Down the Evvia Channel - Part I

We'd been catching up on city pleasures at Volos; like visiting doctors, buying boat presents and shopping until we're dropping, but it came time to leave. We need to make some miles southwards, we'd planned to pick up some more boat goodies at Lavrio, outside Athens, so the Evvia (or Euboea) channel was calling.

Map of Evvia

Evvia is a long island that wraps itself along the Greek Aegean coastline, leaving a small channel that is navigable. The channel narrows dramatically at Khalkis, where a draw-bridge only 30m wide spans between the mainland and the island. Our first port of call was Oreoi.

Pavlov at Oreoi dock

Oreoi port, primarily a fishing port

Megan, the original dock cowboy.

We read an interesting story of how the village fishermen discovered a marble bull antiquity in the harbour. They managed to retrieve the bull, and it is now displayed in the village square.

Marble bull

I love the simple sun-drenched shapes in the Mediterranean. The simple primary colours and the way the sky blends into the sea, against a backdrop of steel blue mountains.

The colours of the Aegean.

Its a simple life

The road out of town.

We've been witness a wondrous sea-scape going down the channel. Either side is flanked by majestic mountains, cliffs that plunge into the sea.

Evvia sunrise

Majestic cliffs

Approaching Limni

Mountains and sky

Our next port was the ridiculously narrow port of Limni. This port is a long narrow sea wall, with a narrow entrance where you barely miss the beach.

Narrow entrance to the port

Pavlov docked in Limni

When we came to leave Limni, there was no way we could turn the boat around, so we had to hand-walk the boat past the large ketch that docked behind us, and then reverse the boat out the narrow entrance. That kept the neurones engaged!

Pavlov at the far end of the dock 

It was amusing to watch a 100 foot luxury super-yacht try to get into the port. They hastily realised that they wouldn't fit, and reversed the hell out of there before they became wedged into the port.

No room in the inn for this fellow

 We met a lovely young Austrian couple who had sailed a tiny 5.2 m boat down from Vienna, through the Danube and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It was washing day, and they needed every spare inch of space to hang out their clothes. Its great seeing the spirit of adventure still alive in the young.

Washing day

Classic village architecture

In Volos, we discovered the wonders of dining at Tsipouradiki. These are traditional ouzeri's that serve tsipouro (a fiery spirit distilled from grapes, similar to ouzo but not flavoured with anise) along with mezes, small seafood dishes. A 'round' is a small bottle of tsipouro and a seafood dish. You keep eating and drinking as long as you want, but Megan and I found that one round was enough to fill us and keep us light on our feet! Each round is about 4 Euro, so it makes for a cheap meal. We had a great seafood platter at this tsipouradiki in Limni.

Megan at the Tsipouradiki

Stone architecture

Trawler at the end of the dock

Swimming beach at the end of the dock, what could be better.

We left Limni the next day to head down to the intriguing drawbridge at Khaldiki. There were some pretty impressive mountains, around 2500m high on the island of Evvia, as we went down the channel. These peaks can also generate some pretty fierce gusts, or 'bullets' to use the Australian vernacular.

Mountains plunging into the sea

These cliffs are over 2000m high

Coast scape along the Evvia channel

At the bottom of the North Evvia channel is the town of Khaldiki, previously called Negroponte (or Black Bridge) in ancient times.

The opening into the Khaldiki drawbridge

Entering the small port

You can just see the drawbridge at the end

Pavlov at the Khaldiki dock, waiting to pass through the bridge.

The tides are very complex at Khaldiki, as this tiny channel, barely 30m wide, connects the North and South Evvia waterways. The tidal currents change direction several times daily, and they cannot predict when slack water will be. This phenomena was said to have driven Aristotle mad!  We went to the port police and paid our fee to pass the bridge in the afternoon. We were instructed to monitor Ch 12 on the VHF after 2200. When they detect slack water, the drawbridge is pulled back and we would be called on the radio and instructed to pass the bridge. Our warning notice came around 2330, we slipped our lines and drifted out into the dark night, along with 5 other vessels. When our call came on the radio, we throttled up and passed through the bridge. On the other side is a large shallow bay (South Harbour) where we anchored for the night.

Town dock at Khaldiki

Civic town hall

The port looking north, Pavlov in the distance

A view of the drawbridge. It slides open from the centre.

Southside of the drawbridge

Another Nike sculpture

Battlements of the bridge

After a peaceful night at anchor, we headed south down the South Evvia channel, but thats another story!

Volos and the train that could

Megan and I had been saturated with island living and serene peaceful anchorages after our time in the Sporades, and we were hankering for some big city lights. So we upped and headed for the big smoke of Volos.

Pavlov's own little ray of sunshine.

Volos is the third largest city in Greece and is a major port town for the Thessaly region. It is about halfway between Thessaloniki and Athens. In ancient times, it was named Iolkos, and was home to Jason and his Argonauts. You can see a recreation of the vessel purportedly used to return the Golden Fleece below.

Jason, looking for crew?

Major port facilities in Volos

Usually, we moor up to the town dock, using any vacant space, and we did so at Volos. Megan and I then strolled out, and had a very pleasant meal at a traditional Tsipourodikhi, a restaurant that serves a variety of ouzo (tsipouro) along with mezes, small seafood dished. The food was fantastic and very cheap. Around 2030, we returned to the dock to find a very angry Greek skipper and his yacht squeezed in next to us. It turns out that these were private moorings, and we'd stolen one belonging to Nereida, a famous John Alden designed charter ketch. Even though we were both now moored safely, the Greek skipper maintained his rage and insisted we leave immediately even though it was dark. We did so and moored up alongside on the main breakwater. This structure is 800 metres long and we were the only vessel moored there. Pavlov felt kind of lonely!

Nereida, the Alden ketch whose place we stole.

Volos was an interesting city, with wide boulevards, lots of shops and cafes and home to the University of Thessaly.

University of Thessaly main building

Volos boulevard at sunset, as the colour fades from the day.

Volos is located in the Pelion, a mountainous peninsula that juts into the Aegean Sea. The Pelion is reputedly the home of the Centaurs those frisky half-horse / half-men creatures, who were both ravagers of young virgins, and dispensers of healing and wisdom. Chiron, a famous centaur, was the tutor to Jason, Thesseus and other Greek heroes.

Bronze of a centaur

The mountainous area was quite inaccessible and was never conquered fully by the Ottoman's. It serves as a breeding ground for resistance for the Greek war of Independence.

Cafe owner at Ana Lehonas

A narrow gauge railway, built in 1892, was the first attempt to provide some infrastructure to this area. Previously, donkeys were used to provide transport in the region, which is threaded with paved donkey trails. Part of this rail line still operates between Ana Lehonas and Milies, so we purchased tickets for a return trip.

Station at Ana Lehonas

A narrow gauge diesel replaces the old steam locomotive

Fellow passengers

A local bus took us up to Ana Lehonas. We boarded the 4 carriage train with a lot of grandparents with kids. Looks like trains still have their appeal with youngsters.  It's quite mountainous terrain, and the track winds its way up the hills, with stone and iron bridges and rock parapets to span the empty spaces.

Looking over the bay of Volos from the train

A stone bridge

Crossing the bridge 

Rock cuttings and steep falls 

The mountain village of Gazea

There was a halfway stop after about 30 minutes, at the town of Gazea. The total time from Ana Lehona to Milies is 90 minutes.

Entering Gazea station

The Schoema traction engine

View from Gazea station

One of several tunnels enroute

High cliffs over the bay of Volos

Iron bridge just before Milieas

Don't look down, Charlie Brown

Entering the station at Milieas

Mileas station

The train departed at 1000, and arrived at Mileas at 1130. It was interesting to watch all the men work to reverse the train on the manual turn table.

Switchmen reversing the train

Around she goes

No lack of horse power here!

The return trip doesn't begin until 1500, plenty of time for a walk into the village of Milies, and a leisurely lunch at the local grill house. This type of Greek restaurant specialises in grilled meats, which roast in the ovens outside the restaurant, filling the whole valley with tempting food smells.

Greek grill house, with outdoor tables and ovens.

Public spring 

Sleeping off lunch

Still sleeping off lunch

We had a relaxed return journey and a great day out. Still, city living has to come to an end sometime. Megan is off to the skin specialist for a cancer check-up on Monday, then we'll head out for the Evvia channel and the famous draw-bridge at Chalkis.