Korfos |
3nd May 2016 We have sailed to Korfos, which is just round the headland from our next destination: the Corinth Canal. But after a night in the port we hear that gale force winds are forecast for the
canal area over the next two days, so we decide to head back to Epidaurus and
explore inland. As we turn the corner
out of the bay the wind is on the nose and the horizon disappears into a wall
of white. Then the wind speed suddenly
accelerates from 10 to 40 knots, the rain pelts down and the sea begins to
crash over the bows. We don’t fancy the
idea of this for another two hours, so we turn back again and tie up on the pontoon Korfos.
The 'pirate' fishing boats |
4th May I am woken at 2am by the sound of footsteps
on the deck. I climb up the companionway steps and find two Greek men busy
undoing our lines! I shout at them to stop, but all they can say is ‘fish’! I
then notice that the small motor launch that was moored behind us has been tied
alongside our boat. My shouts of ‘No!’ wake Cliff who joins me in trying to
evict the men. Eventually Eric, a Norwegian from another boat on the pontoon,
arrives along with Takis, the Greek owner of the motor launch. Much shouting
ensues in Greek, and Eric explains that the intruders are fishermen from the
island of Salamis near Athens, who want to rearrange the boats on the pontoon
to make room for their two large fishing boats so they can offload their catch.
Eventually we reluctantly agree to move. We later hear that these fishermen are
not welcome in Korfos as the pontoon was built for leisure sailors who provide
essential income for the many restaurants.
Liz at Palamidi Fort |
Liz would like to visit Nafplion, so in the morning we take
a cab across to this lovely old town, first stopping at Palamidi Fort that sits
high above Nafplion and offers stunning views of the town and the Argolic Gulf.
Then we drive down to the port and
wander through the narrow streets admiring the Venetian architecture which has
survived from the 14th Century.
Nafplion town |
5th May At 6am we are woken by footsteps on deck
again! The fishermen are busy tying Takis’ boat alongside ours and insist that
we should move back. We are planning to leave this morning and so we stand firm
– we will move forward so that they can berth behind us, but we cannot have the
motorboat tied alongside us. At 10am Takis appears with the police. The
fishermen took his boat off the pontoon and anchored it out in the bay - he is
furious! The police interview Cliff to confirm what happened and then talk
sternly to the fishermen. They are still shouting at each other as we head out
of the port towards the Corinth Canal.
Liz helming Sandpiper through the Corinth Canal |
Our transit through the canal goes smoothly and Liz gets a
chance to take the helm. We are soon tied up on the port at Corinth where we are going
for a farewell meal with Liz before she leaves to take her flight to the UK
tomorrow.
6th May 2016 We were up early this morning to wave goodbye to Liz as she took a taxi to the Metro station to go to Athens. Later we discovered that Liz arrived at the station to find the Metro is on strike! Luckily her taxi hadn’t left, so she jumped back in and headed for the bus station, where she finally found a seat on a bus to Athens.
6th May 2016 We were up early this morning to wave goodbye to Liz as she took a taxi to the Metro station to go to Athens. Later we discovered that Liz arrived at the station to find the Metro is on strike! Luckily her taxi hadn’t left, so she jumped back in and headed for the bus station, where she finally found a seat on a bus to Athens.
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