In the Wake of Odysseus; July 30 - Sept 15, 2021
…And then there was Covid. The world shut down and we all hibernated through the long, lonely year of 2020, waiting for the world to come back to life. At last it did, in 2021. What a joy it was when Robert asked me to come to Greece to help him move Fisher Buoy , his Fisher 46 motor sailor, from Aegina in Greece ,around the Peloponnesus peninsula back to his new home base in Levkas.
The boat had languished in Aegina where Robert and my lovely daughter Jacque, who crewed for him in 2019, had left it in the boatyard. Hauled out and stored in haste due to covid, we found the boat worse for wear after almost two years of lockdown-induced neglect. The water in the tanks was brown, dinghy fuel had polymerized, interior and exterior needed thorough cleaning and servicing, generator was not working, so house and navigational electrics were out of order; on deck, the lines, hose and dinghy were sun-beaten and weathered. Et cetera, et cetera!
One afternoon the sky darkened, weird and ominous. A squall was surely brewing. Robert said we’d best get off the quay and move out into the bay to anchor.
A menacing storm approaching.
Back in 2019 Rob and I brought Fisher Buoy through the Corinth Canal, a shortcut from the Ionian into the Aegean. The Canal saves a ton of time and effort, for rounding Peloponese can be dangerous and time consuming in bad weather. Now, heading back to the Ionian islands, we had to round the peninsula because a massive rockfall had closed off shipping in the Canal until further notice. But the ancient sea route was of interest to us both and we were eager to be off.
We left for lovely Poros. It felt good to be back and were warmly welcomed by our friends at Apagio Taverna. Tourism was slowly returning, but the town was only about half full. We dinghied to the beach and visited Rob’s friend Maria, snacked on mezes with local white wine, swam, and enjoyed the seaside ambience. We returned to the boat and had a chat with the charter catamarans that were moored on either side, with congenial and entertaining French and Italian guests. The boat was so hot, I brought my bedding out and slept on deck that night and was rewarded with a glimpse of the Persied meteor shower.
Departing the next day we had to watch carefully to assure that the anchor chains of the charter cats were not tangled around ours. All the charter boats try to leave at the same time in the morning, so we watched and waited. At last, we made a clean break and were off. We motored all day to Porto Cheli, where we anchored the for night, then sailed on the next day for Naphthion.
We moored up along the quay and explored the lovely little Venetian town, with graceful architecture, interesting little shops, and the ever-present Lion of Venice appearing carved into stones around town.
The Lion of St. Mark, the legacy of Venice
Fort Palomedes, originally built to guard the entrance to ancient Mycenae, the domain of great King Agamemnon of the Bronze Age, immortalized by Homer. Cyclopean walls peek out from under Venetian masonry
With her teak decks and thick, dark hull, the boat became an oven by the end of the day and again I brought my bedding out to sleep on deck. We were tied up right next to ferry parking, so there was a lot of light and noise, and teenagers laughing and giggling all night, but at least it was cooler.
We hired a car to take us to visit the ancient city of Mycenae, high on a mountain commanding a wide view in all directions. I recognized the Cyclopean walls and the famous Lion Gate from when I was a little girl looking at my brother’s book about archaeology.
We went on to visit Paleo Epidavros, ancient site of Hippocrates’ famous hospital, and a beautifully preserved amphitheater.
In the morning calm we took the dinghy out to the fortress guarding the mouth of the harbor. The sunrise was eerie red from the smoke of summer fires raking the countryside.
We made ready and motored along the coast to Monemvassia, rising like Gibraltar, the site of an impressive Byzantine fortified city. Here the Greeks withstood a brutal three-year seige against the invading Turks. The next day we explored Monemvassia, a warren of medieval lanes with shops, tavernas and homes in the lower town, then trekked to the top, over 1000 feet up, to see the Agia Sofia church, the old arsenal and spectacular views of land and sea. It is a magical place.
Leaving the charter fleet behind, we sailed on to Gytheia, the ancient port of Sparta at the bottom of the Gulf of Laconia, and our gateway the Mani peninsula.
Two books truly enriched our travels here. The first was “Mani” by Patrick Leigh Fermor, the brilliant and daring English polymath who, having mastered Greek language and culture as a young adventurer, was assigned by the British army in WWII to help coordinate actions with the Cretan Resistance. He became a legend when he led the partisans to kidnap a German General in Crete, and spirit him off the island in a midnight rendezvous with a British submarine. “Mani” explores the unique history and culture of the bleak and forbidding Mani peninsula and its fierce and bellicose clans, a culture which was passing even as he wrote of it after the war. I was eager to try to see Mani through Fermor’s eyes.
The second book, “The Ulysses Voyage”, by Tim Severin, follows the voyage of Odysseus from the standpoint of an experienced sailor who is also an Oxford- educated historian. In a replica of a Bronze Age galley he followed the weather clues in the Odyssey to places which were plausible landfalls, then examined the geology, local lore, and old place names for connections with the story. His extraordinary research suggests Odysseus’ landfalls were in Crete, the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands. I found this fascinating, and some of the places he identified would be on our way. I couldn’t wait to visit them!
This is a photo of the galley Severin sailed in the book.
Gytheia is wonderfully un-touristy and very Greek in character, with fishing boats moored right across from the restaurants and tavernas. There were few yachts here. I was quickly befriended by Giorgios, who made his fortune in Florida and came home to open his own restaurant right on the waterfront. We made it our regular place and were adopted by, and entertained by, his staff…Petros (“please take him with you”) , Iannis, and Georgina, with a nose like a hatchet who was very smooth and adept at hustling in customers from off the street.
Me, Giorgios and Petros (“please take him with you”).
We rented a car and drove up into the limestone crags of the Taygetus mountains, which form the bleak spine of Mani.
After, we had lunch at a tiny taverna, with the most succulent fork-tender lamb raised by the father, cooked by the mother and served by the son. On the way back we passed fire-blackened groves and hillsides, scorched by the wildfires which swept Greece this summer.
Another day we rented a car and explored the length of the Mani peninsula, with Fermor and Severin for our guides. It was fantastic. We drove down near the tip of Mani to Mezapo, a tiny village near a peculiar small, round cove surrounded by overhanging cliffs, which Severin suggests was the bay of the fierce Lycestragonians who hurled rocks to sink all of Odyessus’ galleys except one. The Maniots have a long, violent history of hurling big rocks down upon unwelcome strangers and feuding neighbors, another detail of history which fit.
A watchtower on a fortified house.
and on to the Caves at Diros,
The road above Diros afforded us this fabulous view.
to Kardameli to see Fermor’s beautiful estate. He and his wife donated it to become a writer’s retreat. The estate was closed but I peeked over the stone walls and decided he had a pretty nice place.
We returned to Gytheia and enjoyed local wine, octopus and marinated anchovies with our entertaining friends at the taverna.
Pilos town was a bit of a disappointment, with lots of junk food shops and touristy kitsch catering to local cruise ships. At dawn we left for Katokolo, the jumping off place for a trip to Olympia, site of the ancient Olympic Games. We rented a car and drove to Olympia, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Lovely tall pine trees provided shade throughout, and the ruins were spectacular. A leisurely wander, a nice meal and a good sleep. We were now on the home stretch.
Leaving Pilos; a distinctive formation.
We sailed to Zakynthos, slightly cluttered and suffering from poor planning and maintenance inland, but with spectacular tourist beaches and rocky coves. We rented a car and circumnavigated the island. We found the famous Shipwreck Beach, but to see the wreck you had to stand in a long line of people waiting to go out on a one-man viewing platform. We drove on, passing what is probably the biggest olive tree
Sailing on, we passed Kephalonia and stopped in Ithaka, the rocky kingdom of Odysseus. I celebrated my birthday standing high above the town at an old ruined wind-mill with spectacular views, which I bought and converted into a great home… in my mind.
And on to Levkas and Robert’s new home port in Geni. We were warmly welcomed back at Eleni’s taverna, shaded with grape vines and lemon trees. We toasted our voyage with good village wine as the sun set over Vliho Bay. It was good to be back again.
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