Midterm

Because I was ill on the real midterm of my trip, I changed the midterm to today. Today is the day that my trip is changing. Till now it was relatively easy, holiday feeling, just wandering about, no firm deadlines. Starting from tomorrow, everything will be different. Tomorrow I will start sailing back home. The last couple of weeks I have been thinking about it al lot, but today it became real. The practical side of things needed to be taken care of. Stowing al the gear below decks, securing al my stuff in cabinets. I planned the route to Sicily. Tomorrow I will sail for Sicily. Somewhere around 340 miles, which I hope to complete in just under a week.

Now the long voyages will start, wind on the nose, and long night at sea. Untill today I have covered approximately 1/3 of the distance. 2/3 is still ahead of me. I am a little nerveus, will it be harder than anticipated? Will I be dissapointed? How tired will I be? Tomorrow the real sailing starts.

It's kind of funny, the coming crossing feels very different from the crossing between Montenegro and Corfu. Emotions have a huge impact on my sentiment.

See you in Sicily

Arggggggggggggggh lost my anchor

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I lost my stern anchor. As was so proud of my solution to storing it on the railing. And the bow to berthing was so much easier than the stern to. And now I have lost my anchor. I wanted to visit Nafpaktos, a pittoresque little town in the bay of Korinth. The harbor is very petite, and is surrounded by a sort of city wall.

Inside these walls is the little port.

Once inside the walls, I threw my stern anchor overboard in the middle of the harbor, and pointed the bow towards the quay. In between a Greek yacht, and a local fishing boat I could squeeze in Madame Curie. A couple of local kids playing around helped me berth the boat. When I wanted to pull the boat of the quay I noticed the anchor was gone. How is this possible???

Because I added some extra anchor chain, I had used an emergency shackle. Apparantly I did something wrong, as the anchor is no longer there. Like this it was impossible to stay, so I immediately left the port, and took anchorage outside the walls. Would I be able to retrieve the anchor? Dusk had already set in, so right now was not the time. Would I  manage 4,5 meters deep? Should I rent a diver? What would it cost? What would a new anchor cost? I was pretty sure I would not be able to dive 4.5 meters. So I decided on buying a new anchor, which is probably cheaper than renting a diver. I had already thought of buying a new anchor because the one I had was a bit small. So now I didn;t need to debate it any more, a new anchor it would be. The only thing I am sorry I missed seeing is the castle on top of the hill overlooking Nafpaktos. The only thing I could do is get a picture from the distance. Tomorrow I will buy a new anchor.

Castle on the hilltop above Nafpaktos.

Sea sickness

For everybody that couldn.t believe I was sea sick in port.

Rather obvious not?

Glad to be back

I can watch Madame Curie while enjoying a drink.

Beautiful sunsets

Lovely bays

Taverna's with Greek food.

And lovely sailing.

Heat

After a short trip to Holland for a family visit, I am back on board. Great. As soon as the airplane opened it's doors, I was surrounded by a blanket of hot air. This was not very promissing, it was only 9 o'clock in the morning. Madame Curie lay in port perfectly, and the sailmaker had repared the genoa during my stay in Holland. The next day I wasn't feeling very well, so I decided to take it easy. Also the fact that there is a heatswave in Greece, makes it necessary to adjust my speed. A couple of days later, despite my precautions I became ill. My temperature was raised to 38,3, the outside temperature was 38, the result was that I was feeling very miserable. I was feeling very sorry for myself. There was no escaping the heat. Two days, I stayed in the cockpit, only moving to stay as cooled as possible. When I am not well abroad, I always feel very sorry for myself. My self pitty grows to a rediculous proportion. But this time, the self pitty was deserved! I could not escape the heat.  

I have fully recoverd, and am enjoying my sabbatical again. The heatwave has passed, this also helps a lot, for my comfort on board.I

Still time for culture

Despite my vacation spirit, I still enjoy visiting cultural sites. Especially, when they are very close by!

Fort on a small island in front of Gaios (Paxos).

Fort on a small island in front of Gaios (Paxos).

The churches here are very different from the ones I visited in Croatia. The orthodox interior is very rich in gold, blue color, and paintings. And to be fair, they are better maintained than the ones I visited in Croatia.

Church in Preveza.

Fort above Vonitsa.

Fort above Vonitsa.

The view is fabulous from most forts!!!

Madame Curie is berthed on the other side of the motor boat.

I don't really have to walk far to see these cultural sites. Madame Curie is almost visible behind the motor vessel.

Night life

It has become very clear, I have not fully changed to the Greek (night)lifestyle. During the day I had noticed that the cafe's on the waterfront were very empty, and all the tourists were missing. But, I have solved the mystery!
Last week I was berthed in down town Preveza, so I could observe the Greek night life. Around 21:30 people start to gather around the waterfront. Around 23:00 the first Senegalese sales men start to exhibit their original designer bags (they are really originals?, right). And around midnight, the Greek go for dinner. When I walked passed the restaurants around 00:30, most were still enjoying their starter. Around 01:30 the Senegalese start packing their bags, and somewhere after 03:00, not really sure of the exact time because I fell asleep, the waterfront cafe's  close their doors. I do understand why they are not very alert when I come to drink coffee around 10 in the morning! 

What do they do between 21:30 and midnight? Well, parade along the waterfront. Preferably wearing ridiculous high heels, and very stylefull clothing. No, not Plymouth style. Of course all the shops are still open so if you need something, you can just shop. The pictures below were taken around 23:00 in the shopping street in Lefkas.

Shopping crowd around 23:00.

Also the small children and grandparents are enjoying nightlife.

Have I completely adjusted? Hmm, not really. After parading past al the sailing yachts in port, I am pretty fed up with parading around (even without the ridiculous high heels). But it doesn't really matter, around nine o'clock my tummy indicates it's time to get some dinner.