OMG…1,2,3

OMG #1…Our day started at 3:00am by getting up to see our Guests off and make sure their taxi showed up.  Anyone who knows me knows that I do not do 3am very well but it was important enough for me to get up.  I just want to let James, Jeanne, Nykii, and Tessa know how much we enjoyed their visit!  I will miss the giggling girls and the quiet lip-syncing while at sail the most…made me smile a lot!

OMG#2…After catching a few more ZZZZZZ’s, we got up again at 6am as we start heading for Western Greece and the Ionian Sea.  We sailed five hours through a major commercial traffic lane from Athens to the Corinth Canal.  On our way we saw this submarine:

  

We tied up along the canal wall, paid our 305 Euros which is about $450 for the 3.2 mile canal short-cut.  The canal was started by a French Company but finished by the Greeks in 1893.  There is one railroad and two auto bridges crossing above the 250 foot high limestone walls…and yes, we were being followed by a huge cruise ship.  It was one of those WOW moments for sure!

On your way out on the West side of the canal is a hydraulic auto bridge that goes underwater when boat traffic is coming through:

  Completely underwater Coming UpAll the way up now!

OMG #3…Our schedule called for us to do an overnighter into Lefkas.  The Gods had another thing in mind for us.  About an hour after leaving the canal, the waves and wind grew to Gale Force…AGAIN…and straight on our nose, of course.  So after we had a nice clean boat when we left Athens this morning, we were again covered in a thick layer of Salt.  The waves were crashing at the dodger which made us zip up the entire enclosure, creating a sauna affect.  The crew (ME) was not feeling well at all and will drink that whole bottle of Ouzo if that’s what it takes for the Gods to STOP THIS!!!!

We finally surrendered and headed into Itea on the Gulf of Corinth.  We are tied up along the town wall.  The roads here are all stained red from the lorries carrying red haemetite iron ore which is mined here. 

The mountains here are covered with olive trees and a few pines which makes for a beautiful view. 

Tomorrow it looks like we will try to make it to Delphi if we find the right bus :)

Kea, Greece

We are headed for Athens so our guests can catch their plane but stopped in Limin Ayios Nikolaou on Kea for one last night anchored out.  It was a peaceful anchorage with a beautiful lit up church up on the hill. 

Success in the Hunt for Tofu!!!!!

When we first arrived on the boat in Athens and went to the Carrefour (the food store) there was no tofu to be found anywhere. Tessa and I are both vegetarian so it’s a common staple of our diet. We were very disappointed and were looking at every store we went to. Apparently there are no vegetarians in Greece :p So anyways we had almost given up our search, but today we had lunch at a Thai/Chinese place on Mykonos. Guess what they had… TOFU!!!!!!!! Not only did we get to eat it for lunch, but we were able to snag a box from the chef for the boat…only 8 Euros… so happy :D!

-Posted from a very happy Nykii and Tessa  

Beach Time in Mykonos

Mykonos as it turns out is a very busy island, no matter day or night. Every morning we wake up to a new cruise ship docked near by where a different one had been just the night before. On the 26th we had our first full day on the island and our first plan was to just cruise around the island in the car we had rented. This, however, did not turn out like we thought because we found a beautiful beach by a restaurant where we ended up spending the whole day. Everyone got a good tan and then we returned to the boat.

Today (the 27th) was the day we really got to walk around town.  We saw the famous windmills and “Little Venice”, the oldest area of the Chora (main city)

 

We had heard that there was a pelican on Mykonos named Pete. We didn’t think we would ever see him but today we got several pictures of him when he was walking around town.

 

For lunch we decided to go to the Thai/Chinese place we had passed yesterday. (This was the delicious place with the tofu). Then after lunch we drove to another beach and spent some time there playing beach volleyball and relaxing before we had to return the rental car on our last night on Mykonos.

-Nykii and Tessa (:

Shelter in Mykonos

We left Paros after only one night to make our way over to Mykonos. On our way we stopped at Delos, a large city/island of over 30,000 inhabitants. This is one of the most extensive archeological sites I’ve ever seen. On this whole island are ruins from the ancient city that once thrived here. Included in many of the buildings are mosaics of dolphins, people, and animals. Along one of the many streets they have massive stone lions. There were originally nine of them but only five are preserved and are in the museum.  These ones are replicas.  One of the newest Quarters of the city was the Establishment of the Poseidoniasts.  This area was the first to be burned by the Pirate Raids in 69 BC.  Just a few blocks have been escavated and most findings are jewelry made of inexpensive materials.  The pirates took most of the good stuff or it was carried away in a rush.  Two women had time to bury their gold jewelry and medallions but never returned to claim it. Other small fortunes were also uncovered yielding silver and gold coins.  Sadly, much of the city is worn away but you can still see a lot of what there used to be. After a few hours here we left and took a short sail over to Mykonos.

 

Here on the island lies a thriving city that has endless winding roads and places to be. So we will be here in a marina until Tuesday morning where we have taken shelter from another Meltemi that has come through.  Just for you yachties out there…we hit a Beaufort scale    8-9 last night.

-Posted by Nykii and Tessa

Escaping the Winds?

When we were leaving AntiParos we had to get up pretty early to try and beat the winds that were coming. Sadly, getting up early did almost nothing to help us in the wind. We were trying to  get to Paros but we were making no head way in the wind so then we decided to shoot for another island. However, when we were not that far from the other island we decided to take another shot at Paros and eventually got there. The winds had died down for the time being.

It was totally worth it when we finally arrived. It was perfectly still waters and the beaches were beautiful. Walking around town was an amazing experience with the winding roads and little shops every where. Then off the beaten path we found a stunning little restaurant with candles on every table. It was also right on the beach; so you could eat your food and watch the waves and sunset. All of this was a great ending that topped off a stressful sailing day.

-Nykii Sherman and Tessa Zee 

Paying Hommage to the God Boreas

After spending several days worrying that we might end up in Egypt (or some other place South), we payed hommage to the God Boreas (God of the North Wind).  Even the dinghy rides to the dock were anxiety ridden but we saw a lot of Antiparos.  We bought some rose’ Meltemi (Meltemi is the word for the big Greek winds)wine made on Paros island in Naoussa (where we really wanted to be).  We proceeded to drink some and then poured a bit into the water so that God Boreas would be happy with us and stop his nonsense :)  It worked almost immediately as the seas and winds calmed.  Although they picked up again overnight, during our trip North to Paros (in 10 foot seas and 35 knot winds) John mentioned that he would give the God more wine and things calmed down again…makes you go hmmmm.  We made it safely to Paros where it is very calm, enjoyed a wonderful dinner ashore in Naoussa and will head to Mykonos tomorrow.

Look…let’s harvest the cilantro!

Detour in AntiParos

We left Sifnos bright and early to try and make our way to Paros before the Meltemi (grreat winds) came and would not allow us to sail. However, along our way to the island the wind and the sea were getting very rough and one of us got very sea sick ): So to find shelter from the sea we came to the small island of AntiParos for lunch and ended up staying there through the night and the next few days. The winds have been a constant 35 knots (40 mph) for the last few days.  We must have made Boreas (God of the North wind) very angry somehow.  The wind cleared the horizon and made for a beautiful sunset!

Today when we got up we found a bus schedule so we could go to the main town of AntiParos. It turns out that it is a thriving place full of many shops and delicious sorbet stores. Walking through the town we entered what used to be an old castle that once existed there but was now converted into homes, although it still had some of the old remnants remaining. We spent most of the day there and later returned to the boat for dinner.

Tomorrow (June 23rd) we plan to spend the day going to the huge cave on AntiParos. This cave was known during the time of Alexander the Great.

We are also planning on returning to the town of AntiParos for another look at the rich culture that exists there, as well.

-Yet another entry from Nykii (Nikandra) Sherman and Tessa Zee

Happy Birthday Old Man

Happy Birthday to John…Summer Solstice Baby turns ???

Glaronissia.

The north coast of Milos is a remarkable and rare example of andesite column formation. These islets are entirely made up of vertical, pentagonal and hexagonal prisms, 20-30 cm in diameter, in majestic array.

 

Sailing to Sifnos

This morning we woke up to another beautiful day and a sail to the island of Sifnos ahead of us. We had the best chocolate croissants that we got from the cute little bakery the day before for breakfast and then it was time to sail. It was not such a long journey today, only three or four hours from the island of Milos to Sifnos.

When we arrived it was a prefect temperature to go swimming in the crystal clear water that surrounded us. So that is just how we spent the gorgeous afternoon: swimming and jumping off the boat into the clear water. Later in the day before dinner James and Jeanne Sherman went to the island to have a look around and see what is there. It sure looks nice from where we were anchored. We may or may not spend another day here but either way next stop is Paros! –this has been another post from Nykii Sherman and Tessa Zee (: thanks for reading!