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