Gulf of Corinth

After our final visit to the Port Police to get out transit log stamped for our departure we finally leave Itea around 9am. After a good night sleep Greg has decided that we are still going to the marina at the town of Corinth and we will transit the Canal on Wednesday.

We are giving Aegina a miss now as we are no longer wintering in Greece. Our next port of call after the Canal passage will be Poros, then Kea and we make it to Mykonos by Friday so hopefully have a few nights out.

It's Greek Easter from the Sunday and most things will be closed Sunday through to Tuesday but hopefully not the tourist spots. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the celebrations.

It's about a five hour motor into the slight winds, which for most of the time make it a cold journey. Well I'm cold and Greg is out in all his glory scrubbing and polishing the decks.

Finally we see our first pod of dolphins, about six young ones and two adults. They head towards us and at the last moment the adults turn around and do a big jump out of the air over our bow and then they are gone. About 30 mins later we see another large pod of about 30 dolphins. Greg has his dolphin cam ready for action and takes some great video hopefully to be shared with you shortly.

We arrive at the town of Corinth about 2.30pm. It's fairly shallow water around the harbour so we take it slowly while we try to find a place to tie off. Finally we decide to anchor and reverse stern to, it's the easy way and we tie off. It's only the plank that's a problem, we are very high off the wharf and it's a long way down, think I'll only be walking the plank once tonight.

We decide to check out the town but its siesta time and most shops and cafes are already closed. By the harbour we find a cafe and have a cold drink and snack, plus it has great Wi-Fi. Time for our siesta and a while later Greg heads back into town to buy some bread but they are sold out. The city has now come alive and the whole water front is full of cars and people. The cafes and shops are open and busy. I reluctantly agree to check it out and brave the plank and survive!

The hottest time of day is between 5 - 7pm and today's it's 28 degrees. Once the sun goes down after eight there is still a chill in the air but summer is definitely on the way.

Itea / Delphi

We arrive at Itea mid afternoon. It's a great afternoon, very warm and we find a space on the wharf, side on. Greg has fun with the the Port Police, seems like every place we go to wants to charge us now. We spend the afternoon at a few of the lovely Tavernas that are spread out along the wharf that goes for at least a mile. Finally we settle for a pizza place for a late lunch. Some how we adopt a lovely beagle dog. He follows us all the way home and rests on the wharf along side our yacht. By late afternoon it's reached it's peak heat and it's time to try out the shade cloth I made. I purchased matching sarongs last time in Bali so I could sow them together. Seems likes it's worked out OK. Keeps the heat and the sun away.

We have a well deserved siesta under the shade of the fading sun and spend the evening having another walk around town.

Although there is not a tide as such in the Med we do notice at times at least a tidal movement of at least a foot or so. Greg checks on the buffers at least four times throughout the night to move them as needed.

After the morning village bells toll numerous times and melodies I awake and go for a power walk around town. I find a supermarket and stock up on a few things. Unfortunately they don't have ice and you know what that means, it's been about five days now so not so happy!!!!!

Greg arranges for the fuel guy to deliver to us on the wharf and he arrives very promptly. It's a funny set up as he has to start a separate motor to pump the diesel; anyway it all works out well and that's another job done. Just in time for us to catch the 10.45am bus to Delphi. It's about a 30 min trip uphill all the way into the mountains. Passing by small villages where the locals have to remove themselves and their chairs from the boardwalk so the bus can pass.

It's pretty hot so glad we made this timeframe. The ancient site is relatively small and difficult to get around as it's uphill . The museum is a much better opportunity to really experience the sculptures and relics from this era so long ago. The most significant site here is the Temple of Apollo. Delphi was once thought to be the centre of the world and inhabitation dates back to the Mycenaean times (14th - 11th c BC).

After lunch at a local taverna we catch the 3pm bus back to Itea and finally we find a shop that sells ice. Now we can have a drink on the yacht!

We really enjoy our afternoon on the yacht under our shade cloth and out of the beating sun. Feels like summer is really here now. A few of the other yachties give Greg some advice on future destinations so he is busy re thinking in our plan. I'm not so sure........

Wind Tunnel

After visiting the Port Police and Marina Office we depart Mesolongion at about 9.30am. Next port of call is on the Island of Trizonia. Again on the mainland side of the Gulf of Patras. We are headed to Itea but won't make it today.

We are heading into a wind tunnel which is caused by the narrow straight, only one mile wide. The Greeks built the Rion Andirrion suspension bridge that was only completed in August of 2004 joining the mainland with the Peloponnese. It is the longest cable stayed bridge in the world. It's very impressive. Hopefully we will have some video to show you soon. Along the way we pass the large city of Patras just before the bridge and there are yachts racing with their spinnakers up. Just behind them we can still see the snow on the mountains of the Peloponnese.

Its a very cold breezy journey as we head into the winds gusting to 20 knots. We finally make it to Trizonia a small fishing village with a public marina. Unfortunately that means some of the yachts have been tied up for some time and look like they have been left there. There's a ketch that has sunk and we wonder if the owners even know. We tie off along side the jetty and head into town. As we walk by the dumpsters there is the most scariest cat we have ever seen and just walk as fast as we can past it. It's a weird feeling. We notice lots of little mountains of cat dodos everywhere and we wonder what's in store at the local town square.

There's lots of wild cats everywhere probably keeping away all the rats, who knows. We have a quick drink at one of the cafes and head back. Shame really as its very picturesque.

The wind is drying all my washing from yesterday so at least that job is getting done. It's still very windy and only settles down around 9pm. It's a home cooked meal tonight and early to bed as we are both wind blown. We only have a little trip tomorrow to Itea about 20 Nmls East. We are going there to visit the site the ancient sites at Delphi.

Unchartered waters

We depart Vathi at about 8am as the village bells toll at the crack of 7am here. We want an early start as we have a way to go. We are heading East; leaving the Ionians and heading into the Gulf of Patras. We have chosen Mesolongion which can be found on the south side of the Greek mainland; it's our next port of call mainly because they have a laundry service, I know how boring....

We motor all the way as the winds seem to like our route and keeps blowing directly into us. Its a very narrow channel on our approach to Mesolongion and we see a few turtles along the way. We have to be very alert as the local fisherman have dropped lines and nets across the channel entrance and are very difficult to see as they use dark blue floaties.

We arrive by 2pm and the locals help us dock. It's a bit of a kuffufle due to the wind but we finally are secure. First stop is the Marina and check out the laundry service.

We have a bite to eat at the local Sunset Cafe, owned by Spiros who comes all the way from Melbourne. The white wine is really nice and serviced in a little carafe bottle that looks like a Orchy bottle. Very cute.

Its's really hot and after numerous trips to the laundry to check on the washing and then the drying which does not seem to work very well I give up and hang some of our our wet clothes all over the yacht, looks like a Chinese laundry, but hopefully it will dry quicker that the using the dryer.

After showers we walk into town, about a 20 min walk and find the town centre and stop and have a drink. It's a very busy square and the locals are very friendly. Unfortunately the bugs are out tonight and hungry. We try a few shops looking for bug spray and finally find some citronella spray which works. We a looking for a taverna but seems there are mainly cafes in the main area of town. We settle on a BBQ grill place and Greg enjoys locally caught grilled prawns.

We head back the yacht for a reasonably early night and enjoy a good nights sleep.

Ouzo Bay here we come!

The village bells toll at 8am as a signal for activity to begin. We have a coffee at a close by cafe and finalise our provisioning. Greg finds the white wine from last night so we stock up on a few bottle as well.

By 10 am we depart Fiscardo for Ouzo Bay. For our followers of last year you may know where I mean. Greg is keen to go back to his favourite anchorage from last year and enjoy some more Ouzo time. On the way we stop into Vathi on Ithaca for lunch and I purchase a basil plant.

By 2pm we are anchored over a rocky shallow ledge at Ouzo Bay just around from Vathi. It's a picture perfect afternoon; the sun is out and it's finally hot, feels like summer is here. Greg takes the tender ashore to tie off as it's too cold to swim ashore just yet. After our first sunbathing session it's Ouzo Time! We get out supplies ready and head shore in the tender. It's hot enough to just have our feet in the water and enjoy the afternoon with our Ouzo. I hope you like the shots!

After a home cooked meal and a hot shower the wind picks up and we have to pick up the anchor at about 9pm and we head back to Vathi for the night. Greg cuts away the lines as we begin to touch the bottom.

We drop anchor in the harbour of Vathi for a good nights sleep.

Leaving Levkas

After a leisurely morning of shopping and cleaning we depart Levkas around noon.

We are now heading to one of our favourite villages on Kefalonica called Fiscardo. It's a very pleasant motor for about three hours. Greg is getting all the video mounts ready including our dolphin cam. Lets hope we see some!

We arrive at about 3pm and tie up stern to in front of one of the restaurants, we are lucky to get one of the better places left on the jetty. It's also good to see some bars and shops open already.

The locals are getting ready for the season. They are cleaning and painting their shop fronts. It's such a pretty village.

We get a visit from the Port Police so Greg goes and visits him to have our paperwork checked and pay our dues.

We are planning on staying two nights and catch up on some sleep and hopefully get our body clocks on Greek time.

We have a few pre dinner drinks at one of the balcony bars and notice the fisherman next to our yacht pull out a huge swordfish. It's about 30 kilos without it's head. They are sawing and slicing it for the locals. We end up at Roula's for dinner, a grill house.

The sun is shining

Finally we wake up to a sunny warm day and oh yes I finally sleep in yeah!!!!

The church bells ring and the village is awake. After some home cooked breakfast and coffee we go for a walk to check out one of the local beaches called Emiele. It's about a thirty min walk and it's worth the climb. It's breath taking. It's so nice to be able to wear summer clothes for the first time since being here.

Back at the village we stop for a coffee and yummy orange syrup cake, it's delicious. A cruise liner is in the first of the season and a few Aussies stop by to say hello.

I'm really looking forward to just chillin out today it's great to be able to lie in the cockpit and have a snooze. Looks like the weather is improving now.

After a relaxing afternoon and siesta we head out for dinner at the only other taverna open. It's a good choice as the waiter is very friendly and chatty plus they have freshly caught fish and seafood. Greg picks the lobster for us and we are recommended the local Cephalonie San Gerassimo white wine, it's a little bit naughty but very delicious.

After eating both our complimentary desserts Greg is feeling very sick by 2am. He is praying to the porcelain god but feels a lot better afterwards.

Happy 22

I wake at the crack for five as usual and have some quite time to myself, updating the blog etc. By 7am we go ashore to find a bakery and cafe for breakfast. We depart Gaois by 8am and are prepared for another cold trip beating into a southerly while headed from Levkas.

It's about a five hour trip and we want to catch the bridge opening at 1pm. I spend most of the time below as it's too cold on deck and finish off some housework.

We get a berth at the Marina and head into town for some shopping. As Greg is keen to have an engineer look at the engine we head back to find someone at the Marina. Seems like all is ok but we need to check a few things when we are underway tomorrow.

We head to one of our favourite Bars to cheers our happy 22. They serve great wine and delicious appetisers. We then have a traditional Greek meat platter and there are lots of leftovers for tomorrow.

We attempt to watch a movie but fall asleep as we are yet to get our body clocks adjusted.

Departing Corfu

After we fill up with diesel we finally leave Corfu at 10am, we are heading for Gaios a pretty village on the east side of Paxos. We hope to arrive before 3pm to watch the F1.

The trip is uneventful and almost dejavu except the temp is 11 degrees and wind chill factor of freezing. I'm soooo cold I'm wrapped up in multiple layers and a blanket. I'm doing a cupcake but trying to suck it up. Being sick doesn't help matters.

The sailing season starts in May so I'm not sure what to find open in Gaios. On the way we stick our head into Lakka Bay but everything there is closed up. The water is an amazing turquoise colour so worth the visit.

We arrive in Gaios just after 3pm and find a great place to come along side the jetty right on the main square. Barry from the yacht behind us gives us a hand and we meet his wife Linda as well. They are regulars to the Ionians from the UK.

We quickly find a local bar that has a TV and the bar lady is very obliging to find us the F1. I'm having a few scotchies to warm me up and that works a treat. Although Gaios is a fairly big town, there is still not a lot open. We decide too eat at one of the tavernas on the square and the food is pretty average but fills us up.

A few red wines later we retire for a good nights sleep.

Final Prep

Saturday is our final day to complete all we have to do ready for our departure from Corfu.
We check the sails, launch the Australian flag, fill water tanks, do the laundry, purchase final bits and pieces for yacht and pantry, install brackets for our Muvi camera (similar to Go Pro) eventually we will have four mounts for taking video, we put up the shade cloth I made to see if it works/ fits and it does. We are pretty tired by 6pm.

We decide to walk into one of the close by villages for dinner. We stumble across the Beer Bucket Bar advertising a pool party tonight at 9.30pm but think we'll be asleep by then. We then realise we missed the Bahrain F1 qualifying today but will ensure we are somewhere tomorrow afternoon to watch the race. Most likely we will be heading to Gaios on Paxos about five hours from here. We will be heading south into a light southerly.

From the Bucket Bar we keep walking and find a pizza restaurant. That sounds perfect. We order the special and wow it's the biggest pizza we have ever seen, and the most delicious. A great base, wood fired, yum!!! We bring home the Greek salad as there was no room.

Considering there are about 1000 yachts on the marina and all in the process of getting ready for the season, it's pretty quite of a night time. The place is full of Brits both young and old. Many living on the yachts at Gouvia.

We attempt to watch a video but only stay awake for half of it, we can finish it another night.

It's still really cold of a night and early morning and I wish I'd been more prepared, anyway it will slowly get warmer each day. We spend a while talking about our sail plan and options but have not made up our mind. We will still visit some of the Greek Islands and Turkey as we have to leave the EU and may head over to Malta but we need to work out the distances etc.

A change of plan

So once we get over our morning excitement we head to the local super market to stock up. Plus we are returning our BBQ as we think it will be in the way. Boating World are happy to give us a full credit which suits us. Just a shame they don't have any of the items we want. Any way we are still working on spending that money.

Greg still can't find the seat for the tender, he has looked everywhere, so that is a mystery.

We are slowly getting accustomed to Moet22 as it's surprising how easily you forget things. It will take us a few days to get fully in the swing of things I think.

We are still leaving Corfu on Sunday and will then work out a change of sailing plan most likely leaving the yacht in Turkey instead.

We head into Corfu Town for dinner and enjoy some local cuisine of slowed baked lamb and moussaka and wash it down with some local red, mmmm yes very nice indeed.

Faulty Towers you say?

Thursday afternoon we start unpacking and cleaning. Moët22 is in very good shape, considering the winter they had there appears to be no leaks and very little mould etc. I start on the inside and Greg puts up the Bimini and pieces together the tender, minus the seat which seems to have gone missing, even though I handed it to him. We have a quite meal at the Marina and retire around 9pm.

After a solid six hours sleep, I'm awake, dam you jet lag! Anyway I get started on more cleaning and unpacking. I can't believe how cold it is outside our cabin where we were very snug; it's about 9 degrees outside. For the next four hours I work on the inside unpacking and cleaning and sorting. By 7am I'm ready for a coffee so we head to the Skippers Cafe for some great coffee and breakfast. We also hear fromMeg, Joon Tae and Je-Min on face time which is great.

Even though it's cold and it rained through the night, we wake up to a beautiful morning.

We hired a car from the airport so our first job today is to get our transit logged stamped so we can leave. This proves to be much more complicated than we first expected. The Port Police at Gouvia inform us we must pay some form of tax which we were not aware of.

We are sent to the Port Authority Office #3 which is a ten min drive away. They fill in a form that I have to take to the Tax Office just up the road. When we finally find the Tax Office there are no signs in English, I go to one counter, then another and then finally at the third counter after waiting another 30 mins someone grabs my form and reads it. Seems it's a new form of tax and no one really knows much about it. After some further forms are filled out I have to go to another counter for some reason I don't know then I'm directed to the cashier. Of course you can't pay with an Australian Credit Card only with a Greek Bank credit card. By this time I'm really questioning the tax and if we should be paying it as all. Greg decides before we pay 500 Euros tax that we get some advice from Vangellis at the boatyard which is close to where we are. Vangellis is also not aware of the tax and calls the Port Authority for us, oh it's a new tax. Seems the Govt. needs to find money any way they can and now charge non EU owned boats a quarterly tax to leave your boat here. WELL............ That changes everything for us as we were planning on leaving our yacht in Aegina for approx 18 months at the end of this trip. I don't think that will be happening now.

So once we go back to the tax office and pay the tax and get a receipt we have to go back to Office 7 at the Port Authority, they can't help us and tell us to go to Office 4 no good either, we then go back to Office 3 and they send us to Office 6 to get the transit log stamped so we can leave yeah! We then have to pay another 15 Euros for administration. Office 3 staples a copy of the receipt to the back of our transit log. We then have to back to Office 6 so they can staple the original to the front of the transit log. Wow five hours later we are now free to leave Corfu.......

Ready to launch

We arrived in Corfu today as all flights have been on time and uneventful. We have picked up our transit log from the Port Authority and Customs and we have visited the Boatyard where Moet22 has been wintered to check her out before she is launched for this years adventure. Everything looks great.

We are both slowly getting excited and once we have had a good nights sleep I'm sure we'll be in holiday mode.
The weather is perfect. It's about 20 degrees with a light wind.

Moët heaven

Farewell friends and family

Finally we have made it to the airport thanks to Meg and Je-Min.  The airport is pretty quite tonight and we have been able to use the Qantas Lounge even though we are flying with Emirates so that's a bonus.

Total travelling time is approx 28 hrs to Athens via Dubai.  We have a night in Athens then fly to Corfu on the 18th. Our yacht is being delivered to Gouvia Marina for us.  I'm still not excited as its been a big effort to get here over the last few weeks.  Our tenants have moved In and no news is good news so they say.

The first glass of bubbles went down real well.

See you all soon, stay safe and lots of love.xxoo