Athens to St. Pete

Thursday
This is our last full day in Greece and this hotel offers breakfast at 6:30! My father are the first ones there. It’s a good breakfast and I especially enjoy the fresh baked croissants and hot chocolate. Athens has just opened a new Acropolis Museum and they are offering 1 Euro admission. It’s been all over the news and very crowded. It opens at 8 so after breakfast my father and I get directions to the nearest subway and head off.

It takes a while to find the subway and to figure out which line to take which way. We ride one stop and com up right next to the Museum. We have to walk around it to find the way in but then we are walking though the gate. In the walk under our feet are glass panels so you can look at a big archeological dig that is under the Museum! WOW it’s totally cool! You can see all kinds of remains of buildings and walks, even some mosaics.

We slowly walk and look and are in the museum. We have to enter through a metal detector but there is no line so we buy or tickets and are in. It’s a gorgeous museum. I regret that I forgot my camera in the rush to get here. Sorry folks. But there is an article with nice pics in the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/arts/design/24abroad.html?scp=1&sq=athens%20museum&st=cse Go check it out. We enjoy the collection and the way it’s displayed. Especially the carvings from the top surround of the Parthenon.

They have steel columns the correspond to those of the Parthenon and the panels are hung in the same order, height and placement as on the Parthenon. Plus there are huge windows you can look out and the see the Acropolis and Parthenon close by. It’s very effective. We both enjoy it. Were the Elgin marbles should be they have installed plaster casts. (Lord Elgin from Britain took them off the Parthenon and back to London in the 1800’s. The greeks want them back!)

The British have been using the excuse that the Greek don’t have a proper museum to protect and display them. Well they certainly do now! We will just have to see what happens. I think they should be returned. What do you think? After we finished in the museum we walked back over the glass panels and enjoyed them even more after seeing the Museum.

Then we walked back around the flank of the Acropolis to our hotel. On the way we wandered up into a very old group of house that are right up on the Acropolis. They streets were just wide enough to walk through and all the houses had pots of flowers and grape vines. It was one of the prettiest places I saw in Greece. I was real glad to have wandered in there. We reached the hotel to find that my brother and his family were gone. So we rested, read and packed some of our stuff. We got hungry and I decided to try and cook some egg noodles we had left over from the boat.

Our room was equipped with one of those wonderful little hot water pots. I boiled water. Tossed in the noodles and turned the pot on and off to keep the heat right and in about 10 minutes Voila! Hot noodles with tuna and dolmades(rice wrapped in grape leaves) It was much tasty than we expected and we ate all of it and then took a nap. We got up at 1:15 and still no Randy Loyd’s. We had just enough time to get to the Athens Art Museum so we headed for the subway again.

Athens has a very clean and quiet subway. We got off at the right stop and emerged but couldn’t see the Museum. We asked a few people and finally a policeman sent us in the right direction. I spotted the big glass sculpture of a running man and knew we were close. There is was an we had an hour before closing. We enjoyed the Museum which was a mixture of lots of different eras of paintings and Sculpture from the renaissance to contemporary. Mostly by Greek painters.

Lots of good work and we hit the end of the collection just as the guard was giving us the closing warning. We were the last people out. We decided to walk back again and soon we found ourselves looking at a collection of old war planes which were outside of the Wartime Museum. We didn’t know it was there but enjoyed looking at the planes. My father was a Navy pilot so he was familiar with most of the them. There was one with a big hand crank next to the engine that was used to hand start the engine. New one on me! Pretty cool.

We walked on looking for the Botanical Gardens. we found them but they were closed to the public and being guarded by Greek soldiers. The Parliament is in there. The guards were in the old uniforms of White tights, skirts and pointed shoes with red pompoms. There were also police with submachine guns. I took a few pics of the Soldiers goose-stepping. It was very impressive. Then we walk on and were about to walk ing the gardens at the other end. They were very cool and green after the crowded big city streets. We popped out at the Plaza with our subway station and walked on to the hotel with a stop for ice cream.

I had black cherry and my father fig. They were small potions and too sweet. Randy and Winfree were back and Martha and Estill expected soon so we rested and I packed that huge bottle into my suitcase. It just fit. I was even able to jam everything else in. Cool! Randy wanted to try a restaurant he found in the local fish wrapper ( Athens version of Creative Loafing) I was able to find the address online and it was close enough to walk.

Soon Martha and Estill were back and everyone was ready so off we went. We had to walk past some pretty churches and my camera battery still had juice so I took pictures of the churches and Mono the restaurant. The bread was different and really good. I order and salmon and spinach risotto. others pasta with pesto, Greek salad and veal and local greens. The food was okay. Not impressive. For the risotto they used basmati rather than aborio rice. It didn’t absorb the juice and creamy. And the pesto was using a different herb from basil.

But we had the place to ourselves and the wine was good. We even had a little sparrow that keep landing on the table begging for bread. We had left over pasta that Martha to eat for breakfast. we paid and wandered out. We walked back by a big church that had a plaza out front the was mostly smooth marble slabs. It was almost a slick as ice. Never happen in the US. Somebody would slip and sue! We walked back and my father and walked around looking for ice cream. We were in the garment district. One street seemed to be all underwear shops.

The fabric stores and back to women’s clothing. We were about to give up when we spotted a taverna and came away with big cups of chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce. Very tasty. So good I almost got run over by a truck that was coming through the pedestrian street. His tire scrapped the bollard I had been sitting on before he honked! We went back to the hotel where I had a bit more Metaxa and finished my packing. Had a nice hot shower and off to bed to write in my log. Chopper was asleep so I had to be quiet. We went to bed fairly early as tomorrow is a long day traveling home.

Friday June 26
We are up at 6 and have breakfast at 6:30. My father and I talk about taking the subway to the Airport. It would be much cheaper than a second taxi, but the desk clerk says the subway to the airport is closed for repairs this summer. Too bad! So we wake up the others and check that we have everything. I take a quick shower, a final room check and we haul or baggage down. I ask the clerk to call us 2 taxis. She does and we wait on the street. i take some pics. SA taxi stops and brother talks to him and starts loading gear the desk clerk says it’s not the ones she called but my brothers loads his family and they are off.

My father and I decide we should wait for the taxis she called. We wait for a while and then see the desk clerk calling from across the street. I go over and she says my brother told her to cancel the taxis! Okay. So I stand in the street and hail the next taxi that doesn’t have a fare. The drive says 30 E to the airport. We jump in and are off. So Goodbye Hotel Caroline and Greece! We had a great time.

40 minutes later we are at the airport and we say goodbye to my father who is flying to Britain to meet up with my step mother and work on an archeology project. I am sad to see him go but looking forward to seeing my little house. I get my tickets and make it through security. I find out that the airport is relay busy because there was a airport workers strike yesterday! Glad we booked for today. I thought they would make a fuss over my bottle but they don’t. I find my gate and an outlet and charge my computer and work on my log. Soon my brother and his family wander in. About and our later we load and take off on time. Just about noon greek time. We are given dinner and they show the Steve Martin Pink Panther 2.

I don’t have headphones but watch anyway. After lunch of chicken. I sleep for a few hours. Then write in my log for a few hours and read for awhile. I am luck this flight. THe seat next to me is empty! No large greek man sharing my seat. Yes! The guy on the other side is not friendly so we hav e no conversation. We reach Philly and get through customs. At agriculture they stop me and take most of the stuff out of my suitcase so they can X-ray my bottle more closely. They finally pass it and I repack my suitcase and am off for the my gate. Randy and crew are already there. I look for an outlet and finally find one across the way from my gate. I share with a teenager from Seattle who is traveling back from Germany with his mother.

The three of us have fun talking about music and the Pacific Northwest. Neither he nor I are able to get on the internet. Too bad as I was ready to up load. I did get some good charge on the laptop. So we are one the plane and taxiing. Then we are stopped and wait for two hours. Gr.. Our 6 pm( US time 7 hours behind Greece) takeoff becomes 8 pm. Finally we are in the air and thump into Tampa at 10:30 pm. A neighbor of Randy’s is there to meet us. We load up our baggage and soon I am opening the door of my home sweet home! A cold beer and a shower and I am off to bed. It’s been and loooong day. What a great trip! Talk to you next time I hit the road.
Travel safe! Allen

Milena to Athens

Friday June 19

We are all up early today as we have to be off the boat by 9 am. We eat the very last of the yogurt and crackers for breakfast with hot tea and coffee then drag all our gear off and bid Jules adieu. I load some pics while waiting on the others. Soon our rental van arrives and we say good bye to Andy, Liz and Ken and head north. We rented our van from a Dutchman who drives back to his office where we can drop him off and look at a road map. We talk a little about where we want to go and the Dutchman is very negative about our ideas. We have heard that Meteora is a little off of the track back to Athens but very beautiful. He Dutchman says it’s a 10 hour drive were we have heard it’s 2 to 3! He also says that all the hotels will be full everywhere. Sounds like crap to me.

We stop at his office and he recommends a hotel and cafe near his office. We sit down and have breakfast and decide to stay a night here in Kala Nera. We go to his office and look at maps and his is even more contrary to our ideas. It’s very frustrating and I walk out leaving my father and brother to deal with it. We met a very nice Englishman named Jim who lives here part time and helps out in the cafe. He can see we are frustrated with the dutchman and he brings us around the corner and points out his house in case we need some help. He is very nice. When I get back some sort of plan has been reached and everyone is headed for the hotel. The plan to spend 3 nights in this town doesn’t sound ideal but we are all tired and want to rest.

My father and I go for a walk and the others sleep. We find an ice cream shop and then return to the hotel. It’s very inexpensive but not too nice. Smells like mothballs. Martha is not very happy with it. After we rest my brother talks to the Dutchman who wants him to pay in advance for rooms we haven’t seen. We refuse and he gets angry. So we tell him to cancel it all we will find our own.

Then he back with just a reservation and a plan for Athens and dropping off his van. That we accept. You have to realize that Greece has 11 million people but 6 millions of them live in Athens. It’s a big very crowded city. Add in the crazy drives and the motorcycles that drive everywhere and it’s a frightening prospect to try and drive into the City and find a hotel. So we agree to meet his driver (the Dutch woman who drove us to Milena) at the airport parking lot at 8 pm on Wednesday night and she will drive us to our hotel for 30 Euros. It’s a good deal as we would need 2 taxis at 35 Euros each. Taxis in Athens are limited to 4 people and we are 6. We are glad to be rid of the dutchman and go back to our hotel and get ready for dinner.

Jim has been around a few times to make sure we are okay. He recommends the same taverna and we have some great little fried fish. They are like sardines or capline in Newfoundland. You eat the whole fish bones and all. They are very tasty with half a liter of local white wine and a greek salad to share around. Jim has told us that just up the road at a campground there are local musicians that sing and play every friday night. So we decide to drive up. It’s closer the we thought, we could have walked! But the campground is very clean with a beach a hotel and taverna.

Much different from campgrounds at home. We walk on the beach and the sun is going down over donkey island in the distance and very lovely. THe ground has finally stopped moving. We all have our land legs back again. It was feeling like the land was moving under our feet from being on a boat for so long.

We have some wine and enjoy the music for a while. They are 3 older gentlemen playing guitar, mandolin ( or maybe bouziki, i can’t tell the difference) and accordion. They are singing and drinking wine and everyone is having fun. We stay for a while but the girls need to get to bed early as they have been cranky today. So we thank Jim for all of is help and drive back to town.

We find a parking space near Jim’s house and head for the hotel a shower and sleep. Tomorrow we hit the road finding places as we go despite the Dutchman's warnings! Wish us luck.

Saturday June 20
My father and I are up early and have some melon and yogurt we bought yesterday for breakfast. I take a walk to see if I can find an open internet signal but no luck. I see about 3 in the whole town and they are password protected. It’s very pretty and peaceful this early. No taverna blasting American and Greek music. There are a few people sleeping on the beach near the no camping on the beach sign. They are starting to get up. The sky is clear and the air is cool. Our hotel room was over the street and a little noisy last night. I

walk back and we load up the car and drive to Ano Lahonia where there is a narrow gauge train that goes 16 km up the mountain to Milies. We think it leaves at 9 am which seems a bit early for a tourist train. Sure enough the signs says 11 am departure. Thanks Dutchman! So we wander off and find a cafe and have coffee and tea. We walk up to a little park and eat some salami and cheese sandwiches and melon. Thegirls play on the swings and a whirly gig. I used to love these as a kid. You don’t see them in the US anymore. They are a pplatform with handrails and kids push it and it spons around and then you jump on and ride around. In africa there are people who a building wells that use whirly gigs to pump water. What a great idea. My brother and I even rode it just for old times sake. This uses up all the food that would spoil otherwise. At 10:15 we walk back down and the station is full and we are unable to get a ticket. Too bad. We decide to drive up the mountain to Anos Georgios.

It looks nice and has a museum and some old churches and is near enough that we can try the plane again tomorrow. Winfree is being difficult today. Nothing seems to make her happy and she is yelling and fighting. making the rest of us pretty miserable. She has been having some moments along the way but today is bad. I keep reminding myself that she is only seven and to be patient. We drive up the mountain around very steep hairpin turns on very narrow roads. Always keeping an eye out for the crazy greeks coming the other way down the middle!

We get to town and go looking for a hotel we see a picture of in our brochure. We find it and walk down to it. ut it’s not open for business anymore. too bad as it’s a beautiful building. So we drive on up the hill and out of the town and around looking for another hotel. No luck so we stop at a taverna under an immense plane tree. The air is cool and there are cats for Winfree to talk to. Greece is full of stray cats and a few dogs. Every taverna has a few cats hanging around waiting for bits of bread. We all calm down and Randy has walked down the hill and found a resort that has rooms. It is much fancier than any place we have stayed but should make Martha happy. After lunch we walk back to the van and drive down there. It is really nice. They took 5 old villas and cottages and combined them into one big compound. It’s full of fruit trees and flowers and each room seems to have it’s own little sitting area.

We get two triple rooms. It seems strange that there are no family rooms in Greece. We wonder what other families of four do? My father and I and Winfree have a room with a big shower that is beautifully decorated. We have a little terrace under a blooming wisteria arbor. There is a small stream running past and all you can hear is the wind in the apple trees and the stream burbling. It’s wonderful! My father and I get our books and sit out there and read. I send Winfree of to the stream to cook for frogs the bugs and finally to count butterflies. We all have a happy hour our so to relax and then we talk a walk up the road to see the church and the museum.

The church is perched right on the side of the hill and has an open terrace on one side. You can see all the way back down to the sea from here. We watch a storm building out of the sea where we were just sailing. It’s a fairly modern church but very pretty. We walk around the other side and there is a little grassy play area. The girls play on the swing and whirly gig for a while. Winfree has another temper fit about something. Finally we get past that and walk on up the hill. We come to the Museum of the Sculptor Nickolas. There is another terrace with a sculpture of Nickolas himself.

The Museum is open so we go on in and it’s full of his work and books as it also serves as the towns library. His work is good. We enjoy looking at all the pieces and the drawings and photos. There is a woman working who tells us that Nickolas was born here but not in this house. That the greek president decided to make a museum here. And they moved the pieces from his studio in Athens after he died.

Then we walk pond to what we think is a Museum of the Olive. But it turns out to be an on the wall of a house. The Museum is in a different town and opens when the train comes by. The same train we didn’t get tickets for earlier, so maybe tomorrow we can catch it and see the museum.

We find a sign for a hiking trail and head down that road past some goats in a yard a nd a very loud dog. One of only a few barking dogs i have encountered in Greece. The road intersects another and there is another trail sign on a post on the other side but it goes down a very steep hill full of thorny thistle plants. We are in shorts and decide not to go any further. We can see the storm is building and might just make it up the mountain to where we are. If so it will be the first rain of the trip.

We start back up the road but Winfree is having a sit down strike and refuses to go further. We start walking on and somehow her mother convinces her to join us. We wander back down the road and stop at the same taverna under the plane tree. Everyone else has ice cream or beer but i am not hungry and we are going to have dinner soon. We have the taverna all to ourselves. It’s very peaceful here. The taverna owner doesn’t really speak any English so we can’t question hi m about the town. We seem to be in the old town square. There is always a fountain and there are shops with beautiful old wooden doors. It’s siesta time so everything is closed.

There is a pottery shop around the corner with some interesting vessels. There is also one of the old donkey oaths going up the hill. I walk up there and I see plaque for a small hotel association. mygreece.com. see have seen to beautiful villas with these plaques but nobody around. Either they are closed until July and August, the busy season or they are feeling the pinch of the bad economy. Everyone has finished their snack when I return and we decide to walk back on the the goat path. it’s hits the road again just around the corner from our hotel and as we come around the corner I spot a big old bottle with a cork in it lying in the bushes. I pick it up and it’s pretty great. it’s about 18 inches tall and 8 inches in diameter of clear glass. It was machine made not hand blown as i can see the seams. Bit is still fairly old and I really like it. It’s big though.

So i put it back where I found it and head back to the hotel. I jump in the shower for a quick cold water blast and this mountain water is really icy! it feels great! We dress for dinner and sit on the terrace and read while wait for the others. The storm is really getting close and we think about Captain Andy and his crew they just started a new flotilla with 8 boats and are trying to get them all docked for the first time in this storm! The rain starts as we walk to the hotel restaurant. They are hosting some kind of conference, and we have seen some of the people wandering around on their break in front of the conference room. In the restaurant most of the tables have been pushed together into one long one.

Must be for the conferences. They are a little surprised to see us. We apologize for not giving them earning that we were coming. We just didn’t think about it. They say that normally people sit outside on the terraces but because of the rain they are packing us inside. They make up a place for us and we sit down to a great salad with lots of different greens and olives and some thin slices of cheese like a greek parmesan with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. My brother has the local specialty of sausages with peppers and onions, my father and i a pork steak the girls chicken and Martha a cheese pie with an ouzo sauce and most of the salad. it’s all very tasty and we really enjoy it while watching the rain out the door. They have some fancy desserts so we order a chocolate mousse pie and a lemon pie. They are huge slices but we manage to eat them all.

The chocolate is very tasty but the lemon is a little strange. Ask the owner and he explains that it’s not made with lemons but that fancy lemon liqueur. That explains it. Then back to our rooms. My father and i go for a walk up the hill on a small path until it runs into the yard of an occupied house so we go back down. I walk by myself around the side by the stream and there is another donkey path that leads up to a villa that is being renovated. An there is another one that is fallen in and covered with vines past that anther that is abandoned but very beautiful. It has carved wooden doors and shutters and the trees and bushes have grown up around it and there is donkey poo on the trail.

So they are probably using donkeys to bring the supplies up for the villa that is being renovated. it’s the only way to get up the hill where there is no road. Up above that is a beautiful little cottage that also looks abandoned. I can see how they made our hotel from a few of these old homes. It would be neat to live in this little cottage but i bet it would be very expensive to bring it up to code. I am sure it has no sewage system just for starters. It’s getting dark so I head back down to the hotel. Here I take a very hot shower and have a good scrub then I finish up The Kitchen God’s Wife before bed. Then off to sleep. I love this mountain town.

Sunday June 21

We get everyone up early and the hotel for breakfast at 8 am. Breakfast is included here and it is a fabulous spread. Eggs and ham, the usual cereals, corn flakes, muesli, and cocoa krispies. A fresh baked apricot tart, the usual yogurt, honey jam , bread, canned peaches. There is also pound cake and little spinach feta cheese pies. Wow! We tuck and eat quickly. We saw a bus stop out front and ask if we can catch a bus to Milies this morning. If so we can eat a long leisurely breakfast. she call but the bus doesn’t run on Sunday. Too bad. We had made arrangements with the owner for her to arrive at 9:15 (early) to check us out.

At 8:45 Randy drives my father and i down the road to Milies which is the top of the train ride. then he goes back to the hotel to check out and drive his family to the bottom in hopes of getting tickets. We hear you can walk down a path to where the train starts. We walk into town and can here the singing from the church. We have to be careful as we are walking on the road and there are a few big trucks and tour buses and they take up the whole road! The town is really pretty and we get directions for the train station but no one knows about the walking path. I remember that one of the sailing guys said he mountain biked right down the tracks. We may end up walking the tracks down.

The police don’t know about the path and neither does the baker. We walk down to the station and it is down in a shady cool area with a taverna and a couple of villas and a really beautiful cottage with a round bread oven and a railing made out of branches and a painting by the front door. I would like there anytime! What a beautiful spot. The train men arrive on the little working engine from below and turn it around on a turntable by hand. They don’t know a trail but point to the tracks. We walk down for a look and we can see where lots of people have walked along the track. There is stream running down to a small pool and i can’t resist a quick dip. While my father keeps watch I strip down and go for a cold mountain dip. Very refreshing. I air dry and then we walk back to the taverna. The owner speaks good English and she says that people walk down the tracks.

The only trail leads straight down to the sea and we would have to walk miles along the busy main road. that doesn’t sound like fun so we buy two bottles of water to add to water I am carrying drink one. then we head off down the tracks. We pass a couple of other tourists who obviously think we are insane to walk 16 km (ABOUT 9 MILES) down the mountain. Soon we have pace and we cross a bridge over a very deep gorge. We can see all the way to the bottom. Don’t want to fall off here. We have calculated about when the train should come by so we can be on the look out for. But for now we have set a good pace and it’s still pretty cool and there are nice patches of shade from over hanging trees and rocks. This railway was built during WW2 for moving supplies. they ahd to blast through a lot of rock to do it. This is a narrow gauge railway.

Soon we encounter a family coming the other way. They have been picking wildflowers and greet us with a cheery kalimera (good morning)! Since we are only the rail we don’t worry about getting lost and enjoy the views and looking at the plants along the way. Lots of flowers and bees and birds. Every so often there will be a bridge our the tracks with cross a stream bed where we have to steep carefully across the gap. Mostly there is a path on one side of the track or the other but sometimes we are right on the track. Occasionally we are in a very narrow cut and you always wonder if the train is going to suddenly appear! Al the brides have places you can step to the side but not some of these narrow rocky places! Luckily no train.

Soon we are walking through olive groves and then we come to an abandoned station. We stop for a pee and a water break. We started seeing number signs a ways back and realize they are marking the distance. There wasn;t one at the beginning and the first we saw was 25. We know it’s not 25 km to Lahonia but figure that must be to Volos where the line started with think. Anyway we are at about marker 23. We walk on and soon we are near a village and we see a couple of people walk onto and down the tracks ahead of us. Now we are expecting the train and keep our eyes and ears open for it. They say you can here it from a ways off but we don’t want to get caught in a narrow place.

And we want one of us on either side of the track so we can see if Randy and company got tickets and are on it. Soon we hearing coming around the side of the next mountain. We walk on through a fairly narrow spot and we don't hear it yet so walk a bit further. Then we are at a good spot with room on either side and all of a sudden we hear it again and around the corner it comes with a roar. It’s moving faster than I thought it would but we are clear. As it passes I can the back of Randy’s head and I call to him but he doesn’t hear me and then the train is gone and it’s quiet again. So we figure we are almost half way. we walk on and soon we see that our couple heading back and we pass them with a yessus (hello). We walking along some house where people are using the rail line as their driveways. There are cars parked here and there along the tracks.

We are about marker 20 when we see a hiking trail sign and next to it a sign that says OASIS 100 meters. This sounds good and around the next bend is another station with a taverna. Oh good! We walk in and there is the Olive Museum we saw the signs for yesterday. we try the gates but they are locked. We can see a man in the garden and we call out him but he motions 5 and walks away. I guess he will open at 5 when the train comes back through. We walk to the Oasis and an older man greets us and he has ice cream, beer, water and soda. We decide on orange soda he sits us at a table and is impressed that my 75 year old father is walking this distance. he himself is 70. He looks in good health. when he learns we are Americans he joins us for a chat.

He used to be a Merchant Marine and has sailed into New York, new Orleans and and maybe Tampa while he was working. he is retired now. His name translates as Silver. he is very friendly and points to a table with a big family eating and drinking happily. They are his friends from near Prague who have come to visit. They wave hello and soon Silver asks if we would like a bit of food. We say yes and they worry his going to bring us a big meal and we say just a little. He gets two plates and goes over to the family table and spoons some food out of a big pot and brings it over with a piece of bread each. he says that it’s the local favorite of sausage with peppers and onions. It is really good! We eat the food and sop up the juice with the bread. it’s just the right amount of food to get us down the mountain. While we are eating the trains guys on the working engine pass us going back down. We compliment him on his cooking.

He tells us he started to cook with his mother when he was 6. He is an excellent cook. He points out that his friends are cooking a big pot of Hungarian Goulash in a big pot over a fire beside the tracks. They have the pot on a chain so they can raise and lower it to control the temperature. he says they cook this way often. we thank him again and wish him good health and head off down the tracks. We are getting closer to the sea as we round every outside corner and the kilometers roll on by. We are at about Marker 17 when we hear sheep and sure enough there sheep on the tracks.

They see us and all of a sudden we have a herd of about 30 sheep walking ahead of us on the tracks. We laugh and follow them and expect them to head of into another field but they don’t. They keep running ahead. Finally we get a place where it looks like the lead sheep is headed off to the side. We stop and wait and soon most of them are off the tracks we walk on by and they run off into the field. Luckily it’s partly cloudy and there is a little breeze other wise it would be very hot. We are at about marker 13 and the trail gone and there is fresh rock on the track so we are having to walk in the tracks.

We go on like this for a while. Then the path comes back and we are almost at sea level now. We are feeling tired and ready for the end. We see marker 11 and cross a bridge and begin to see houses and streets and finally we are back at the lower station. We walk to the taverna next door and order and greek salad and an eggplant baked with cheese appetizer a pitcher of water and a cold beer. We have a couple of hours before the train so we relax in the shade and eat our lunch then read for a while. As we are looking for the check the waitress brings more water and a plate of cold watermelon. it is juicy and cold and still has the seeds like when I was a kid. American watermelons have almost no seeds now. We enjoy that pay our check and then walk a little ways further down the tracks.

The town tried to make this into a pedestrian path but it has fallen into disrepair and is right beside the big road. So we walk about an the train rolls in about 10 minutes later. The Randy Loyds are on the train and the didn’t see us when they went by. We load up the van and head towards Volos and then up the side of the mountain towards Portaria. Luckily we are able to follow the signs and don;t get lost in Volos which is the biggest town in the region. And up the mountain we go. More steep narrow hairpins turns and my brother is doing a great job with the stick shift and avoiding the other cars and the motor bikes. The greek drivers on the same side of the road as Americans and that helps! So n we roll into Portaria and we see some hotels and a public parking lot. we pull and get almost the last space. Randy my father and i walk back down the street.

There is no sidewalk to where we saw a sign for traditional guest house. We pass a hotel entrance just before it and my father and stop there. he goes in to ask about room rates and i watch for Randy. It’s nice in the lobby and Randy arrives back in time to look at rooms. There was nobody at the guest house. We go up and out on to a roof top terrace area with lots of plants and chairs and a small pool. There are no family rooms. But two doubles next to the pool for Randy and family and in another spot a room with 2 single beds for my father and I. We will have our own room tonight. We go back to the car and get the girls and the luggage and carefully dodge the cars and into the hotel. I met the girls and fir a swim and the owner’s you ng son joins us. He is a little younger than Winfree and speak no English but we all have fun.

His mother is our host and comes to talk to me and her son spits water in my face and she is very embarrassed and yells at him. I laugh it off and get out. There is a pool shower and I step under it and it is right out of the mountain. Icy! I yell and shiver and everyone laughs. Our host and her husband and i think mother tell a few places we can walk to for dinner and say that the sunset off there terrace is great. It must be as the whole mountainside, Volos and the sea is spread out below our feet.

We thank them, change for dinner and walk up to the plaza where there are tavernas under more huge plane trees and big hydrangeas blooming. We have a nice dinner of greens with egg and lamp in the oven (lamb is often listed as lamp) which is very tender and juicy. We we get ice cream and walk back to the hotel. Martha and the girls stop in a store that sells worry beads. They are the greek version of the rosary. You sometimes ee people carrying them and flipping them around over their hand in a certain pattern. It was another great day but I am weary and I fall right into bed and am soon asleep.

Monday June 22
We talked our nice hotel owner into giving us breakfast at 8 instead of 8:30 because we have long drive. I am sitting on the terrace in the early morning light when she comes back to start breakfast. Kalimera! At 8 my father and I go down and there is a nice spread of food but the coffee and tea water are luke warm. Soon our host appears and we ask for hot coffee and water, She has brought scrambled eggs and she keeps bringing more food along with hot coffee and hot water. She explains that her tradition is to drink lukewarm or iced tea and coffee in the summer and hot tea with cinnamon and cloves in the winter. Sounds good to me.

She brings a plate of hot sliced hard boiled eggs with roasted red and green peppers which is excellent. We are getting full when she comes down with another dish. This is a boiled grain (not oatmeal but similar) with spices fruit and nuts on top. We have to try and it’s really good! Wish that had come down first! We are full and have to get on the road so we gather our stuff, pay the bill , thank our host and run between the cars for the van. That was my favorite hotel yet. Very beautiful.

We are driving to Meteora today. We have heard it will be anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours drive (the dutchman) We are predicting 3 hours if we don;t get lost. Randy is driving and I am navigating. We descend back into Volos and try to work our way west. We see a few sign pointing where we want to go then none so we follow the major traffic around and soon we pop out onto a major road with signs pointing to Portaria and the next major town on our route. Figures there was a more direct route but it wasn;t marked. Anyway we are now on to a highway and flying North and west. Then we are on an interstate and really moving. The back to a highway.

Outside of Trikala a pee break is called and we stop in a supermarket and pee and buy snacks, Then back on the road and into Klamabakka which is the town before Meteora. Our guide list a couple of hotels so we drive into the town and in the center is a sing for free parking so we drive to that lot and get out to look. We ask a local man. He doesn’t speak English so we point to the book he reads it and consults his friend then points to our car and his car and we follow him about a quarter mile and there is the hotel. The greeks have been very friendly and helpful the whole way. It’s really nice. we look the hotel and the have a room for Randy and family and room with two singles for my father and I. We unload the baggage and the back in the van and around the mountain to Meteora.

The hotel has given us a map and information on the monasteries. This is an amazing place. The mountains peaks soar up vertically and in the 4 Century BC people began building monasteries on top of the peaks! They are amazing. Any of you James Bond fans out there may have seen this area in For Your Eyes Only. We stop for a quick lunch of stuff tomatoes and peppers, chicken souvlaki and greek salad. Then we drive to the Monastery of St. Nickolas. They still have the motor and basket for bringing up supplies but have built steps for visitors. These are active monasteries and nunneries so women have to wear skirts and men long pants and no bare shoulders.

They have skirts and pants if you are dressed wrong. We prepared ahead of time and up all the stairs and into the monastery. It is literally built into a cave in the rock about 300 feet up on top of a peak. we can walk through the chapel, view the lift and up on the roof top terrace. But the rest is reserved for the monks who live there. It’s and amazing view off the roof of the surrounding peaks and another couple of monasteries in the distance. The rooms are very tiny and cramped. It’s very much like a very high stone tree house!

Amazing. They say that the first monks climbed up the cracks in the rock by driving wooden pegs into the cracks! Early rock climbing! Then the lowered ropes to bring up supplies to build platforms, then hoists and finally monasteries! What an amazing place. We go on to the Great Meteron Monastery. There are a lot of people at this one. it’s much larger. We have to walk down a lot of stairs and then through a small iron door through a rock tunnel about 12 feet and then up many staircases to get to the buildings. There is a large chapel and a museum and 3000 year old books and manuscripts on display.

There is a section on the history of the area and another on the greek military and religious uniforms and clothing. There is also a large terrace and a garden. This is an amazing place. We spend a lot of time here. You can see the old kitchens and dining hall with one table that's 700 years old. Very worn down! Then we climb back down and drive back to the hotel for a rest. The girls really want pizza. I finally have an internet signal so I am loading pics and text and I do a search for pizza in Klambakka but no luck. The desk knows of one though done by the central square. The gather and walk down there but it’s closed! So walk a bit further and are able to find another. Very lucky.

We order some pizzas and beer and a greek salad. The pizza is a little different but tasty. I think they are using a local version of mozzarella. Instead of loaf bread they bring rolls which which are like sturdier hamburger rolls what they would call a bap in Britain. They are good. We take the left over baps and pizza with us for lunches and walk back to the hotel. My father is hungry for.... ice cream so we stop at a shop in the main square. We each get one but they are very small and expensive so we walk out of the touristy area and order another which is a much bigger serving and less expensive.

We both order frozen yogurt with walnuts and honey with chocolate syrup. I decide the syrup is too much so I eat it and then the rest of the ice cream. I can taste it better now. It’s very good. One of my favorites of the trip. Satisfied we walk back to the hotel and the sun is setting and as the glow fades off the mountains which rise right up out of the town huge lights turn on and light up the peaks. It’s pretty cool to see these huge peaks towering over the town! We have had another long day. I hit the showers for a good scrub and write in my log before bed. Meteora is an amazing place. A must see for a trip to Greece! ‘night!

My father and I have breakfast at 7:30 and it’s another good spread. Then we walk up to another monastery that’s not open to the public. It’s tucked in a valley by itself and has two different sections in different cliffs. There is also the remains of platforms that hermits build in caves up the cliff face. You can see some of the wooden rope ladders they used to get up and down the cliff face. They would be really scary to climb in a breeze. But they are cool because they could pull them up to keep invaders out! It’s really peaceful back in this canyon. Just my father and I and the birds. Nothing is stirring in the buildings.

We walk back and the rest of the crew is about ready so we check load the van and drive back to Meteora where we visit and a nunnery and another monastery. They are both smaller than the Meteron but wonderful in their own way. Then we head south for Delphi. We drive around and between some steep high mountains. And through the central valley which is all farms. Greece is very mountainous. We atop for a break at a super market and buy some bread and cheese and black cherry soda. Also Greeks sell sesame breadsticks which are fab! We make sandwiches as we drive and finally we arrive in Delphina which is the new Delphi. We find one of the hotels in our book.

The rooms are plain but clean and there is parking right out front. Usually we have to register with a passport but they wave it off here. So we rest for a bit and then go for a walk and find a taverna that is on a steep cliff looking at the far mountainside and a little bit of the Korinthian Gulf. My father and I tried to order the local specialty even though the waitress couldn’t tell us what it was but they were out of it. So we order gyros and greek salad and smoothies for the girls. The are served flat on fried pita and it’s pork rather than a mixture of lamb and beef but they are tasty. We find ice cream for dessert except me I am very full as dinner was big. Then back to the hotel to read before bed.

Breakfast at 7:30 this morning. Slim compared to our last few. A hard boiled egg some bread, pound cake, juice and coffee or tea. We eat and then go back to the room and wake the others. We read while they eat and then try to check out. THey only take cash. THis is certainly an under the able operation! We drive a couple of miles over to old Delphi which opens at 9. There is little Disney style train that runs from town but it doesn’t start until 10 and we are ready. We get our tickets and walk onto the site. There are lots of foundations, bits and pieces and columns everywhere. This was the site of the ancient oracle of Delphi.

The Delphi Women and ancient people came from all over to consult with the Oracle. Different groups built treasure houses and there was a theater and a stadium way up high. It’s a pretty good hike all the way to the top. But great views of the site coming back down. Lots of tourists. Then we snack on an apple and tour the museum. It’s is full of statues and carvings from the site. It really brings it all to life and helps you visualize what it looked like during it’s heyday. Nice museum. It also had some old photos taken during digs on the site where you can see some of the statues and carvings in place.

Then we drive a bit down the road to the site of the Temple of Athena. We sit on a road side park and make sandwiches with the remains of the bread cheese and canned tuna and spiced peas we have been hauling around. They taste better than you think! Then we tour the Temple of Athena. On the way down my father and I find a mulberry tree that is bursting with huge mulberries. We spend a while picking and eating them until our hands are stained purple from the juice. And lots of purple dots on my t-shirt. I think I have created another paint shirt!


We walk down to the temple and I try and convince the girls that we were involved in a murder but they don’t believe us. This is the most photographer temple ruin in Greece because it’s free. Lots of people and another tour bus worth coming down the hill so we take a quick look around and a few pics and are off. We drive on towards Athens and our 8 pm rendezvous at the airport with the van driver. Randy is driving and I am navigating. I know I doze off for a while but we are still headed for Athens when i awake. We stop for a break and are way ahead of schedule.

We decide to drive closer and stop near the airport for dinner. We get on the interstate and are flying in towards Athens. THe airport is south and east of Athens near Markopoulis but you have to drive through part of Athens to get there. I have a plan but the exits aren’t marked the same as my map so I miss the first exit I want. We catch my second choice and head towards the sea. But we were in slow traffic on the interstate and don’t have a lot of time. We get on a divided road and are looking for food but not seeing anything on this side and not many places to cross the road to go back to the airport. Finally we come to an intersection and drive off and a side road and are in the country.

We see a sign for a snack bar and turn in. It’s a beautiful grassy area with a few tables and a bar. The three women are sitting there. We ask if they have food and they say they can make club sandwiches and toast. My brother isn’t happy with that so we drive on. Too bad, as it was a very peaceful place. We pull into a gas station to fill the tank. They don;t speak English and won;t let us use the WC (bathroom) for some reason. THis is about our only negative encounter in Greece. Poor Winfree doesn't;t want to pee in the bushes so we load up and drive back the way we came.

Finally we spot a taverna and pull off. we order some pork and chicken and a greek salad thinking of platters but end up with really tasty gyros. It’s quick and tasty and we get directions to the airport and roll in right on time and there is the dutch woman who drove us out to Milena with er young son. We are happy to see her and her to see us. She was worried about finding us. She drives us back into Athens to our hotel and finds her way by talking to taxi drivers when we stop for lights. It’s very chaotic but finally we find Hotel Caroline on a very narrow one way street. It’s very close to our other hotel. We unload give her a nice tip and check in. Then we go for ice cream and end up back in the Plaka at the same palce my father and I and breakfast.


Winfree has a melt down so we eat quickly and I find our way back to the hotel where we put the girls to bed. Randy, Martha and I decide to go have a beer ina cool looking bar two doors from the hotel. We get beers and sit down at the 30 foot long table with chess boards built into it. Then a group of college age people flood in. I soon realize that most of the people in the bar are Americans. They are playing American music too.

I talk to some Greeks who are there and they say this place caters to Americans. We enjoy some Lou Reed, Beach Boys and other American music and our beer and then head back. I have a shower and a bit of Metaxa and write my log. My father and Winfree are fast asleep so I have to be quiet. Soon I am nodding, So good night!

Barbeque bay to Milena

WED

My father and I swam early and then had breakfast. It’s going to be a hot day today! After breakfast I wrote in my log while everyone ate breakfast and swam. Estill learned to row the dinghy so we would let her drive it with the motor by herself. If the motor stops the oars are the only way to get back! She rowed all the way around the raft of boats so we put the motor on and she and Winfree motored around in the little bay. Then we took the motor off of the dinghy and I rowed to shore and pulled up our kedge anchor. We got it back aboard and stowed and shoved off from Blue Moon and headed out. There was a little bit of wind which soon died.

The forecast today is for very light wind building in the afternoon and evening to very heavy wind overnight. We turn on the motor and I am steering us along the coast headed for Palio Trikeri. I pass the lighthouse and turn the corner and my brother wakes up from a nap and says oops I forgot to tell you but we are stopping at Aghia Kyriaki and you passed it! See turned around and headed back. As we turned the corner again a great breeze came up and we hoisted the sails and tacked away from our destination. We had a great sail with Martha at the helm real getting the feel for finding Jules sweet spot. We tacked back and sailed right into Aghia Kyriaki.

We docked side to the dock and went for ice cream. It is very hot this afternoon and we are behind schedule so my father and I decide not to climb to the hill town. So we walk over to the boatyard which they haul boats out of the water for repair by putting them on wooden sledges greased with pig fat and dragging them up on shore. It was hot so they were all at siesta except for one guy painting but they had some pretty big boats in the yard. Lots of repair work going on. No pigs in sight! No surprise.

We walked back to Jules, cast off into a nice wind and sailed down wind back to that same corner where the wind died again in the land shadow. So we motored on in to Palio Trikeri. We rafted up to Blue Moon and then Umoya to us. We put out extra lines and tied her down tight as the wind is forecast to rise tonight. It’s already beginning and the boats are moving around some. Tomorrow we head back to base to turn in the boats so we are trying to eat all of the food. I cut up some chicken breasts and sauté them with the last of the olive oil, onions and garlic. The add olives, red wine and let it all simmer for a while. Then I go for a swim to cool off.

The water is really wavey but very refreshing. I rinse in fresh water and air dry on the fantail while watching some other boats scurrying in before the storm. The wind is really starting to blow outside the harbor. The folks on Umoya head out for a taverna. They are ready for some solid land as the boats are really bouncing. We decide to eat here. So I light the fire under the chicken and add the rest of the fresh plums we picked and zucchini. Then I cooked rice, cut up last of the cucumbers and tomatoes with feta for a salad. We carefully pass plates up to the cockpit, we we sit for our last dinner. Little bouncy but dinner was tasty and nothing broke!

The girls didn’t want what I cooked so my brother made them noodles. My father and i went ashore for ice cream (of course!) We started to walk up the hill to the Monastery but it’s too dark. So we stroll back towards Jules. We see the Umoya crew and I offer to buy them a drink. They have drunk enough and decline so i sit for a while and chat. Then we head back to the boats where Randy and the girls are playing cards. I work on my travel log and then read.

When I turn off my light it’s pretty bouncy and the wind is blowing hard. No worries as the motion always puts me to sleep. I woke a few times when some of our lines were really noisy when the wind gusted hard but soon went back to sleep.

Thursday June 18
The wind is down this morning but still there. Waves outside the harbor. My father and I go ashore and walk up to the Monastery. It’s just up the hill. The door is shut but not locked so we quietly walk in. We don’t see anyone so we tiptoe over to the chapel and walk around. The main entrance porch has a beautiful mosaic on the floor. The chapel doors are locked so we walk around the side and jump up on a ledge so we can see through the windows. it’s lovely inside. Then we walk back out. There is only one monk and a caretaker lady living there now and we don’t want to disturb their morning.

Walk slowly walk back down the hill where we see some goats in the field and one old lady peaking out at us. The Greek don’t seem to be early risers. We see only a few people up on our walk. Back on Jules we eat the rest of the yogurt for breakfast with the last of the melon and feta. We also have the last of the cereal. There is a race planned for 2:30 but we decide to go sail so we cast of about 11 and as soon as we are out of the harbor the wind is lowing hard and predicted to blow even harder.

We reef the main and hoist it. Then roll out the jib to the first reef. We are flying down wind then we tack out across the open bay toward the Mainland and are hauled pretty tight. We are heeled way over and the sea is bouncy. Martha and the girls are not happy. They are all a little sea sick. The wind steadily increases and the waves get bigger. we have to boat under control but if you are not used to it, you feel like you are going to fall out of the boat when we re heeled that much. We don’t have the rail buried but it’s close. We have all the hatches batten down tight and are getting some spray over the bow into the cockpit. We get Martha to stand in the companionway for a while.

It’s the best place to stand if you don’t feel well as you are on center line of the boat and there are walls to lean again and handles to hold onto. About 3/4 of the way across the apparent wind is reading 30 knots and the boat is getting hard to steer so we send the girls below. Winfree cries because she was asleep on the cockpit floor. But we need her out of the way and I stepped on her earlier and she was very unhappy. She has been in a very foul mood today. when the cockpit is clear we head up into the wind and put a second reef in the mainsail and crank the jib in to the second reef. We have better steering and still moving very fast.

Soon we reach the Mainland and the waves decrease some but the wind is still increasing. We tack on to a reach and head down the coat towards Milena and the Sunsail base. Poor Martha is down below with her lifejacket on glaring at Randy. We put a third reef in the jib and the wind is still increasing. Finally we decide to roll up the jib. It takes awhile to winch it in and we run out of roller with it still part way out. So we point up into the wind and try again. The wind is still blowing hard enough that we have to winch it in. We get more of it in but the is still enough out that we can feel it. We have out mainsail fully reefed and out jib rolled as far as we can and we are still flying along at almost 8 knots! We are flying down the coast and there are wind surfers out flying around and doing flips! They are really good.

We are looking for the other boats that are racing but don’t see them. We see one other boat that is sailing but soon drop there sails as they are close to the base. We ready to do the same. I go up the mast and hang on while we head up into the wind and I yank the main down and zip it’s cover. We motor into the bay and we see that the boat ahead of us in Umoya. Their jib is part way out to. As we get into the shelter of the bay the wind drops so we Let out the jib and are are able to roll it up completely. Then we call in and Andy tells us to back in next to Umoya. We make a perfect landing and get the Sunsail office to call our van rental place for us.

They get a message to them and we are all set for tomorrow. So we watch the Sunsail crew jam another dozen boats and 2 huge catamarans onto the docks. We pack some of our gear. do the paperwork and go for a swim and take a hot shower and shave. Feels great after two weeks of just rinsing or saltwater baths! Then we all meet for a final group meal in the taverna. We had a great meal of grilled chicken and white wine. Then our lead crew gave out prizes.

Estill and Winfree got an ice cream because my father and I snuck for ice cream so much with out them! My father and i were asked to mark the map with the five best ice cream stops of the trip. We put our heads together and got it done. Umoya won the wrench award from Ken for getting so fishing line wrapped around their prop. Then we all drink a toast to a great trip. After so more chat, exchanging of addresses and hugs we all headed back to our boats for final packing and our last night aboard. I packed and then crashed hard. it was a very exciting day! Good night.

Maratha to Barbeque Bay

We have light wind this morning but soon it picks up a bit and we have a great sailing day. We don’t have to go very far. So we take two very long tacks to get there. The is perfect blowing about 13 knots and I get Estill and then Martha to steer the boat. They both do very well and are soon able to find the sweet spot where Jules jumps up and flies across the water. We are very impressed with how well this Beneteau 393 sails. She is a very sweet boat. A real joy to sail and pretty much big enough for the 6 of us.

We sail almost right into the Loutraki harbor and Blue Moon and crew are there to meet us. We tie up and swim then My father and I go for a walk this town is built on the side of a very steep hill. So are in the lower town around the harbor and explore that and find a street that goes up the hill side past a bee keepers hives, his chicken coops and beautiful vegetables gardens and up into the olive groves. The road is very rough concrete to give traction for the steep climb and then turns to dirt.

Above us we can see the terraced olive groves. We hit the end of the road and then walk back down through narrow twisting alleys to the waterfront and around to where we are docked. It’s just about time for dinner so we change and meet in a local cafe for our briefing and we have limerick competition. We all enjoy hearing each others limericks. Most are about funny incidents along the way. Then we chat for a bit and then head to the taverna to watch the sun set. I have cabbage and carrot salad and really great lamb chops. 4 small chops rubbed in olive oil and little salt and pepper and grilled.

They were really tasty and came with thick fries. The taverna had good red wine and the owner brought us each an ice cream bar on the house. It tasted like chocolate covered pistachio. Tasty. THen we walked back to the boat and my father and I decided we needed another ice cream. We found a place that served scoop ice cream and had one scoop each. Caramel and a very strong coffee ice cream. We walked back past were a guy is putting the finishing touches on his hotel and club. Almost all greek buildings are white. He has purple lights on his building and has painted all the trim doors and tables pink and purple and has hung pink and purple cloth all over. It sure stands out from the rest of the tavernas and hotels! We finish our ice cream so the girls won’t fuss and head back to the boat. This was a great day! A 2.5 ice cream day! Good night.

Monday June 18

My father and I are up at 7am and head up the mountainside to the hilltown. We have been told that it’s very steep and to take a taxi or the bus. We find a set of stairs that leads to an old trail that has compact flourescent bulbs wired beside it. We head up and soon realize that we are on the old mule path up to the hilltown. It’s very steep and paved with old cobbles. We stop and look out over the harbor and drink water as we climb. For one section we are walking along the new paved road. We are passed by the bus but decide to continue on foot. There are lots of little shrines along the road, where people have died in car wrecks. Greek drivers are the worst in Europe by far.

The shrines look like little houses. They always have pictures of saints, cigarettes, burnt candles and sometimes bottles of what looks like orange drink. They are really cool. But it’s pretty scary how many there are! Around the next corner we see a continuation of the mule path. So we head up there. It’s very steep but soon we are on a concrete path and we are walking between house. Then we are in town and are walking through tiny streets. We see two old men sitting outside a amrket and ask them for a cafe. They point to the right. We head that way and soon are in a tiny square with tables and chairs and a church. This must be the famous Mama Mia church used in the ABBA movie. It’s quite pretty.

The cafe is not open so we walk on up and soon we see loive groves and realize that we have passed through the town and come out the top. Oops! So we head back and go sideways. When you are in the houses the space is very narrow and you can’t see past the houses. They almost all have there own grape vine covered terrace and flowers. They are all white washed and mist still have their wooden shutters. We see a few people walking by and ask a couple for the cafe. They point and we walk and soon we find ourselves back in the little square by the church.

We figure everyone must mean this cafe. We sit down under a big arbor that looks similar to Virginia Creeper at a cafe table. Soon a young guy rides up on his moped. Greets us (yessis is hello) and opens the cafe. He speaks almost no English, but brings a menu. It lists lots of breakfast items but he doesn’t seem to have any of them. So we settle on tea , coffee and toast. We see orange drink and each have one. An older gentleman comes ina gets an orange drink and sits near us. he speaks some English and is curouis where we are from. Soon the cafe guy produces a cup of coffee and tea and then two grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. They are excellent!

Just what we need to power us back down the mountain. We pay and say goodbye to him and the old man and head back down. We find the same route to start with but then find the part of the mule trail we missed for the road. The we reach a fork and take the left side which takes down to the other side of the village where we walked last night. We walk back around and lst night’s ice cream place is just opening so we have an ice cream and head back to Jules. it’s been a great hike. I grab my computer and head for the cafe. I want to charge my batteries and load some pics.

I am just getting started when Captain Andy walks up and we start talking about different work we have done. Soon Lizz joins us and she trained in art. I show them my portfolio and we talk about different designs. She likes the designs for School House Rock Live! They are not familar with the songs so I find a couple and play them on Youtube. The cafe owner is fascinated so we show her. Then my internet period runs out. She gives me another pass and i quickly load pics and text.

My bother and nieces come up for a soda. He wants to get underway so as soon I finish loading I pay for my tea thanks the cafe owner, write down School House Rock for her and head for Jules. We cast off and head out. We have a free night tonight and are on or own. We head for a tiny little port of Katigiorgis with a beach and a taverna where the Greeks go for fun. We hve decent wind so we sail past it and on up the coast aways and then back down. We see our flotilla mates on Umoya headed ino the same port. So we prepare and back in. We can see the Umoya crew standing o n the dock ready to grab our lines. We drop anchor and land perfectly. It’s nice to see the other crew. They are two couples from Northwest Britian. Nice folks. This is a tiny little bay.

There is room for about 6 boats. We are glad we came in when we did. There is great little beach and two tavernas. We get ourselves docked and go for a swim. Then my father and I go for a walk. We are supposed to create a cocktail and we want to use the plums we found and go looking for more. My sister-in-law said she saw some on the road just outside the village. We find the tree but can’t reach most of the fruit. We get a couple and then walk back. Martha has almost finished coking some fish we bought. So we prepare for dinner. Fish, green beans in tomato sauce and ric e.

Good fish. Very mild buttery flavor. Martha baked it in the oven. Then melon for dessert. We have been getting good melons. They look like a small cantaloe on the outside but inside they are green and taste like a croos between a cantalope and a honeydew. Very tasty. Then my father and I cook down the plms for our cocktail. We add the lemon and rinds from preparing the fish and some honey.

When that is all cooked down we add ouzu, Metaxa (greek brandy) and a touch of red wine. It’s pretty lethal! We filter it through the coffee press and call it done. Martha thinks it’s toxic! Should be jst right for the competition! Then we teach the girls to play blackjack, crazy eiths and old maid. We play cards until bedtime. I have finished the John McPhee book Assembling California and am now reading The Kitchen God’s Wife by Am Tan. It’s good. Then off to sleep.


The McPhee book was dense like like all of his work but very interesting. Lots of geologic terms. But to my surprise it also talked about geology in Greece. Some parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and some Greek Mountains were formed in the same place! Pretty cool to think about. Good Night. from Greek!

We sleep in a bit this morning. Then after breakfast I work with the girls on making a boat to sail in tne race at our barbeque tonight. We were provided with some supplies and we find a juice carton and make sails out of paper and wooden skewers. We use a fishing weight for a keel and Winfree makes a captain looking through binoculars. Soon the Bootbum Tr inket is ready to sail. The girls rename her Monster Mon. fter the other boat leaves, we try a test sail and she does well in light wind. It’s a downwind race so we rigged her wing and wing.

Then we go for a swim and the girls go to play on the beach. My father and I go to the taverna for ice cream. Martha say there is a nice walking trail so we go looking for it and find lots on plum trees covered with fruit. Too bad we didn’t find them last night. We could have used more plums in our cocktail. We gather a pocket full and head upa dirt road. Soon it’s a path and we are walking in between peoples houses. We see some artichokes that are in bloom. They have amazing bright purple flowers!

I am now loving artichoke flowers! They are incredible. We walk on up the path until it hits a road which we follow hoping it will connect with the path Martha found. It doesn’t and we end up in an olive grove. We know the captain wants to get under way so we head back down. We find the rest of the crew in the taverna having lun ch. They ordered too much food so we help thm finsh and then shove off. We have a bit of nice sailing down the coast through a spot were we had really heavy wind before. Soon we are sailing directly down wind wing and wing but have to tack as a frieghter is headed right for us.

Then the wind dies and we crank up our engine and head into the barbeque beach. It’s a tiny bay so we raft up and so all three boats have our anchors out and our kedge anchors off our sterns on the beach. It’s cooling down and going to be perfect weather for our barbeque. We go for a swim and there is some coral and fish so we snorkel around looking at them. I find what looks to be a pile of old ceramic roof tiles all stuck together into a reef. Then we dry off and gather our stuff for the party.

Up behind the beh there is a tink old hut and a firepit. Greece is very dry and has a problem with fires so beach fires are illegal. You have to be 20 meters back from the water. The lead crew has made salads and a cooking sausages and chicken kebabs. We have punch to drink. It’s strong but tasty. After dinner we go down to the shore and there is just enough wind to race our boats. There are 4 boats.

Ken the engineer wins all the races with his water bottle catamaran. Monster Mon sails the straightest and al most wins the second race whien ken’s boat gets hung up in an anchor line. But then Monster Mon catches a waves and begins to sink! Too bad. We rescue her and congratulate Ken on his design. He does have a degree in marine engineering!

The go back up and play some wacky games. The gilrs have treasure hunts for gold stones. We play boules with stones and then we play a game of mine were peollstand very close and grab hands then they have to untangle themselves into a circle. it was fun. Then a wacky games where a stone is tied bhind your back and there are 15 beer cans standing in a group. You place your feet and then tr to knock down all the cans. You can’t move your feet so you have to bend foward and back and swivel your hips to do it. It’s very funny to watch. Then we sampled cocktails. †he other group had a better prresentation and their coctails flamed so they wo n, but I think ours tasted etter. Then we all had another drink then call it anight and headed back to the boats. Winfree thought she had lost a little bag on toys but after a search we found them. Sheeew! We have had a great dy, plenty of food and drink and a ready for bed. Good night.

Plantis Harbor to Marantha

Thursday
I am up at 7:15 and my father is still asleep which is unusual. he is usually sitting on his berth reading when i get up. I get my book and go on deck and read. He shoes up about 45 minutes later. We were going to hike but his gout is acting up in his hand and he didn’t sleep well so we vote to eat breakfast. This involves waking up more of the crew as usually my brother and one of my nieces is sleeping in the dinette. We go down and start opening cabinets and drawers, pulling out cereal, milk, yogurt fruit and boiling water for coffee and tea.

This wakes up my bother who wants coffee and the niece wants cereal. This wakes up the other niece and Martha in the forward cabin (forecastle pronounced fok-sul) When everyone has tea or coffee and my father and I have our food we retreat to the cockpit to eat in peace and let the others fight it out. Usually we then go for a walk while the others are getting ready. Today we just read. Soon we are pulling up or anchor and headed North to the next island which is uncharacteristically flat.

Most of the islands are very steep and mountainous. This one is flat and low and has a lighthouse as it has wrecked many ships. it’s not very big but at the north end there is a sunken town that you can see from the surface. The sea is very calm today so we motor up there and anchor in the unprotected north bay. While my father stays with Jules we motor out in the dinghy to look for the sunken town.

First we drop Martha on the shore to beach comb then We get in the right area and I put on my snorkeling gear and they drag me around behind the dinghy. i can see lots of piles of rocks covered with weed and some small reef fish. Then I see rocks that look shaped and stacked in a straight line and there are more rocks in a circle next to it. I wave to stop the boat and look again. I figure this must be it. So we all swim around and look. This has been underwater for a long time and picked over by lots of people.

This is probably it. Looks like a section of laid rock that could be a boat ramp of donkey path between rock walls that could have been structures. All covered with sea growth. Soon the girls are tired of swimming so back in the dinghy and they tow me around a bit more and then back towards Jules. That was the most town like section I see. When get close to Jules the outboard motor starts to sputter and we don’t have the oars. So my brother cast me off and sputters off to Jules and i swim in.

We both make it and spend sometime trying to get the motor to start again. It will start with the choke out but just sputters and dies if you push the choke in. We decide to give it a rest. maybe it got hot towing me. Randy rows back to shore to get Martha and when he gets back we try to start the motor. Same thing. I have him check the fuel tank which he says is still a quarter full. I know lots of small motors that don’t run well on low fuel. So we fill the tank and she starts right up. We pull up the anchor and head back south around the other side of the island. We get a bit of wind and sail some.

My back is much better but a little stiff. I lie down and fall a sleep with the motion of the boat expecting to wake soon in Monastery Bay to hike up to the Monastery. But we are short on time and sail on by and into Kira Pana yia the south bay. There are different arms to this anchorage. We pull behind a little island that gives shelter from the current wind next to big sailboat (at least 50 feet) that is swing one one anchor. We are close enough to shore that we can run a line out to tie to a rock if too many boats come in. I am feeling good so I take the dinghy and motor over to Blue Moon anchored at the other end and borrow Captain Andy’s wind surfer. I used to windsurf a lot but haven’t in many years.

The wind is pretty perfect so I get on and it comes back pretty quick. I do well considering I weight more than I did then and he is using a lighter board that I ever had. Turns out Andy is just learning so we talk a bit about it after I finish and then I dinghy back to Jules and get there in time for dinner. Martha has made eggplant and rice. Tasty with a cucumber and tomato salad. We are in a Nature Preserve and no fishing allowed. A couple of other sailboats have come in and one fishing boat.

Soon a Police or ranger comes in and circles all the boats and stops next to the fishing boat. It’s there a long time. I am ready ot dry dishes when my Martha wants to walk. There is no beach so I drop her on a rock and back to Jules. Dishes are almost dry so I play cards with the girls. Go Fish. Brings back memories. As the light falls my brother thinks he sees some lightning for the predicted storm. SO we take in a laundry and batten down the hatches. We have plenty of room to swing so we stay on one anchor and call it a night.


Friday
I hear my brother on deck at least once during the night I was awakened when the wind shifted but we never got any rain or serious wind all night. We are all up pretty early. Still no storm but the humidity is rising. We have some wind so we start sailing back to Skeopoles Town. Soon it gets very bouncy and the wind dies so we crank up the engine and head straight down wind with the sails up. The motion puts everyone else to sleep for a while. There are no other boats around that I can see.

The air is misty with the rising humidity and seems to be getting thicker. There are no ferries as the head into Skeopoloes Town harbor this time. Blue Moon there are we get our instructions and drop anchor and back in-between two other boats. The storm is coming in tonight so we leave a big space between our stern and the dock and because these huge ferries dock just across the harbor from us and they create waves. We don’t want to hit the dock. We have spring lines on both sides to keep us straight and the anchor chain pulled in tight. We are ready for a blow. We have lots of time before dinner so we walk around town.

My father finds ice cream right off and it’s good. We have cappuccino and chocolate. THen we walk up and down the narrow streets dodging mopeds and motorcycles. We take some good pics and notice apricot trees in yards with the fruit on the ground like florida. We can’t get to it. We are supposed to be working on a cocktail for a competition with the other boat. We are going make something with fresh fruit. Then my father finds a whole branch of ripe and nearly ripe plums thrown in the street. So we taste and when the plums are good gather a bunch for our punch!

We walk on and find the street on supermarkets. Then we walk back to our boat. When it’s dinner time we all meet in the Action taverna. The host welcomes us in English and announces his specials and gives a tour of the food in his display case. His rabbit dish is highly recommended so I order that with a cucumber salad and some red wine. My brother orders a cheese pie (local specialty) which comes out in a long coil. It’s like spankoptia with out the spinach. It’s very good but way too filling. All the food is excellent. After dinner we are offered a free ouzo, brandy or coffee.

I have an ouzo. In Turkey I drank a lot a raki which is similar to ouzo but a little harsher. THe ouzo is good. After dinner I go off with our lead crew and the folks from the other boat to a bar. They are serving Mojitos. They are tasty and I buy a round for our lead crew. Soon we are all drinking Mojitos and the owners of the bar are lighting the bar and the walls on fire! Guite the pyro show. Soon we move to a quieter Jazz bar. They were playing Rudy by The Specials when I walked by earlier. Now they are playing bluesy Jazz. We have another drink outside under a huge tree. Then we are done.

The other crew is headed back to the boat. Captain Andy is talking to the club owner and her pours our a shot of Jagermeister for us all and then another half. Fairly nasty stuff. Then back to the boat where I have to hoist the plank off the dock and on to the stern then walk it to get aboard and then haul the plank on board after me. The air is very humid and the storm is expected to arrive in a couple of hours.

I crawl into my bunk, batten down my hatches and crash. In a few hours I am awakened by the wind howling over head. It’s really blowing b ut we are tied securely to the dock and I go back to sleep.

Sat. June 16
We all sleep ina a bit. I wake up with a bit of a hangover. Not surprised really. The wind has reduced but the sky is still over cast and the waves are still big. We eat breakfast and then Father and i walk to the supermarket street and buy more supplies. My father stops and buys some beautiful hand painted tiles for my stepmother. She will love them and will set them in concrete in some type of mosaic. I am looking forward to seeing what she makes out of them. Then we haul the groceries back. We won’t be leaving until at least noon when the sea is a bit calmer. The wind and waves are blowing straight into the harbor.


I grab my computer and head for the internet cafe. It’s 3 Euros for an hour. I quickly load some pictures and text and charge my computer in my hour and have a cup of tea. THen I head back to Jules. We aren’t ready to leave yet so I take one more walk around the water front and pickup some piece of broken tile for my yard then head back. We prepare for a rough sail and head out. The sea is pretty rough as we head out of the harbor and around the point. I am feeling the motion of the boat on top of my hangover. Not fun.

We get the sails up and sail a bit. I go down below and make sandwiches. It makes the motion sickness worse so I finish quickly and head back up to the cockpit. Getting some food in my stomach helps. It’s still pretty wavey and the wind is dying. Soon we have to crank up the engine and the wind is blowing the smell of the exhaust into the cockpit. It’s making my stomach turn so I go below and get in my bunk. I read for a bit then I am fast asleep.

I wake about an hour later and I am feeling much better and the sea is a little smoother. Still not much wind. I go up on deck and steer for a while. Soon we are heading into the harbor. There is a bit hotel on the hill over the harbor one of the prettiest beaches in Greece, This is a beach of soft sand. Most Greek beaches are stones large or small. THis one is sand and lots of beach chairs and little drink stands.

We all go for a swim and then I cook some pasta with an improvised sauce of garlic, onions, canned spiced eggplant, lemon juice and some canned smoked mackerel on the side. And a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and feta cheese.
We teach the girls to play blackjack. They are in a card playing kick these days. Then off to bed. I am looking forward to bed. But soon I m hearing a singer up at the hotel and it’s getting louder and louder. It goes late.

Sunday June 17

My father and I are up fairly early and go for a swim. Feels good to wash off the night. Had a bit of a bad stomach early last night but it’s gone now. Probably from the hangover and the rough seas. After breakfast we all get in the dinghy and row to the beach for a hike in the hydrobiotope ( Greek English for nature preserve)

It runs along behind the beach. Winfree is walking slow and looking at nature. Soon she and Father and I have fallen behind and we come to a few forks but cannot tell where the other went so we just walk on. Soon w e come out the other side in a Parking lot. We walk back and come out at the other end of the beach. There is a drinks stand so we stop for ice cream. There is a plank walk along the back of the beach just wide enough almost for two people to pass. We walk along that and it’s fun to listen to all the different languages. There are a few topless women bathers. Always fun to see.

This a big family beach. Lots of kids. The girls go swimming and I take another walk. Soon we go back to Jules. We rafted up last night with the other boats and ran a long line to the pier. The middle boat is gone already. I get in the dinghy and row to the pier to release the long line. I tie up to the Pier and tie off my dinghy and my brother discovers some of their towels on the bottom and goes diving for them.

Then I realize that a ferry is coming in to dock at the pier. There are three drunk Russian guy who have tied their sailboat in the ferry docking place. There is a lot of yelling and the Russians are running around. Finally they jump on, swing a hard circle almost hitting a fishing boat and the rocks. The ferry came in and threw me their lines. Soon we we are able to lose out lines and we were away!

Panormos, Steni Vana, and Planitis Harbor

Mon. June 8

Since I have so little power for my computer Pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd


Well the disco was thumping until early this morning. It was a holiday weekend so people were partying late. Finally it quieted down and I slept until the early church bells rang, and a little while later rang again and then a third time. That was enough so I got up. My father and I have some cereal and yogurt and honey for breakfast. The Greek yogurt is the best. it’s thick and rich like ice cream! Wonderful. We discover that Martha and Winfree and not well. Martha was sick all through the night. She thinks it’s from brushing her teeth with the local water. So we are going boil toothbrushes and brush with bottled water. Then Father and I go for a walk around town looking for an ancient statue of a bull.

After wandering around for a while we finally found it right next to the church where the bells were ringing. The service was going on an I could hear singing through the window. It was lovely. The bull was carved out of marble in the 4th Century BC. It’s a bit bigger than life-size. The horns are broken off and it’s enclosed in a glass house to protect it. There are also bits and pieces of ancient buildings lying around in the little park around the bull. The town is quite nice and peaceful this morning. After our walk we head back to the boat an d fill the water tanks, get our briefing for the day and cast off. My back is feeling better today so I spend some time steering the boat. We get out of harbor and charge the batteries and cill the fridge with the engine for a while and then hoist the sails. Soon we have a stiff breeze and reaching along at 7 knots ( nautical miles per hour) which is about 8 regular miles per hour.

It’s a beautiful sailing day. The wind continues to increase and soon we are heeled way over and steering is getting difficult. So we reef the sails and and are heeling less but still ripping along at 8 knots. We have finish up for lunch and eat up all the leftover that have collecting in the fridge. It keeps up for awhile but then dies out. We are over a mile off shore so we pump the holding tanks from the toilets into the sea. (it’s legal as long as you are at least a mile offshore) Soon we have to turn the motor on when it dies completely. My back is aching a bit so I turn the helm over to my brother had head below to lie down. Estill crawls in with me and reads some of Lois Lenski’s Strawberry Girl to me. Then we doze off for a while. The sound of the anchor dropping wakes me up and we are anchored by a beautiful beach on the island of Sangria. The water is about 40 feet deep and you can see right to the bottom.

We all swim except Martha who has been in her bunk all day except when we were heeled way over the wrong direction. Then she came up on deck for some fresh air until it calmed down some. We swim around the boat for a bit and then pull up the anchor and head on for Panormos where we are spending the night. We pull in. Drop our anchor and then back up and raft up alongside the other two boats and run a long line off our stern to shore and tie it to a tree. Then we tighten up the anchor. This will keep us from swinging into another boat in the night if the wind shifts. The lead boat had gone into Skiathos Town and out to the airport and finally my father has his clothes! Yeah! Now I get some of mine back. The lead boat also has a couple of water rings for the girls to play with.

We go in for a swim to cool off and I have a fresh water rinse as I came back on the boat. Then all of us except Martha take the dinghy to shore and find the market and buy a phone card and some supplies. We try a few times and two different phones. Finally my brother gets a call through to his company. Everything is good. We ate in a taverna. Captain Andy caught a nice fish and the taverna is always happy to cook fish for you.

They grill it and there is enough for Andy and crew for dinner and a taste for the rest of us. The locals called it something like a Lisa fish. hard to tell what they were saying but it is was delicious. I had some cod cooked with onions, (pretty good) my father has fresh red mullet grilled. He picked the fish out of the tank. They weighted it and agreed on a price and then they grilled it. Fish is very expensive here. Always have it weighted and agree on a price before it’s cooked! Chicken for the girls and pork souvlaki for Randy. We ate at a table right on the beach of small stones and watched the sun go down over the bay. It was spectacular! They had ice cream so got cookies and cream for the girls and fig for the adults. The fig turned to be pistachio but it was tasty. The we tried to pay but none of our credit cards worked. he had the newest credit card machine which was refusing our cards because they didn’t have an imbedded computer chip. All the European credit cards have them now. So we pooled our cash and paid the tab. We headed back to the boat by flashlight and crashed for the night. Winfree declared it another great day in Greek!
‘night friends.

Tues. June 10
My father and I were up first this morning, as usual, and went for a swim. The days get hot but at night you wake up under a light blanket which is great. Not too humid. The water temperature is not too warm or cold and always refreshing. Soon Winfree was in with us and Martha is up and feeling much better. We have cereal, tea, a Greek sesame bread ring yogurt and honey and tea for breakfast. Then I wash my dirty shorts in the sink and hang them on the line to dry. Soon we have our briefing. The wind is forecasted in the morning so we quickly get our boat ready and shove off. We have some nice wind in the morning and are dodging ferries and then we see a navy ship approaching from astern. it’s an aircraft carrier. We change tack to get out of it’s way and as it steams by we think it’s a NATO ship.

Once they are past we tack back behind them and are fascinated to see that the stern of the ship is open. Soon they slow down and all of a sudden hovercraft start flying out of the opening. Three\emerge and they are all buzzing around really fast. One comes within a couple of miles of us. Boy are they fast! We watch them for a while then our wind begins to die so we crank up the motor and head off towards Skiathos Town. We need to find a cash machine. As we come into the harbor entrance a small ferry is coming out and the a huge one is behind us. So we circle out of the way then enter behind the big ferry. We pull along side the dock and tie up. My father, brother and Martha take the garbage and head off to find an ATM. I stay on the boat with the girls and we eat Greek thin pretzels with sesame seeds and talk.

After hitting 2 ATMS the others are back a nd we cast off and motor on. There is no wind so we motor along. Finally there is a bit of wind so we hoist our sails and it pretty much dies again and we are late so we crank up the iron jenny and motor sail on to our next stop in the town of Steni Vala on the island of Alonnisos. It’s a tiny place and very beautiful. There is room for about a dozen boats and we are the last one in. Enough room for us and one more. There are 4 tavernas and 3 shops aong the harbor. I can hear Bob Marley playing from the shore. Lots of plants in pots, herbs, fruit trees and some beautiful purple bouganvilla. Lovely place. We have a quick briefing on the next few islands because we are off on our own for the next few days. It should be great fun. Then we chat fora bit and then I head back to Jules to cook dinner.

I threw together some leftover chicken, salami, pasta, onions, zuchinni, garlic and olives in a pan heated it up nicely then added, cold tomato slice, cucmbers, feta cheese, more olives and some eggplant. I drizzled olive oil on top and served. It was a bit hit and every milecules has eaten! My father and Martha did the dishes and I went looking for ice cream. After the wasing up was done. We did a bit of shoppi ng and bought ice cream bars. Then discovered one place sold Swiss dipped ice cream. Our lead guy ken is from Switzerland and told us it’s very good ice cream. We are too full for seconds. We look through a bunch of used books and then stroll back to Jules where I spend some time writing in my log. I have not been able to charge my computer on the boat so I ahven’t been writing much. Then I read a bit and off to sleep. It’s pretty quiet here.

Wed.
My father and I are up early so we enjoy the morning on deck then head back to shop. The are expecting fresh baked bread at 8:30. It hasn’t arrived yet (Greek time is like island time) so we have some of that Swiss ice cream. My father has cappuchino with caramel sauce and I have creme brulee with chocolate sauce. Yumm, Wheaties step aside! I can’t remeber the brand but it was good. We are also served a glass of water. We decide that enough tourists come here that it will be safe a drink it. Right as we finish the bread arrives. It’s still warm! We buy a flat wide loaf and some frozen chicken another bottle of red wine and some canned smoked mackrel. Not much meat for sale here. First I have seen in these little shops.

And only chicken and some ground beef. We head bac k for the boat sand have tea, fresh bread and butter, yogurt, honey ans melon for breakfast. Heavenly! Then we decide to head for the caves. I walk around a bit while everyoe gets breakfast and more supplies are bought. I walk up to the top of the hill and it’s lovely. All the house have grape arbor s over terraces and fruit trees and flowers in their yards. Lovely. Then we shove off and there’s a nice breeze so we begin to tack our way up this fairly narrow passage. It tackes about 8 tacks, but Jules points very well and we make good time. Just north of the narrows we spot a couple of the caves. The water in these islands is very deep right up to the shore. It’s 20 meters (60 feet) deep right near the shore so too deep to anchor safely. So we pull into a bit of a cove and the water is still enough to put the motor on the dinghy and load a crew. So will my father circled the big boat we went off to the caves.

The first couple looked to narrow and wavey but we motored right into the third one. It opened into a big room with a roof about 25 feet up and we paddled all the way to the back . Then the girls and I swam around and Estill and I swam back out. The color of the water was a beautiful turqiose b lue with the light shining into it. Amazing! Then we motored back to the other two caves and slowly backed into another and discovered that it wnet around a corner and way back so we paddled into it and explored. Then I swam back out of it. I was going to swim into the third but we were out of time so I climbed into the dinghy znd we motored back to Jules. Randy and family jumped about and took my father back to see the second cave. We back into far enough for him to see how cool it was and then back to Jules. We sailed on up the coast and into Planitis Harbor.

Athens to Aselinlos

Friday June 5

I was awake again about 2:30 and typed in my log for awhile then dozed until about 7 am. My father and I were up but Winfree was sound asleep. So we quickly ran down to the corner coffee shop for hot chocolate and feta puff pastry. We also found a guy outside the subway entrance selling circles of sesame bread. I recognized them from Turkey.

They are great for breakfast. When we got back to the room Winfree woke up with the hot chocolate smell. We gave her some and a bite of sesame bread. She didn’t want ant of the feta pastry which was good too. Then we dropped her in her parents room and went off for a quick hike up the Acropolis. My father arrived to late yesterday so we did a quick tour. It is free on Fridays! It was pretty in the early morning.

Then I got on the internet very quickly and loaded photos. Then our van and driver arrived and we loaded up and headed out of Athens. Our diver keep asking directions out of the City of cars beside us. She is from Volos which is the major town near Milena where we are picking up our boat. It’s five hours from Athens. Athens is a big city of 5 million. Since it was Friday lots of people were headed out of the City. Also Sunday is a big European election and in Greece everyone votes in their home village, so lots of folks were headed out. Once took another wrong turn and pulled a U in traffic and got on the right track. There are lots of motorbikes, and they weave back and forth across the traffic. They are pretty insane! Don’t think i would want to bicycle in Greece!

We are on the road driving through beautiful countryside and finally to Milena. Milena is a tiny place and we are outside of town a bit but there is a taverna and a tiny market and our home for the next two weeks. Her name is JULES and she is very pretty and clean. She is ready so we stow our gear, get briefed on the boat and are free for the evening. We are still chasing my father’s baggage. It’s in Athens but we are leaving tomorrow. So it is going to be flown to Skiathos and we will pick it up there.

We hope. My father and i and the girls get an ice cream to tide us over to dinner. The we all jump in our swim gear and head for the beach. The water is a great temperature and not too salty, just perfect! When we are all cooled and changed we heave for the shop and the taverna. In Greece most shops and restaurants close in the midday and open again at 6 pm. so we bought some expensive supplies in the mini-shop and had a great dinner in the taverna. I had a very flavorful and tender lamb chop.

My father local fish, my nieces pizza, Martha bean stew and Randy moussaka. Al very tasty. Then I showered on the shore, it was lukewarm but good to shave and wash my hair. Then we all heaved a sigh of relief to be on Jules. Read for a while and crashed. I was up again for a while in the middle of the night and watched and big yellow moon sink down behind the mountains to the west and the went back to sleep.

We were up about 7:30 and had a free breakfast for bacon and eggs, yogurt and honey and the briefing on our days sail. My brother chose to sail with a flotilla (group) of other boats. Often as many as 10 like when the rest of my family sailing in Croatia two summers ago. This flotilla has one other boat and a third boat which is the lead captain, a technical fixer and a hostess. So we are a small group. We meet the english folks on the other boat, look at the maps and arrange to meet in a certain port by 6pm. I

n Greece the mornings are very calm. So we get our gear set While Sunsail drives my father into the village for some clothes. When we are ready I take another swim and then my Dad is back so off we sail. It’s totally calm so we motor out and raise a sail and motor sail for a while. We have been told about Donkey island. So we stop in and sure enough the resident donkey meets the girls on the beach and accepts a carrot from each of them. We have learned that he spends his summers on the Island but comes back home for the winter. He is very friendly but makes an awful fuss when the dighny heads back. He loves company and was sad to us leave.

We head out again and the wind picks and off we sail. We come around the end of the island out into open water and the wind is really blowing. All of a sudden we are really heeled over and loose gear is all over the floor. We are flying. Good thing Pippa isn’t on board. She would be terrified! Martha is a little freaked but we have it under control and scream across to the other side and the harbor and Pale where we are spending the night. We got a radio message that the lead boat would be delayed until 6. So we arrive in Pigadhi about 6:15pm.

We call them on the radio and they tell us how to rig the boat for docking. So we rig and have to back in and raft up alongside the lead boat. The other boat is already in. So we relax and chat while Lizz the hostess tells us we are having a punch party and then a group dinner. We relax for an hour and check out the town. There are too huge swans swimming in the water off our stern. It ‘s just a couple of tavernas.

A small place and very pretty. then head over for punch. My back is acting up a bit so I lie down and then walk over for punch in a little park. Then dinner at a tavern. Wonderful fresh calamari (squid) fried whole. The best i have ever had. We had fun eating together and chatting for awhile then off to bed. I hope back gets better quick. It’s hurting pretty bad so I go straight to bed.

Sun day June 7

I am still hurting this morning so I pass on the hike up to an ancient tower. The rest of my family and the Sunsail crew headed up the hill. They reported back it was a good hike through the ever present olives groves. They passed a cave that used to be the way into the tower. Winfree said it too full of spiders to go in. I guess it’s mostly caved in now. Used to be a lookout tower to watch for invading forces in ancient times.

Wish I could have seen it. Have not been able to charge my computer o n the boat and juice is getting low. WIll try again when we have the motor running today. We have a fairly short sail today. So we take out time getting going and there is a nice wind so we sail off and are just having a great day. I have rested most of the morning and am still stiff but go on deck to steer for awhile and it’s great fun. We are ripping along at 7 knots under main and jib even though we are pinching upwind. Heeled well over and rocking.

The wind keeps building so we head up into the wind and put a reef in main( reduce the sail area) And shorten the jib( sam e thing) this gives us less sail power but better control. We tack again (change direction) and are heading along towards a good swimming beach but decide we would rather go to our next stop at the town of Orei on the island Evia.

We try to sail into the wind and drop the main but the jib back winds and blows us into a maneuver called hoveto where the wind is pushing in equal and opposite directions on the main sail and the jib and hold you dead in the water. So we start the engine and power out of hoveto and back into the win to drop the mainsail and the turn and run before the wind with just the jib. It’s very hard to control both main and jib in that much wind.

You can severely damage your sail rig if accident jibe and the mainsail flies across the wind and slams on the other side. Can knock your mast down. Very bad! So we fly in under jib along. We get into harbor and are told to rig for Mediterranean docking between two other boats. This type of docking is standard here but not done in the US. Takes a bit of getting used to. We rig lots of fenders on both sides of the boat and lines off both side of the stern and move the dingy to the front of the boat. Then set the anchor ready to drop. Then you back in toward the space between two other boats.

We you are three or four boat lengths away you drop the anchor and pay out the chain until the stern (back of the boast reaches the dock. This involves lots of load talking and pushing the other boats aside a a foot or two on your way in! Everyone is making sure fenders are protecting the boats and that nothings caught. Then everyone tightens up the lines on their boats and go back to their business! It’s quite a production. A nd you have to come in straight backwards. Avoid all the fishing lines and the other anchor cables.

Makes sure your anchor doesn’t go through your dinghy on the way down and that you dot come into fast and bump another boat or too slow so the wind pushes you off course! Takes a good crew and we put Jules right in the slot. This is a much bigger town with about 20 tavernas and a little carnival right at the end of the dock. It’s about 5 so most shops are closed or quiet. My father, ‘Tha and the girls and I grab a taxi and head for the other side of the island and the famous hot springs. They are in a big building but the locals go to where it flows over a cliff into the sea.

Yo It was really cool to stand in the sea with hot shower hot mineral water falling 3o feet off a cliff onto your head. It felt great to get really hot and the dive into the cool sea and swim. We spent an hour there and headed back. It really helped my sore back muscles. So I made dinner. garlic, onions, Aubergine (eggplant) tomatoes, olives, courgettes(zucchini). Serve over egg noodles with some parmesan like cheese and red wine. With a few stuffed grape leaves and we are happy.

The girls and my brother head for the bumpers cars. My father heads for ice cream and I am off to the internet cafe to charge my computer and write in my log. So here I am. Drinking Amstel draft and listening to R.E.M. and other American bands. The town came alive about 8 pm. Everyone is out strolling on the dock looking at the boats and having a drink. Our walking the street long the harbor and sitting in the tavernas. It’s midnight and I am beat so I am going to load this and sign off. More pics next time.
Peace,
Allen