in Gaios on the pretty island of Paxos.  We are on the north quay in a sheltered, tree lined channel just round the corner from the village. It’s a popular spot with yachts of all nationalities squeezed in next to each other. The village itself is very smart for Greece, a reflection of the upmarket visitors the island attracts.




Mourtos looking out to the Sivota islands

5^th September Today we sailed to the village of Mourtos on the mainland opposite the tip of Corfu. It’s another very pretty spot that’s backed by green hills and sheltered by the Sivota islands dotted with sandy bays. We found a typically Greek taverna for dinner and had two starters: ‘The Imam Faints’, a dish of aubergines stuffed with tomatoes and onions and ‘Fasolia Gigantes’, butter beans in a rich tomato sauce. The portions were huge and the food was delicious, but there was no way we could  eat all of that and our main meal, so, being in Greece, the waiter packaged the rest of it up for us to take away - guess what we’re having for lunch tomorrow!




Mandraki harbour under the fort

 

6^th September We are staying with the Corfu Sailing Club in Mandraki Harbour, which is tucked right under the old fort in Corfu Town. It is, without doubt, the most spectacular mooring we have had so far on our trip. The bastion of the 15^th century fort rises up above us and the former barracks are now home to the Ionian University’s music department, so we are serenaded with classical music mixed with the odd bout of jazz. The harbour front is a riot of colour, planted with bougainvillea trailing over pergolas, and looking out to sea we can see the mountains of Albania, just a few miles across the straits.

The path through the fort - the only way to and from the sailing club

 

The seawater moat between the fort and Corfu town 

 

Cricket on Spianadha green

7^th September We walked into town today – the path out of the harbour took us up through the tunnels of the old fort then across the bridge spanning the seawater moat. We emerged onto the Spianadha, the town green, where we found a game of cricket in progress – one of the legacies of the 19^th century British rule. We loved the old town which is unlike anywhere else we have been in Greece. It’s a fascinating mix of buildings inherited from the different rulers over the years. You can see the legacy of Venetian rule in the style of the tall houses bordering the narrow lanes, and of the French rule in the Liston, an arcaded street modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Our only disappointment was the main port, which is a desolate, decaying place with abandoned boats literally sinking on their moorings.

 

The Liston arcade

8^th September Today we walked south round the bay to the Mon Repos estate, which was originally home to the Greek royal family and the birthplace of Prince Philip. The house is unremarkable, but the densely wooded grounds made for a lovely walk, with glimpses of Mon Repos beach and the sea from the cliff tops.

 

Mon Repos beach with the grounds of the estate behind it

 9^th September We had a relaxing, downwind sail to ‘Lawrence Durrell’ country on the North East coast of Corfu today. We had planned to anchor for the night there,  but the wind had veered south, making it a lee shore, so after cruising along past the picture postcard bays of Agni, Kalami, Kalouri and Aghios Stefanos we turned south, beating against a strong headwind back down the Albanian coast and then on to Mourtos.



Agni on the North East coast of Corfu

 10^th September. We’ve had a lazy day exploring the Sivota islands in the dinghy and swimming in the crystal clear, sandy bays. The forecast for the next few days is for thunderstorms and then strong winds, so we will be heading back down to Preveza tomorrow where we’ll hole up until the storms have passed through.

Sailing down to Zakynthos



Sami on Cephalonia

23^rd August After leaving Meganisi we sailed down the narrow channel between the mountainous islands of Cephalonia and Ithaca. At the very bottom of the channel, on the island of Cephalonia, is the port of Sami, and this is where we’ve berthed for the night. We had to motor sail for most of the day as there was little wind, but as we arrived the wind suddenly got up, which made mooring hard work.

Cephalonia suffered a devastating earthquake in 1953 which leveled Sami and almost all the other towns and villages on the island. The ‘new’ buildings lack the character of some other Greek villages, but the setting is still pretty, as the town is surrounded by a circle of deeply wooded hills.

24^th August We are now moored on the quay in Zakynthos town, after a long sail down to the bottom of Cephalonia and across to the island of Zakynthos. We arrived to discover that today is the Festival of Dionysus, the biggest event of their year, and that the festival parade marches right past our boat. We should also have a great view of the firework displays that will be set off around the harbour.

Regain in Ormos Keri on Zakynthos



Jean, Esther, Pascale, Cliff, Maurice and Germain on Sandpiper

25^th August The celebrations were good fun but went on quite late last night, and when they finally ended the local bikers decided to use the road alongside the quay as a racetrack, so we didn’t get a lot of sleep! Today we sailed the final leg down to meet our French friend Jean and his family in Ormos Keri, an anchorage on the bottom of the island.

We joined Jean, Pascale and the children for lunch on their boat, ‘Regain’, and spent a very pleasant afternoon catching up. This evening they came over to Sandpiper for drinks. Cliff had been saving some Bombardier West Country Bitter for Jean to sample and it got the thumbs up!  It was great to see them again and meet their children, Maurice, Germain and Esther, who are lovely and seem to have adapted well to life at sea.

26^th August We wished Jean and Pascale a safe voyage as they set off for Sicily at 7.30 this morning. Soon after we upped anchor to head back  to Cephalonia and we’re now moored up back in Sami.

Nidri Lefkas



Tranquil Bay, Nidri

18th August We are now anchored in Tranquil Bay near the very lively resort of Nidri on the east coast of Lefkas. We’ve managed to creep deep into the wooded bay away from the noise and the swell from passing boats, so now we have the best of both worlds, a sheltered, quiet anchorage which is a ten minute row from shore-side facilities.

19th August We have very fond memories of holidays in Nidri. We learned to sail a yacht here back in 1999, and it was the starting point for our first flotilla holiday a year later. Today we took the dinghy over to town and found that very little has changed. The quay is still jammed with tavernas and bars touting for custom and the view out to sea is still beautiful.




View across the anchorage


20th August Today we rowed to the shore of the bay and walked out to the promontory where there’s a memorial to Wilhelm Dorpfeld, a famous German archaeologist who tried to prove that Homer’s epics were based on historical facts. Dorpfeld compared several passages from the Odyssey to the actual geographical location of Lefkas, and proposed that the bay of Nidri was in fact the mythical Ithaca, home of Odysseus. Needless to say, he has become a bit of folk hero in Nidri!



Roadside chapel at Vathi



Quayside at Vathi

22th August We’re back on Meganisi, this time in the sleepy village of Vathi. This is the ‘capital’ of Meganisi, though there’s little more here than a handful of tavernas and a few small stores.

Today we received an email from our French friend Jean, who sailed across Biscay with us. He and his wife have taken nine months off work to sail around the Mediterranean with their three young children. They will be in Zakynthos this weekend so we'll be leaving tomorrow to start the three day sail down there to meet them.

Greece at last!



Preveza harbour



9th August We are now in Greece! We arrived yesterday after a 50 hour, 280 mile journey. We chose to do the crossing when there was very little wind, as the predominant wind here comes from the north and would have been ‘on the nose’. It was a quiet, easy crossing with very few boats to spot, all we saw was a pod of dolphins and two turtles.

We eventually sailed into Preveza marina at noon, where we were met by our Cartagena cruising friends John and Sally, who crossed to Greece in June. It’s so nice to be here – after holidaying in Greece on and off for 40 years it feels a bit like coming home.

Preveza's Venetian clocktower

Preveza is a quiet, unassuming town off the tourist trail. Its biggest claim to fame is that the battle of Actium raged just offshore in 31BC when Octavian’s forces defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It's great for provisioning and we are now fully stocked with local Greek olives, Feta cheese and the sweetest tomatoes we’ve tasted since we were in Spain.

The lifting/swinging bridge at Lefkas

14th August After a very lazy week we set sail again today for the island of Meganisi opposite Lefkas. The quickest way to get there from Preveza is via the Lefkas canal and a lifting/swinging bridge. The bridge opens hourly and the last time we were sailing this way (more than 10 years ago) we timed it badly and only just squeezed through with sirens blasting as the bridge started to close. It wasn’t an experience we wanted to repeat, so this time we arrived a full ten minutes early and got through with no problem.



The taverna at Spartakhori

15th August We spent last night at Spartakhori, one of our favourite spots on Meganisi. It’s a densely wooded inlet with two tavernas, one at each end of the bay. We stopped off at the first taverna where the jetty was full of Italian boats and very noisy. But we were able to escape and enjoy some typically Greek fare: moussaka and stuffed peppers and Greek salad!



View from Spartakhori village towards Skorpios

This morning I got up early and walked up to the village of Spartakhori which is perched on the hill high above the bay. It’s a steep hike with over 150 steps, but worth it for the great views across  to the  island of Skorpios, which is owned by the Onassis family.

 

 

Sandpiper and our French companion at Port Atheni

 

16th August We spent last  night at Port Atheni on the north of Meganisi island in a lovely, quiet anchorage with a line to the shore. I made a bit of a mess of trying to hold the boat to the wind while Cliff was tying the line to the shore, but a gallant Frenchmen from the boat next to us came to my rescue. It was our turn to help when at 5am this morning his boat dragged on its anchor and dropped back across our line. We managed to winch it off, but by this time the wind was howling and we were on a lee shore, so we decided to up anchor and are now back in Spartakhori, this time in the south of the bay.

Southern Sicily



The clear blue waters of the Egadi islands

28^th July Today we sailed to the Egadi islands, three sparsely habited, rocky islands a few miles off the coast. We dropped anchor for lunch and a swim in an unspoilt bay on the north of the island of Favignana.  The water was wonderful for swimming, crystal clear and the most intense, aquamarine blue.  We are now in Marsala, home to the famous wine, which was actually invented by an Englishman.

The cliff top ruins of Selinunte

29 July As we sailed along the coast towards Sciacca today we could see the remains of the ancient Greek city of Selinunte spread out across the cliff tops.  Sicily has so many of these wonderful archaeological sites.

31 July. We’ve stopped in the beach resort of San Leone to visit the ‘Valley of the Temples’ at Agrigento, a few kilometres down the road. There are seven temples, built by Greek colonists in the fifth century BC.



Temple of Concordia

 

Temple of Ercole

 

We visited the temples with our friends Jean-Marie and Soizeck, a French couple we first met in Trapani. We all agreed it was too hot to wander around the 3km long, unshaded site during the day, so instead we arrived just as the sun set, with the stone columns glowing in the evening light. The main temples and walkways are floodlit at night, enhancing their grandeur and creating quite a dramatic spectacle. After wandering around the site we sat quietly in the dark on the stone walls and admired the towering columns silhouetted against the night sky.

4 August We have finally reached Syracuse in southern Sicily, our jumping off point for Greece.   We are moored in the picturesque Grand Harbour, next to the old town which is built on the island of Ortygia. We’ve enjoyed wandering around the narrow, shady streets admiring the mix of Greek and Roman remains, Medieval palazzos and Baroque churches. The Duomo cathedral in the centre of the old town is particularly impressive: it’s built in Baroque style on the site of the 6C Temple of Athena, and you can still see the temple columns set into the cathedral walls. 

 

Gate to the old town of Syracuse



Duomo in Syracuse



One of the temple columns within the Duomo walls

 

 

Lifelike faces stare out at you from the Palazzo della Cultura

 There are more Greek and Roman remains in the Archaeological Park across the bridge in ‘mainland’ Syracuse, but we have decided to leave visiting these for another time as it’s just too hot. We plan include Sicily on the route of our return trip out of the Med and will try and time it so we aren’t here in high summer.

5 August The weather for the next few days looks fair for the 280 mile non-stop crossing to Lefkas in Greece. This should take us just over two days. We’ll leave tomorrow if the forecast is still good.

Cruising with Chris and Jo



Chris and Jo in San Vito

21^st July Our son Chris and his girlfriend Jo arrived late last night and today we sailed back up to San Vito. Chris took the helm as the wind got up and we had a couple of hours  brisk sail on a close reach.  We headed for the beach when we arrived and found it even busier than last week. We eventually found a few square feet of sand to sit on and had a good swim. 



San Vito from the marina (pic by Chris)

22^nd July As I was fixing the sun cover this morning one of the elastic bungee straps came undone and hit me in the face, smashing the right lens of my glasses. Martina, the very helpful marina receptionist, said ‘no problem!’ and called an optician in Trapani. If I could bring the glasses in this afternoon, they will see what they can do. So at 2.30 I catch the bus back down to Trapani and am treated to an hour’s scenic coastal ride with soaring mountains on one side and the blue Mediterranean on the other. When I arrive, the elderly owner of the opticians is full of old fashioned Italian charm.  He tells me all about his nephew who works as a waiter in London and says he is  honoured to be of service to me. After inspecting the lens he tells me he will have it replaced by Saturday.



Back in Castellammare (pic by Chris )

23^rd July We sailed to Castellamare today (or rather motorsailed, with wind on the nose) and anchored in the bay for a swim before going into the marina. It turned out to be a very quick swim as there was a strong current and we found ourselves being swept away from the boat! Later we walked up to the top of the old town to a pizzeria with wonderful views across the bay. The pizzas were excellent, but the highlight for me was the view of the full moon rising. It was a deep, blood red as it appeared from behind the hills, then slowly turned to pale gold and finally white.



Sunset from the top of Castellamare (pic by Chris)

24^th July We spent most of today anchored in one of the beautiful bays on the edge of the Zingaro Nature Reserve.  The water was crystal clear water and perfect for snorkelling, so Chris and Jo donned masks and were off.  As we relaxed on deck we suddenly heard screams from Jo – seeing individual fish had been fun, but she didn’t enjoy the experience of coming face to face with a shoal of them!

25^th July Last night we sat up late playing Estimation Whist, a new game Chris has taught us, and I’m pleased to say that we oldies are getting the hang of it – Cliff and I beat Jo and Chris hands down. Today has been another beach day in San Vito before we head back down to Trapani for Chris and Jo to catch their flight home.

27^th July Chris and Jo left today – the week has gone by so quickly! They have been great company and we will miss them. The optician has fixed my glasses so we are all set to leave tomorrow and continue our journey round the coast of Sicily.

 

Trapani

 

The Greek temple at Segesta

17^th July We have come to Trapani to do a bit of travelling inland before Chris and his girlfriend arrive. It’s an interesting town which was a wealthy trading centre in the medieval times and now is better known for the salt pans nearby. The old town is full of beautiful ‘palazzos’ from the 16^th century which are now literally crumbling as the town can’t afford to renovate them.

Our marina is in the fishing harbour and backs on to the fish market where we can hear the fishermen bartering in the early morning. We joined the locals and bought some Dorada there yesterday - it was some the best fish we have had on this trip.

 

Faded grandeur of Trapani's palazzos

.


The fish market
 

Today we took the (very long and slightly scary) cable car up the mountain from Trapani to the medieval, fortified town of Erice.  It's a maze of cobbled streets, some so narrow that only one person can pass through, and, unlike Trapani, the buildings here have been well preserved. After exploring the town we walked out to the Castle of Venus which stands on a rocky bluff at one end of the town. This was built on the site of a temple going back to Phoenician times, which is mentioned in the Greek Myths.



 

The castle of Venus


 



View from Erice out over the islands

 

At the castle we sat in the shade among the holm oaks and pine trees admiring the view down over Trapani and out to sea to the Egadi islands. Apparently on a clear day you can see Tunisia, but it was too hazy today. Later we had lunch on the terrace of Maria’s café, owned by Maria Grammatico, one of Sicily’s top pastry chefs. The savoury courses were pretty ordinary, but the pastries were amazing, especially the buccellati, which is a sweet pastry stuffed with dried figs, almonds, walnuts and sultanas.



The Roman amphitheatre at Segesta

  

Close up of the Doric temple at Segesta

 

19^th July We visited the  site of Segesta today, which was built on a  hillside with views down to the Golf of Castellammare. We had been warned there was no shade there, and with the temperature in the high 30s we decided to catch an early morning bus so that we could be there when the site opened at 9am.

It’s a 2 km uphill walk from the entrance to the Roman agora and amphitheatre and there is a shuttle bus that will take you up there, but there were some smaller sites on the way, so we decided to walk.  A big mistake - it was very hot, hard work and we were exhausted by the time we got to the top! The amphitheatre and agora were interesting, but the jewel of the site is an unfinished, Doric temple which was built much earlier on the opposite hill, and is amazingly well preserved. Up close the sheer size and might of the place is, in every sense of the word,  awesome.