Greece - The Cyclades (Kikládhes Nísoi)
Nísoi Lévitha
Órmos Lévitha 22nm, 3hrs 50min, motored
Friday September 6 - Tuesday 10
Mooring ball €7 for first night only (~AUD$11)
Friday September 6 - Tuesday 10
Mooring ball €7 for first night only (~AUD$11)
Lévitha was gorgeous, laid out with moorings and with only two other boats in the bay and one more arriving later. We picked up a mooring ball with great aplomb, backing up to it into the wind. Once the port bow rope was secured the Captain casually asked "Are you going for a swim?" hence I got to help attach a starboard bow line. Then I heard another casual question "What's the mooring like?". A quick dive and I gave assurance we were secured by a heavy chain to a submerged mooring block. At ease Captain.
We were without internet (horror of horrors) and I had a lovely afternoon tackling papers I'd been meaning to sort through for four months (yes I'd brought them from home). In the afternoon a handsome fisherman approached the boat and invited us to dinner. Well it wasn't exactly like that. He'd come to collect a mooring fee and said if we were coming to the taverna that evening we could pay it then. I'll take that as an invitation.
We'd been told by friends that you had to push your way through sheep and goats to get to the taverna, so you can imagine my disappointment when as we approached there was only one lone sheep. Another soon bounded across our path though, then a third, but that was it and they promptly disappeared through a gateway. However, while I was taking photos of Colin near a giant metal mooring ball a few sheepish faces appeared through the same gateway, then a few more behind them, and soon there were flocks of wooly babes flocking over to see what was going on. It seems this was their regular afternoon stomping ground and that I was obstructing the passage of a small group. They stared me down, bleated, and then I believe one stomped its foot. Not being one to stand in the way of progress I shot a dozen photos then slowly stepped aside. What I loved most though was not the sheep frolicking around having a gay old time, but the chickens that wandered amongst them, seemingly not bothered by the clattering of hooves. They came out unscathed so I guess it worked for them.
At dinner the lovely fisherman and his very sweet young son and daughter seated us, took our order, and brought plates of meatballs, fish and Greek salad. We were warmly greeted by the crew from the New Zealand catamaran, Cloudy Bay, sitting at the next table. One of the men remarked on our smooth mooring and said he'd wanted to offer help but his wife wouldn't let him. It didn't escape his notice that I'd had the duty of checking the mooring too. Cruisers love to watch others mooring up. It provides much entertainment. They'd already had a laugh with a young German couple, the lass having tried her hand at rowing to shore and taking the dinghy every which way but the direction of the pier. The lad had taken over, and the Kiwi man politely asked if she'd be rowing them back to the boat.
Saturday was busy with snorkelling, sewing, making flatbreads, culling hundreds of photos of sheep, and climbing the hills to see if we could get internet. The lovely lady from the taverna offered us the use of the their phone when I explained what we were doing wandering around up there.
In the afternoon a German boat cruised in with the main still up, sailing perilously close to the shore where they appeared to get stuck. The fisherman, having just done his rounds, watched from his dinghy and Colin watched from the cockpit. I heard a running commentary from upstairs...Why don't they put the main down? Why don't they send someone up the mast? Why don't they move away from the shore? Why don't they turn around? So I asked Why don't you go and help them? Eventually the German guy went to their aid (his partner having had the same response as me) and offered to climb up the mast but they refused help. They accepted it later to tie up though. Having gone to a less windy area to bring the main down they returned, but the four burly guys seemed at a loss as to how to pick up a mooring ball, even though they'd been here before, so Colin jumped in the dinghy and assisted. He led them to a mooring away from another boat they'd been drifting towards (you could see the alarmed owner wipe his brow with relief) but on requesting a mooring line Colin was handed a rope the thickness of his little finger. Giving them the benefit of the doubt he waited to see if a sturdier rope would be forthcoming, and when it wasn't he politely but firmly suggested they attach something stronger.
At dinner we compared notes with others in the restaurant until the German crew arrived to give us the whole story. The taverna was alive with cross talk between all the tables - three English men on a 38 footer, three men from the Netherlands on a larger boat, the four German men on the 47' Hanse, Galatea, who all live in Turkey, and the younger German couple. We got lots of cruising tips and unsolicited advice regarding the weather. What a great place to meet other cruisers and hear lots of stories.
Sunday we were the only boat left in the bay, everyone else having sailed south or east with the wind. We did a long swim around the buoys, Colin naked because he could. The day was then spent cleaning the boat, made more flatbread bread and muesli, culling more sheep photos, and reading. In the afternoon I heard some colourful language in the galley and found Colin mopping up tea that he'd spilt across the table and unfortunately into the back of my laptop. We dried it quickly but it was making some disturbing noises that should not be heard emanating from a computer. After taking the back off and mopping up the remaining liquid we allowed time for it to dry then plugged it in. Nothing. Alas poor Mac, I knew him well. Ah well, now instead of updating the website I can get through all those books I have lined up to read, and I can get a new laptop! Two silver linings in one cup of spilt tea.
Ever helpful, Colin lent a hand to another boat morning up, and they later invited us over for drinks. It turned out Cath and Rick on 'Intention' are from Tasmania and in their first year of cruising, having bought their boat in Marmaris during the winter. We swapped lots of cruising tales and were able tell them how much we'd loved Croatia as they were planning to head that way for a season. Croatia gets a bad wrap on cruising forums because it's so expensive, so we were at least able to provide some positives of visiting the stunning coastline and magnificent old walled cities. We headed off to the taverna with a promise to swap some recipes and websites and contacts the following day.
Dinner was a more somber affair with three large tables keeping to themselves. We did chat with the all male crew of a German boat though as we escorted them back down the treacherous rocky path to the shore. They only had light from their phones and Colin had his super bright dive torch to light the way, so they bailed us up as we left and asked if they could walk with us. They were eight mates spending a week cruising, and on hearing our story the guy who'd hollered to us commented how he thought our plan was very reasonable, and how it was unusual to find a wife who liked sailing as much. I told him Colin's wife doesn't like sailing at all and that she's at home and I'm his girlfriend. He seemed to find this acceptable.
Colin came up with a brilliant idea Monday morning. I've got a change of plan he says. Let's go to Amorgós instead of Paros. There are lots of places within a short distance we can explore with our next guests, and they can get a ferry there directly from Piraeus, and Skinousa is only a short distance away so we can explore that too. He continued to tell me all the virtues of his new plan until I said "You don't need to convince me Colin. I've been suggesting that for days!"
The day was spent doing the usual stuff plus another swim around the mooring buoys, with both of us in bathers this time due to the company of two other boats.
Colin took up position in the spectator box in the afternoon as another eight boats came in, rating them out of ten for their mooring prowess. The US catamaran only scored 1/10 because it took them half an hour to tie up, even with a manned dinghy in the water. The Swiss Hanse got 5/10, losing points on the backing up part of the process. The Germans scored 8/10. They had good technique but points were deducted for getting their boat hook tangled and stuck in the mooring line. A chartered Hanse 57 scored 0/10, not just because they were assisted by the Americans to tie up but because they moored in a spot too small for them and were swinging onto the boats next to them. They soon left the bay altogether as the only other free mooring balls were in shallow water too shallow for them. The bay was, for all intents and purposes, full. Colin dinghyed over to Cath and Rick to invite them for drinks before dinner. We'd both decided not to eat at the restaurant as we figured every man and his dog would be up there given the bay was full, though we didn't actually see too many people go to shore, most opting to stay in.
Prior to the arrival of our guests I was standing in my underwear debating if it was too cold for a dress and said "Maybe I should wear a t-shirt and pants". Colin, in just his shorts, said "Na. I think you're fine like that. In fact I was thinking of taking my pants off".
We had a great chat over drinks. We tried Cath's home made sparkling grapefruit drink and they tried our sparkling pomegranate and sage iced tea. They said we're the first cruisers they've met to have a positive influence on their health! How times have changed I thought to myself. We swapped contact details and blog sites and hope to cross paths again on future travels.
Click images to enlarge
We were without internet (horror of horrors) and I had a lovely afternoon tackling papers I'd been meaning to sort through for four months (yes I'd brought them from home). In the afternoon a handsome fisherman approached the boat and invited us to dinner. Well it wasn't exactly like that. He'd come to collect a mooring fee and said if we were coming to the taverna that evening we could pay it then. I'll take that as an invitation.
We'd been told by friends that you had to push your way through sheep and goats to get to the taverna, so you can imagine my disappointment when as we approached there was only one lone sheep. Another soon bounded across our path though, then a third, but that was it and they promptly disappeared through a gateway. However, while I was taking photos of Colin near a giant metal mooring ball a few sheepish faces appeared through the same gateway, then a few more behind them, and soon there were flocks of wooly babes flocking over to see what was going on. It seems this was their regular afternoon stomping ground and that I was obstructing the passage of a small group. They stared me down, bleated, and then I believe one stomped its foot. Not being one to stand in the way of progress I shot a dozen photos then slowly stepped aside. What I loved most though was not the sheep frolicking around having a gay old time, but the chickens that wandered amongst them, seemingly not bothered by the clattering of hooves. They came out unscathed so I guess it worked for them.
At dinner the lovely fisherman and his very sweet young son and daughter seated us, took our order, and brought plates of meatballs, fish and Greek salad. We were warmly greeted by the crew from the New Zealand catamaran, Cloudy Bay, sitting at the next table. One of the men remarked on our smooth mooring and said he'd wanted to offer help but his wife wouldn't let him. It didn't escape his notice that I'd had the duty of checking the mooring too. Cruisers love to watch others mooring up. It provides much entertainment. They'd already had a laugh with a young German couple, the lass having tried her hand at rowing to shore and taking the dinghy every which way but the direction of the pier. The lad had taken over, and the Kiwi man politely asked if she'd be rowing them back to the boat.
Saturday was busy with snorkelling, sewing, making flatbreads, culling hundreds of photos of sheep, and climbing the hills to see if we could get internet. The lovely lady from the taverna offered us the use of the their phone when I explained what we were doing wandering around up there.
In the afternoon a German boat cruised in with the main still up, sailing perilously close to the shore where they appeared to get stuck. The fisherman, having just done his rounds, watched from his dinghy and Colin watched from the cockpit. I heard a running commentary from upstairs...Why don't they put the main down? Why don't they send someone up the mast? Why don't they move away from the shore? Why don't they turn around? So I asked Why don't you go and help them? Eventually the German guy went to their aid (his partner having had the same response as me) and offered to climb up the mast but they refused help. They accepted it later to tie up though. Having gone to a less windy area to bring the main down they returned, but the four burly guys seemed at a loss as to how to pick up a mooring ball, even though they'd been here before, so Colin jumped in the dinghy and assisted. He led them to a mooring away from another boat they'd been drifting towards (you could see the alarmed owner wipe his brow with relief) but on requesting a mooring line Colin was handed a rope the thickness of his little finger. Giving them the benefit of the doubt he waited to see if a sturdier rope would be forthcoming, and when it wasn't he politely but firmly suggested they attach something stronger.
At dinner we compared notes with others in the restaurant until the German crew arrived to give us the whole story. The taverna was alive with cross talk between all the tables - three English men on a 38 footer, three men from the Netherlands on a larger boat, the four German men on the 47' Hanse, Galatea, who all live in Turkey, and the younger German couple. We got lots of cruising tips and unsolicited advice regarding the weather. What a great place to meet other cruisers and hear lots of stories.
Sunday we were the only boat left in the bay, everyone else having sailed south or east with the wind. We did a long swim around the buoys, Colin naked because he could. The day was then spent cleaning the boat, made more flatbread bread and muesli, culling more sheep photos, and reading. In the afternoon I heard some colourful language in the galley and found Colin mopping up tea that he'd spilt across the table and unfortunately into the back of my laptop. We dried it quickly but it was making some disturbing noises that should not be heard emanating from a computer. After taking the back off and mopping up the remaining liquid we allowed time for it to dry then plugged it in. Nothing. Alas poor Mac, I knew him well. Ah well, now instead of updating the website I can get through all those books I have lined up to read, and I can get a new laptop! Two silver linings in one cup of spilt tea.
Ever helpful, Colin lent a hand to another boat morning up, and they later invited us over for drinks. It turned out Cath and Rick on 'Intention' are from Tasmania and in their first year of cruising, having bought their boat in Marmaris during the winter. We swapped lots of cruising tales and were able tell them how much we'd loved Croatia as they were planning to head that way for a season. Croatia gets a bad wrap on cruising forums because it's so expensive, so we were at least able to provide some positives of visiting the stunning coastline and magnificent old walled cities. We headed off to the taverna with a promise to swap some recipes and websites and contacts the following day.
Dinner was a more somber affair with three large tables keeping to themselves. We did chat with the all male crew of a German boat though as we escorted them back down the treacherous rocky path to the shore. They only had light from their phones and Colin had his super bright dive torch to light the way, so they bailed us up as we left and asked if they could walk with us. They were eight mates spending a week cruising, and on hearing our story the guy who'd hollered to us commented how he thought our plan was very reasonable, and how it was unusual to find a wife who liked sailing as much. I told him Colin's wife doesn't like sailing at all and that she's at home and I'm his girlfriend. He seemed to find this acceptable.
Colin came up with a brilliant idea Monday morning. I've got a change of plan he says. Let's go to Amorgós instead of Paros. There are lots of places within a short distance we can explore with our next guests, and they can get a ferry there directly from Piraeus, and Skinousa is only a short distance away so we can explore that too. He continued to tell me all the virtues of his new plan until I said "You don't need to convince me Colin. I've been suggesting that for days!"
The day was spent doing the usual stuff plus another swim around the mooring buoys, with both of us in bathers this time due to the company of two other boats.
Colin took up position in the spectator box in the afternoon as another eight boats came in, rating them out of ten for their mooring prowess. The US catamaran only scored 1/10 because it took them half an hour to tie up, even with a manned dinghy in the water. The Swiss Hanse got 5/10, losing points on the backing up part of the process. The Germans scored 8/10. They had good technique but points were deducted for getting their boat hook tangled and stuck in the mooring line. A chartered Hanse 57 scored 0/10, not just because they were assisted by the Americans to tie up but because they moored in a spot too small for them and were swinging onto the boats next to them. They soon left the bay altogether as the only other free mooring balls were in shallow water too shallow for them. The bay was, for all intents and purposes, full. Colin dinghyed over to Cath and Rick to invite them for drinks before dinner. We'd both decided not to eat at the restaurant as we figured every man and his dog would be up there given the bay was full, though we didn't actually see too many people go to shore, most opting to stay in.
Prior to the arrival of our guests I was standing in my underwear debating if it was too cold for a dress and said "Maybe I should wear a t-shirt and pants". Colin, in just his shorts, said "Na. I think you're fine like that. In fact I was thinking of taking my pants off".
We had a great chat over drinks. We tried Cath's home made sparkling grapefruit drink and they tried our sparkling pomegranate and sage iced tea. They said we're the first cruisers they've met to have a positive influence on their health! How times have changed I thought to myself. We swapped contact details and blog sites and hope to cross paths again on future travels.
Click images to enlarge
Nísos Amorgós
Katápola 36nm, 6hrs 30min, sailed
Tuesday September 10 - Wednesday 11
Free anchorage
Tuesday September 10 - Wednesday 11
Free anchorage
Leaving as the sun was just starting to peek over the hill we made tracks for Amorgós, hoping to beat the strong winds. This we managed but the swell was most unpleasant, making it impossible to make drinks or prepare food. No big deal I know, but I prefer to have food before 1430hrs if at all possible. Colin of course loved it, standing at the helm in his element while I crawled back to bed to try and sleep out the worst of it.
We anchored in Katápola on Amorgós where originally we'd planned to provision and wait for our next guests to arrive on Saturday. However, having internet connection after four days Colin was finally able to check the forecast and saw a world of windy trouble headed our way in the form of a meltemi (northerly wind) running at 40kns for five days. Yikes! Time for plan B, which after much deliberation turned out to be an overnight sail of 140nm to Porto Kheli in the Argolic gulf. My heart sank at the thought of another long, uncomfortable sail and at not being able to explore beautiful Amorgós, and she really was beautiful. Once over the disappointment of plan B, and having learned some new expletives as they issued forth from the captains mouth, we visited the shore. Being part of the Cycladic Islands Amorgós appears to be subject to the same 'housing rules' as we saw on Paros, i.e. all the buildings were white with blue trim, or a close shade thereof. As well as picturesque accomodations straight out of a brochure we saw ducks, donkeys and chickens, and cats in and out of rubbish bins having their evening meal. Unfortunately our explorations were cut short as it was late and we had yet to cook dinner, but what a delightful place, and we only touched the surface of the wonders that it offers.
Click images to enlarge
We anchored in Katápola on Amorgós where originally we'd planned to provision and wait for our next guests to arrive on Saturday. However, having internet connection after four days Colin was finally able to check the forecast and saw a world of windy trouble headed our way in the form of a meltemi (northerly wind) running at 40kns for five days. Yikes! Time for plan B, which after much deliberation turned out to be an overnight sail of 140nm to Porto Kheli in the Argolic gulf. My heart sank at the thought of another long, uncomfortable sail and at not being able to explore beautiful Amorgós, and she really was beautiful. Once over the disappointment of plan B, and having learned some new expletives as they issued forth from the captains mouth, we visited the shore. Being part of the Cycladic Islands Amorgós appears to be subject to the same 'housing rules' as we saw on Paros, i.e. all the buildings were white with blue trim, or a close shade thereof. As well as picturesque accomodations straight out of a brochure we saw ducks, donkeys and chickens, and cats in and out of rubbish bins having their evening meal. Unfortunately our explorations were cut short as it was late and we had yet to cook dinner, but what a delightful place, and we only touched the surface of the wonders that it offers.
Click images to enlarge