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

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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.