Peloponnese Circumnavigation Begins




Launch day



So we are finally on our way. Much of the last six weeks was taken up with the usual fixing things, getting the boat ready to go in the water and waving farewell to those who were setting off before us.

The morning our friends Steve and Jenny on Lilla left, we received an early morning phone call from them saying that they were towing another boat back to the marina, as it had broken down a few miles outside the canal entrance, and could we come and take their lines, which of course we did. It turns out that Mervyn and Sandra on Gitano had left bright and early that morning, only to be left wallowing around in the sea, hoping that another boat would come and help them. After a couple of days of investigation, it appears that Gitano’s heat exchanger and failed. Fortunately for Mervyn and Sandra they have a car here in Greece and, in order to alleviate the boredom, (and to get the parts he needed), we all took a road trip to Athens – 3 ½ hours there, 40 minutes to park the car, 45 minutes in the Yanmar shop, and 3 ½ hours back – a day well spent. In truth it was actually quite fun, that’s what we keep telling ourselves. Living the dream now!

Steve and Jenny on Lilla

Anyway, I digress, as always. We were actually waiting for Steve and Jenny to return from Lefkas (where they were having many new toys fitted to their new boat, the same make as Alhambra) before we would set sail, in tandem, around the Peloponnese. We were to meet them in Ay Nicholas, on the north east corner of Zakynthos, an island we have not visited before. The weather looked favourable for the next couple of days and we agreed to meet on Tuesday 2^nd June.

However, the day before, we received an e-mail to say that Steve and Jenny had a problem and that they were stuck in Poros on Cephalonia...what sort of problem? Well, without going into too much detail, the 1^st June was a full moon, which means high tides, which normally in the Med does not cause a problem...but in Poros... there is a shallow area in front of the town quay, which normally does not cause a depth problem, but today it did for Steve and Jenny. They were stuck behind the shallows. So after much effort on their part to lighten their boat, and wait for high tide, they finally managed to ‘escape’, and their planned departure was back on schedule. It’s something you get out of the habit of thinking about – tidal heights, especially us, as we only draw 1.45m, we wouldn’t get stuck anywhere...or would we?

Leaving Messolonghi Canal

And so, as planned, we left Messolonghi Marina on Tuesday morning, within 10 minutes of our planned departure time! Having wintered in Messolonghi for a few years now, we are very familiar with the exit canal and the buoys, and so I went below to finish a few things, and note our departure time, when suddenly the boat rocked, I assumed caused by a wake of something going past, but nothing that had gone past. I came back up on deck to investigate...we had gone aground! Whilst leaving the lagoon, David was listening to the engine to make sure all was OK, and his mind had slipped back into the Caribbean buoyage system, which is opposite to European system, and we were now on the wrong side of the buoy!!! Needless to say we removed ourselves from the mud and got back on the right track – hopefully these will be the worst of our incidents as we start our circumnavigation of the Peloponnese.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Greece’s geography, the Peloponnese lies at the southern end of mainland Greece, almost a huge island itself, attached at the point of the Corinth Canal (which we passed through last year). Along its north coast are the Gulfs of Patras and Corinth respectively, to its east are the islands of the Cyclades, to the south east is the island of Crete, Africa on its west coast, and Italy on its north west coast. The centre of the Peloponnese is mountainous, but two principal mountains ranges, the Taiyetos and the Parnon running south, ending in Cape Matapan and Cape Malea respectively. Our Greek Waters Pilot guide continues to tell us,

‘like the mountains, the peoples of this country have been rugged and tough. It was known in ancient times as the Island of Pelops, hence Peloponnese...around 2000BC it was invaded by the first Greek-speaking peoples, a warrior race from whom the heroes Perseus and Pericles were probably derived. Later came the Mycenaeans and later the Spartans. Then came the Free Laconian League, whose descendants acquired the name Maniotes, who were the fiercest race. They lived in clans and feuds were commonplace. Families built towers to shelter from reprisals and these strange structures still exist on the Mani peninsula...

‘...Along the coastline the forts and castles at strategic points tell of the importance of the Peloponnese as part of the trade route between the Aegean and Europe. Until the Corinth Canal was cut, most of the trade between east and west passed around this lonely stretch of coast. Whoever controlled this route controlled the flow of spices...’



Ay Nicholas

However, as I have already mentioned, before we even get to the Peloponnese, we are first visiting Zakynthos. Ay Nicholas is a tiny fishing port/village, which is situated very close to the Blue Caves of Zakynthos (although there are in fact three sets of Blue Caves on Zakynthos), and Shipwreck Beach. Steve and Jenny are already tied on the quay when we arrived, and had managed to save us the last spot.

 

Alhambra at Ay Nicholas

Dimitri, an enterprising young man who runs the fuel station, a restaurant, and many tripper boats (Theodores Cruises), takes care of making sure everyone can get on the town quay, in a calm and polite fashion. As it is a town quay, he cannot, and does not expect you to use any of his businesses, but knows that a helping hand will always be richly rewarded, and I can vouch for his fresh BBQ fish and rabbit stew. We also decided that a visit to the Blue Caves and Shipwreck Bay would be easier on his tripper boat.

Shipwreck...

Shipwreck Bay is so named because, yes you’ve guessed it, there is a shipwreck in it and the story goes that... (http://www.zanteguru.com - this website is one that I found gave the most useful information on Zakynthos).

‘In 1980, a freighter was pursued by the Greek Navy. The crew were suspected of smuggling contraband and the navy chased the ship through the Ionian Sea.

 Allegedly there was 'wine, tobacco and women' on board and the chase came to an abrupt end when the ship ran aground in stormy weather on the coast to the north of the island at Porto Vromi.

We arrived around at the bay at 12:45, and were allowed to stay an hour, which is quite long enough to have a look around the shipwreck and then watch as the hoards of other boats arrive, full of people doing exactly what we were doing.



Hoards of tourists



 

The beach is stunning, overshadowed by 600ft cliffs on all sides, but the sea entrance. There are no roads to the beach, access is only by boat. There are no facilities (toilets, drinks vendors, beach chairs or umbrellas), the only shade from the mid-day sun, is in the shadow of the shipwreck.

 

The rusting wreck sits peacefully, as thousands of people wander around is decaying structure, writing their names and general graffiti across its hulls. There are no fences or wires to stop you from going anywhere you wish. For me, it was a reminder of what nature’s storms can do, even to a ship that size.

Dimitri in his boat

 An hour later, Dimitri collects us and we return along the same coastal route, but this time much closer to the cliffs. If I were a geologist I would be able to elaborate more eloquently about the astonishing rock formations that we past, as we sped along on our tripper boat.

 

A few minutes later we arrived at a cave, the Blue Caves. We looked at the entrance, and then we looked at the size of our boat, it looked at bit like a child’s puzzle...no, surely this boat will not fit in that cave...yes it did.



Blue arches

Dimitri expertly manoeuvred the tripper boat right up inside the cave. He gave everyone time to take photos and somehow turned 180 degrees around and allowed us time to take photos on the other side. All four of us sailors were very impressed. He continued along the coast a little way, until we reached the Blue Arches, and again adeptly took the boat through the centre, always pointing out interesting facts. Our final treat was a swim into a cave. I have to admit the water was, how shall we say, blooming cold, but the swell helped you along and into the expanse beyond the cave entrance. The water was a stunning shade of blue reflecting up onto the ceiling – shame I didn’t have an underwater camera.

Alhambra - sailing!

The following day, we said our farewells to Dimitri and his family and headed 14 miles south to Zante town. We were a little dubious of going to Zante Town, as the reports we had heard were not all that favourable. Unfortunately for Zakynthos, it is another island that suffered tremendously in the 1953 earthquake, and almost all of its Venetian buildings were lost, and the rebuild has not been to the same standards. But I would imagine if you are trying to re-house a whole island, you primary concern is not aesthetics, but homes, hospitals and schools, and trying to rebuild businesses. Personally we liked it.

 

Zante Town Harbour

The town harbour is a big commercial harbour with enormous ferries coming and going all day, but you almost don’t notice them as they are on the opposite side of the harbour. The mooring for small boats and yachts is along the sea wall, and along the main street. The Town Council has not allowed music bars and discos along the main street, these are further out of town, along with most of the hotels and beach resorts, so in a sense it still has a very Greek feel about it, especially if you go along the back streets and find the real Greece.

As we arrived, a very nice man, Marinos, showed us where to dock; he arranged all our port police paperwork and sorted out the power and water. He also arranged a car the following day for us, delivered to our boat – never had that before.

Many boats at Turtle Bay

The following day started with overcast skies and drizzle, so we decided to go south to visit Turtle Bay; a bay supposedly protecting nesting turtles, with very few places to anchor. However, on route we spotted a Lidl – quick shop stop! By the time we had finished shopping, the rain had stopped. However, stopping at Turtle Bay allowed us to make up our minds not to take the boat there the following day. It is a very open bay and given the forecast it would make for a very rolly night (later confirmed by friends who did stop there overnight). Also, looking at the number of little motor boats for hire, I’m not sure how much protection the turtles are actually getting.

View from Kampi, west coast

We continued around the island and decided to stop at Kampi for lunch, a small village in the middle of the west coast, set high on the cliffs, where there is a large white cross, made of white stone and stands in memory of all those who lost their lives during the years of occupation on the island. The views are stunning, and lunch wasn’t bad either. Next stop, Shipwreck Bay, from above.

View of Shipwreck Bay from above

After continuing along the west coast, we found the road to Navagio Bay, AKA Shipwreck Bay, where the enterprising Greeks have made a car park, a viewing platform and there are a couple of merchants selling oil and honey. Unfortunately there were so many people there, I couldn’t get to the right place on the viewing platform to actually see the shipwreck from above – but the water did look very blue. We ended the day back at Ay Nicholas and Dimitri for a milkshake and a coffee, before heading back to Zante town.

With plans for dinner agreed we had one last trip to make in the car, and that was for pre-dinner drinks in the ancient town of Bohali, a small village and castle, nestling in trees above Zante town. The setting provides a stunning view of the harbour and town. Time for dinner!



Zante town and harbour from Bohali

The following morning Steve and Jenny left for Katakolon, but were unfortunately delayed by not one crossed anchor, but two boats had laid their chain across theirs. It didn’t take long to sort out, but it’s never the best way to start the day. They have two friends arriving, who will be staying with them for a month, while we circumnavigate the Peloponnese.

We hung around in Zante Town for another day and then had a very pleasant motor across to the mainland and into Katakolon. From here, we will take a train up to Ancient Olympia...but that’s all for next time.

As always, stay in touch; let us know what’s going on in your lives.

Michele and Dave

On board Alhambra – Katakolon, Peloponnese, Greece