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