Sunday 21 November 2010

Alistair and Marvin-the macho men!

As Linda mentioned in her previous blog post, she and the girls were going home for 10 days, and our friend Marvin, the only Shetlander in Barcelona, had joined us, and so Marvin and myself had ten days of drinking, partying and hard (man) sailing ahead of us!!

So, after I had escorted Linda and the girls to the airport, and made my way back to the boat, we made plans for departing Zea Marina in the Athens suburb of Piraeus.
We had been suffering battery and charging problems with the boat for some time, and when we had met up with Brian Leask and Marie back in Corfu, he kindly offered to check out the boat batteries.
To cut a long story short, the bow thruster battery was on the way out, so I purchased a new one in Athens before we left. So that was our first job to do before departing-fit the new battery.
We had a quiet night, and left next day with no real particular plan or route, but basically heading south from Athens.
The Zea marina has a real mix of vessels, some grand beautiful sailing boats,



and some in a rather poor state!



Also some very familiar boats, and although I looked very closely, I could not see the original name of this lifeboat, but it could certainly have been the case that she could have been one of the Shetland Lifeboats in her first life.



Leaving Athens, the sky was much clearer than the day we arrived, and it was possible to see the hill in the center where the Acropolis is sited.



The harbour is very busy, with all manner of craft whizzing around, some very fast and colourful.



The first night we anchored in a bay , "Ormos Anavissou" which was about 26 miles South East of Athens. There was not much to see or do, so we basically cooked up some dinner and had an early night.



Next morning we continued South East around the coast, and passed one of the very few fish farms that we have come across.
We had decided to head to a place called "Sounion" where there is a very good example of a Greek temple.It was only a short 10 miles so we got there quite early in the day. There were a few yachts anchored, but still plenty of room for us, so we dropped the anchor in a nice sandy spot, launched the dinghy and proceeded ashore.
The temple is spectacular, even from a distance, and in a very comanding position, overlooking the headland.



Its a fantastic piece of construction, especially as I am sure that there were no hydraulic cranes in 444BC. The fact that it is still quite intact is really amazing, and apart from the excellent construction techniques used, the shear size of the stones used, I am sure, has prevented it being demolished and reused over the years.



The "Temple of Poseidon", only 2454 years old, and still impressive!
The stones are not only cut to exact and matching sizes, but there are holes for pins and joints.



The walk up to the temple site was quite steep, so we felt that we would require a little refreshment on our return to sea level.
We had a very nice lunch at this beach side taverna.



At anchor in the shadow of the temple.
After lunch, we had a quick swim to cool down, and then decided that there was still time to push on to the island of Kea.



Islay Mist in the shadow of the Temple.



As we headed east around the point, we could easily see the commanding position of the temple.
Although we had a nice sail in the morning, the wind direction had changed, and we had to punch our way across the sound to Kea.



It was late in the day before we dropped anchor in Ormos Livadhi, just off the village of Korissia.
Korissia is a very "Greek" looking place, all white-wash and blue shutters, compact and picturesque. We would have gone into the village pier, but it was busy, and we did not think there would be room. Also, there is always a risk of tangled anchors and chains, as we saw next morning.



A very common feature of rural Greece are the small churches. They are everywhere, usually in a remote but spectacular spot. I don't know if they are still used, but they are certainly well painted.



Everything is white-washed, it reminded me of the "Mr Bean" sketch, when he exploded a tin of paint within a room



I came across this assembly of old belt driven steel-working machines. They are in very good condition, and had been arranged as if they are part of a museum exibition, although there was no sign of any museum.



From a distance, the countryside looks dry and bare, but close up, there is plenty of beautiful plants.



At the north end of the bay, there is the ruins of what was a large coal bunkering station.
The bay is an excellent deep water harbour, and used to be an important stop for the steamer trade between the Black Sea and Western European ports.



As we took an afternoon stroll, we found some interesting artifacts, which I am not convinced are local produce, this one being a part of a dug-out canoe.



God only knows what this would have been, but I thought it would have suited handle-bars!



Next day we sailed north around the island, and then south to the neighbouring island of "Kithnos". The harbour we went to was called Loutrou. This again was a very compact harbour, all white-washed buildings, but a very barren background.


There was an old loading gantry - I never did find out what used to be loaded, but I would say it would be some kind of mineral-rock.



For a change, we managed to get into the pier. It was a very good pier, with water and electricity.

The village of Loutrou used to be famous for its hot springs, but that is not so fashionable as it once used to be.
I did jump into the sea and swam over to where the hot springs are, but I must admit that I felt no better for it
That night, Marvin and I went out for dinner and a couple of beers. We had been talking to the crew of a Scottish yacht earlier, and thought that we might have met up with them later, but everyone retired early to bed.

As Marvin and I had spent the previous nights at anchor, we had kind of told each other of all our "life" stories, and I think that we needed a good days sailing to blow away the "cobwebs" so to speak, and next day, we certainly got that!



Well, next morning Marvin shouted me quite early to say there was a good brisk wind, seemingly in a good direction for our next trip. So looking forward to some decent sailing we tacked our way northeast, before turning due west and on a nice "reach".
I got a chance to demonstrate my much talked about "furling genneker", and we did about 65 miles in roughly 10 hours, which for Mediterranean sailing is fantastic.
It was without doubt, one of the best sailing days we have had for a while.



Our day ended in the island of Porus, which lies across from the harbour of Galatas. A very narrow and busy channel separates the two harbours. It is a popular charter boat harbour, and also ferries zoom in and out up to at least 10 pm. We got a nice spot at the town quay, and after a few drinks with our neighbouring yacht, we headed out to have a few beers and some food.
There was no water or electricity available, but we did manage to top up the diesel from a small tanker. I should note that most of the harbours in Greece are only town quays, very often with no services, so you really have to be self sufficient. The mooring is also nearly always stern to the quay with the bow anchor laid out.
This method of mooring is funnily enough termed " Mediterranean mooring" and does require a bit of practise. If there is any cross wind, it can be quite difficult to get the anchor and the boat all in the required line to come astern in the correct spot.



Porous is a pretty town, the houses rise up from the harbour quite steeply, and a maze of narrow lanes and steps wind through to gain access.



The black clouds looked a bit like rain, but it never came.



As is common, the main town square lay close to the harbour on the main street, an elaborate marble monument being the centre piece.



The town quay, with the boats laying stern-to.



Looking across the sound to "Galatas"



Not many of these to be found these days!



In the lanes, there are wonderful little garden areas.
After a couple of days in Poros, we decided to head North-ish ot the village of Epidhavros.
On the way we saw some of the typical craft that are common in the area.



One of the many hydrofoil ferries that go between the Greek islands. They are very fast, and give way to nothing!



This lone fisherman on the other hand is very slow, as is the way of life in these parts.



Large areas of the Greek islands are very barren, although if you look closely, you can see that almost all the hillsides have been "terraced" at some time in the past.
Creating the level terraces would have allowed the people to plant crops in areas which would have been otherwise unuseable. Also, it may have helped to retain a lot of the rain water.
It would have been a back-breaking task, but I guess there were plenty of people and plenty of time.



This particular part of the coast was very like a Norwiegan scene.



We tied up at Epidhavros in the middle of the afternoon-it had a very "crofting" feel to the place, especially when these little tractors are put-putting past.
The rural villages are a bit behind the times, regarding transport. At least that was my original thought, but if you think about it, a small two wheeled tractor pulling a small trailer, can serve , not only as the farm "workhorse", but also as the transport into town.
It was not unusual to see these small tractor/trailer combinations, with the whole family on board.
After we got tied up, we went and had at swim. When we got back, we had been joined by a group of charter yachts. It turned out to be a lively old night. There was a yacht with Russians on board, who were up for a bit of a sing song, so guitars were out and a fair bit of out-of-tune singing. As usual, after a few drinks, we always think we sound better, and we noted that the Russians felt the same way.

Next day we dragged ourselves on deck to go on an archeological trip.



The main reason to stop at Epidhavros was to go and see the old theatre. It is an amazing piece of classical architecture, again in remarkable condition for its age.



Just imagine trying to create a seat like this, starting from a solid block of stone- certainly not flat-pack!!
Apparently it can seat 14,000 people, and concerts are still occasionally held here.



Not only is the stone building and craftmanship awesome, but the geometry of the structure is perfect, as is the acoustics. Demonstrations were given, showing how well the sound was transmitted to all areas in the theatre.





Not only was there a theatre to see, but there is also an extended area of ruins which was basically a hospital and health farm, including bathing pools.





These two pictures show the efforts of the present day craftsmen trying to replicate some of the old structures, with great difficulty I suspect.





The timber is quite new I think, but the stone columns, only 2400 years old!



Marvin having a bit of a rest, just think Julius Ceasar may have sat right here! and he may also have had a hangover?



I think the hospital buildings have been robbed over the years, but there are still a fantastic amount of shaped stones laying all over the place.



It really is hard to believe that 2400 years ago, people were able to carve drainage channels and gullies out of solid rock, and fit it all together so well, that it still stands today.
This particular drain fed water from the hillside springs, into the bathing pools.



All too soon it was time to head back to Athens to meet up with Linda and the girls.
The area of sea to the south of Athens is called the Saronic Gulf. It contains many islands, and is also quite sheltered, and consequently is a busy anchorage for large commercial ships.
We had noted the ships at anchor the day we came across from the Corinth canal, and there was still as many two weeks later.
On the way north to Athens, we still had a day spare, so we decided to stop for the night in the island of Aegina.
Part of the reason to stop there was to meet up with our friends, Brian and Rosie, and sure enough, later in the day we were sitting having a nice cool beer, discussing our various experiences with each other.
As we were not stopping, I agreed we would come back after we had collected the family, and spend a few days with them.
With that organised, we set off next day, and were soon in Athens.



We got back into Zea marina, which is really an excellent marina, and set too, cleaning up the boat in readyness for "her highness" to return.
To be fair, there was not really a lot to clean up, and I think Marvin and myself actually surprised each other by actually not going on the drink as much as some had suggested!
I enjoyed Marvin's company, and I hoped he enjoyed the two weeks pottering around as well.
On the other hand it was great to meet Linda and the girls at the airport, and even though it was the middle of the night, the girls were wide awake, with all their stories to tell.
We got a taxi back to the marina, and got everyone tucked up in bed, and hopefully a good long sleep. To find out more, tune in for the next blog!!