Tanning with the Venus de Milo

We arrived at the boat and sailed over the next day to the beautiful island of Milos. This morning (June 18) we rented a car to drive around the island and went to the JAW DROPPING site of Sarakniko. Here it is pure white rocks surrounding a deep secluded inlet. Not to far away was a shipwreck of an old barge ship.  

Then we were off to a lunch at a small local place. After was the best part of the day; the beach at Firopotamos. The water here was the perfect temperature and the sun was great for tanning (:

Later on in the day we went a quick road trip across to the north end of the island to see where then Venus de Milo. The story of this is an interesting one to say the least. How it goes is this farmer was in his field walking around and he found this statue in his field. He decided to sell it to a French man but at the same time he sold it to another man. While the other man was about to take it to his own country the French man came on his boat. There was a huge scuffle and as the story goes this is when the Venus de Milo’s arm disappeared, and to this day no one knows where they are.

 

So then we drove to an ancient roman theater, this had an incredible ocean view and you can see why they had it there

.

This was a nice end to the day as we returned the car and to the boat. We would lastly like to give a shout out to Kathy B from Dawson School. WE LOVE YOU KATHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! –this has been a post from Nykii Sherman and Tessa Zee (:

Fish On…Tuna Steaks for Dinner!

Yes, John caught a nice tuna AND (this is the important part…) LANDED IT.  So we enjoyed fresh tuna steaks for dinner tonight!

Leaving Athens…view from the sea

As we left Athens at 7am, we got a great photo of the city of Pireaus, population 5 million.

Guest Bloggers

For the next ten days I am giving up control of my blog to my guests, Nykii and Tessa.

Poros again

We had a beautiful 3 hour sail out of Kithnos…17-20 knots of wind power.  Then the wind starts to die down and John pulls out “The Beast” (our assymetrical sail for light winds) and we lose ALL wind, only to motor the remainder of the day into Poros.

But once we arrived, our visit of four years ago started returning to the old memory banks and I find it still a very scenic and awe inspiring port.  The old fort greets you as you enter showing its powerful position in battles long ago.  The town seems to be built up so that it surrounds the Clock Tower at the very top.  Jay Sea Dee is safely docked at the town dock #66.

 

We went to Poseidons Taberna across the street for a nice cold one…kind of a tradition when we arrive in a new port.  It was only 5 euros for a beer, a soda, and a bottle of water.  We then walked the town looking for the laundromat we were told existed here but found it to be only a laundry service so we’ll do load by load on Jay Sea Dee’s machine.  By the time we walked the town, stopped at the Harbor Police to check-in, bought the postcard I took a photo of above, we were hungry and decided to eat at Poseidon’s again since they were cheap.  I had the fish, John the meatballs and the Greek Yogurt with Honey dessert was on the house.  They always hang the Octopus out to dry after beating it to death on the rocks…what a sight (see photo #2 of the drying octopus)

Then came one of the best sunsets I have seen in a long time!

 

Oh yeah, our plants have sprouted…Cilantro soon to come!

Somebody had a really bad day

Today was a very nice sail from Siros to Kithnos…but then we saw black smoke on the horizon.  We don’t have any information on the fire…just pictures:

 

We saw a tanker pass by, we saw the ferry pass by (photo #3), we saw a helicopter fly over (photo #4) but no Coast Guard…no May Day, no distress signal, no Chatter on the VHF so we were a bit curious as to why no emergency measures took place.  They just let it burn itself out…it took a long time…over an hour.  And what is that small rubber dinghy doing so close to a fire?  A lot of hmmmmm.

We came to Ormos Ay Irini on the West side of Kithnos.  It is very crowded with lots of charter boats and Captain John is a bit concerned with their anchoring styles or lack of should we say.  As long as we don’t get hit with the Meltimi Wind, we should be just fine.  We had the water maker running all day so I could do a load of laundry.  I put a load in and off in the dinghy we went.  We stopped at the “Taberna” (yes, it is spelled that way) and had a post cruise drink.  Then we went to the other part of the bay where all the action is…just more crowded.  Came back to the boat to the bilge pump pumping away and found that the water maker had sprung a leak.  John spent an hour doing repairs, I hung laundry and now he is off chatting to another Island Packet couple from London. 

Au Revoir jusqu’a plus tard mon amie’s See you in the Canary Islands

Today was our departure from Paros as we start heading North.  Last night we enjoyed the company of Jean and Evelyne from “Yapuka”aboard Jay Sea Dee.  John knows them from Hammamet Marina in Tunisia.  This morning we went to their boat and enjoyed a few more hours of companionship.  They will be crossing to the Caribbean in January and so we will probably see them in the Canary Islands in December, if not before here in the Med.

On our way out of Paros, a ladybug landed on me…good luck is ours for the day.

What a beautiful lighthouse we saw as we exited the bay.

The seas were so calm and the wind light that we motor-sailed the 23 miles to Siros.  We were warned not to go to the main port of Ermoupolis so we ventured to Finikas on the SW coast.  In the 19th century, Siros became the main stop for ships sailing through the Cyclades as it was a very important refueling port due to its coal supply.  Today it is mostly known for its production of Turkish Delight.  It is proving to be a bit rolly here so one night is all we will stay.

Still Here...Becoming Horticulturists

We are enjoying the Island of Paros so much that we are still here.  We spend half our day doing some boat chore and the other half heading to town or just enjoying the scenery.  The weather has been wonderful until around dinner time last night when a front came through and the wind shifted and decided to come from the South while we were in the perfect spot protected from the Northern Meltemi wind.  Up the anchor came and we headed across the bay, laid anchor again in much calmer waters.  Not more than a half hour later all our fellow yachtsmen had also pulled up anchor and joined us in our protected area.  John says they all trust the "American Boat"...I don't know about that.  This morning it is dead calm here and just heavenly.

For the last three years, we have sailed this Mediterranean Sea and have not found any decent salsa...and we LOVE salsa.  John has taken up the duty of making his own and has become quite adept at it.  Our only problem is finding cilantro.  There is none to be found.  You would think that we would find it at the markets where they have bins and bins of fresh spices from Northern Africa, India, etc.  We took the matter into our own hands.  I brought over some pots and seeds and with Johns engineering, we have created our own terrariums.  I will keep you posted once we see something sprouting through the soil....yummmmmm...fresh Cilantro in our Salsa!

Naousa, Paros

Today we took the dinghy across to Naousa.  It has recently become more of a tourist destination and is still working on its infrastructure.  There are many boutique shops, tavernas, and bars.  On the edge of town there are ruins of a  14th-15th century Venetian fort.  On our way home there was a nice waterpark along the shoreline…but is was still deserted.  What a nice outing from the boat.

Just Hanging in Paradise

While checking the weather report on our Great Internet connection, we noticed some wind heading this way and decided to start moving West to avoid the brunt of it.  We have heard horror stories about the infamous Greek wind, called the Meltemi.  After a rocky start of motoring, sailing, motor-sailing, more motoring, the wind finally decided its direction and strength and gave us one of the best afternoons of sailing we have had yet.  We really didn’t want to stop but night was falling and we were heading to Paros at an anchorage called Ormos Ay Ioannou.  We have had lots of neighbors and even another American vessel.  This is the perfect anchorage:  good holding, great protection from the northern winds, clear turquoise water, a taverna on shore and gorgeous scenery!  We have been here three days now and are getting most of our “to-do” list done and maybe will go explore town today…have some fun!

 

Internet…what a luxury!

I know you all think I’m crazy but I haven’t had good internet service for about three weeks now and let’s just say…”It was time”.  Actually, I had to pay some bills and get some laundry and bedding washed (they too had been neglected for three weeks now).  We headed to Katapola which is still on the Island of Amorgos but a small, cozy town looking for GOOD internet.  I found it but the water and electricity situation was another story.  They would deliver water to the boat and you could get electricity if you wanted to pay dearly for it.  We opted out of both and are enjoying our Free internet service immensely!

Gunkholing at its finest!

Today we left Santorini and headed northeast to Amorgos.  We got to sail for a bit before having to turn on the engine as the winds were under 3 knots.  As we approached we could see that the island is very rugged and mountainous.  While not really a tourist destination, it is a backpackers dream and a wonderful diversion from the very crowded Santorini.  The Island is mostly known as the setting for the film, “The Big Blue” where they compete in free-diving. 

We headed directly to Ormos Kalotaritissa, an enclosed bay on the SW end.  We set the anchor in 5m clear emerald green waters on a sandy bottom.  There are a few local boats here but the activity is minimal.  I don’t see a soul around and only hear the cawing of the seagulls or the ring of the bells around the goats necks…very peaceful.

 

The Break Room :)

Before leaving this place, we took the dinghy and checked out the area.  There are many caves and then we found a shipwreck.  It was pretty creepy actually.  The name of the ship was called “Inland” but later became known as “Olympia” in the movie.