LEAVING HYDRA FOR THE PELOPONNESE
WEDNESDAY, 23 JULY 2008 (Cont.)
Ross is sitting where he can watch Impulsive while we order dinner. He is concerned we are tied up so close to the shore. He soon notices the mast has moved a little closer to shore as the strong n. westerly wind comes up. The holding here with the wind coming in this direction will be untenable, so he quickly leaves and goes in the dinghy to check. In the meantime, the restaurant holds our dinner and agree they can put it in take-away packaging if necessary. Ross confirms we have to leave immediately so this is what we do, having a sip of our wine as we go. The people here have been very considerate and understanding. As we return to Impulsive we realize all the other boats have left or are pulling up their anchors to do so.
It takes us some time to get away as Ross has us so securely tied up to this stern to mooring. We are relieved to finally be underway and without any damage to the boat. Once organized we enjoy the dinner. We plan to sail overnight to the Corinth Canal, but at about midnight the wind comes up more and soon we are bashing straight into it, making little headway. We decide to find shelter at 2am in a small cove outside the channel to Poros. We drop the anchor for the rest of the night. What a relief to be in calm waters and falling into bed.
THURSDAY, 24 JULY 2008
Poros
We wake early and up anchor at 5.30am to get underway while it's still calm. These meltemi winds seem to come up in the afternoon. What a gem of a place Ross chose to anchor at. As we pass up the narrow canal we wish we have time to stop here. You can sense there is a lovely atmosphere here. We read later it is a popular holiday destination from Athens. The town is on one side with charming architecture of the old houses along the channel and its whitewashed houses with their red tiled roofs you can see in the narrow alley ways leading up high to the clock tower and cathedral. Some people are up and about already preparing for the day . We are close enough to shore to see people going in and out of the bakery. On the other side you look over to the mountainous Peloponnese.
All is calm until 9.30am when 30kt winds (the scale of 6-7) come up against us in the more exposed seas here, and we are lucky to make 3kts boat speed. None of this was apparent in the forecasts, and it is frustrating they are so often wrong in these areas. We would never leave on a passage with a forecast like this. We wonder if we are going around the world the wrong way! To continue like this is unpleasant and hard on the boat so we turn back and anchor in a lovely cove at Poros. We have time to explore here after all and enjoy it very much.
FRIDAY, 25 JULY 2008
Again we set off early, hopeful with a reasonable forecast from sea mail weather. We went in to see the port officials yesterday and they only give a forecast from 7am each morning. Also we have learned that they give lower wind forecasts than expected because they don't want the tourist ferries to be cancelled. Again we experience 30 kts of wind against us. The seas rise up and are very choppy, so we give in and head in through many fish farms to anchor at a deep inlet south of Korfos called Ormos Selounda, which is part of the Peloponnese. Again, the skipper has found a lovely anchorage surrounded by high mountains, barren up high and wooded lower down.
We meet other very friendly and helpful yachties here all waiting for the right weather window to get through to the Corinth Canal. The main issue is that you need to wait until there is a good forecast to get to the canal and then another one for when you come out into the Corinth Bay. The latter can have very strong seas and winds against you and, if the small Corinth marina is full, it is a long distance until you can find protection. Apparently, the heavy winds we are experiencing are coming across from the Adriatic. There isn't a good weather window until Monday so we look forward to exploring the beautiful Peloponnese. Not many tourists come to this area apparently, but it is a favourite area for Greek people.
These same people encourage us to move Impulsive and bring her in stern to the quay for better protection. This means we step off the boat and can sit down at the restaurant for a very late (3.30pm) and lengthy lunch. We check the weather on the Internet with a Swiss man who has some fancy adaptor. There is no Internet cafe here.
Unfortunately, the restaurateur wasn't happy with where we dropped our anchor as much as we tried to do as he requested (they want to fit boats in as tightly as possible and to avoid fouling anchors). This set the tone for a while but all is well when we leave. It is a great benefit to have Impulsive well secured to go off for the day.
We are told there is an open air concert on tonight 30 ks away at Epidhavros in its well preserved classical theatre. We are very disappointed to find we cannot get transport there at this late stage. In this tiny place there are no car hire places available and the taxi won't take us in to Corinth until tomorrow to hire a car. This is a 45 minute drive. We are very tired so we have a light dinner on board and a good sleep ready to leave early tomorrow morning.
SATURDAY, 26 JULY 2008
THE PELOPONNESE
We drive in the taxi to Corinth through green wooded countryside with an abundance of olive trees. The seas look benign. At Corinth the winds are strong and the seas are big. A motor cruiser tried to go out and came back in after 5 n.miles. We are pleased to have made the right decision.
The old Corinth town was destroyed years ago by earthquakes and is now a sprawling, featureless town. This is partly because the buildings have been replaced with modern, concrete ones that can resist earthquakes better. The old town site is worthy of a visit apparently, but we didn't make it.
We drive along the coast road with its views and turn off up a very steep incline with high escarpments beside a steep sided Vouraikos gorge to Zahlorou, about 100ks. from Corinth, and its small train station.
This small train is a highlight of the area. Unfortunately, the train is under repair but we can follow near its track anyway. It is very beautiful here by a running creek and well shaded with many plain trees. It's also cooler. We go back down to Diakofto, a small seaside town where the train ride begins. Many olive and lemon trees grow in this area, and you can look back up to the high mountains above where there are numerous chalets for the ski season. We have lunch at Costas run by a family who have lived in Australia for many years.
This small train is a highlight of the area. Unfortunately, the train is under repair but we can follow near its track anyway. It is very beautiful here by a running creek and well shaded with many plain trees. It's also cooler. We go back down to Diakofto, a small seaside town where the train ride begins. Many olive and lemon trees grow in this area, and you can look back up to the high mountains above where there are numerous chalets for the ski season. We have lunch at Costas run by a family who have lived in Australia for many years.We drive back along the coast road towards the wine area and turn off to the Nemea wine road. The countryside here is an agricultural belt amongst rolling hills. Some of the wineries are perched up high and we were amazed the vines look so healthy where they must have to withstand high winds. We have a tasting at a smaller, more personal vineyard and buy some Kthma from the local grape and Cabernet Sauvignon.
This has been many hours of driving for Ross but a lovely "Greek" experience that we hadn't planned.
When we arrive back to Impulsive a young German family have pulled in beside us and are great fun. After dinner on shore off the stern of the yacht we have drinks with the Swiss skipper, Alan, and his crew. The latters cousin, also from Switzerland, is with them and she has been living on the island for 10 years since she was widowed at an early age. She is very informative about the life and culture here. She goes "home" for 4 months a year to ski.
