Earthquakes and ruins

The impressive Rion-Adirrion suspension bridge

8^th May After leaving Messolonghi we sailed towards the new Rion-Andirrion suspension bridge near Patras, which links the Peloponnese peninsular with the mainland. We had to call Rion Traffic when we were a mile away to be told which part of the bridge we should pass under to avoid meeting with some of the large cargo boats coming the other way. We were instructed ‘one pillar to the left, three to the right’ and sailed under the impressive bridge with hardly any other boats in sight.

Sunken yacht in Trizonia marina

We stopped for the night on the pretty, tiny island of Trizonia, mooring in an ‘unfinished’ marina. There seem to be a lot of these in Greece now, we’ve been told that the government loaned money to local councils so that more marinas could be built to attract visitors, but they have remained unfinished to avoid having to pay back the grant. Whatever the reason, they are a gift to yachtsmen who can moor there for free. Sadly, in Trizonia the marina has also become the resting place for abandoned yachts. We saw several rotting hulks tied up alongside and a ketch had sunk between the pontoons.

We had a great sail down from Trizonia to Itea, where we planned to stop to take a trip up to Delphi.  At around 6.30 following morning we were woken by an explosion that rocked the boat. We shot up on deck expecting the worst but could see nothing. Cliff was convinced it was an earthquake while I thought it more likely that someone had been rock blasting nearby. Well, Cliff was right, we later discovered there was earthquake (4.3 on the Richter scale) with its epicentre just a few miles away!

The amphitheatre at Delphi

Later that morning we took the bus to visit Delphi, which was built in a spectacular setting high on the mountain overlooking the valley that goes down to Gulf. This is the site of the Ancient Oracle, where, from around the 8^th century BC onwards, pilgrims, including kings and generals, would come to seek divine direction on anything from war to their love life. They submitted their questions to a priestess who went into a trance and gave an unintelligible answer which was then translated by a priest. It’s thought that the priestess was a local villager who sat on her tripod inhaling ethylene gas that leaked up through the rocks, which would account for her ‘trance-like’ state!

The Tholos, Delphi

Delphi is an impressive site with temples, a theatre and a stadium, but it’s the setting that makes it special. We were lucky to visit when it was relatively quiet with only the occasional group of tourists disturbing the peace.

Temple of Apollo, Delphi

 

Vathi and Messolonghi

Vathi on Ithaca

 

We left Lefkas on 30^th April to start our journey towards the Aegean. We had a perfect two hour downwind sail in the sunshine to one of our favourite spots, Spartahori on the island of Meganisi, where we had an excellent evening in the beachside taverna.

The next day the wind refused to appear so we had to motor down to Vathi on the pretty, pine clad island of Ithaca. As we slowed and got ready to moor in the harbour the engine cut out. We started it up and it was fine, but as soon as we slowed it stopped again. We managed to keep it going long enough to moor alongside then Cliff spent a frustrating hour checking everything in the engine but couldn’t find the problem.

We had hoped to make the most of some good westerly winds to cross from Ithaca to the Gulf of Patras the next day, but instead we had to wait around for an engineer, who took two hours to find the fault (a tiny air leak in the fuel pipe) and another hour to replace it. We then had to hand over a very large wad of euros, not a good start to the season!

The motor had a good test the next day as the wind was on the nose for most of the 7 hour crossing to Messolonghi. As we approached the harbour black clouds gathered and we just managed to finish tying up before the heavens opened and it poured with rain.

Statue of Byron in Messolonghi

 

Messolonghi is a peaceful spot, set on a flat plain surrounded by shallow lagoons and marshes and backed by magnificent mountains. It is here that Lord Byron died in 1824. When he arrived at the town he was made commander in chief of an army that was fighting the Ottomans. He died of fever before he could lead the army into battle but still became a Greek national hero, and we visited the statue dedicated to him in the local park.

Fisherman's house

We spent a couple of lazy days in Messolonghi while we waited for some strong winds and storms to blow through. We had a great cycle ride along a causeway between the lagoons where the local fishermen live in houses on stilts and trawl the shallow waters in oriental-looking boats. The area is full of wildlife and we spotted turtles, egrets, pelicans and even flamingos.

Fishing boats on the lagoon


 



Flamingos on the lagoon