Messalonghi - Gulf of Patras

Six hour sail from Astakos to Messalonghi. A very, very tired bee took refuge on our spray hood, too tired even to put up an antennae in self-defence. I left a spoon of sugary water close by him so that he could 're-fuel'.  After a few hours shut eye he ventured onto the spoon, had a good slurp and flew away.

 

Entry into Messalonghi is up a channel through a protected lagoon, this is one of the main wetlands in Europe. Raw sea salt is harvested on the lagoon and after six hours sailing my hair and skin was encrusted with breezes off the sea and wetland, I licked my lips and tasted fresh raw life giving salt. It's quite 'exotic'  sailing this channel with the traditional Pelades - fishing cabins on stilts in the water either side...

And a fishing gentleman doffing his cap at us :O)

 \
This is his Pelades... with the Arakynthos Mountains behind, what a beautiful home!

Here's a traditional fishing boat, they still use the barrier trap method...

 

The view from my galley window...

Astakos - Greek for Lobster

This is one little coastal town on the mainland, approximately four hour sail from Nidri. It has a fishing fleet of three large boats and several very small local boats. We tucked away in here very peacefully for two days. As Lobster is 90 Euros per kilo I think it's off our menu.

One of the three large fishing boats moored next to us. All doing their washing and cooking onboard - just like us  :O) going about their business quietly.

At the end of the little promenade an old Triumph Herald.

Follow your nose just off the beaten track - a STASH growing as nature intended LOL. And several very happy hens milling about :O)

The old fruit and veg store, nothing in packets or cling film, buy what you need and carry it away - perfect.

Small fishing boat returning with the catch.

Nydri - Lefkadas

We left Preveza at 9amish and really unusual for the mornings in the Ionian we caught a good twelve knot wind and broad reach to the entrance of the Lefkas canal for the 11am opening ( only opens on the hour). The dredgers are busy just outside the reaches of the entrance with the winter silts. Only three of us going south, an Aussie catamaran, a small motor boat and us. Popping out the south end of the canal we headed south west to Nidri and moored stern to the quay. Not many berths here but we squeezed in between a Dutch and French boat.  This is the approach to Nidri ...

The omnipresent mountains thrill me so much more than the towns.

 

Nidri has surrendered itself to tourism...

Yet the fishermen still hold sway on the inner quay...

And street philosophy exists...

...Men have to construct their own destiny! As does Nidri.

 

We walked away from town and found a Bronze Age Tumuli (Tombs) site where 4,000 years ago the people buried their dead under burial mounds. These are currently being excavated...

 

Rather than return to the ear splitting quay front we wandered inland past gardens packed with courgettes, tomatoes, vines, olive and fig trees about a kilometre to the village of Radi where we found restaurant Katorahoula. Run by a charming family and the food is really really good.

Later that evening we walked down the bay where Neilson Sailing Holidays and Sailing Holidays ( CORFU) vie for pontoon space. We found four of our young friends from Corfu busy keeping their punters happy on the last night of their sailing holiday!

Preveza

So here we are in Epirus NW Greece. We sailed across the bay from Cleopatra, our shortest hop yet. You can come to Preveza by car via the Aktio-Preveza Immersed tunnel, the only under-sea tunnel in Greece. Preveza is a small commercial harbour, the town unpretentious and friendly. Mooring is stern-to the town quay. There's an unfinished marina but mainly 'forgotten' boats raft there.  I ventured into the back streets, as is my want, preferring them to sea fronts.

Whiled away a few hours everyday at this local café under a canopy of jasmine - listening to the locals chatting away ( quite loudly as they do).

On our last evening I brought Greg along to 'my corner', here he is waiting for our 'Divine' food to arrive...

 

 There was no 'God' this evening -  we had to make do with fresh seafood and fava salad.  As we sat there several people came past taking photos of the plaque above our heads. I hadn't noticed this plaque in three days.

Eventually a gentleman who spoke sufficient English explained that in this house a famous Greek Poet, Kostas Karioyakis, lived for 33 days before heading off to a local beach to shoot himself!  Here's one of his poems:
The Tree

With calm, indifferent brow
I'll greet the afternoons, the dawns.

A tree, I'll stand and gaze at both
the tempest and the azure sky.

I'll say that life's the coffin
in which people's joy and sorrow die.

Kostas Karyotakis

A week on the hard - Preveza

A six hour sail from the island of Paxos, broad reach in 25 knots to mainland Greece. There's a channel approach to Preveza, well buoyed and mega shallows outside the channel, so best not to divert, though low keel Catamarans can, and they do.We decided to sail to Cleopatra marina for our 'pull-out'. This means getting the boat lifted out of the water and put on the 'hard' in order to do essential checks and servicing below the water-line. The boat will also have her bottom jet washed to remove weed and encrustations of barnacles etc. The main reason we chose Cleopatra is because they are highly professional and have the most amazing lifting gear, they are also 350 Euros cheaper than Corfu that only have a crane! No brainer...

Having come alongside, this remote controlled lifter does it's work - they have another one that can lift 300 ton boats. That's  nine tons of Lerryn Lady suspended in mid-air and the Cornish flag flying above the ensign :O) Preveza town in background.

Suspended in mid air...

Here you can see her long-keel which is copper coated - she's been in the water for two seasons and hardly a weed on her! Copper coating is very eco-friendly...

 

A short ride away and she's on the 'hard' with a fancy stair case so that we can still sleep onboard :O)

 

Gaios on the East coast of Paxos

The island of Paxos is small. For me it's the jewel in the Ionian Crown. Not much to do other than sail, snorkel, stroll through ancient alleyways and wander to a taverna for Ouzo. The place weaves a spell ...

 

 This is the view from our forepeak.

Once a day two tripper boats arrive from Kavos, Corfu - far too big ( in my opinion).  We were entertained this afternoon as they tangled their anchors and spent nearly an hour shunting, shouting and generally causing mayhem in this tiny beautiful harbor - you could hear the collective sigh when they left!

A local day tripper boat to anti Paxos - more our style.

Even more up our street - next time we pass through we'll sail in here, berth to the tiny weeny pontoon ( 2 boats only), or maybe anchor off, have a shower then dance the night away.

These two fly the few metres from the islet opposite our mooring every afternoon ( they wait for the tourists boats to leave) and stroll about the quay chatting away. The sky is alive with larks, swifts, orioles and hawks


Mooring is stern to the quay - no charge.

 

Onwards to Gaios - island of Paxos

Great sail across the Straits from Petriti to Paxos - Broad Reach in 18 knots - Lerryn Lady scooted along happy to be sailing, as were we. En route we had a Minoan Cruise ship cross our bows. This is what that information looks like on our navigational screen below:

 The dotted red line is our set course that day. The little red boat shape is us, the BIG red triangle to the right of us ( partially eclipsed by the black info box) is a Minoan Cruise ship. The blue triangle to the left and below us is another yacht called 'Bergfjord'. You can see our position on the planet is N39"08.488' E20'19.513. We are sailing, Cruise ship is motoring at 25.3 knots, he gives way to us. At this point in time the Cruise ship is 809 metres to our Port side ( left). He can see us on his screen as well. Sea depth is 120 metres. Continuing on this course the nearest that Cruise ship will get to us is 787m in about 18 seconds time - then he's gone :O)

 Here's she is off to our Port side, 800m away and  travelling at 25 knots - schedules and all that!

And here she's crossing our bow.