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.