When our sailing journey began in the summer of 2018, we never thought we would be staying very long in any country. But we’re still in Greece after more than two years! This winter will be the third that our Aina rests in a Greek harbour – this time in Crete. We hope our readers can wait for future sailing plans patiently, as they are never revealed even to us until the very last moment.
Another strange year is coming to a close. Our sailing season ended in Crete in early November. It was eventful, in both good and bad. We learned a lot, kept our heads above water, and enjoyed each and every beautiful day, warm water and favourable wind we encountered.
The island of Naxos has a lot to see – you could easily spend several fully packed weeks here. This time we only had a day to tour the island on a rental car, but we managed to get a very nice glimpse of the island. We headed east, over the hills, from Naxos town. The further we got from the rugged coastline, the greener and lusher the landscape became.
Our Cycladic adventure had begun from Paros, and now we arrived in Naxos after only a couple of hours’ sail. Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades islands. The main city goes by the same name but is often called Chora (chora means simply “town” or “main town” and there are many Choras all over the Greek islands). The town is situated in a large bay on the northwestern corner of the island, nestled behind a small island with the ruins of Apollo’s temple on it. Between the temple island and the town is a small anchorage, and that’s where we decided to drop the hook.
Naxos, Paxos, Paros, Poros… Antipaxos, Antiparos, but no Antinaxos or Antiporos. Did I get it right? Perhaps the Greeks could have used a little more imagination or at least syllables when naming their islands, don’t you think?
The small island of Aegina sits in the middle of the Saronic Gulf, south of the Piraeus harbour. This triangle-shaped island is about 12 km wide and has a population of 9000. There’s a frequent ferry service from Piraeus, so it’s pretty crowded during the summer season.
Archaia Epidauros or Palaia Epidavros, whichever is the official name of the place, was a significant harbour throughout ancient times. According to Homer, it supplied 25 warships for the Trojan war. Today it’s a small fishing village, with a sheltered marina and some tourism. The more popular Epidavros, particularly known for its huge theatre and sanctuary dedicated to the god of healing and medicine, Asclepius, is located about 10 km inland.
The Mezapos Bay distress and the subsequent boatyard visit to Kalamata were happily in the past. It was time to look ahead, and high time to continue our journey! We had come here to round the Peloponnese, and round the Peloponnese, we would.
What happens if you end up in a distress situation in Greece, and call the coast guards? We tested, and lived to tell the story.
Two Finnish boats waved goodbye to the island of Zakynthos. It was late July, and they were on their way to the Peloponnese, and eventually, the Aegean Sea. For us, it was a rare and wonderful chance to buddy-boat together with someone, and even though it was just for a while, it felt very special.
Last time we got to know the island of Ithaca, home of Odysseus. In mid-July, we continued further south. We anchored in a little cove on the southeastern side of Kefalonia. Two goats, a mother and a kid, provided our evening entertainment. They effortlessly jumped from rock to rock along the seaside. In the morning we continued towards Zakynthos.
The most famous sailor to ever roam the Mediterranean sea was, no doubt, Odysseus. All of us later colleagues have heard of him, and in many ways travelled in his wake. Odyssey, the epic poem of Homer, is a story about a war hero trying to find his way back home from the Trojan war (around 1192-1184 BC). He was the king of Ithaca, and it took him ten years of adventuring to make it back. There are many candidates to every place depicted in the story, including Odysseus’ home island. Some have placed his Ithaca on Kefalonia or Lefkas.
Despite sailing criss-cross around the northern Ionian last summer, we never happened to visit Kalamos and Kastos, two rugged-looking islands. We passed them many times, often uncomfortably close, and always close-hauled – their rocky shores seemed somehow very difficult to avoid!
After a very long winter and lockdown, we finally began our sailing season in mid-May. But the waiting wasn’t over yet. We sailed to Messolonghi for our first covid vaccination dose and had to wait there for a week and a half. The time was spent catching up with friends we had gotten to know during our stay here in winter 2019-2020. After the first jabs, we weighed anchor and sailed to Lefkas, another place that felt a bit too familiar from the previous year (hot summer months working on a boatyard aren’t easy to forget). We tried to change our second vaccination to the hospital in Lefkada, but without success. So we waited some more in Nidri, and in mid-June, we rented a car and drove back to Messolonghi for the jabs. Now the only thing we still had to wait for was the vaccination certificates, and then we would be ready to roam the islands at our leisure.
Sailboat Aina’s crew is still floating in Greece. No worries – we haven’t accidentally sailed over the world’s edge, or been swallowed by a whirlpool, or even poisoned by the fumes of the Mount Parnassos that used to inspire the oracle at Delphi. But the strict lockdown that has lasted for more than six months has had its effect on my writing inspiration.