Season Finale
Our daily breakfast here in Greece is a pearler. These people make the best yoghurt, excellent honey, and the stone fruit is off the charts. It’s especially nice when they toss a few walnuts on top. We have this for brekkie whether we are making it on the boat or visiting a taverna on shore. I guess we’re trying to max out the vibe of Greece and all its culinary pleasures before we leave, and that day is fast approaching.
We left Corfu on a beautiful day sailing a broad reach of 10-12 knots with the gennaker up. The sea was flat and we had 25 nautical miles until we would reach Lakka on the island of Paxoi. We enjoyed the first 17 nautical miles and then, at the tip of Corfu, before entering the passage to Paxoi, the wind sort of died and we took the gennaker down. Thank heavens we did that as sure enough, once we got out there (with 9 nautical miles to go), the wind whipped up to 20-25 knots with confused seas, blowing forward of the beam. We needed to put a put two reefs in quickly. I recall the feeling of ‘oh my god, here we go again, why didn’t we just stay on Corfu, we’d be sipping a nice gin by now’. But at the same time I noticed a change in myself of feeling very confident in the boat, our ability to sail her and knowing everything would be okay, it was just something we had to get through. The fact we could see our destination clearly also made it easier; that and the 35 degrees outside temperature. I was at the helm while Gav was reefing and trimming, face in the sun, pondering all these ‘what if’ thoughts, (dreaming of a gin, was there still time?) when it was time to turn her into the wind and bring down the main before entering the bay. This is never nice in a big swell and we bounced up and down banging the bow down the waves. I couldn’t wait to get in to the bay and put our anchor down. There were two huge super (motor) yachts stern-to anchored at the mouth of the bay and you had to slip in between them to assess the anchor situation. It was very crowded, probably the most crowded bay we’d encountered, but stunning, clear water. Every boat at anchor was facing a different direction, shielded by the wind with those big monsters at the mouth. We put the anchor down and like everyone else, we were just metres away from our neighbour, but we were happy enough. Then the bigger of the two super yachts left and everything changed. We all started to line up correctly as the wind filled in and it became apparent we had to move in order not to tap the boat next door. We re-anchored easily but never really relaxed for the whole night, and like many other boats in the bay, made an early morning exit out.
We decided to sail to the mainland and probably in hindsight, wished we would have explored this island more, but the conditions were perfect to head across so we took the opportunity. Our first stop was Parga, and the bay we anchored in is called Valtou. There’s a resort there and it was unpleasant at times with fizz boats towing kids, jet skis, and waterskiing taking place right amongst the boats at anchor. It seemed very dangerous to us and you’d certainly never see that in New Zealand. But we had a good hold, the water quality was good and there were many boats with us at anchor so we stayed for a couple of nights. We went ashore and walked over the hill to the town of Parga, full of busy restaurants, bars and cool shops. We toured the Venetian Castle of Parga which overlooks the town and watched a young man refit a new Greek flag to the top.
We’d met a really nice French couple on Corfu, Patrick and Sandra cruising on their Catana, 50 who recommended a bay to us called Two Rocks, just a few clicks south and we decided to make our way there. This was a real find and we had some of the best water we’d encountered on the trip. Scala Beach is a popular (very small) beach in Two Rocks Bay and loads of families were onshore. Boaties and other people were snorkelling, paddling and swimming here, it’s no wonder as the water is so clear with loads of friendly fish. At the top of the hill is a ramshackle bar and food joint with cheap burgers, hotdogs and cocktails, beer and wine. We went up and dined, and although the food is not worthy of mention, the view and ambience were very special. We also took a big walk one day into the interior and saw many herds of goats and their shepherds walking about. A bit like rural NZ - but with goats, not sheep!
Suddenly it was a matter of 10 days before we would be entering Cleopatra Marina and preparing Waiata for her haul out for winter. This started to nag at us and the ‘to do’ list to make everything happen on time was massive. The wind was blowing fairly strong, and was very changeable so we made a decision to head in, check out the lay of the land and explore the areas around where we’d be eventually hauling out.
Cleopatra Marina is located on the Aktion Peninsula in the Ionian Sea in the city of Preveza. There’s a whole cruising ground around there, but it’s not quite the same ‘sea’ we were used to. It’s described by cruisers as ‘clean but green’ so when you’re swimming, you’re not marvelling at the clarity of the clear, blue sea like most places in Greece. Still, it’s warm water, has its own kind of beauty and we made the most of it. A highlight was visiting Vonitsa, its village (heaps of great tavernas, grocery stores, shops) and castle - yes, another Venetian castle, they are all over the place! We were able to get our sheets washed and ironed for all cabins and have other laundry done from a laundromat service there, very cheap. Bit by bit during this phase of the trip, we started knocking jobs off the list in order to streamline our exit off the boat. We did manage to find a reason to celebrate pretty much every night with a dinner and dancing, our rationale being, ‘it’s the last week after all’, or ‘the 3rd to last night’, and so on. As if we needed to conjure up permission to party! I cooked some nights but we also dined at some wonderful tavernas. It’s super cheap to eat there and the food is great, a Greek Salad always included as part of the meal.
We had two nights in a wet berth at Cleopatra Marina and on one of the days we hired a taxi to take us to some archaeological sites nearby in Preveza. The first one we visited was Kassopi, an ancient city built in the middle of the 4th century BC and destroyed by the Romans in 167 BC. The remains are still something to behold, including the amphitheatre, in remarkable condition given its age. Then we drove on to Nikopolis, an ancient Roman city built by Augustus Caesar to commemorate his victory in 31BC over Marc Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Aktium. This ruin is large, impressive and incredible to be amongst and we were pleased to learn that UNESCO is in the process of applying World Heritage site status and helping to clean it up.
On September 14 they hauled Waiata out to land. I confess to having a tug in my heart and wet eyes as they took her out. She’s like family now after all, plus it’s pretty scary seeing your big baby lifted up by that massive crane! I watched (and filmed) as Gavin escorted her walking next to the tractor who took her to her place knowing he’d be full of emotion too.
While on our hard berth (we stayed on board for one night) Gavin concentrated on his jobs, pickling the water maker, servicing the outboard motor, removing the headsail, (I helped!), removing loose blocks from halyards, window covers on, you get the picture. I cleaned the boat from top to tail and removed all unused food. We gave a big Farro Fresh bag full of food to the Tech team there which I hope got used. Boat owners staying on the hard at Cleopatra can book services at the marina where they will look after your boat regularly until you return, which we have, cleaning, airing etc.
We flew to Athens on the 15th of September, via Corfu. It took ages to access our hotel as there was a protest going on (apparently these happen fairly regularly and our location, being close to the Greek Parliament, is the perfect spot for this activity) and the street was blockaded! It took about 2 hours total in the (air-conditioned) van to get into the edgy New Hotel in the Plaka district from the airport, a journey that would normally take 45 minutes! It’s a wonderful hotel full of beautiful contemporary art, design and installations and located in the best area where you can walk everywhere. There’s a very nice roof bar and restaurant on the 7th floor which we frequented when not out touring, shopping and dining out at some of the excellent tavernas in the area.
A good friend Matt from NYC met us in Athens and he joined us on private tours we’d organised through the wonderful and highly capable Kerry Graham in Auckland at Private Travel Co. Our guide Marisa was outstanding and we toured the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and the new Acropolis Museum on day one. Day two we were driven in comfort to the Cape of Sounion and visited the Temple of Poseidon, a very special day and a perfectly appropriate finish to our trip.
I write most of this from a MIQ facility in Rotorua New Zealand where we have another week of our 14-day quarantine to go. We know we’re very lucky to have secured a spot here when many of our fellow Kiwis are not so lucky. Here’s hoping things begin to pivot now that we’re achieving better vaccination rates and we can create a different, lighter (albeit safe) approach to this MIQ situation going forward.
Our plan is to return to Greece next year (May/June?) for another season where we will explore more of the Greek Islands in earnest. Right now though we are aching to see our family and friends - especially the grandsons - and absorb the wonderful vibes of home in beautiful Aotearoa, New Zealand. I personally can’t wait to see the Pohutakawa come out in flower, it’s my favourite time of year.
Thank you to all who read and/or followed our maiden voyage on Waiata, it’s been fun writing about it and will be a good record to recall for us when we’re in the old folks home one day! Until next season, all the best from Gavin and I.
Leaving Corfu for Paxoi
Leaving Parga
Two Rocks Bay