Otranto - Back in Italia

Otranto was our first landfall in Italy, after a moderately challenging passage from Ithaca.  Just a couple of hours later, those ‘moderate’ conditions turned decidedly nasty as a thunderstorm hovered over the brooding Aragonese castle in true Gothic style, and several boats arriving later had a major challenge finding space and docking in the heavy rain and swell. But it passed, as all things do, and a string of fine warm days ensued.

Speaking of Gothic, has anyone read The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole? I usually try to read books about the places we visit, or books by local authors, so it made sense to download a copy of what is generally believed to be the first example of gothic horror fiction in English. It has all the elements – a haunted castle beset by a curse, a villainous/ attractive antihero, TWO fainting virgins, a hero who turns out to be the illegitimate – no wait, it’s OK, they WERE married – son of a monk, dungeons, torture, secret passages, madness, comical faithful retainers and decaying aristocrats. If you’re thinking, hey that sounds interesting, don’t bother! It is truly awful, one of the worst-written novels I’ve ever read, with great long passages of explanation for the absurd plot twists and pious moral reflections that are clearly there to try to balance the lurid fantasies of the author. No wonder Jane Austen parodied the fad for this sort of stuff in Northanger Abbey. Horace Walpole did the Grand Tour, so I thought that the descriptions of the castle might at least be interesting, but the setting could have been anywhere (with a dungeon and a secret passage to the monastery).

The real castle is remarkable. It has existed in some form since the ancient Greek empire, and has been modified or rebuilt by the Romans, Byzantines, Normans and the Aragonese.  It has suffered earthquake damage, sacking by the Ottomans and Napoleon and use as a prison. Since 1986, a restoration and excavation programme has revealed its outer walls, system of moats and bridges. There is a whole town within the walls, and pleasingly, people live here above the shops and restaurants that line its winding cobbled streets. We really enjoyed seeing local people hanging out washing or watering gardens on their balconies, or the occasional glimpse inside a tiny room furnished in dark wood and hand-made lace.

Within the walls is another treasure of Otranto, its Byzantine cathedral. The floor here is a single massive mosaic created by the presbyter of the church at the time, a man called Pantaleone. It depicts a huge ‘tree of life’ bearing the whole known history of humanity and the creation. The tree rests on the backs of two elephants (obviously not based on live observation) and included are Biblical stories, astrological signs, mythological creatures, King Arthur, Alexander the Great, Dante’s Inferno and all manner of angels and demons. Originally frescoes covered all the walls, but they were destroyed by the invading Ottoman Turks who left only the images of the Madonna intact.

Behind the altar is a grim reminder of the real tragedy of Otranto: three glass cases hold the skulls and bones of 800 men and boys, the Martyrs of Otranto. In 1480, the people of the town held off the invading Turks for almost two weeks. When they were finally defeated, the survivors were rounded up and ordered to convert to Islam or die. 800 men suffered martyrdom by beheading on Minerva Hill, outside the castle.  A church commemorates the site, which retains an atmosphere of melancholy even now, under its brooding trees and overgrown walls. The town never recovered, but last year the Pope canonised all the Martyrs of Otranto.  As you walk the streets, you can imagine the few women, children and elderly people left behind after the massacre, grieving in the silence. It’s a relief when the evening passagiata brings tourists and locals out to enjoy a stroll, a drink and a conversation, like an affirmation of life.

On a lighter note, it’s great to be back amongst Italian food too, and good wine. And new – or old favourite – beers. Some good finds have included Dreher lemon beer, a 2% brew that is a really refreshing hot-weather drink, like a less sweet lemonade with a very slight bitter edge. Arancini for quick take-aways, lovely pastas and the local snack specialty, biscuits called taralli that are good in both their sweet and savoury forms.

We’ve been busy clearing out the second cabin aka the storeroom, ready to welcome Chris aboard. She is finishing up a month-long ‘eating tour’ of Italy and we’re looking forward to welcoming her and hearing about her adventures.

Ithaca

Did Odysseus, or someone like him, really set sail from this island back in the earliest memories of western civilization? Looking down on the dazzling deep blue of Vathy Harbour from the mountains that encircle it, it is perfectly possible to imagine a fleet of “black-prowed ships” heading off on a sea journey of over five hundred nautical miles to Troy. Achilles was Homer’s great hero of the Greek forces at Troy, but Odysseus was always my favourite, famed for his cunning and his skill with words, the hero who brought the war to an end by strategy as well as strength. The Odyssey relates his ten year struggle to return home after the war; it is our great archetype of the epic journey in western literature.

 

The Odyssey World Tour T shirt

No-one really knows the route Homer had in mind. Some places were clearly real, some probably seafarers’ tall tales, most have had many changes of name in the last two and a half thousand years, and of course modern tourism demands that any vague link be exploited to the full. Some scholars claim that Odysseus’ home was actually Lefkas or Cephalonia, but Homer’s words could certainly describe the island of Ithaca:

A rugged land, too cramped for driving horses,

But though it’s far from broad, it’s hardly poor.

There’s plenty of grain for bread, grapes for wine,

Little rain but healthy dewfall.

Good country for goats, for cattle too.

There’s stand on stand of timber

And streams that run throughout the year …

Ancient olive tree

 

Vathy harbour was a beautiful sight on a fine morning: well sheltered, the bay surrounded by pretty Venetian-style villas in pastel colours, mountains covered in pine and olives beyond that, and a constant stream of yachts coming and going, enjoying the closing weeks of the sailing season.

The harbour of Vathy

We hired a scooter (€15 a day) to check out the rest of the island – awesome views of the whole of Ithaca and its neighbours from the roads skirting the mountainsides; olive groves and fine villas; an ancient church in the Paleohora with its Byzantine frescoes still intact; and of course the vivid blue Ionian – Homer’s “wine-dark sea” - on every side.

The ancient church

 

 

And finally it was time to leave Greece, the land of legends, where Western culture was born. By my calculations we have visited 25 islands plus several places on the mainland and the Peloponnese – which leaves about 1375 islands still to see! We met an erudite gentleman from Orlando, Florida (though he’s British) in Nisyros last year, Mr Miles, who had a goal of visiting 100 inhabited Greek Islands.  He was up to 95.

  

The people you meet (Terry)

We were dining in the Trehantiri, a much-lauded “Lonely Planet” restaurant in Vathy, Ithaca, discovering for a second night why people rabbited on about it.  It was A-1 Excellent.  First night I had the lamb, which had been stewed and roasted in some order, for what seemed like two days because I could eat it with a fork.  I added mixed vegetables to this, zucchini and eggplant and potato, and it was superb.  Unfortunately, the remainder of the dish had been booked by others in the know (a table of about 12) so only one portion was available and Cal had to have the chicken, which was no bad second prize.  As a consolation, she got to have the roasted Artichokes, which were unbelievable.

Second night, she got in first and said it was her night for lamb.  No joy.  No lamb.  Tonight was goat.  Ok, 2 x goat with mixed roasted vegetables.  With beer.  It was wonderful.  The hubby of the lady who is obviously SWMBO in the place does pretty much as he’s told.  Take this order, clear that table etc etc.  He does all this amiably, as if he’s just happy to play second fiddle to Her with the virtuoso violin.  It works well.  He came over to our table and indicated that the goat was his doing.  I looked in mock amazement and said/mimed “you cooked this? ”  No, he said.  I shot it!  Oh well, it had to come from somewhere.

Alongside us was a British couple from Kent.  It is one of this lifestyle’s damning features that no sooner do you meet people who are genuinely interesting, warm, open and full of beans than they are gone from your life forever.

We met Jan and Peter, from a village in Kent.  For the life of me, I can’t remember its name but it was near Tunbridge Wells and up a hill.  To the world, they looked like an aging Brit couple on annual holiday, enjoying a tourist spot in Greece.  In reality, they were seasoned adventurers of many years of escapades.  For something like 40 years they had Narrowboat tours of the UK, back before almost anybody did it.  They’d been bucketloads of places and lived to tell the tale.  Modest, unassuming and ever so Englishly-polite, they were delightful company.  Jan told me about a book by a chappy by the name of Terry Darlington called “Narrow Dog to Carcassone”, another Brit, his wife and their whippet who crossed the Channel in their Narrowboat and took it to the Med.  Yes, that’s how you build an empire – some of you just have to be up for anything!

Then the heavens opened and Ithaka was deluged.  A large party of 10 needed accommodating, we four had finished so tables were cleared amid much ado and new diners introduced.  Jan and Peter departed for their digs before we could share details and what I have left from the engagement is a downloaded copy of Narrow Dog to Carcassone on my Kindle DX and a pleasant memory of two delightful people from somewhere in Kent near Royal Tunbridge Wells.

We set off north and west across the Adriatic on an overnight sail for Italy.  Not the best of passages, with a sea from the port stern quarter rolling us around every 8 or 10 swells, a wind that rose and died, with sails coming out and going away again, and a constant procession of large cargo ships who all seemed to want the same line that we wanted.  We were glad to finally arrive in Otranto, Italy, to tie up on the dock and be checked in to Italy by a pleasant young Guardia Costiera officer.

 

We only just beat the weather in......

 

The Free Marina of Trizonia

Trizonia  - This is the only inhabited island in the Gulf of Corinth and sits about 1nm from the mainland.

The Marina

 

On Trizonia is a bankrupt marina project, unfinished.  However, it has piers and pontoons and a population of maybe 80 – 100 in permanent mooring there, some being worked on, some being lived on and some maybe one day will be remembered and attended to.  One is on the bottom, and a couple more look like they’re not far off the same.

 Going no further...

We arrived early in an afternoon to a side-to tie up and were helped by some very obliging Germans.  There was no wind and we simply coasted to a stop and put lines ashore but it was very pleasant to have a welcoming committee and set the tone for the next couple of days.

From the marina, you wander no more than 300m to the restaurant side of the island and a nice swimming beach, although you can swim from your boat over into the small anchorage and many do.

 

The restaurants are your standard waterside Greek restaurants with an easy disposition and lovely views back to the mainland and to the small islands on the east of the bay.  A fierce current rips through between the island and mainland and even the powered ferry boat does a quick sashay to the left before a push to the right to line up with where he wants to be.

No power but water is available for a fee.  No charge for the marina – yes, a free marina, though I suppose eventually someone will take it on and begin to complete the facility.

Quite a fierce electrical storm came through on the night we wanted to leave for an overnighter to Ithaca so we delayed departure to see it off.  Then we decided not to leave but around 10pm the world quietened and the wind dropped to zero.  Up and out of bed, into the cockpit, instruments on, lights lit, lines slipped and off we went for Ithaca by 10:20pm. 

Under a full moon, we motored easily down the Gulf to the Rion Bridge and passed three columns to the left, one column to the right, around midnight then wandered off with some wind at last to Ithaca.

 

The Rion Bridge at midnight

The Beer Tour of the World #12

Beer, Food & Liquor Reviews

 

#12^th  Instalment of the Beer Tour of the World

Yes, it's that time again beer lovers.  I've been a bit on the quiet side for a long time.  Being in Turkey, there is not a great range readily available and what is available is not cheap - Turkish social policies prevail, and that is their prerogative.  Besides, I'm happy drinking Efes as long as it's available.  I was under the misapprehension that Efes was a sort of a euphemism or shortening of Ephesus but how wrong I was.  It is actually a Turkish word for something like a local warrior chief.  I didn't know until I read "Halikarnassus Balikcisi", or "The Fisherman of Halikarnassus" (the old name of Bodrum) about a famous Turkish writer exiled from Istanbul for killing his father, Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı.

Brooklyn Brew

 http://brooklynbrewery.com/brooklyn-beers/perennial-brews/brooklyn-lager

Had this in our son’s new Bar/Restaurant. Has been brewed for a long, long time and is a very good beer. Liked it a lot but not at $10 a stubby.  I’ve become too accustomed to beer costing €1 max in a supermarket or ₹9 in a restaurant (about $4.50 AU).  Tried their Brooklyn Lager when I was in NY City – cost 1/3 of what this cost in Australia.

 

Timothy Taylor Landlord –  Pale Ale

http://timothytaylor.co.uk/bottled-landlord

Not a fan of IPA, I am nevertheless a fan of Pale Ale (been drinking Coopers PA for something like 44 years now).

 

This is a good one.  Only 4.3% but tastes big and strong.  500ml bottles.  Again, in our son’s new place of employment so I wasn’t keen on the $12 price tag.  Have a look at the website – the brewery is worth a visit on scenery alone.

  

Tuborg Special

http://www.carlsberggroup.com/brands/Pages/TuborgSpecial.aspx

 

Strong – 7.5% –   the first Turkish beer with extra alcohol in it.  Not generally a fan of Tuborg but this is quite sharp and full.  Like it a lot but you would certainly need to be careful.

 

Marmara Malt

Given this by a former Isle of Man TT Racer and world-renowned author* who knows his beer, him being a northerner an’ all, at dinner on his boat.  Not too bad.  Good to share, not sharp but at the same time no as sweet as some malts.  Cold, this is very drinkable and not to be turned down.  Not commonly found in retail outlets.  Try it if you see it.

 

*Said author ordered some boat bits in Gibraltar in Sheppards.  Asked for his name, he gave it.  The sales guy said in amazement “not THE Mac McDairmid?”.  To which our Mac said “Well, I suppose I am at that”.

 

Alfa Strong.

Back in the land of Achilles (well, we are 5nm south of where Achilles departed from for Troy, and we all know how that ended).  This is 7%, hence Strong.  I picked it up by mistake, thinking it was normal Alfa but no.  Don’t like it.  The extra alcohol does nothing for the taste.  This dislike only applies to the Strong, as I like Alfa well enough.  Had a second one after a long day walking up and down Delphi and my opinion’s the same.  It’s drinkable if cold but it has little taste, overridden by the extra alcohol.  Had a normal Alfa with my lunch in Delphi and it was very pleasant indeed.

 

Henninger

I may have commented on this before.  Been around for a couple of hundred years.  Drinkable without being remarkable.  Usually quite cheap in supermarkets so it’s worth grabbing when you see it.

 

Sparta

A “name only” beer produced probably by Mythos for a supermarket chain.  Unremarkable but drinkable on a hot day.  Not to be confused with the Milton Brewery bitter of the same name which is part of that brewery’s “Ancient Cities” range.  Will have to try that later.

 

Fix Royale

A wheat beer.  Normally I am not a fan of this style.  I find it too sour and sharp but if I had to drink a wheat beer this would be it.  Very nice, restrained sourness, lots of nice bubbles.

 

Fix Special

Wasn’t.

I still prefer Fix Pils to any other Greek beer, though.

Fischer

From Strasbourg, but widely available in Greece.  Perhaps a little sweeter than a Fix but nevertheless, with a meal matched to it, a very nice beer indeed. 

 

Crest 10%

http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/

 No point in finessing it, it is a 10% lager.  I didn’t like it much, and in future will probably avoid high strength beers in general as they all seem to have high alcohol override a pleasant taste.  This is double-hopped, which made it fruitier than I like and also a bit sweeter than I like.  Would avoid it in future.

That said, the brewery itself is worth a lookies-at.  They’ve been brewing for over 100 years in Bedford, UK and produce quite a range.  Unfortunately, one of them appears to be a Banana Beer, which to me is a sop to modern wusses.  Provided they produce it for good reason, i.e. to make money so that they can continue to make lagers and ales, then OK, go ahead.  Bedford is now on the list of cities I have to visit in the UK.  Looking like I’m never going to get out at this rate.

 

Dreher Lemon Beer 2.0%

http://dreher.it/dreher-lemon/

I’m confused.  Dreher is a large Hungarian brewery, now owned by SAB Miller.  The sign on the bottle here says 1773 but Dreher was founded only in the 1850’s or so, and not purchased by “the King of Brewers”, Dreher himself, until 1862 or 4. Also, this is brewed by Heineken Italy, not SAB Miller so what gives here I have no clue.

Trivia aside, this is a great drink.  Carol was looking for a non-beer, non-wine drink and they didn’t have iced lemon tea so she opted for this.  Call it Adult Lemonade if you will.  They do now make a 0.0% version but this, with a little 2.0% kick, is good.  Nominated as Drink of the Year by the Admiral and on Pusser’s list of approved ship’s stores.

 

We are now back in Italy so there will be much Nastro Azzura'ing and plenty of other fine Italian stuff.

 

Piraeus to Galaxidhi

The time was getting away from us, and we had a problem with our gas supply (no-one to fill US tanks, and difficulty finding a suitable connection between European gas bottles and out boat’s system), so we made an executive decision to head back through the Corinth Canal rather than going the long way round the Peloponnese. That way we could also call into Zea Marina in Piraeus, fill our US tanks and, as a bonus, do the laundry, buy a few small bits and pieces from John the chandler and find some real cheese!

 

Marina Zea, Piraeus.

By complete chance, Terry's photo of Zea was featured as the lead photo in this quarter's "Cruising Outpost magazine, which he opened to read while we were in Marina Zea.

It was fun to be back in Piraeus, that grimy old port of Athens where you can get anything you want and where the evening perpeta along the waterfront takes you past some of the priciest superyachts in the world (when you see YCM on the stern, you know the owners play in high circles).  We had two days where we managed to tick off every item on our list, from refilling the gas, to getting new bolts specially machined for the helmsman’s seat, getting a load of washing done, finding a nifty gadget for unsnagging the anchor, sourcing cheddar cheese and dry ginger ale, getting a haircut and much more. Then we even managed a night out at our favourite little family restaurant, Posidonia, for our 35^th wedding anniversary!  A visit to Piraeus also means a chance to get your Vodafone sorted out by John Kounas.  John is a) a very nice guy who is always cheerful and helpful and b) very good at what he does, which is make Vodafone work on your tablet, PC, phone.

 John and Terry

Then onward to brave the Canal once again, preceded, of course, by a visit to the ATM ready to transit the most expensive three nautical miles of water in the world. This was balanced out by saving about 120 nautical miles plus the definite advantage of being able to cook our food. The east to west transit was complicated by strong westerly winds and a significant current, but the Captain employed the time-honoured method known as “more right hand” and we were through the cut in no time. It is quite a sensation charging at near-top speed through a deep, narrow channel of limestone. In ancient times, ships made this transit on land, on a type of early ‘rail’ system powered by slaves or animals.

Through the Canal again

 

The weather in the Gulf of Corinth was anything but the gentle five knot breezes of the weather reports – more like 25 to 35! The anchorages we’d planned were completely untenable in these conditions so we ploughed on up to a group of three tiny islands, the Alkionidhes, and managed to find reasonable shelter behind Nisos Dhaskalio.  Here an abandoned monastery overlooks a miniscule bay with a mooring and a constructed breakwater. We manoeuvred into the bay, tied up securely to the mooring and I swam a long-line to the shore. The wind howled and the sea rose but we were OK in our little nook.

Next day was another beat to windward until we reached the very welcome shelter of the Bay of Iteas and the beautiful harbour of Galaxidhi. This is a jumping off point for a visit to the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, but it is worth a visit in its own right. The town has beautiful buildings, great views of Mt Parnassus and a relaxed, convivial waterfront, complete with a floating duck house for the resident ducks. They even have their own speedboat tied up alongside

Duck Condo

 A local character, the unofficial ‘harbourmaster’, helped us tie up and gave a lot of very good, but incomprehensible advice. We enjoyed terrific home cooking at the Porto restaurant and a show of traditional dancing by a local community cultural group, along with a spectacular display of lightning by the gods up on Parnassus.

Mt Parnassos

 

A local bus does the trip through Itea and up to Delphi on the shoulder of the mountain, once home to the nine Muses and the famous Oracle, known for its accurate, yet often cryptic and misleading predictions.

 

 

 

Great bus trip around a scenic bay full of tiny islands, then a slow climb through the world’s largest continuous olive grove (1.5 million trees) to a truly spectacular site. From the ruined temple complex, you look out over the grove which winds like a grey-green river through the valley below. Clouds hover amongst the surrounding peaks, with sudden storms reflecting the capriciousness of the old gods. The artefacts in the museum are tantalising: exquisite fragments, very few of them intact. The exception is the famous charioteer, with his penetrating dark eyes and reins still grasped in his hand.

 

 

The Temple of Apollo must have been an absolute wonder to the pilgrims who made the journey up the mountain to make sacrifices and hear the words of the priestess. We consulted the modern oracle (on the i-pad) but sadly, all we got was another wildly inaccurate weather forecast.

 

Galaxidi, looking towards Parnassus

The Bridge of Khalkis. (Terry)

We arrived at the dockside of Khalkis and were assisted in going alongside by Geoff, a Frenchman who has spent 30 years living in Wales(those old wine smuggling routes die hard, eh?) – His wife, Simone, speaks English with a strong French accent but he speaks English with a Welsh accent.  They were a very nice couple on a very nice 31’ cruiser.

The bridge with its currents

The transit is an ancient one.  The Emperor Justinian was the first to bridge the distance (that we know).  It can be a terrifying piece of water.  The current reverses up to 7 times a day, and even at times has north current in the mainstream and south on the periphery, a sort of whirlpool.  The reason for all this has yet to be explained and Aristotle himself was so perplexed by his inability to understand it he is reported to have jumped in in frustration!  Maybe it was just an August day?

The current

You have to find the Port Police to book your transit – not easy, as they are in back alley with no signs until you see the building’s doors.  It costs E18.77 to pass, and you are instructed on the procedure.  The Port Police control the nightly passage but it is Khalkis Municipal Employees who determine slack tide/slack current and decide when the bridge will open.  You are instructed to be on standby from….x, usually 10:30pm or so.  From then, the Municipal guys monitor the flow and then hit the “go” button and you have 10 minutes to get your bum into gear. 

Your radio call comes “Common Sense, Common Sense, Prepare Your Boat!   To which you answer “Port Police, Port Police, this is Common Sense, Understood.”

To get out of our berth was the stuff of nightmares.  In front was a 70’ Plastic Fantastic which we dare not hit, and behind were 2 yachts rafted up, cutting off an easy escape.  The plan was to have the Admiral hold fast at the bow with a forward line (extra fenders added) whilst the lackey on the wheel hit reverse and full left rudder to rip the stern out to midstream, at which point the boss could let go and we would proceed in a stately fashion backwards into the channel.  Worked perfectly.  No boats were damaged in the filming of that exercise, and we then ponced about in the channel waiting for the bridge to part (it falls down a little, then retracts to each side from the middle).  At one point in the procedure, me foolishly assuming I was first, I glanced upstream and saw the massive fishing boat Konstantinos bearing down on us.  This is a bridge where might-is-right and big guys go first.  I let him pass.  Then the call came from the Port Police “Common Sense, pass the bridge.”  I swung in behind Konstantinos and then found a cheapskate plastic dude trying to cut me off – a couple of these motorboats arrived late and we knew they hadn’t had time to register and pay.  Suddenly he backed off and Carol said he had just been told by the Port Police to get back in line!  Didn’t know her Greek had improved to that level, but back off he did.

Through we went.  Now we’ve done this a few dozen times going down the ICW, but this one is apparently a drawcard.  There were hundreds (hundreds!) of sightseers on the bridge waving and cheering as we thundered through, hoping for all get out that the tide didn’t suddenly kick in.  Once through, we ambled off to starboard to a huge wide open bay that is 30’ deep almost to the edge and anchored for the night in still calm waters.  The tension was all relieved, we hadn’t hit anyone and we hadn’t hit the bridge and the Australian flag was flying high (we had a young girl come along earlier in the night asking it we knew so-and-so because they moved to Australia.  She was a bit young to understand how big it was but I’m sure if her friend’s brother plays for Carlton I’d know).  We also met a man called Peter who lives in……Karrinyup.  Milverton Avenue to be precise.  He is mostly retired, the kids run the business and he has bought an apartment down near the bridge.  He wanders to Greece each year then heads home when it starts to go coldish.  He offered to help us out by driving us to hardware stores but I’d already gone all over town not having any success so we missed a later catchup.

Out in the bay, it was a couple of dry-and-dry’s and off to the bunk.  (Cinzano Bianco, 750ml, €6.00, not even on special!)

Down the channel

Today was a big one.  51.8 nautical miles.  We passed a superb new bridge over the channel to Evioa, 128’ high from memory, with a whole mess of guys in small boats fishing in the narrows.  Each one had a beach umbrella on his boat and a small inboard motor and tiller.

 

 Bridge fishing, Chalkis style

Farther on down we passed one of the signs of “Le Crise” in Greece – an entire modern cement plant idle and shuttered.  Then, three or four small ships laid up, rusting away.

Cement plant - out of commission 

 

 

Rusting away 

We came across a man out chest deep in the water fishing for ?  Maybe occies?  He had a pole which didn’t have any net on it so it wasn’t for scooping and he was way out in the water.  Any suggestions?

?

  

We were intending to anchor in a small village only 12 miles from the last night’s anchorage but we got there so early we decided to make some more miles. 

Old lighthouse

 

Bad move.

The Meltemi kicked in and we were then hunting for a home for the night in 40+knots with one 52kn coming off a mountain.  Long story short, we motored right across the channel and are in…..

 

The Bay of Marathon

What a beautiful bay this is.  We are at least a hundred metres from shore and are still only in 14’ of water.  The charts lie.  We couldn’t get a hold in close (so we couldn’t swim in to the beach bars L ) but further out we are in tight.

 

The Bay

This is where Darius the Persian dickhead got his arse well and truly whipped by the Athenians in 490BC.  Darius didn’t like the fact that the Athenians and the Eritrian cities combined to assist in the Ionian revolt.  (We passed Eritria earlier in the day.)  He sent two guys with a bucketload of men and ships and took Eritria but then when he tried Athens, he came up a little short and all his guys got killed a lot.  We are only 17.4 nautical miles from Athens here, about 30-something kilometres.  Looking into the west here we can actually see the two passes the Athenians blocked off to bottle the Persians up.  This setback, and then Darius’s son Xerxes' unfortunate encounter with Leonidas and the Spartans, gave rise to 200+ years of Greek ascendancy and then the rise of Western Civilisation.  The wind is still howling somewhat but the Greeks camped in the trees are enjoying themselves - it is the final week of Greek holidays and some are still making the most of them here.

The Admiral and I are enjoying Gilbey’s G&Ts in the cockpit - the wind might blow, but it is a hot wind and we are still in our bathers.

 

Oreis, Oreios, Orei? Even the locals call it by different names.

  

We wandered into the start of the Evia channel on a pleasant enough day, with the sun shining on the water and the wind blowing gently for a change.  The Express Pegasus inter-island ferry passed us again showing as going astern at 17knots on the AIS.  Somebody on board has programmed the Heading and the GPS heading as a reciprocal, so they show as heading 180  from where they are actually heading.  On day one it was simply amusing but it still hadn’t been corrected on day 2 and I also saw it on the screen on day 3, still going backwards.  You would think someone would wake up.

 
We wandered into Orei and looked around the harbour – an elderly chappy waved us over to a spot on the outer dock and took our lines, then gave us some restaurant and supermarket pamphlets.  We used the first restaurant pamphlet (photo on the front) to locate the Nautica and wandered off for a late lunch.

Having no cooking gas is becoming tiresome, so we tried to locate a gas fittings place.  No luck, not in Oreis, which doesn’t even have an ATM.  It is a holiday destination for mainland Greeks who mostly come over in their cars, so they can drive in to Istaia, 6km away, if they need cash.

We found out the bus timetable (1 ½ hours to wait) and eventually headed off into town.  We found an EU gas regulator for our bottle but unfortunately, wrong one.  Didn’t fit.  Still no gas.

 Oreis has a pleasant night life as the residents and tourists emerge from the heat of an August day to slip into the Perpeta.  We spent the nights in the Nautica with salads, mezze and seafood together with cold red wine or Fix.  Relaxed dinners overlooking the marina.

 

This wouldn’t be the Med if it was short on castles and Oreis does have one.  It’s not remarkable in any way, and is largely run down but there was a Geocache up there so I had to go.  An easy find and one more logged in.

 

From the Castle of Oreis

Some of the well-travelled in this readership will no doubt be aware of the 6-ton marble lion in the British Museum, taken from King Mausolos’ tomb in Bodrum. (The Mausoleum).  It’s the one that the Fisherman of Halicarnassus tried to have returned to Turkey, using the argument that it wasn’t meant to spend its days under grey and leaden English skies.  The British Museum wrote back and told him they agreed and painted the ceiling blue.  Well, Oreis has a marble bull, also 6-ton.  It is not in the British Museum, it simply sits in a glass case in town alongside the main church.  Bit hard to nick, it being 6-ton and all but it is a wonderful specimen.  It was washed ashore in a very heavy storm in the late 50’s or maybe the early 70’s?  Don’t remember.

 

 

We met a lovely couple of cruisers, Sue and Brian on Dawn Surprise, who keep their boat in a nearby hard-standing area over winter.  They were just about to relaunch and unfortunately the list of jobs kept them away from a later catch-up for a drink or dinner.  They live in Poole and we hope to catch up again when we get to the UK in a couple of years.  They live very close to one of the oldest pubs in England so that’s another drawcard as Brian’s promised me a beer there.

Swimming in Orei takes a bit of a leap of faith.  Within 10 metres of the beach (30’, 10 yards, not very far) the water plunges down to 70’ – 100’.  We could sail up to the shore and throw an anchor out and wouldn’t touch bottom.  They also have a simple Beach Bar, which generally has as its clientele a group of men who don’t seem to have much else to do except sit around and smoke all day. 

 

They're in 100' of water

 

We went over at sunset one night and enjoyed the company of two young mothers and their children plus a few Amstel beers (€1.5 each).  I made faces at a bub in a pram, which he thought highly entertaining, so he did it too.  This kept us both amused for a while but he was short of a beer and his mum didn’t seem to want to buy him one, so he decided to have a little sleep instead.

 

There is a geocache in the tree we were sitting under but with so many Muggles around we couldn’t locate it with anything resembling stealth so it has gone unlogged by us.  Frustrating knowing it was within about 1m but that’s Geocaching for you.  Another Mediterranean sunset picture follows:

 

 From the Beach Bar at Oreis - sun setting over the Greek mainland