Corfu Island

 

Old Fortress of Corfu

Corfu is the northernmost Ionian island with the Albanian border being less than 15 nm away.  It was a quick sail to Corfu from Paxos but there was a lot of traffic ... pleasure boats and ferrys.  We had reservations to stay at Mandraki Marina which lies just the other side of the Old Fortress.  The marina is a bit rugged but historic.  You actually have to go through the Old Fortress to get out into the city which is very awesome.  Mandraki marina is actually run by the local sailing club and is a great place to stage a visit to the city of Corfu.

Mandraki Marina

 The city of Corfu is flanked by two huge castles that have protected the city over the years.  Although, the island spent years under Venetian, French and British rule before being reunited with Greece they can lay claim to never having been defeated by the Ottoman's.  Corfu is known for being a heavily fortified city and the only European capital flanked by two fortresses.

 

Sea Moat separating the town from the fortress

The city of Corfu was separated from the fortress by a sea moat - a divider really between the fortress and the town.  They used a moveable bridge to cross over between the two.  Now there is a permanent bridge linking the two.  While the Old Fortress is now largely a tourist attraction is also houses the library and the Music School for the University.  One of the best things about the marina was listening to the piano music wafting down from the music school each day.  

Old Tower at the Old Fortress

We had initially planned to spend just a few days in Corfu but the weather did not cooperate.  First a one day delay and then another and then another as the wind and rain pummeled the island.  Boats were scrambling to reach a safe harbor as we saw 54 knots of wind!  We ventured outside in the rain by foot but Talaria stayed put until it all subsided.  Our lines reinforced we just rode it out as we thanked our lucky stars that we reserved a spot before the storm hit.  Michael and I have decided that Greece is possibly the windiest place on the planet.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't but just when we thought we had seen the highest wind we would see... it just got stronger.

Corfu town

The weather delay did however give us some extra time to visit the city so no complaints.  For those of you who are James Bond fans you will recognize the image above as it was a scene in the movie "For Your Eyes Only".  The movie was, of course, filmed on the island of Corfu. 

Mandraki Marina

 Once the weather breaks we will be leaving for the most westerly Ionian islands on our way to Italy.  Our plan is to stay a day or so in Erikoussa and maybe a day in Othnoi before heading over to Otranto, Italy.  And then on to our last stop for the season - Brindisi, Italy.  Talaria will spend the winter in Brindisi while we head home for the holidays. 

Paxos, Greece

 

Anchorage at Paxos with Corfu in the distance

When we first anchored in Lefkada there was only one other boat at anchor and it was a Canadian boat.  In the evening, they stopped by to say hello and as it turns out she is American but has lived in Canada most of her life. Oddly enough her father actually lives in a town near us (DuQuoin, Illinois), now what are the chances that you run across someone at a anchorage in Greece who has family in your neck of the woods.  Unbelievable.  All we could do was shake our heads and marvel at the smallness of our world.

Close quarters!!

 Initially,from Lefkada we were planning to sail to Preveza and go to a marina but we didn't need fuel or water so we decided to sail on to Paxos instead.  The wind was supposed to be out of the east but instead it was out of the northeast.  The waves were big and the seas rough.  Later, in the morning the wind did finally shift east so we were on a beam reach but the waves were on our beam as well.  Hoisting the mainsail meant steering into some big nasty waves so we just limped along with the staysail until the waves calmed down a bit.  Of course, no sooner than we had the mainsail up the wind shifted again and was now behind us.  The mainsail is not good for downwind sailing so the mainsail came down. Some folks describe the wind in these parts as an adolescent who never knows which direction to go.  We can certainly attest to the winds fickleness😉 

Image from anchor alarm

 We had decided on an anchorage on the north end of the island called Lakka.  That is actually the name of the little village there.  Mind you this is the "off season" but you sure would not know it looking at that anchorage.  It was crowded!  When we first arrived it actually wasn't bad but all day long the boats kept coming.  By 1800, I counted 38 boats in the anchorage.  Of course, next morning a departing boat pulled up our anchor with his which we did not discover until the anchor alarm notified us.  This time we put a  float on the anchor before we re-set it.  We then went into town for a bit for some WiFi.  Wouldn't you know it in that short amount of time another charter boat came in and then pulled up our anchor trying to set theirs!  What the heck - twice in one day😕.  We re-set the anchor yet again and hoped for the best.  That sort of thing happens all the time over here as there are a lot of charter boats. and overall just a lot of boats.  Later that night I checked on our anchor alarm and was stunned to see that there were three boats showing up in our "swing circle".  I have never seen that occur before - boats were close, very close. Thank goodness the next morning we were able to get out of that mass of boats without any drama and set sail for Corfu.

Lefkada, Greece

 

Vassiliki on the island of Lefkada

I just really liked this little Island.  We sailed over from Ithaca and anchored in a bay near the village of Vassiliki.  Its a windy spot but the holding is good.  So windy, in fact, that they have named their wind.  Eric, the named wind, shows up every day without fail.  Needless, to say they take advantage of this predictable wind and do a lot of windsurfing and sailing in the bay.

Taverna in the village of Vassiliki

We enjoyed the afternoon watching the windsurfers and sailing classes.  What really surprised us was that the sailing "students" were not children but older adults.  It looked like a play place for retired ex- pat Brits!  How nice... a beautiful little island that is so close to the other islands that its an afternoon sailing to the next island and back.  And to boot, Lefkada is connected to the mainland via a causeway.  Not to mention the great little bay for sailing, windsurfing, kayaking or swimming.

 

Seagull perched on the Greek fishing boat - Vassiliki

The only downside that I see is the winding mountain roads.  But I suppose you get used to driving on them.  I actually found a little spot where we could build a small house that was not all the way up the mountain!  I suppose the other downside is that Vassiliki is a resort town but when the tourists leave I am sure its heaven💝.

Ithaca of Homer's Odyssey

Baby Church (coming into Vathy, Ithaca)

Once we had reached the Peloponnese we were struck by how green and lush the land is and that proved to be true of the Ionian islands as well.  Comparatively,  the Dodecanese and Cyclades are barren and dry.  Those islands see little rainfall and by the end of summer they are bone dry.  The Dodecanese and Cyclades have no fresh water source and are totally dependent on rain which occasionally does not occur all year.  They capture rainwater in a collective reservoir and rely on that water until it runs out... then they have to have water shipped to them.  Unlike, Bermuda they do not have rain collections systems on their roofs nor do they have de-salination plants.  By summers end the islands just look parched.  But in the spring (if it rains) they are green like the Ionian islands.  

Vathy Harbor, Ithaca

Ithaca, the home of Homer's Odysseus in the Osyssey, has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC.  It is a beautiful island.  Green, lush and mountainous.  The sail over to the island from Zakynthos was a bit rough but smoothed as we neared Ithaca.  And suddenly there was a ton of traffic - mostly sailboats.  We reached the harbor early since we left at 0400!  It was a very nice large harbor with few boats at anchor.  After what we felt was a well deserved nap we went to town for a bit.  Most shops were closed as the tourist season is over but it was nice to have a look around. 

Ithaca

All around the island there are claims of proof that King Odysseus was there.  Scholars disagree as to whether or not Ithaca is even the actual island described in Homer's epic poem.  There are those who believe it may have been another island altogether based on the descriptions.  Regardless, its a beautiful laid back island that we enjoyed. 

Lots of sailboats

While Ithaca may not be on the land "tourist" track it certainly is an island that is visited by sailboat.  We saw more sailboats out sailing there than we had seen our whole time sailing in Greece.  It is a popular cruising ground.  With the Ionian islands being close to the mainland the sailing is in more sheltered water for those who do not enjoy rough seas.  We also prefer to have calmer seas but our route took us a bit further off shore.  From Ithaca it was a nice sail over to Lefkada, another very nice island albeit more touristy.
 

First stop in the Ionian Island chain - Zakynthos

Talaria and the Ferry

After a few days of rest and relaxation we left Katakolo and the Peloponnese behind for the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian. There is a nice harbor there with a fellow who has mooring balls that you can tie to if you eat at his restaurant.  We thought we would give it a try.  It was a nice sail over to the island but when we got in to the harbor we did not find the fellow that handles the mooring balls so we just tied up to the city quay.  Once we were secured Michael went down to talk to some Brits on another boat to see if it would be okay for us to tie up there and they said it would.  Meanwhile I had  reached the fellow with the mooring balls and he also said we could stay at the quay or tie up to a mooring ball whichever we chose.  Michael chose to stay at the quay but I was a bit hesitant due to the huge ferry that comes into this small harbor.  The ferry docks very close to where were tied up... way too close for my liking😔.   But Kosta (the fellow with the moorings) said so long as we were behind the yellow line it was okay.  We stayed.

 

Fellow selling his homemade wine and other goodies

After a bit we decided to walk around the little community and have some dinner.  Sadly, that did not turn out well as Michael got choked again and actually aspirated his fish.  The rest of the night was rough with me wondering where the nearest hospital was.  It did not come to that but I was more than a little worried.  I went through my medical kit and started him on an antibiotic (not the ideal one) to try and keep him from developing aspiration pneumonia.

The fellows delivery vehicle

The next day was windier than the first but Michael wanted to rest after his choking spell the night before.  All day long we were getting bashed into the quay and I kept adjusting the fenders to no avail.  Finally, we decided enough was enough we would just go pick up a mooring ball.  So we called Kosta and after about an hour he helped us get secured on a mooring.  Typically, he has his patrons drop their anchor as well for added security but he told us he thought we would be okay just tied to the mooring ball.  The mooring balls are all quite close together, which is a bit nerve wracking, but there would not be much swinging since everyone was on a mooring ball.

Boats all crowded together in the harbor

Kosta said it would not be too windy that night but we would need to find better shelter the next night because the wind would shift to the north and the harbor would not be safe.  That was okay with us as we were planning to leave the next morning anyway.  We thanked him for the heads up and enjoyed the peace now that we were not being bashed in to the quay!  We thought we would get a good nights sleep and be ready to go in the morning.

Ferry heading out the very small pass

By now you know how this story is going to end😅.  About 0230 it got very bouncy (sound familiar?).  I looked out and saw that the wind had shifted north early and there was a huge swell coming into the harbor.  Folks all around us were out messing with their boats.  And then the ones at the pier started leaving.  We tried to tough it out but it was pretty uncomfortable so at 0400 we also left the anchorage and set sail for Ithaca (can't sleep, might as well sail).  And of course, since the wind shifted north early we once again were beating into the wind and waves.  Ugh!!  In all the time we have been sailing we have only had to leave an anchorage in the middle of the night three times.  And all three of those times have been here in Greece!!  The old adage about the Mediterranean is that there is either "too much wind or not enough wind".  So far in the Aegean and Ionian it has almost consistently been too much wind.  Its been the rare day where it blows a steady 15 knots in the same direction.  In the course of a day the wind will be all over the compass.  Its the craziest thing and something we are not accustomed to.  On top of that the weather forecasts are not very accurate.  Apparently, they have a very hard time forecasting the weather here as it changes so frequently.  Definitely, the wind forecast changes very often.  Its an entirely different sailing environment but we are learning!

Birthplace of the Olympic Games - Olympia, Greece

 

Olympic Stadium

The reason many sailors make a stopover in Katakolo is because of its close proximity to ancient Olympia. We were surprised to find that the birthplace of the Olympic Games was in the Peloponnese, far from Mt. Olympus in the northern part of the country.  But how convenient for us as we were able to literally walk a few steps from Talaria (at the municipal marina) to the train stop to board the train for Olympia.  The train stop was just the other side of the parking lot!  

Walkway to the Stadium

 The sanctuary of Olympia is vast and a bit hard to decipher.  Although the ruins of various structures remain it takes some imagination to see it as it once was.  The stadium itself was a bit of a surprise it was smaller than I imagined and there was no seating.  Spectators just sat on the sloping ground to the sides of the stadium.  There is an archway that the athletes walked through to enter the stadium but it was hard to get a photo as there were, of course, tons of people from two huge cruise ships here at the same time as us.  

Temple of Hera

 We now think of this site simply in terms of the Olympic games but it was also a major religious site.  Sacrifices were made to the Gods here prior to the games in a dedicated sacrificial site.  Both the Olympic games and sanctuary flourished until the decision was made to squash pagan religions.  In 426 AD,  emperor Theodosius II closed all ancient sanctuaries and the Olympic Sanctuary fell by the wayside.  With that the Olympic games came to an end.  The games were not resurrected until 1894.  The Olympic games of antiquity were only open to athletes that were free Greek men.  Women were not even allowed to watch the games!  When it was decided to resurrect the games athletes from all over the world were invited to participate in order to honor excellence the world over.

Practice area for wrestling and boxing (yes - boxing!)

 The archaeological site consists of practice areas for athletes, administrative type buildings, guest buildings, baths and of course, temples for the Gods.  Without doubt the most important temple was to honor Zeus.  Through the ages the sanctuary was built up and monuments to honor different leaders were constructed - such as the one for Alexander the Great and his father King Philip.  

 

What is left of the Temple of Zeus

 

Monument to honor Alexander the Great and King Philip II

 Although the columns, stones and other structures remain on the site the sculptures that were once there have been removed and placed in museums.  There are two museums on the site with the most important one being the one that houses many of the statues.  

The Nike Statue (Winged Victory)

 You could easily spend many, many hours at the site and the museums but we had to catch the last train to Katakolo which limited our time somewhat.  That being said we were able to walk through the entire site and one museum in about three hours.

The Statue Hall

Such an amazing place... we were stunned that so many of the statues and structures have survived so long and look so good.  The sculptures in particular are breathtaking.  If you ever go to visit the site do not miss the Olympia Archaeological Museum - it is a must see!
 

Koroni and on to Katakalo

Koroni, Greece

  We left Port Kagio mid morning.  I let Michael sleep a little later than usual as he wasn't feeling the greatest.  When he woke up we took off.  It was pretty windy and the seas were choppy as we set off across the bay.  We arrived at the anchorage in Koroni, Greece in the afternoon.  The bay was large with plenty of places to anchor and it wasn't too deep.  

Koroni, Greece

All in all we felt pretty good about the anchorage.  The anchor set quickly and all was right with the world.  Once we were settled Michael laid down to rest as he still wasn't feeling top notch.  A couple hours later a few more boats came in including the Swedish couple (Sven and Lisa) that were on the same path as us.  One boat anchored kind of close but at the time I thought it would be okay due to the direction of the wind.  Boats at anchor will all swing the same direction as their boats head up into the wind.  Therefore, sometimes even if a boat is a bit close it may not be too much of a problem.

Sunrise on the way to Katakalo

 However, one thing we have noticed here is that folks tend to not put out much scope when they anchor.  We put out 5:1 (so for 20 feet of water depth we would put out 100 feet of anchor chain) but they often put out 3:1 or less.  That means that they don't have as good of a grip and they don't swing on the anchor as much as we do. Everything was good and then about 0400 it got very bouncy.  The wind had changed directions 180 degrees and now the boat that was in front of us was behind us.  There was a lot a swell coming into the anchorage and we were stretched out on our chain which put us closer than we wanted to be to the other boat.  Because they had less chain out their boat did not move back as much as ours.  So... at 0400 we decided to just be on our way.  We pulled the anchor and started out for the next anchorage (Pylos).  

Katakolo

 Before long we looked at our AIS (automated information system) which tells us what other boats are near us and we saw Randivag (the Swedish boat) had left the anchorage as well.  Guess we weren't the only ones not happy about all the swell coming in to the anchorage!  By the time we reached Pylos we had changed our minds and decided to carry on to Katakalo.  There we would just stop for a few days and do some sightseeing.  Olympia is nearby - the site of the original Olympic games. And we were done with anchoring for a bit!

Greek fishing boat

It was a 75 nm day which is a long day for us but we were still in by early afternoon.  Katakalo has the most amazing harbor master making it a perfect stop.  And the town is just very nice with the only downside being the cruise ships that come into that harbor.  I am sure y'all have figured out by now I am not fond of cruise ships!  

Greek fishing boat

 

There is a train that goes to Olympia from the marina.  You actually just walk across the parking lot and get on the train.  So we will take the train to Olympia and see the archeological site which will be a fun day.  Next up -Olympia.

 
 

Port Kagio

The bay at Port Kagio

Port Kagio was the next anchorage right before the next Cape.  It was a nice sail over and since we got there pretty early we had a better choice of where to anchor.  Port Kagio is a lovely little village with a nice bay.  The water is pretty deep until you get closer to shore so everyone lines up in a neat little row close to shore.  Fortunately, there were not too many boats trying to squeeze in there.

The beautiful blue Mediterranean water

 As with most of Greece, Port Kagio has its share of  "baby churches".  Only this time instead of just looking at them from the sea we were able to hike up and peek inside.  

Baby Church

The churches are all maintained and filled with religious icons.  Apparently, some are now having to lock up because vandals have been stealing the items in the churches.  So sad.  Fortunately, for us this particular church was not locked up.

Inside the Baby Church

Its so nice for the villagers to have this little church to go to and find solace.  And to be totally alone if they choose.

Inside the Baby Church

The entire church is covered with religious icons and paintings.  We were so happy that we finally were able to visit one of the little churches after seeing so many of them from the sea.  They literally are everywhere in Greece. 

Second Baby Church

And sometimes they are just a few feet apart!  This second "baby church" was very near the first but not as easy to get to.  We decided not to trek down to it feeling satisfied after visiting the first one.

Port Kagio

 The Swedish couple that we met arrived at this anchorage as well so we all went to eat at the little taverna on shore.  They put their tables right up to the waters edge so you sit (well balanced so you don't tumble over) with the water lapping at your feet.  Such a great little place.  And all the better because the cruise ships can't get here.  A little hidden gem.  

Coastline around Port Kagio

As has been the case throughout Turkey and Greece by evening the wind comes funneling down the mountains.  Port Kagio was no exception.  The wind gusted to close to 40 knots through the night but everyones anchor held - thank goodness.  The next day we set off for Koroni which is a town right before the last Cape around the Peloponnese. 

Rounding Cape Malea

Cape Malea

 Finally, finally, finally we were able to round the first Cape of the Peloponnese.  After five days of meltemi winds (gusting to 30 and 40 knots for 5 nights) we were ready for a change of pace.  There is a Swedish couple here that we met in Milos.  They have also been waiting for a weather window to go around the Cape.  At 0700 both we and the Swedish couple departed with maybe 2 knots of wind.  So we just motored around the Cape without any problem.  There were quite a few sailboats going around and a lot of commercial traffic but no big wind gusts to contend with.

"Baby" Church on Cape Malea

According to an anchorage guide the anchorage on the southern side of Elafonisos is very rolly due to passing cargo ships.  We decided to avoid that and anchor on the east side.  The wind was due to shift to the east but it would be so light that we did not foresee any problems.  The bay was big enough and we were the only boat there!  Perfect so far.  We did have a bit of a problem with the anchor setting as there are some flat white rocks on the bottom that throw you off.  We felt like we were on rock at first but then the anchor seemed to catch.  All good!  We enjoyed the sunset and the fact that we had the anchorage to ourselves.  Around 2200 the wind shifted to the east but instead of the 2 - 3 knots forecast it was blowing 12 to 14 knots!!!  What the heck.  And then the anchor alarm went off - we were dragging the anchor with a dangerous lee shore nearby.  We went out and re-set the anchor and this time we were confident it had set well.  But around 2300 the anchor alarm went off again!  That was too much so this time we decided to pull the anchor and go to the anchorage on the other side (the south side).  At midnight we were motoring around the corner to the other anchorage. 

 

Elafonisos Anchorage (first anchorage)

 There were several sailboats anchored there already but we managed to find a spot although we had to anchor in 34 feet of water.  Thank goodness, the anchor bit quickly but with the wind and the passing shipping traffic Talaria was rolling violently from side to side (the other boats were as well).  Another sleepless night :(.  Hoping for a better anchorages moving forward.