Ionian Odyssey

                           Ionian Odyssey       May 1- July 7, 2019

A map of the Greece highlighting  the Ionian Islands.
You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

Fisher Buoy moored stern to in Corfu, with the fort in the background.

Captain  Robert met me at the airport in Corfu (known in Greece, and on the map above, as Kerkera). and welcomed me aboard S/Y Fisher Buoy, a British-built Fisher 46’ motor-sailer, moored stern-to in Corfu’s old town harbor.  It had been raining, and since the old town has a waste-water drainage system dating from the Venetian Empire, black water had flushed down into the old harbor and brought it with a certain whiff. However, I found it a charming place to be tied up, since the old town square was steps away from our quay. I am smitten by the architecture, the light, and the relaxed and friendly Corfiot way of life.

The main square and the church in old Kerkera town.

An endearing view of Corfu, with characteristic laundry.

Early morning street scene.

Such beautiful produce.

This lovely young lady never stoped smiling.
She loves her little nephew.

Robert was engaged with electricians for the first few days, which gave me time to wander the old town to my heart’s content.  I explored the new fort and the old, the winding lanes of the Byzantine town, walked out to Mon Repos, the stately mansion where Britain’s  Prince Phillip spent his boyhood, and points between. 

Mon Repos estate.

Not too shabby.

                                            

                                                     A wonderful scale model of Odysseus’ ship, 

                                                         a galley which relied primarily on oars.

A view from Mon Repos.

Spring was unfolding and flowers bloomed and trees sprouted leaves, and remnants of Greek Orthodox Easter abounded.

In Corfu they smash red pots, and crack red Easter eggs, to
celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Bits of red pottery are
visible on the streets for weeks afterward!

Wreaths of flowers hung on doors and red pottery shards still here and there on the streets.

Not a real windmill, but a nice gathering place for locals.

My pal Alex whom I met at the windmill. A retired merchant marine engineer..

The new castle at Kerkera.

We rented a car and explored the north end of Corfu, with lovely views. 

Me and Robert pausing for refreshments.

Beautiful views from the north end of Corfu.
 We made ready to sail south, to Paxi and into the Ionian Sea.  We ran soft aground, but backed off and continued along with no problems. The sea was crystal clear,  and on Paxi, the olive trees and vines were still flush with spring rains, poppies, bougainvillea, and all sorts of flowers scented our way. 

A view of Fisher Buoy in Paxi, with the braided trunk of an olive tree..

Spring flowers in Greece.

Little girls scooping up sea urchins for fun, in Paxi.

We went on to Preveza to try to repair the original antique windlass. After a nervous morning with the wind rising, we were able to coax the anchor chain up and moved to the town quay, where cafes and exploring were just steps away.

Street scene in Preveza.

Fishermen selling their catch right next to us in Preveza.
We met Achilles and Panos, the electricians who did a lot of work for Robert.  Great guys.  Where but Greece will you find electricians who can knowledgeably discuss Homer’s Odyssey and Tim Severin’s theories on Odysseus’ landfalls?  Here 2500 years ago seems like yesterday.

The harbor at Preveza.
We rented a car and visited some sites around Preveza.  To Nikopolis, where Antony and Cleopatra watched as their fleets were destroyed in the battle of Actium;  

The massive walls of Nikopolis.  

           to the ancient city of Kassiope in the piney woods;

The ruins of Kassiope...

on to Zalongo, where village women danced and threw themselves off a high cliff rather than be enslaved by the invading Turks; 

Climbing the trail to the top of Zalongo. 

A view of Zalongo from Kassiope.

The monument to the women, dancing hand in hand
off the edge of the mountain.

to Necromankoi where the Oracle once spoke to the dead.  It was a fun day.

Large jars for grain and water storage at Necromankoi. 

The ruins at Necromankoi.

The underground chamber of the Oracle at Necromankoi 

We sailed on through the canal on a beautiful day and on to Vliho, Lefkada, which is a yachtie town. The village of Geri is across the bay. We soon had befriended the shipping agent and several gracious  restaurateurs, which made this a favorite place to come.

Going through the drawbridge , to the canal leading to Lefkada,

Passing through the drawbridge gate.

And into the sound between Lefkada and the mainland. Flat water, great wind. 

Evening in the anchorage at Vliho, Lefkada,

Lots of marine services are available here.  One afternoon while we were enjoying a glass of wine in a waterfront taverna in Geri, we watched Fisher Buoy slowly moving past us. She was dragging anchor!  We leaped into the dinghy and blasted out there, to be greeted with camaraderie (Robert in the cockpit) and abuse (me on the windlass) by those who rescued the boat.  We sorted it out and re-anchored.  Admittedly, we had put out too little chain, as the windlass was so undependable that we were not confident we could haul it all in.  Lesson learned.  Robert ordered a new Lofrens Tigress windlass from the UK.  It took over a month to arrive, having been shuttled from Southampton to Milan to Sweden, back to Milan, and then was lost in Athens for a while before arriving at Achilles’ house in Preveza.  Fun stuff!

Greek fishing boats in Vliho.

We sailed on to Sami for a night, and befriended Mark on Gaia, who arrive with a boat load of passive Miss Marples types.   We helped him moor and, on a dare between me and Robert, provided them with some entertainment amid what looked like a fairly dreary happy hour.  Robert charmed the ladies and I went crawling through Mark’s boat looking at stuff....it was a welcome entertainment for us.

Another day in Sami, Robert and I went ashore for dinner and to listen to live Greek music.  In the middle of dinner, a man at a neighboring table started squirming, then jumped up and jittered around. Smoke was coming out of his pocket.  A waiter threw a glass of water on his pants.  His cell phone had caught fire!  This was not the kind of dancing we were expecting! 

Later, when the music started, we were charmed watching the family at the next table. Grandpa was Greek, but his six daughters and granddaughters at the table were all American-born.  The older daughters danced well, but their dad was a Fred Astaire of Greek dance; graceful and vigorous though well up in his seventies. Their faces glowed with pride and happiness, and it was a pleasure to join in the dance when they invited us.  Yammas!

 We sailed on to Argostoli on the Island of Keffalonia to have a look at Evil Steve’s boat for sale (not a good deal!)

Steve, Robert and Dimitri, who is brand new to sailing.

 We met up with Dimitri, the young Russian who bought it, explored the town on foot and bought some lovely fresh produce, locally grown and full of flavor.  

Before and after. Zucchini flowers...with feta cheese and herbs.

Zucchini flowers with local feta and fresh herbs were our menu, as Robert is a gourmet cook. I’m happy to clean up!  

 Here I read “Captain Corelli’s Violin”, a marvelous book giving a lot of insight into the history of Kefallonia during WWII.  Here we went out to dinner, and Evil Steve abused the gracious restauranteur (whom I then went out of my way to charm and compliment).  I savored the local specialty of stamna, chunky stew of tender beef, potato, zucchini simmered cinnamon-spiced tomatoes.

The Roman causeway across the shallow bay at Argostoli.

A monument along the causeway.

Inside the Greek Orthodox Church in 

Robert included a stop at Ithaki, the kingdom of Odysseus. 

The wonderful statue of Odysseus in Ithaki.
Tim Severin’s book made the history of the islands come alive for me. It was wonderful to hike through the town and up into the hills to visit the Cave of the Nymphs (no nymphs in residence, sadly).  Robert’s dog Tik Tok became infested with ticks on our little walk, and had a reaction which nearly killed her.

Up the steps we climbed  to find the Cave of the Nymphs.

Robert and TicTok.

 Fortunately, she pulled through, and continued to be my rival as the queen of the dinghy.  Later we took a dinghy ride around the head to a beautiful beach where we enjoyed a cool beer and a walk. 

We took a little dinghy ride around Lefkada just for fun.

We got thirsty.

This rocky beach was really hard on the bare

We tried to explore the nearby island of Meganisi, but the bays were too deep for conventional anchoring and we were unwilling to tie up to the rocks stern-to with concerns about the windlass.  We went back to Vliho, where I saw the famous boat Spirit of Gaia, designed and owned by James Wharram, a bad boy of sailing who nevertheless designed great boats based on Polynesian ocean voyaging canoes.

James Wharram’s own Spirit of Gaia. In his heyday, crewed by naked ladies!

A little tour boat at Vliho.

Flowers at our favorite restaurant.

Fries, grilled peppers stuffed with feta, saganaki
(fried Kayseri cheese With lemon) and tsatziki.  MMMMmmm!

 During this trip, my only major credit card was hacked and I had to call America every time I wanted to use it.  Lesson learned. Have more than one major credit card!!

We returned to Preveza to have the powerful new windlass installed.  Here I enjoyed walking all around the old town.  Early one morning I ventured out to the edge of town to look at the old castle of St. George, a Venetian fortress. I hiked back from the main road to the fort, peeked through the locked main gate, then walked along the perimeter of the fortifications, with the high stone walls on one side and a tall wrought iron fence enclosing an acre or two of overgrown garden on the other.

The road along the foot of the castle wall. No way to escape.

As I walked, a pack of feral dogs, descendants of wolf-killing cattle dogs and all over 100 lbs, gathered on top of the wall and began baying at me.  Way down the road ahead, another big dog walked out and started barking. Then, near to me came out the alpha male, a huge dog well over 100 lbs, who advanced on me snarling and bristling.  I shouted “no” at him in Greek (“ochi”) and tried to stand my ground. He kept advancing, teeth bared, snarling and bristling, and I started backing and becoming truly alarmed at my predicament.  

Not the same dog, but the same blood-curdling snarl.

 At last, I remembered that trying to stare down a mad dog is a sign of aggression, so I cast my eyes to the side for a moment.  He stopped right away, and while he was still bristling and growling, the fierce tension was broken and I cautiously kept backing away, all the while looking in vain for a rock or stick to defend myself with.  On the wall above, the other dogs were still baying for blood.  This was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life.  I am sure I could have been killed.

We worked our way south again and entered the Gulf of Corinth to transit the Corinth Canal.  We passed Messolonghi, with it’s fisherman’s village built on stilts, and echos from the past of Lord Byron and Greek freedom fighters against the Turks.  On to the charming Island of Trizonia, where I hiked all over this beautiful island and we enjoyed the company of a young couple who owned our favorite cafe there.

The fisherman’s village on stilts at Messolonghi..

A fisherman repainting his boat in Trizonia. 

The lovely young owners of the taverna.

Delicious grilled octopus with lemon and olive oil.

From Antikyra we hired a car to take us to the incredible ruins of Delphi, where the Oracle predicted the future in ambivalent and salacious proclamations to the rich and powerful from all over the Hellenic world.  The beauty of the site, in gorgeous mountains, is echoed in the classical architecture and wealth of archaeological finds of gold, silver, ivory and precious stones and fine statuary which has been recovered here. 

Twin athletes who praised the God Apollo for their victories.

a mosaic floor of fine quality. 

A bust of Artemis, twin sister of Apollo (below).
The black substance is ivory, the rest pure gold.
 These life-sized works of art were preserved by a fire which destroyed the
building they were in, but carbonized the ivory.
 I‘m fascinated by their faces and expressions.

The famous bronze charioteer at Delphi.

 Robert and I paid the park fee, then wandered up the hill away from the main gate.  Instead of backtracking all the way down the hill, we ended up climbing over a fence and breaking in to the park for which we had tickets already!  It was a blast!

The amphitheater at Delphi.

The lovely panorama from Delphi.
At last we motored to the entrance of the Corinth Canal near Corinth.  After radioing our intention, the Canal Authority gave us permission to enter the canal. We had to motor at a brisk pace to keep up with shipping, as it is a one-way passage, and boats moving in the other direction were waiting their turn to come through. 

The long bridge across the Gulf of Corinth. 

Transiting the Corinth Canal.

 The Corinth canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic gulf, making it possible to avoid the gusty winds and treacherous waters surrounding the Peloponnese peninsula .  The Canal is cut through a hundred feet or so of vertical limestone cliffs, and is about 4 miles long and only 70 feet wide, which is just a little too small for most modern commercial shipping.  It is now mostly used for tourism. The trapped wakes from boats created some wicked currents that pushed our boat suddenly and violently toward the walls. Captain Robert was fully focused on this transit!

Cowboy Bob wrangling the boat through the Canal.

We’d had a great time sailing in the Ionian Sea and visiting the islands of the Odyssey scattered upon Homer‘s “wine-dark sea” . We went on to visit Epidavros, Poros, and to round the Greek mainland where the beautiful ruins of the Temple of Poseidon dominate the approach to Athens.  The famous meltemi wind of the Aegean Sea roared all summer, and Fisher Bouy and her intrepid crew took a beating.  As for me, I had to leave; my European visa had nearly expired, but Catherine, and then Jacque, came on to crew for Robert for the rest of the summer.

Many thanks to Robert for a fun and interesting voyage and for his mahvelous company! 

                                                         

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