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Monday, October 29th, Navpaktos, Greece
This is the time of
year to visit Greece if you don't like crowds. I
think there is usually a little more sun than we have
seen so far, but the empty anchorages have been really
great. Actually, we have spent much of our time
tied up to town quays which usually cost anywhere
between 10 and 30 Euros in the summertime: a bargain any
way you cut it. This time of year, however, the
officials don't even bother to come out to collect their
fees so we have yet to pay for a spot. In Lefkas,
it was great being able to get on and off the boat
quickly in between downpours so we didn't go absolutely
nuts being stuck on the boat the whole time.
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After three full days,
despite continued clouds and chilly weather, we moved
about 10 miles south to an anchorage near the town of
Nidri, still on the island of Lefkada. These
islands and the surrounding sea inspire wonder
regardless of the weather.
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After experiencing near
empty ports of call elsewhere, we were surprised to see
the anchorage in Nidri riddled with boats, anchored and
tied stern to the shore. It turns out this is a
popular place for leaving your boat for the winter, and
apparently some are brave enough to do so at anchor.
A surprising number of people were also still living on
their boats.
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We managed to find the
best restaurant in town for dinner that night,
"George's." From Albania, George himself enticed
us inside when he rode up on his scooter with a bag full
of lemons shouting "Merry Christmas." After seeing
empty tables at all the other establishments we had
already checked out, the half dozen full tables
convinced us that this was the place. We weren't
sorry as the food was fabulous and George was quite
entertaining, executing handstands on the table,
juggling tricks, and riding a unicycle around the
terrace. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the camera.
:(
On the advise of a
British boating couple we met that night, we took off
the next day for a short trip to the neighboring island
of Meganisi, where we climbed up the hillside to the
small town of Spartakhori. It was a beautiful
spot, with deep, crystal clear water.
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Joe quickly made
friends with Giuliano, an Italian boater from the north
who is a frequent visitor to these islands. He
showed us around what little there is of town, and we
invited him for dinner that night.
"My friends will never
believe me when I tell them I met an American lady who
cooked me a really good risotto!" he exclaimed
half way through the meal.
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With a bit of a breeze
blowing from the east, we set sail on Friday for the
island of Cephalonia. Actually, we had intended to
stop in Ithaca but the anchorage we had picked out
proved uncomfortable with the winds in the narrow
channel between the two islands blowing directly out of
the south and into the small bay. Never mind,
there's a nicely protected seawall in Sami, and it is
only 12 miles due south!
The weather improved
enough for us to get out and enjoy a bit of the city and
its surroundings. There are numerous underground
springs on the island that empty out into the sea.
One such spring powered this water wheel.
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Another underground
waterway finds its way to the surface a few miles out of
town at Lake Mellisani. Sunk about a hundred feet
below the surrounding countryside, the roof of this
cavern collapsed 5,000 years ago.
Part of the admission
price includes a tour around the cavern in a little
rowboat.
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As we were gearing up
to celebrate Joe's birthday on Sunday, we discovered
that Greece celebrates a national holiday on the 28th of
October, called "Ochi Day," or "No Day." On this
date in 1940 Greece refused Mussolini's request to allow
Italian troops into the country. Sami celebrated
the occasion in style with a marching band and all the
school kids dressed up in their finest parading down
main street in front of the town's dignitaries.
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Planning on taking off
for the Gulf of Corinth on Monday, we decided to take a
short sail north to Port Polis on Ithaca that afternoon.
Although it added a few miles to our trip today, we were
ready for a change of scenery and the nice easterly
breeze made for a pleasant afternoon sail. Joe
requested a dinner of stuffed peppers for his birthday
and we spent a nice quiet evening at anchor, the only
boat in the harbor.
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Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
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