Onboard the Andrea Cay

Friday, September 7, 2012

Anchors aweigh (...or knot)

We went to pull anchor yesterday and discovered we had a lovely mess. We had been dropping both anchors for the last week because of the Meltemi winds. But, the day after we anchored at Paros, the winds dropped (which was wonderful…) but for the next two days the anchors wrapped around each other several times. There was some confusion as to the direction of the wrap (they were tangled well underwater), so we multiplied our problem by circling the boat in the wrong direction creating an additional wrap that ended up in a giant ball of chains at the waterline (see photo below). After several hours of unsuccessfully trying to untwist the above-water mess from the tender, Joc went to the port-side stern of the boat and used the tender as a tug to push the Andrea Cay in circles. 8-9 revolutions later, we were all dizzy, but the anchors finally untangled and we were on our way.

It was a memorable way to start the celebration of John’s birthday! Fortunately the rest of the day was much more fun. We anchored the boat off Delos, near Mykonos, and tendered in for an 1 ½ hour tour. We were very fortunate to catch an excellent English-speaking tour guide who was just leaving the island as we arrived.

This tiny, uninhabited island is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. According to legend, the twin gods, Apollo and Artemis, were born on Delos, and the Ionians started pilgrimages there about 1000 BC. By 700 BC, Delos was a major religious center, and by the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries BC, it was declared a free port and became the financial and trading center of the Mediterranean. Over 30,000 people from Greece, Rome, Syria, Egypt and Italy lived in harmony and practicing their own religions on this tiny island of 1.3 sq. miles.

Delos had a swift and tragic demise in 88 BC, when King Mithrides of Pontus (an area that is now Turkey), revolted against the Roman rule and attacked the island, killing or selling into slavery over 20,000 people, looting and stealing the millions of dollars worth of sanctuary treasures, and destroying the temples, homes and shops of Delos. The island continued to be looted for centuries after that and unfortunately, almost all the statues and valuable relics are gone. In 1879, the French began excavation of the site, which continues today. It was a fascinating tour!

Continuing west, we found a good, quiet anchorage last night and celebrated John’s birthday in great style. Shaz prepared a delicious dinner in his honor, as well as his favorite dessert, a birthday apple pie. And in the Greek tradition, we toasted him with Ouzo! As predicted, the Meltemi winds returned this morning, but we’re continuing our voyage westward and are doing fine. The winds are howling at Delos and Mykonos at the moment, so we made the right decision.

We spent a couple hours in Hydra this afternoon. Joc and Shaz drifted around in the Andrea Cay while we took the tender into the port to drop Sean off. He took a ferry to Athens and is spending a few days there before heading home.

As you can see from the pictures, Hydra is a very charming (if a little touristy… ) town. It sits on a very steep hill and there are no cars allowed. You walk or ride a donkey to get around. The donkeys are also the pack animals, carrying tourist luggage to the small inns, as well as moving other goods and materials around the this small village. Carol and I discovered that Hydra has really good shopping, but of course we were only allotted the time it took John and Peter to drinks a couple glasses of wine while people-watching in one of the funky little outdoor cafes.

For the record: Carol and I are beating the boys at bridge (at least for these last few days).

Tangled anchor lines!

(And that's only the one above the water...)

Delos

The famous lions of Delos

                                                        Remains of a home in Delos
                                      which had three 18 foot floors and was 7000 sq. ft
                                                              (approx 400 BC)

Olive press

Mosaic tiled pool inside the house

provided cooling in summer

Mykonos (we could only do a "fly by")

Meltemi was chasing us again

Happy Birthday John!!!!

Good bye Sean and THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

Hydra

Donkeys in Hydra

Fishing boats at pier in Hydra

Dinner on aft deck with Joc and Shaz

(she's a fantastic cook!)

AND TO ALL, A GOOD NIGHT....

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Meltemi Madness

After two months of pretty perfect boating weather, other than the 8-10 hours approaching Gibraltar, Posiden (now that we're worshipping the Greek gods) has cast down upon us the infamous Meltemi winds. Had we done a little more homework, we would have learned that our plans to visit the Cyclades at this time of year was destined for disaster. The Meltemi blows fairly steadily in this area from July through mid-September: continual winds at 20-40 knots from the north, subsiding not even at night, and they can last for weeks at a time. To get the full experience of the Meltemi, go to You Tube and check it out!

We had this grand plan to head due east these past few days and make it to Turkey (three, easy 4-hour cruising days), where we were going to spend 5-6 days, before heading back to Mykonos to pick up our next herd of guests arriving on Sept. 10.

So, from Aegina, we headed to Kithnos where we found a very good anchorage late afternoon, and the next day hiked to the top of some pretty steep hills where we were rewarded with very cool ancient ruins and incredible views out over the Med. We also spent a wonderful afternoon on a secluded beach. That night, the winds rose from 20 knots to 35 knots.

The next morning we set out for Mykonos, about 30 miles away. It was extremely rough, but we made it to an anchorage on the south side of the island, hoping to be protected by the hills in front of us. It was a long night: the winds were a steady 35-40 knots, gusting to almost 50. With both anchors out 250 feet, we still dragged about 200 feet overnight. We have anchor alarms of course, so John and Sean were up several times during the night.

Giving up our plan of heading further east and exposing ourselves to more Meltemi abuse, we headed straight south to the island of Paros, where we hoped to find a more protected cove to anchor in. The Andrea Cay does very well with a following sea, so with the wind on our stern, it was not a terribly uncomfortable four hours. Winds continued to be 35-40 knots though and the seas were really huge, which was a bit freaky. By noon, though, we were anchored once more and the winds at our anchorage had dropped to 15-20 knots, as Paros is a bigger island than Mykonos and blocked more of the wind.

Joc and Shaz, our new crew arrived the next morning (Sept. 3), having had to change their plans of meeting us in Mykonos, and flying to Paros instead. The good news is that the Meltemi is finally giving us a three-day reprieve, for which we are most grateful!

We had a day and a half to explore the island of Paros, which we did by tender and by rental car. The summer crowds are gone, so everything is very peaceful and quiet. Many of the places we have visited are frequented mainly by Greek tourists though, and unfortunately for these local island businesses, there has been a 30% decrease in tourism this summer due to the dire condition of the Greek economy.

"Fight fire with fire" (or... Meltemi with Meltemi)

Anchorage at Kithnos

Hiking on Kithnos (rock walls everywhere!)

Wild goat on Kithnos (dinner? yum yum)

Unfortunately, you cannot see the 6-8 ft waves...

Harbor on Paros Island

Hundreds of colorful fishing boats

Carol and Peter excited just thinking about lunch

Menu: octopus, swordfish or cod

Check out the Greek salad we order at every meal (enough for 3)

A guest for lunch! (John was the only one not excited)

Indulgence (pistachio ice cream) Can you find the Greek flag??

Lefkes (a quaint hill-top town)

The whole town has these narrow, marbled streets

Local wine-making. Yes... we really watched them

stomp the grapes (and we tried the wine which tasted like dirty feet)

... So you don't think all we do is drink wine, we

do visit the occasional chruch (of which there

are plenty) to pray for sobriety

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Corinth Canal to Aegina

Refer to the map below if you’d like to see the route we have traveled the past few days. We last reported from Kefallonia (which is off the map to the west of mainland Greece). We headed due west and entered the Korinthiakos Gulf (Gulf of Corinth) at Patra, for a calm, scenic, 25 mile, 3 hour trip to the end of the gulf where boats must transit the Corinth Canal (“Korinthos” on the map), a man-made canal cut though limestone that is 3.2 miles long and 75 feet wide (supposedly…) The walls of the canal rise to 230 feet above sea level at the highest point, and traffic through the canal is tightly controlled and one direction at a time. It was a little tense making our way through – it’s 18 feet deep, but you can see the rocks along the sides and there’s always a current of about 3 knots.

By late afternoon on Wednesday, we had arrived at the island of Aegina (“Egina” on the map). The island has a very interesting city, having been settled 4000 years ago, and by the 7^th century BC, the people of Aegina controlled most of the foreign trade in Greece and minted their own silver coins that became the accepted currency. But, in 456 BC, the neighboring Athenians conquered the island. Then after centuries of alternating Turkish and Venetian rule, Aegina enjoyed a brief period of fame when it was named the first capital of modern Greece (1776-1857).

We rented a car and drove around the island to see the variety of ancient ruins. The Temple of Aphaia is one of the best-preserved Doric temples in Greece, dating from 490 BC. It was quite impressive. On another part of the island is a hillside, scattered with the ruins of 360 small Byzantine churches. We hiked almost to the top, peering into the remains of many of these small chapels, some with deteriorating painted frescos and mosaic tile floors.

Also on this island is the second largest Greek Orthodox church in the world, after St. Sophia in Istanbul. We were disappointed to find the entire inside of this magnificent edifice engulfed in scaffolding, and we were unable to see any of the huge dome in the church.

The town of Aegina has a quaint waterfront, with hundreds of colorful fishing boats, fresh fruit and vegetable stands and of course, the endless array of “tavernas” and restaurants. The island’s main crop is pistachios – trees are growing everywhere and the waterfront stalls sell them shelled, unshelled, and in everything from bakery sweets, to gelato (yum), honey and yogurt. After stuffing ourselves with yet another great meal, we took off Friday afternoon for a 5-hour very bumpy cruise to Kithnos (island at bottom right of map).

Largest suspension bridge in the world

Built in 2004 -- 2,252 meters long

The Corinth Canal

Captain John on the fly bridge

More pictures for September 2nd blog

Apparently, there is a limit to the number of photos that can be posted at one time. (and these are the remaining ones)

Aegina Waterfront

Greek Orthodox Nektaros Cathedral (built in 1997)

Several of the remaining 360 Byzantine churches on one hillside

The unrestored interior of one of the churches

View of Aegina harbor

Pistachio tree (the nuts are deep pink in color)

Temple of Aphaia

Peter Andretti speeds around in clown car

So far, we haven't found a Greek wine as good as the Spanish and Italian

(but we will continue our research in that area)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The search for Europe's best fried calamari

Yes, it’s true – we never have a meal out that one of us does not order fried calamari (maybe because it’s one thing all 4 of us absolutely love… other than wine…) There have been very few “losers” and at the moment the title is held by a small café in Alghero, Sardinia. However, the competition will continue.

We certainly made the right decision to “get out of Dodge” and leave Sicily a few days ago, as they did indeed get 30 knot winds and huge seas. We got to a really nice anchorage Sunday night outside the town of Argostoli (pop. 10,000), on the Ionian island of Kefallonia. The next morning we were bombarded with the same 30 knot winds that had hit Sicily. Even though Greece is a part of the EU, and traveling within these countries is supposedly very easy, the Greeks must be trying to boost their dismal economy by making it difficult and expensive for boaters, particularly, to enter their country. We had no issues going from Spain to Italy, but we were advised by many sources to hire an “agent” to facilitate our getting permission to travel through the Greek Isles. It is quite a rip-off, but after delicately declining the services of the biggest agent in Greece, A-1, we found a local fellow who was much more reasonable and who helped us a lot over the next few days. (Presenting him with a few Andrea Cay shirts didn’t hurt…)

The most important thing he was able to do for us, was to talk one of the local officials into letting us dock at their commercial pier for a night (a bargain rate of 60 euros), which was a huge relief. The winds that night were steady at 30-35 knots and gusting to 45 knots. We had every line on the boat tied to their heavy-duty cleats and even then it was a little freaky.

We had a fantastic day though, this being the first time in over a month that the Andrea Cay had docked (the last being in Halifax). 24 hours of being able to jump off and on the boat – come and go as we each pleased, was very exciting to all of us. We walked and shopped (our allotted 30 minutes) and ate many wonderful meals out. But alas, the seas calmed and the winds died, and Captain Bligh sounded his horn (for real…) in the midst of our gelato splurge indicating we would be left on shore if we didn’t scramble back to the boat immediately. In truth, the captain wanted to get underway so he could get to his nap.