|
|
 |
 |
 |
Well...actually, we were going to sail right through Greece since we had spent so much time there in the 70's but a small dental problem meant a stop in Athens and we found that when we started sailing around the islands we were just loving it. So much had been said about the fierce "Meltemi" winds blowing so hard that boats were stuck in anchorages for weeks while it blows out of the north but we never saw any big winds at all the whole time we were sailing the islands in Greece. I think we were very lucky!
We checked into Greece in Samos very near Turkey, then sailed across Aegean Sea to Mykonos, a jetset, disco hotspot. We anchored there and visited the island of "Delos" a unusual island full of archeological remains older than the Acropolis. It was built as a showplace of religious expression for all existing religions and center for finance and trade for all the countries in the Med in the early BC era. Very unusual and one of the oldest places we have been except for the Temples in Egypt. It was chosen due to it's very central location in the sea which is curious because it is a very bleak and barren place.
After Mykonos we anchored in an exciting and special place that few others go. It's where much of the marble for the Greek temples was quarried. The cove had no depths on the charts so we had to sound our way in slowly...always exciting...but no problem. It was so interesting crawling around an old marble quarry with half carved columns And we were almost alone...very unusual in the Med!!!
While continuing among the Greek islands we impulsively [anyone shocked] sailed into a small village bay. It wasn't on our charts as an anchorage but looked really safe to put down the hook. It turned out to be one of our favorite places and we didn't even get the name so we call it "Noname fish village" because we had the local fish for lunch. We got such a great shot of CYAN from the local beach and a wonderful local welcome.
When we arrived at the Greek mainland and the anchorage at the Temple at Sounion on the southern point, it was like we sort of crossed our old path from 1973. That's when we were first traveling in the Med and first planning to sail around the world. Chuck was flying jets the John F Kennedy aircraft carrier and I was following the ship just after we first married. We celebrated here with the crew on S/V Miss Jody and then sailed on to Athens to spend lots of money on dental work.
 Elvis at the dock in Samos |
 Typical windmills Myconos |
 Myconos street |
 Breakfast |
 Old Quarry under arm |
 Quarry anchorage |
 Local boat and shrine |
 Unfinished Columns |
 Delos View |
 Delos column |
 Famous marble lion |
 Noname village beach |
 Noname village, Greece |
 Fisheater |
 Sounion Temple anchorage |
 Tiny Churches on islands |
 Narrow Corinth Canal |
After Athens, we cut through the Corinth Canal. We were going to just pass by this next place called "Navpaktos". Then Chuck found out it was the site of the ancient naval battle of Lapanto [that was it's name in antiquity]. So now we just had to stop and climb to the castle even though it was closed on Monday. Chuck is big on naval battles and this one was against the Turks and was the "last battle of the age of galley warfare". Whoooweee...we don't want to miss that one! We had a great visit and finally got to have genuine souvlaki on the square for lunch.This is the oregano flavored grilled lamb on a stick like we used to love in Greece. All they had in Athens was beef now...no lamb! The islands and small towns in Greece were full of wonderful folks but Athens is full of whiners and slackers...and we can be quoted here.
We stopped briefly at the island of Ithaca...sounded fascinating...Homer's Iliad and all that stuff! But the anchorage was terribly crowded and boats were dragging into each other. We left immediately the next day. Who cares that much about Odessus' home place anyway!
Chugging on north, and rarely sailing then anchoring in usually calm, Tranquil Bay at Levkas, where only a few weeks later loads of boats were destroyed by a freak storm of hurricane force winds...so strange. We go check out in Corfu before heading to Croatia where we were hoping it would be cooler. It was getting darn hot in this "Med summer" and the sailboat charterers were out in force in August. Watching the "barely and/or rarely" dressed charterers from northern Europe try to anchor was our usual happy hour entertainment throughout Greece and Croatia. We'd quickly throw down our hook like we do all the time, mix drinks and watch these guys anchor by committee...often 6 young guys sailing for the first time, anchoring several times. We've been there!!! And we still had stuff to learn with this new med-mooring style anchoring here: tieing to the rock walls until we got it right.
 Approaching Navpaktos or Lapanto |
 Inside the old harbor |
 Chow down on souvlaki |
 Hiking to castle |
 Checking battle scene |
 Cool down spring |
