We enjoyed Kos (especially the strawberry daiqueries…I’m sure I had at least 10….and their Guinness tasted better than what I’ve had in Canada) but it was VERY windy. Some days it was so windy I couldn’t go swimming! I was worried that Darcy would get blown off of the boat. Generally every week had 2 days that were more windy than the others, and it always seemed to be over the weekend. Not sure why Zeus wants to make wind on the weekend but that is the evidence.
After Kos, we went to Kalymnos where we ended up on a mooring ball (too bad there is not a video of the ball capture: a boat hook went overboard, Victoria jumped in after it, me holding the boat in place near rocks while trying to not run over Victoria). There were 4 mooring balls there that were supplied by a local restaurant so obviously we went to eat there and were disappointed. The reviews I read were of a family owned place that was reasonably priced. This place had a new more expensive menu (I don’t begrudge anyone trying to make more money) but it wasn’t value for money so we didn’t go back.
We next went to Leros, Xirocampos Bay in the south where we have been before. The main port of Leros is the deepest port in the Mediterranian, and unfortunately for Leros that makes it militarilly significant, so when walking around you see this:
A not so visible bunker guarding the port. Sobering to imagine this paradise engulfed in war.
We then headed north to Lipsi and then Fourni. Every place we anchored we had crystal clear 28 degree water with unlimited visibility and when it was hot we would just jump in for a swim. We even discovered that Darcy can swim when he fell off the dingy! Unfortunately Victoria missed a step coming down the steps into the boat and hurt her ribs when she fell. I now have a better appreciation as to why all of the corners inside the boat are nicely rounded…..if she had fallen on a corner it would have been much, much worse. In any case nothing was broken but it was painful to move around so we decided to head back to Crete. No big rush but we started south.
We also had to be back in Athens for the end of the month since we are hoping to buy a nice house 2 hours outside of Athens, and my Toronto home sale is supposed to close at the end of the month (crossing my flexible appendages) and after that we can complete the Athens purchase. (BTW buying a property in Greece is NOT LIKE IN CANADA! Be warned.) This has all been a bit of a distraction this summer which is unfortunate when you are on a boat in paradise. We had trouble booking a ferry with a pet-friendly room (!!!) but we finally managed….but now we had the worst possible thing for cruisers: a schedule. We had to be back before a specific day, and we didn’t want to be forced to travel during bad weather.
Our sailing this summer was also a bit weird because we tried very hard to only travel during the easiest weather….and we ended up having no wind to sail! The winds are almost always from the north in the summer, and coming back we had to motor into winds from the South! It was crazy! Next year we need to be careful to have enough wind to sail more.
On the bright side I watched 60+ sunsets and went swimming 4 or 5 times a day. I also did quite a bit of work on my AI application. You really can work from anywhere now.
We are now back at the dock in Agios Nicholaos for a few days before we head back to Athens. Benefits of being here are: we can run the AC and I can walk to a beer under a tree. The downsides are it seems much hotter in the marina, and I can’t jump in the sea to cool off. I’m really missing being anchored out in a bay.
Adventures on Spruzzo 