Myrina, Limnos

Today, the wind is blowing a white fury from the water. Its gusting up to 45 knots, with an average windspeed of 35 knots. Monday night, the wind died enough that we could extricate ourselves from the east-west pier, on which we were pinned by the southerly wind. It's amazing how a secure anchorage can change so suddenly and completely with nothing more that a change in the wind. We were assisted on the shore by a gracious French sailor, Marcel and his wife Martine, who helped us slide along the pier until we reached the corner, and then, do or die, we motored off at full revs in reverse.

Looking south from Myrina

The old castle and Myrina township

Endless boat maintenance

Fishing inner harbour, Myrina

Castle towering above the port

We came in bows first inside the dock, on the downwind side of the dock, and then warped ourselves alongside with a stern line. Tuesday, the wind declined so we hitch-hiked to the capital of Limnos, Myrina. This is a delightful town, built around its harbour, ruined castle on a headland, and beautiful stretch of beach. Yet there is virtually no foreign tourism in Limnos, and only a few Greek tourists to appreciate its virtues.

Greek sculpture in the outer port

A sailing caique, the only sailing vessel in the harbour

Fishing harbour

We walked around the port, investigating opportunities for docking there. Wandering through the town, we found a tsipouro shop, along with a voluble Greek owner who told us the whole story of his family's involvement in distilling the potent liquor. Tsipouro is a brandy distilled from the remnants of the grape crush. This family triple distils the liquor to 45% proof. It is available either 'pure' or with anise flavouring similar to ouzo. We tried both types, and I was feeling somewhat affected by the small samples he gave us. It is a potent brew, and we bought one litre in a plain unmarked bottle. Clearly no excise duty was paid on this spirit! A Greek Orthodox priest had just purchased 5 litres of the spirit, which the merchant said was his weekly allotment.

Main shopping street in Myrina

Another view of the castle fortifications

North side of the town, on the beach

Northern bay of Myrina

The merchant, who seemed intoxicated by his product, which he insisted on tasting alongside us, directed us to an archeological museum in the town. We spent a few hours looking at bronzes, pottery and sculptures dating from the third millennium, BC down to the Roman era.

Entrance to the Ottoman period museum

Winged Victory theme, originally from Samothraki 

Local figurine, around 400 BC

Greek frieze

Today, however, it's blowing a gale and not a day to go exploring. This sort of weather sends you hiding for comfort and security. The imperatives of life aboard a boat are so different from shore life. The weather becomes a number one consideration, that influences the quality of your sleep right through to your very safety and survival. When its blowing like today, I have a constant rejoinder to Megan's anxious queries about the welfare of the boat. 'That's what insurance is for' is my reply. It is good to know that when there is nothing more we can do to protect the boat, that we can walk away and have this bottom line to 'protect' us. 

400 BC sculpture

Local statuary

2nd Millenium pottery 

We did a few tasks around the boat, nervously checking the lines every few minutes. Then we abandoned Pavlov, and sought refuge in a friendly Greek taverna on the shore.

Myrina beach, just lovely

The photographer in action