Kythnos

Dhropidha on Kythnos

On 27^th May we upped anchor and set off for the 50 mile sail (or, as it turned out motor sail) from Poros to Kythnos, one of the islands in the Northern Cyclades. These islands sit in the middle of the Aegean sea between Greece and Turkey and are known for the strong summer wind (the Meltimi) which regularly blows at gale force. We chose a quiet day  our crossing, but the following night gale force winds screamed through the harbour and we were very grateful that we were safely tucked inside. 

The port of Loutra

Our destination was the small village of Loutra, which is typically Cycladean,   with white ‘cubist’ houses standing out against the bare hills and a wonderfully blue sea.  It’s known for its thermal springs, and you can either pay to bathe in the healing waters in a rather forbidding spa building, or do as we did, follow the rusty red, hot water running through the village down to the sea and have an ‘outdoor’ spa experience sitting in a hot rock pool.

With more strong winds forecast we decided to hire a car for a day and explore. The island has very few good beaches and so has remained relatively undeveloped, reminding us of how the Cyclades used to be when we visited them as backpackers in the 70s. The older generation still use donkeys as their preferred method of transport and the side roads quickly peter out into unmade tracks.  

Hora...not a butcher in sight

Hora, the capital of the island, is an attractive maze of whitewashed buildings built on tiny winding streets and alleyways. I spent an entertaining half hour trying to find a butcher there. Nobody spoke English and I couldn’t remember the word for butcher, so it was down to mime and animal impressions to explain what I wanted.  I was directed further down the main street but still couldn’t see anywhere selling meat, perhaps they hadn’t understood? I tried my cow impression on a second woman who took me by the arm and marched me into a tiny grocery store.  The owner signalled for me to follow him through to the back where he opened a big metal door and there was the meat, sensibly kept in cold storage.  

Where did the other half go?

After this we drove over hills carpeted with spring flowers to Dhryopidha, the biggest town on the island and its former  capital. The contrast with Hora was striking, here  red-roofed houses cling to the side of a pine-covered ravine and it looks more Spanish than Greek.

The rooftops of Dhryopidha

Exploring Dhryophida

Further down the island we found the pretty beach resort of Kanala where we stopped for lunch. We spotted a taverna on the headland with wonderful views across the bay, but when we got there the place was empty and we wondered whether they were serving food. The owner welcomed us and invited us inside, and explained he had a limited menu, but could make caper rissoles. Caper rissoles? Our only experience of eating capers was as a topping on pizza but we decided to give it a go, and, amazingly, they were delicious!

Caper rissoles (the chips were good too)

Through the Corinth canal to the Aegean

Motoring through the Corinth canal

Our friends Melanie and Derek arrived on 17^th May to spend a week with us on the boat. We were up early the next day ready to sail through the Corinth canal to the Aegean. We called up the canal office to ask if we could go through and were told to proceed to the canal as quickly as possible. But first we had to escape from the tight corner we were moored in. It wouldn’t be easy with the wind blowing us on to the small boat moorings, but Cliff had the brilliant idea of backing the genoa to turn the boat into the narrow channel, and it worked a treat.

Once out we steamed down to meet up with three other boats that were getting ready to transit. We were told to follow a motor launch and quickly found ourselves in the canal with the walls towering high above us. In less than an hour we were out the other side and mooring up to pay a whopping 180 euro fee for the privilege!

With Melanie and Derek at Angistri harbour

There was so little wind that we had to motor sail from the canal down to the small island of Angistri, but as we arrived the wind suddenly got up, making mooring in the harbour a difficult business. It took us two attempts to get in, providing lots of entertainment for the other boats who were already on the quay!

The theatre at Epidaurus


After a couple of relaxing days on Angistri we moved on to the busy port of Epidaurus where we took a taxi to the nearby ancient site of Epidaurus. This was originally a sanctuary for healing but the main attraction is the impressive, 14,000 seat theatre which is set among the rolling green hills and still used for performances today.  We enjoyed wandering around the theatre and the museum and would have like to have had more time to explore the huge site with its stadium, temple and sanctuary, but it was very hot and the taxi was waiting so we will have to return another time.

The smaller theatre on the headland

 

Back at the port we were told there were the remains of another theatre on the headland, so we set out on a very pleasant early evening stroll along the beach and then inland through orange and lemon groves until we found the theatre (small, but still impressive) and other remains that are still being excavated. The remains are on a rise just above the sea, and apparently you can still see the foundations of the old town in the shallows below.

Sunset at Poros



Our final stop with Melanie and Derek was Poros, the main town on the island of the same name. We have fond memories of a week we spent here with Melanie and Derek  over 30 years ago! The town is as lovely now as it was then, spanning two sides of the headland with views across the narrow strait to the mountains on the mainland. We moored on the north quay and were quite smug about the location which was away from noisy bars and had a perfect view of the sunset.



Cliff with the broken boarding plank

We weren’t far from the ferry dock and had read there could be some wash, so we made sure the boat was pulled well off the quay. The first few ferries produced a bit of a bumpy wash, but nothing prepared us for the tidal wave that came when one of the ferries did a fast turn. Sandpiper suddenly surged backwards, and the ball fender we had positioned on the back crashed violently into the quayside.  The next day as we lowered the gangplank to go ashore we had another ‘tidal wave’. This drove the boat towards the quay and pinned the plank under a mooring cleat then bounced it up and down so violently that it cracked and splintered all down one side. The plank was new this season – and was now useless! Luckily we still had our old (rather dodgy) metal passerelle so this was put into use until we could find a replacement plank. Once Melanie and Derek had left to take the ferry back to Athens we moved round to the South Quay away from the ferries, reasoning that a bit of noise from the bars was a lot better than a damaged boat.

We were really sad to see Melanie and Derek go. They had been brilliant company for the week, up for anything and always making us laugh!