Around the Ionian - Part II

Continuing our jaunt around the Ionian Sea with Chris and Kim, our Australian ex-pat friends, we headed from Kastos to a fishing town on the mainland, Astakos. On the way, we stopped to look at a large ship breaking yard (another of those EU white elephants, after spending millions of dollars, it has not been commissioned). Amazingly, we actually managed to hook a fish, a reasonably-sized sea bass while in the bay. This was a joint effort, with me hooking the fish, and Chris landing it.

Chris reeling her in.

About to land her

Another one for the bucket!

A good catch

About to be filleted.

Astakos was an enjoyable town, not on the tourist routes with no local ferry or influx of ravening hordes. There were a few Greek tourists, but it was mainly a fishing town, and had preserved its working character.

Pavlov on the dock at Astakos

Astakos grocery market

In the grocery shop

At the butcher's 

From Astakos, we stopped at the beautiful anchorage called 'One House Bay', on the island of Atako. It is so called because there is only one small uninhabited dwelling on this bay. We had a delightful time at anchor, swimming in the crystal clear waters. We then headed to Varthi on Ithaka, chasing the paths of Homer's great hero, Odysseus.

Pavlov on the dock at Ithaka.

Odysseus, the hero himself.

A small well on Ithaka

Old church tower

Varthi on Ithaka, stretching around the bay

There was a little weather on its way, and Ithaka turned out to be a beautiful, delightful island, so we decided to stay a few days. We rented a car to see the island. Ithaka is reputed to be the home of Odysseus, the legendary hero of Homer's epic tale. Much of the plot of 'The Odyssey' concerns Odysseus's belated return to his beloved home on Ithaka. Here's the quote from the book:

" dwell in shining Ithaca. There is a mountain there,

high Neriton, covered in forests. Many islands

lie around it, very close to each other,

Doulichion, Same, and wooded Zacynthos--

but low-lying Ithaca is farthest out to sea,

towards the sunset, and the others are apart, towards the dawn and sun.

It is rough, but it raises good men."

There is still controversy about the identity of the 'real Ithaka'. We went to an exhibit, that purported to prove that Ithaka was the real thing.

Are we in the 'real Ithaka', exhibition

A model of Odysseus's reputed palace

A bust of Homer

Ithaka has a population of only 3000 individuals, most located in Varthi. We enjoyed driving around the island, which is densely wooded and quite lush.

Ithaka'n cottage

Stavros house

Country home

Ithaka'n wildflower

Stavros cottage

On the advice of some local Brit's, we went to Polyphemis, an interesting restaurant run by a Swiss woman. We had a very different type of meal there, in an unusual garden setting.

Entrance to Polyphemus restaurant

Megan in the restaurant garden

Chris in a pensive mood

Interesting cactus garden

We also visited the tiny port of Lefki for a swim, and wandered up to the Cave of the Nymphs, where Odysseus was reputedly abandoned by the Phoenicians.

Old cottage at Lefki

Tiny port of Lefki

Our rental car at Lefki's only cafe

Entrance of the Cave of the Nymphs

We also visited a monastery on the island. There were gorgeous views over the channel between Ithaka and Kefalonia, and over the town of Varthi from the high cliffs on the drive home.

Beach at Lefki

The monastery on Ithaka

Church at the monastery

More Goddy stuff

View down to Varthi and its wonderfully sheltered harbour

From Varthi, we sailed to Sivota on the southern end of Ithaca, and spent a few relaxing days in that nice quiet town. The rainy season has started and we retreated to a local taverna to escape the confines of the boat. With some weather due to arrive, we left Sivota to return to Lefkas, where Chris and Kim are catching the bus to Thessaloniki for the next stage of their return to Australia. Megan and I are looking forward to checking into the marina for our winter stay, but our contract doesn't start until the 1st of October. Next report will be of our winter home in Lefkas.

Around the Ionian

We've been spending a bit of time familiarising ourselves with our new home, and meeting up with old friends. First off the rank, we met up with Craig and Lesley from Shirley Valentine, an Australian crew we met over a year ago in Fethiye, Turkey. We met them in the marina at Lefkas, and travelled by bus up to Karya, a small village high in the hills.

The channel between Kefalonia and Ithaca

Craig and english friend

Lesley and the man who dodges barges.

The crew in the streets of Kayra

Karya, small hilltop village

Craig was familiar with the place, so he took us up a steep hill to a small 'folklore museum' that he had visited the previous year.

Up the hill to the museum

The museum is in a restored traditional family home

Flour grinding mill

Craig, our tapestry expert

Traditional stitch craft

Weaving loom and dulcimer

Tapestry bed spread

This is a bedroom in a traditional house

The baby got to swing above the parents head

Saying goodbye to Lesley and Craig, who are heading over to Sicily to their winter port, we departed for Preveza, up the coast. Opposite Preveza in a large 'inland sea' are the major boat yards of the Ionian, and we had an appointment with an electrician, who repaired our generator. The generator is only a year old, but it blew a capacitor. Luckily it was a cheap repair. Not so for the solar controller, also a year old. We had to fork out for a brand new one. Pretty hopeless trying to chase warranty repairs in Greece. After sorting the boat out, and meeting Leslie Wood who will be re-building our rudder this winter, we headed over to the town dock at Preveza, to await the arrival of some Australian friends of ours who had been teaching in Istanbul. Chris and Kim Shephard had finished their teaching stint in Turkey and are slowly heading back to Australia. So they joined us for several days sailing in the Ionian Islands.

Sunrise on the dock at Preveza.

Huge, and largely under utilised marina and port at Preveza

Post earthquake poured concrete architecture.

Old Venetian fort wall

A pair of welcoming amphora

Morning fish sale on the dock at Preveza

After Chris and Kim settled in, we headed back down the Lefkada channel to a delightful snugglepot anchorage next to Varthi on Meganisi. To do so, we had to negotiate a unique feature of the Lefkas channel. There is a tax advantage in Greece in remaining an island, so Lefkada has come up with a very Greek solution. While it would be easy to build a bridge to span the small channel to the mainland, the Lefkadians decided to span the channel with a boat, that just happens to fit from one side to the other. The cars drive over this 'bridge', perhaps unaware that they are actually on a boat. So technically, the island maintains its tax advantage. On the hour, they prove the 'bridge's' boat status, by dragging it to one side, so that boats can enter the channel. Its a bit exciting, there's not much room to manoeuvre and the current can be swift. Thanks to Kim for taking the photos in the channel, the skipper was a bit busy!

Chris and Kim in Kastos

A happy skipper

Megan on watch

A Venetian fort at the entrance to the Lefkas channel

Lighthouse built into the fort

The boat that thought it was a bridge

It's a tight squeeze with two-way traffic

North bound traffic in the channel

The marina at Lefkas, our new winter home

Two tugs pulling a barge up the narrow channel

Chris relaxing on deck

After a walk into Varthi from Ak Makri, and a peaceful night on the hook, we departed for the small port of Kastos on the eponymous island.

The town mole on Varthi, Meganisi

Peaceful Ionian view from Kastos

Kastos was so peaceful, we just settled down to two days of idleness, swimming and walking when the mood took us, reading a little and not much else. It was heaven.

The small port of Kastos, Pavlov in the background

Megan, Chris and Kim on the boardwalk

Placid beautiful sea

Just sea and sky

Tomorrow, we'll head to the mainland and some small uninhabited islands, just to look around and wander. It's a tough life, but some-one has to do it.

Local wildflower

Windmill on Kastos

Spiky vegetation

A happy Pavvie on the dock