G & T anyone?

Next stop is Nidri to catch up with Gill and Tony.

Trevor recommended the English Breakfast at Sivota Bakery so we both find room for a delicious breakfast with the works. It's a great start to the day.  After a little provisioning we head off from 

Sivota around 10.30am.  It's hot and hazy around the mountains and some are covered in very low cloud.

There is talk of some bad weather coming so we will keep a look out for that but we think the big winds will be down south west of Zakinthos. However we might find some rain in the next couple of days which we are happy about as we still have to finish cleaning the decks.

We arrive at Nidri around lunchtime and see if Scorpious Charters have space for us on their pontoon.  Keith greets us and is happy to accommodate us for the night.  Just as we are docking the winds pick up to make life difficult for Greg on the helm.  Luckily there are a few strong men on the dock and they help us in.  One of them even jumps on board to tie up the lazy line which I I'm happy about.

Once we are settled we head down to the Sailing Holiday poontoon where G & T have their yacht.  We find them at the pool bar having some lunch and a few drinks which we join them in.  After a quick catch up and a swim we make plans for tonight's get together.  Bubbles on board then we are going to a BBQ with G & T with the sailing holiday charter people.

We still have a lot to do to get the yacht ready for sale.  We visit Lorna at Ioninan Boat Assistance (IBA) as they will be our new broker for the summer months in Nidri.  We still need to find someone to go up the mask to pull down our lazy lines as we lost them last time we pulled down the main sail.  There are not too many volunteers for this job, however Keith is able to arrange someone for us the following morning which we are grateful for.

We chill out for the afternoon and make plans for the next few days.  As the weather forecast seems reasonable we do want to spend a night in Abelike on Meganissi, as it's one of our favouite locations.  As we haven't blown up the tender we will have to stay on board for the night but that's fine. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy a swim as my ears have cleared and I feel much better.  I just have the head cold now.

We head on down to G & T's around 7.30 just as the heat is leaving the day and we are also joined by one for their friends Andy who is on a yacht close by.  We catch up on all of the years events and all the new ones coming up.  Gill and Tony have two weddings in the next few months to look forward to and plan as both their  children are getting married.

We enjoy a bottle of bubbles together then head up to the pool area for the BBQ.  The food is great as is the company.  By the time we say our farewells it's after 11pm.  We go for a stroll along the boardwalk and stop at a favouite cafe for a nightcap.  The owner is very happy to see us but thinks we are nuts only coming for such a short period and we have to agree.

Heading North

After an awesome dinner and a great nights sleep we awake to another lovely morning in Fiscardo.  Coffee and cakes call me to the galley and we enjoy then in the cockpit.

Greg is still hell bent on getting rid of all the webs and spiders.  We even have a stowaway hiding under our life raft.

As he is cleaning the webs on the outside as well he needs a device to help him reach the webs so he tries to mount our largest fender but he can't stay on for long.

As my ear is still problematic I decide to visit the chemist who sends me straight to the medical centre.  I walk straight in and see a Dr.  After a thorough examination I leave with a list of medicines.  I have water behind one ear drum and a blockage between my ear and nose.  No wonder I can't hear.  Anyway as I long as it clears before I board the plane I'll be very happy.

We depart Fiscardo around 11am and are heading north to Sivota a small village on the south ofLefkada  Island.  We are meeting Jo and Trevor so looking forward to seeing them.

We have a lite breeze from the nth west so we can pull up the headsail and meander across from Cefalonica.  It only takes two hours to get there and there is plenty of room on the wharf to choose from.  Once we tie up and get settled we have a light lunch on the boat.  Then we head over to see our friends.  We spend a few hours catching up and make our dinner plans.

We grab some wifi from a local bar and catch up on things for a a hour or two then be ready for dinner.  We are have bubbles on Yacht Breeze, Trevor and Jos' yacht then head to dinner at Spiodoula 's Taverna. The boys find out they have a connecton with the past in  Woolwich Plumstead ; some further research is required to see if both families knew each other.

We enjoy a Greeek feast including dips, calamari, saganaki prawns, swordfish and complimentary walnut slice.  It's all very delicious with great company.  Jo and Trevor are heading off early in the morning so we say our farewells until next time; as we are all very sure there wil be one.

No place I'd rather be

Unfortunately it's another beautiful day in Greece.  What can I do so we can stay here longer I ask?

I'm awake early and spend the morning updating  the Blog.  The mornings are my favouite time of day; Nespresso in hand and off I go.

My head cold is a real pain as my ears are blocked and on the plane the pain was excruciating as I could not equalise.  I can't hear properly nor taste all my favourite delights of Greece.

Once Greg is up we go for a walk and take some breakfast at a local cafe.  The fresh orange juice is always yum.  We do another little shop and we are on our way by 10am.   We changed our mind as we thought we would give Fiscardo a miss and try Kioni but on second thoughts we go back to plan A.  So it's only a two hour motor to Fiscardo.  Again I'm on watch as Greg scubs the front third of the deck.   He is very good at this and seems to enjoy it! I'm very happy keeping watch and catching some rays.

Fiscardo is pretty full and we have to take the last space right where we were for Belinda s birthday last year.  The Capitain of the cruiser helps us with our lines.  But there is a problem?  As we have no tender (decided not to pump it it up for this quick trip) how do you get ashore as the water depth is very shallow?  You actually need the tender to sit between the stern and the shore line to carry to shore.  The Capitain next door graciously allows us to use his cruiser to access the shore. Problem solved! 

After our anchor beers Greg goes ashore for a quick shop for lunch items.  He actually manages to buy all five items on the list including my fav orange syrup cake.  Can't wait for breakfast coffees tomorrow morning now.

After a yummy lunch on board we take a dip in the harbour.  The water is just perfect and so clean.  Greg checks out the lay of the anchors and all is in order.  We relax on deck soaking up the atmosphere and enjoy some people watching.  We get ready for dinner and head into the village.

First stop is a little bar for an aperitif and great view.

Then it's back to the Captains Cabin for a special treat.  Yep you guessed it lobster spaghetti.

Bon appetite!

Our rough itinerary

Well this is what we were thinking on Sunday.

Saturday - Big Vathi

Sunday - Fiscardso

Monday - Sivota

Tuesday - Meganissi

Wednesday to Friday in the Nidri and Levkas area as we have to met up with brokers and have some repairs done.

 

Off we go!

We wake up to a beautiful morning.  It's 7am and I'm busy making our coffees and toasties.  After breakfast we haul up the head sail.  It's a pretty easy task this time round.  We release the lines and we are away by 8am.  It's sad to be leaving again but I'm sure we get back here again in the future.

We are headed for Big Vathi on the island of Ithica it's about six hours from Messalonghi.  The sea is like a mill pond, there is no wind at all.  We get an all over dose of vitamin D as the haze finally clears. I stand watch as Greg scrubs the back third of the yacht.

First of all we must visit Ouzo Bay and have a swim.  The gauge is showing the sea temp and water temp to be 31 degrees.  That's hot for this time of year.  A yacht is in our place to we anchor in the first bay which is just as nice.  The water is about 26 degrees so a little chilly but refreshing.

We pull up anchor and head into town and arrive around 3pm.  It's not very busy so we can choose where we reverse into the wharf.  We head to one of our favouite tavernas for a lite snack of white bait, saganaki mushrooms and local sausage.  It's a treat and very delicious.

It's now time for a siesta, we are pretty knackered so happy to fall sleep for a few hours and stay out of the sun.

After a well earned cat nap we get all pretty and head into town.  We have a drink in the square as we decide what to do.  We go for a walk and find an amazing taverna that has a baby pig on a spit so we know where we are having dinner tonight.  We decide to go visit George early so walk  over to the other side of the village and meet him at his bar.  We met George last year when we were here with Belinda and Robert and we had a fun night at his bar.  We have been friends on Facebook since.  

George is looking good although he tells us he was partying at a bucks party till 8am this morning but you can't tell by looking at him.  We catch up when he is not busy and have a chilly shot then say our good byes.  It's already 10pm!

We walk back into town to the piggy place to find they only have one serve left, which means we don't get too much pig but what we get is pretty amazing it just melts in your mouth.  The salad is a different and delicious one with dried figs, cooked chicken, walnuts and halomui.  It's a very enjoyable meal and then we hit the sack as we are very tired. 

Getting her ready

We walk into town for dinner and enjoy a few refreshments in the square.  There is a protest in progress which I think has something to do with taxes.  They march past us at our favourite pizza place.  Eventually after 10pm the town starts to cool down.

We sleep well and are first up at the marina cafe. We enjoy a few cappuccinos and mini croissants before we realise the men are already getting our yacht ready for launching.  We were supposed to be second but guess we have moved to the morning spot at 9am.

The team is very professional.  The tractor is moved into place as the guys touch up the anti foul on the bottom of the keel and other areas.

It takes less than an hour for her to be launched.  A very successful operation.

Now we are in the water we move her to a permanent position on the pontoon then we are off to the shops to stock up.  

As we are only here a week, our supply list is pretty small and we can get all that we want at one of the local supermarkets.

Then we head to the Customs office to retrieve our log book and see the harbour police.  The Customs part goes very smoothly and we do not pay any taxes. Yippee!  At the harbour police we are asked for our insurance which I forget to to bring with me.  Being in such a rush I totally forget to print a copy off.  We do have a soft copy so we can get the marina office to print a copy for us and come back later to get our stamp.

We have a quick celebratory drink at the cafe across from the port police before we head back to the yacht.

The yacht is filthy from being in the weather for eight months and it's covered in spiders and their webs.  Greg is on a mission to get rid of them ASAP.  We begin the process of scrubbing the decks which will take a few days and a few attempts to get her clean again.

We head back to the port police about 5pm and they are closed.  So we decide to have a very late lunch and early dinner at the cafe.  We enjoy a salad and grilled meats. After 6pm we head over to the port police and they are open.  There seems to be a disagreement amounts the police about how ti handle us.  I do understand the word tax so we pray we don't have to pay anything.  Eventually they sign and stamp the papers and we are free to go.  We now must leave within 24 hrs.  No problems there.

We're back!!!!

It's only been about four weeks since Greg and I decided to visit Greece just one last time.  We are very excited but sad as we will only be there for a week.

The logic behind this is; as we have not sold the yacht we are changing brokers and therefore need to do some repairs and move the boat closer to our new brokers either in Levkas or Nidri.  That's our excuse anyway!

We are able to purchase some   cheap fares with Ethiad airlines and we are looking forward to the experience with them.  It's a mad rush leading up to our departure but we manage to finish everything in time.

We depart Sydney for Brisbane then on to Abu Dhabi. We didn't read our itinerary well as we turn up to the International airport to find there is no flight, we are actually going domestic with Virgin to Brisbane then board the Ethiad flight.  We are able to check in our luggage with Virgin all the way then catch a transit bus across to the domestic terminal.

We are early for the domestic flight so able to have a glass of bubbles before our departure.

The flight is on time and once in Brisbane we catch the transit bus to the International airport.  The plane is boarding as we arrive and we depart on time.  We were both  hoping for an enjoyable experience with Ethiad but that was not to be.  The seating was really squashy and we had no room to move at all.  Although the service was ok the actual flight was hard to bear, with very little sleep at all, the 14 hours seem to take twice as long.

We touch down in Abu Dhabi on time.  Upon our approach the fog, haze, smog is so low and thick it's amazing they can land in the conditions as the visibility is about 10 metres.  It's takes us half an hour to taxi to our gate as I'm sure he gets lost as he can't see where he is going. 

Abu Dhabi airport is underwhelming.  Guess we were expecting a similar experience to Dubai but that's definitely not the case.  The airport is badly set out with very little facilities at all.  Luckily this way we only have a short stopover.

Our plane is about an hour late departing for Athens however, this time we have a little more room and the service is good; we have our third egg breakfast for the day.  As we are late arriving we decide to stay a night in Athens as we have missed our connecting bus to Messalonghi.  It gives us time to chill out a little and rest.  We spend the evening walking around the Plaka and enjoying the Greek hospitality.

I left Sydney with a sore throat and now it's a full blown head and cheat infection, just what I needed! Little to say sleeping is impossible.  

We enjoy a traditional Greek breakfast of cold cuts, hots eggs and bacon, yoghurt, fruits and breads. Then I'm off to the pharmacy to buy as much medicine as possible over the counter as I didn't pack anything for this trip. 

It's a short taxi ride to the bus terminal and we are leaving at 9am for Messalonghi. It's a very pleasant bus trip, scenic and relaxing.  We arrive at the marina around 1pm.

Moet22 is there waiting for us.  The anti foul has been applied and drying in the sun.  It's 31 degrees so nice and hot! We have power, water and a ladder to climb on board as we launch tomorrow morning.  

We visit the chandlery and fix them up for all the work they have done and then visit the office to finalise the account ready for our departure on Saturday.  Everything is in order.  It's so wonderful to be back and we are only thinking of how we can extend our stay as one week is not enough!  

I'm not looking forward to climbing this ladder!