And the Best of the Rest ...

I could talk about sailing in Greece forever, but my B.U. colleagues have been politely encouraging me to wind up this marvellous adventure, so they can take their turn at reporting some of the other exciting things we've been up to this summer.

And so, I have to try and give you the rest of our adventures in a nutshell.

The last few days were spent sailing between different ports on those 2 wonderful islands of Kephalonia and Ithaca. We all love them both, but as Ithaca is a bit quieter, it gets our top vote.

We continued to have lots of fun, in particular when it came to helping our male minder celebrate a special birthday. We'll let you into a secret, it was his 50th! This doesn't seem so old to some of our more venerable members such as Jimmy and Ungi, but to youngsters such as myself and Louis it does seem quite old, although our minders don't appear old at all.

It wasn't a coincidence that we were on flotilla for the big birthday, it had been planned that way, as our minder couldn't think of anything he'd rather be doing on this auspicious day. A great day it was too. While we were strolling round the harbour after breakfast, our boat was boarded and decorated with the led crew's birthday flag (seen above flying with our Norfolk flag), lots of balloons and banners.

We had a race on leaving harbour, which we didn't win, but who cared?, then a fairly slow sail, searching for wind, and a pleasant hour or two at anchor in a delightful bay swimming and sunbathing. We moored that night at Big Vathi and, at the group meal that evening, the lead crew presented the birthday cake they had made. We were thrilled to see it was in the shape of a bear - clearly in honour of us bears ...

Even though it hadn't risen as it should (something to do with confusion over flour types in Greek) but there was plenty to go around and it was truly scrumptious, except for the ears which were made of cardboard. It was our first taste of a yoghurt cake and was a taste we must experience again (note to self - talk to Chef Oakley).

The next highlight was our evening rafting up at Polis Bay. There is nothing there except peace and quiet and nature at its best. See what we mean ...

We started the evening with a blindfolded race on upturned dinghies which we won by miles! In the absence of a taverna we all rowed ashore for a beach barbecue, with the most fabulous array of salads, and one of our favourite competitions, the best cocktail competition. This time we learned from our mistakes of our previous attempt (3 years ago). We kept the ingredients simple, but the decoration fancy (thanks to turtles Zak & Stavros for starring), and this time we won, although our re-used name of 'Bear with a Sore Head' and enterprising story to go with it, may have swung it for us.  None of the cocktails did very well on the flammability test!

From Polis Bay it was time to return to base at Sivota to clean our boats and pack to go home - big sigh! Still we had our final evening and last group meal to enjoy. At the customary awards ceremony most of the crews were presented with signed pirate flags, but not us. We got the Colgate award for always smiling, whatever befell us, and we were presented with a marvellous wooden bear, aptly named Ellie, after the lead boat's name of Elpida.

As you can see I also got a big hug from skipper Liz, so I was very happy. 

All good things come to an end though, and the next morning we piled into coaches to head for the airport and home. We'd all had a splendid time, so thanks again to all the marvellous people at Sailing Holidays. It was more a case of saying Au revoir, rather than goodbye, as one thing we do know, is that we do intend to be on another Sailing Holiday's flotilla before too long (D.V). 

Lots of love, Eddie and the all the B.U. crew of Analipsi xxx

Being Busy Resting

Spending a rest day in Fiskardo is no problem at all as there is so much to see and do, and that is without my favourite past-time of boat and people watching.

We bimbled about a bit in the morning writing postcards, relaxing in the sun and trying the fresh pies from the bakery (the marrow pie was a great hit)

After an early lunch we went exploring on paw, and were soon off the beaten track and away from the tourists (in truth there weren't as many about as the local shops and tavernas would have liked).

We climbed up to an abandoned village. We could see evidence of lots of abandoned houses, but it was such a lovely spot, that none of us, especially Greek bear Louis, could imagine why anyone would want to leave.

Mind you, we did note signs of regeneration amongst the ruins and could imagine that it won't be long before this is a thriving community again.

The village was on a high point and it was a lovely downhill romp to the bay of Dafnoudi for a swim. This was a real gem and only reached on foot by a lovely stoney track. It would have been a long way round the top of the island by boat, but on paw, crossing over a narrow neck of land, it was no more than a hour's walk.

Back in Fiskardo we enjoyed a frozen yoghurt ice with as many fruit and chocolately toppings as we could manage, then we looked round some of the back streets away from the waterfront.

There was still water though, but looking at how well these Koi carp were doing, it certainly wasn't salt water. The frog statue was great even though he wasn't spouting water. Patrick wondered whether there wasn't a slight resemblance between his dapper profile and that of the frog - any thoughts readers?

All us bears appreciated the artistic merits of the lumps of old olive wood and the old olive press. We all took care to stay topside of that heavy plate which could easily crush the stuffing out of us if it dropped.

Before we left, there was one time honoured tradition which needed to be observed. This was a visit to the old Venetian lighthouse, sitting on the headland which marks the approach to Fiskardo.

We climbed to the top, a journey we'd made twice before and looked out to sea for ships and to check for pirates. You can always tell me, Eddie, from my big eared profile.

The coast was definitely clear so we could go off duty and enjoy another fine evening of wining and dining at Nicholas' taverna.

Lots of love, Eddie and the crew of Analipsi xxx

Wind, Waves, then Calm

Our first big sail, where we would need to cover quite a few miles (nautical of course) came towards the end of our first week. We had to sail from Port Atheni on Meganisi across a wide stretch of water to reach the popular and very famous island of Kephalonia.

There was an added complication which we learnt at the previous night's briefing. Some strong winds were forecast for the afternoon, so our lead crew were keen to get us across the big stretch of relatively unsheltered water before the winds got too strong.

This meant an early start in the morning, and we needed to be underway ideally by 9.00 a.m. Now this might not sound that early, but in Sailing Holiday terms it was. We were first away, in good time and there wasn't that much wind about.

We did hit some very heavy showers though, and after the rain came the wind. The seas started to get quite big, but we got our reefs in and we were fine. In fact it was quite an exciting sail. At one point our lead crew radio'd through to take sails down, so we complied, even though I like sailing with my genoa out, as it helps smooth our passage.

By this point we were getting close to the channel between Kephalonia and its neighbour Ithaca, so we were getting some shelter. We could also see our destination of Fiskardo, marked by the old Venetian lighthouse. We were soon circling in the harbour awaiting our turn to be moored. This is never easy in Fiskardo as it is always so busy, so it was just as well that we were there early. Our lead crew took advantage of our shallow draft to squeeze us into a corner which other boaters no doubt thought wasn't usable.

The bad weather didn't last, and it was a beautiful afternoon which we spent visiting the local beach about a mile away.

As you can see from our first photo, it was also a lovely calm evening  ...

We'd been to Fiskardo on our previous flotilla so knew exactly where to go for our evening meal. We bypassed all the restaurants on the quay and climbed up to a personal favourite, Nicholas's Taverna which gives us this superb view which we simply love. You can sit out on the terrace and drink in this view while enjoying superb food and good wine, and the congenial hospitality of the host, Nicholas. 

It's definitely an experience not to be hurried, and Fiskardo looks great as darkness falls and all the lights come on ...   

If it gets cold as it gets dark, you can always retreat indoors and enjoy one of the delicious puddings - on this occasion we went for some scrummy baclava ... 

... and the great thing was that the next day was to be a rest day, so we had 2 evenings to enjoy the delights of this great taverna. 

Lots of love, Eddie and crew xxx

Curry on the Shore

A good blow the next day gave us a wonderful non stop sail between Kalamos and the mainline town of Zaverda. It was quite a few miles but it didn't take us long as we were creaming through the water.

We'd been to Zaverda before, so enjoyed a wander round taking in all the sights we remembered.

We did, however, venture into new territory for our evening meal and our choice was a rather good one. For a start we were able to have a table right on the beach and it was rather idyllic (but perhaps not as warm as you are imagining) ...

... then there was the food; you could choose your cuisine and we decided to go Indian, especially when we realised there really was an Indian chef. the only problem was that the starters were so big we didn't have a lot of room left for our mains, which as you can see were fairly substantial.

At least in Greece there are always nice lanes to go for a stroll and interesting seats which simply beg to be used ...

... and there is invariably some lovely sunshine to take full advantage of them. Mind you I leave the strolling and the people watching to my companions as I like to stand watch on my boat. 

Love Eddie and crew xxx

A Quart in a Pint Pot

As we firmly believe in the principle that small is beautiful, we were surprised to find big brother island Kalamos, so busy after the tranquillity of Kastos.

The harbour at Kalamos was heaving when we arrived, and we were later to discover, after many more arrivals, that this was only about half full. Local restauranteur George, doubles as the harbour master and is clearly a dab hand at squeezing boats in.

Our Sailing Holidays lead crew did their bit as well. They wanted us all at the end of the harbour wall, as this was a good location for the punch party we were having that evening.

I sat on my boat roof and supervised the mooring process. Eight boats can take up surprisingly little space especially when moored up 4 abreast. We all managed to maintain our privacy though, as we tied up head to tail and everyone observed the golden rule of crossing at the front of the boat. We actually had 2 lead boats with us, as a spare crew had come over with parts to assist with a couple of repairs that were needed (but not to our boat).

This was the view of the Sailing Holidays contingent from the far side of the harbour. George (harbourmaster, not bear) is in the launch, supervising operations.

George was an experienced pro so we left him in charge and went off to explore. After a steep climb up to the town we found this abandoned vehicle who had clearly found the ascent just too much.

Louis is playing 'Where's Bear?' in this photo, but if you look hard you should find him.

Following time honoured tradition, that evening's punch party on the harbour wall was a great success. The punch was wonderful, the nibbles and special Sailing Holidays recipe dips were scrumptious, and the company was very good. I took the opportunity to get to know hostie Pip a bit better and helped her ensure that everyones' glass stayed charged.

When we'd all had as much punch as we thought advisable to consume, we all went to George's taverna for a meal. There were tables everywhere, and he and his team were serving huge numbers of people. George certainly doesn't adhere to the Greek 'manana' philosophy and runs an efficient operation. As a result we didn't have to wait too long and the food had not suffered from being served in such vast quantities.

It was a good evening, but we still prefer Kastos.

Lots of love Eddie and crew xxx

Paradise Invaded

We said goodbye to Nidri and headed for a wonderful pair of lesser known islands, Kastos and Kalamos. Kastos is the smaller island and we went there first, for another first, our first visit. This made it especially exciting. What a choice it was. There was plenty of space in the harbour and just 100 yards away, in a spectacular headland location, was the excellent Windmill taverna.

Our evening in Kastos had given us a really good feel for this island, so we were all up early the next morning to have a good look round before it was time to weigh anchor and leave. We decided we'd get to see more if we went running, and we'd get some good exercise at the same time, so running shoes on, we headed out.

We followed a dirt road along the coast. It was very peaceful and the views were superb. The only drawback was that it was so little used, that spiders had built built webs between the trees on each side of the road and then taken up residence in the middle of the webs. At running speed, we were moving too fast to see them with enough time to take evasive action. Spiders in the face is not our favourite thing, so we did an efficient emergency stop.

We turned round and found a spider free track with the sea on our right and goats grazing amongst the olive trees on our left. We also shared the path with a harmless looking brown snake.

We discovered a beautiful, and very secluded, bay on our travels ...

... just 5 minutes walk from the harbour. We decided to take our minders there after breakfast. We got there first and again, it was completed deserted and just perfect for a morning swim. We splashed about happily, until we heard the throb of big engines. We looked over our shoulders and were surprised to see a huge landing craft heading straight for us. We had to swim out the way quickly when it became clear the craft wasn't going to moor offshore, but was going to drive right up the beach.

The ramp was lowered and a huge lorry drove off and across the beach. At this point a minder turned up and couldn't see why we'd described the beach as idyllic - it's all in the timing though! 

It was time to leave anyway and set sail for the big brother island of Kalamos. 

Lots of Love Eddie and the crew of Analipsi

A Special Menu at 'No Menu'

After a beautiful evening on Meganisi, some strong winds up to force 6, were forecast to blow up the next day.

Sensibly, our lead crew opted for the safe option and a short hop to a sheltered mooring at Nidri on Lefkas Island. That way, no-one would be forced to be out battling the elements if they didn't want to.

We were happy with this decision, as we fancied a visit to Nidri which we had not visited with a flotilla before.  As it happened, we had strong winds for a a brief 15 minutes, then it went very calm and hot.

Our mooring that night was on the Sailing Holidays pontoon. It exists because Nidri is an additional base to Sivota, used by a small number of flotillas. It was a fine mooring and it was a luxury to have a water point right at our bows.

At the shore end of the pontoon was a hotel with a lovely pool which we could use if we bought a drink. However, we opted for a walk into town and a swim from the town beach.

In the evening we went, with the lead crew, to a restaurant with a difference, which the lead crew had heard about and wanted to try. It was the 'No Menu' restaurant, which really did have no menu.

As the Chef is not constrained by a menu he is free to concoct the most amazing dishes from seasonal and fresh produce. You get to say whether you want meat, fish or veggie dishes or a mixture, and if you don't like a dish that comes to your table, you can send it back. 

It didn't sound as if we could go wrong and as it happened we didn't. We dined exceptionally well on some truly delicious dishes and it was great that every dish that arrived was a complete surprise. Some of the highlights were the bean salad, fresh tuna steaks, mussels and veggie lasagne. The sheeps' milk ice cream was also very good. 

We walked home via the waterfront. We always enjoy walking alongside waterfronts at night, as it can be very atmospheric. We thought this boat looked especially charming lit up like this.

Nidri definitely got the paw of approval.

Lots of love Eddie and crew xxx

Marvellous Meganisi

Preparing to leave harbour for the first time on a flotilla holiday, is always a thrilling moment; we can't imagine that it could ever be otherwise. There is a massive sense of anticipation. Now that we have a few flotillas under our belt, it's less the excitement of venturing into the unknown, and more about the excitement of returning to some of our favourite places.

Our destination for our first day's sail was the town quay at Little Vathi on the island of Meganisi. It's tempting to keep the delights of Meganisi a secret, but we simply can't, we have to extol it's virtues as it' s probably our favourite Greek island.

It was a lovely first day, with a great sail and a fine swim from anchor in secluded bay, round the headland from Vathi town. On reaching the harbour, our lead crew expertly moored us in a fine spot on the town quay, and Louis soon had us ashore and exploring.

It's only a small town, but the essentials are there, namely lots of tavernas and a fine bakery. It doesn't take many minutes to get out into the quiet Greek countryside among the stone walls and the olive trees. It's such a peaceful spot ...

Lois took us to one of Meganisi's tourist attractions - a sunken aeroplane on the sea bed. The water was lovely and still and beautifully clear, as it tends to be in Greece, so we could see the plane really well and enjoyed swimming and diving round it.

We dined that night at a fine waterfront taverna where customers got a free shower - and very fine showers they were too. At the end of our meal we watched a fishing boat come in and unload it's catch of tuna, but we'd eaten too well to want to buy any.

Sheer bliss!

Lots of love, Eddie, Louis and crew xxx

Pre Departure Checks

Later in the afternoon of our arrival, we had our first briefing, and also a walk through the boat with our engineer Jamie, taking us through all the technical aspects. I hung onto Jamie's every word as I know there is a lot that can potentially go wrong on a boat. 

I was still getting my ear attuned to all the exciting noises Analipsi makes - my favourite being water lapping against the hull - when I heard 2 noises I wasn't expecting coming from the heads (boating name for the bathroom!) following a visit by one of my minders. 

Firstly the water pump roared like an aircraft engine being fired up, and then when all was quiet again, I heard what sounded like rain. I didn't think I'd brought the English bad weather with me. I hadn't, it was coming from the panel beside the toilet. 

I called Jamie over for a consultation, and minutes later he was hard at work replacing a section of pipe which had a small leak. As tends to happen, one thing leads to another and our water pump also turned out to be faulty. 

We took up quite a bit of Jamie's time before we set sail the next morning, but it did seem a good idea to get everything just so before we left base, where all the kit and spares are, and also the Chief Engineer. 

I find boats so interesting that I offered my services as engineer's mate. There isn't a lot of space on boats for working, so I thought my small and flexible paws might be useful for getting into tight spaces. 

In our first photo you can see our new pump on the floor, ready to go in. 

I'd quite like to have stayed to see the job through, but Patrick and Louis insisted I left Jamie in peace and quiet and joined them for our first taverna evening. When I heard they planned to go to the Ionian taverna, scene of many a happy meal in the past, when the Jaguar flotillas used to moor outside, I couldn't resist the pull. 

Amazingly the proprietor,Yannis, remembered us - perhaps he doesn't get too many bear visitors. We had a lovely waterside table and a beautiful meal and it was great to be with John and Emily again and catch up with all the news from Northern Ireland. 

Louis introduced Patrick to Plomari ouzo, in his opinion (and he's not alone in this opinion) the finest ouzo there is. As you can see, Louis couldn't wait to get to it. Rather unusually Patrick approached it with some caution, which may have been due to the pungent aroma, but it soon got his paw of approval. I prefer to stick to beer and I'm especially partial to the Greek beer, Mythos and anyway, I wanted a clear head for leaving harbour for the first time in the morning. 

Lots of love, Eddie and the crew of Analipsi xxx

A Life on The Ocean Wave

We’re back in more ways than one: we’re back blogging (sorry for the lack of posts recently) and we’re back from a wonderful maritime adventure with those great people at Sailing Holidays.

This is Boating Bear Eddie picking up the tale of our sailing adventure which has lasted two weeks and taken us to many of the wonderful islands of the South Ionian seas of Greece.

Readers with a long memory will know that flotilla sailing with Sailing Holidays is probably our favourite type of adventure, so good that it simply has to be repeated, and this was in fact our fourth trip with Sailing Holidays in the last 8 years.  Our first trip pre-dated this blog, but the other two have been reported in full and can be found in the archives of 2010 and 2007.

The trips are so popular with B.U. members that we set a new record for the biggest contingent travelling abroad – 7 of us. I was joined by travelling bears George and Yorkie (of course),  Irish bear Patrick, and our 3 members of Greek extraction: my fellow boating bear Louis (who joined us at the end of our last flotilla) and turtles Zak and Stavros (from Zachynthos).

Horse racing fan Patrick might seem like a strange choice of travelling companion for a boating adventure, but there was a lot of sense to his inclusion. He was there to be re-united with our good friends John and Emily from Northern Ireland, who we’d met on our first flotilla and were due to be sailing with us again. They had given Patrick to us when we visited them at their Irish home. Patrick was very excited at the thought of seeing them again.

We were all very excited when we arrived at the Sailing Holidays base at Sivota on the island of Lefkas. We set off along the harbour searching all the many Sailing Holidays moored boats for one with the exciting name of Analipsi, which was to be ours.

We soon found her ... 

... and there was a mad scramble aboard to check her out and admire her fine lines and her internal space. She instantly got the paw of approval. We couldn’t spend long though as we had an even more important job to do, to meet our lead crew.

We didn’t have to look hard as they were a friendly bunch and as keen to meet us as we were to meet them. Our lead crew were Skipper Liz, Hostie Pip and engineer Jamie. We liked them from our first meeting and thankfully they seemed to like us too.

We felt very privileged to have a female skipper as they are a rare breed. Liz is the only one this season, and in our opinion,  better than many of her male colleagues. The whole crew was a class act and, as a good lead crew are the key to the best flotillas, we knew we had a great two weeks ahead of us.

We’ll be telling you lots more about these great folk and all our new boating experiences in the days to come.

Back soon

Love Eddie and the crew of Analipsi

Αντίο και καλή τύχη (that's Greek for Goodbye and Good Luck)

It may seem to you, our readers, that this holiday has gone on forever, as we have been posting for quite a while. However, for us, the participants in the holiday, the time simply flew by and all too soon it was time for goodbyes.

While George and Yorkie went exploring ashore, I tended to stay on Milia and met lots of lovely Greek fisherman as a result. I loved seeing their painted caiques and talking to them, so I had lots of new friends to say goodbye to.

It was very sad having to say goodbye to Milia as she was a very fine vessel - great for sailing, but also very comfortable to live aboard. I wanted to ensure we returned her in good shape, so while George and Yorkie swabbed the decks, I checked out her engine and made sure everything was clean and in good working order.

Our final group meal was, as always, a very happy occasion and we all enjoyed the customary speeches and awards ceremony. Not only did we receive a fine Loutraki plaque, with some great likenesses of the lead crew (the photo printing shop was apparently closed!) but I was also thrilled to get a special award.

In honour of the fact that Milia was the only boat with a crew of bears, we were presented with a new Greek friend, and you can meet him for the first time in the next picture.

Our new friend is Louis, the only possible name, as he was given us by the crew of Loutraki. He travelled home with us and has settled in well as the latest bear to join Bears Unlimited. Look out for him on future boating holidays.

We had all enjoyed the finest of fine holidays and can't wait to go again. Don't forget that the name to look for, for the best flotilla sailing in the Greek Islands, is Sailing Holidays. We can't recommend them enough.

George and Yorkie are just back from another adventure so expect to hear from them soon.

Bye for now and lots of love

Eddie xxx

What a Difference a Day Makes

The next day dawned bright and sunny but the forecast was for a repeat of the previous day, with more strong winds. Having had our paws burned, we, along with most of the boats in our flotilla, went no further than the short hop down from George´s taverna to the Vathi town quay.

We waited for the winds to blow up again, but nothing happened. There was hardly a breath of wind in the air and our next picture shows how still and calm it was.

You´d have though we were sitting by the edge of a lake, not the sea. Still it was a lovely day for relaxing, going for a walk and swimming and we made the most of all these opportunities.

We also made sure that we´d got all our postcards written, after which George and Yorkie went in search of a post box.

I also made sure we used this down time to practise our safety drill, and make sure any further big waves or heeling of the boat wouldn´t send us overboard.

The safety harnesses worked to perfection and kept us safe and all together.

All too soon it was evening and time to plan the next day's sailing.

Lots of love, Eddie, George and Yorkie xxx

Any Port in a Storm

Now, you may be interested to know, that Vliho bay where we'd anchored for the night, is often referred to as a storm hole, since it provides the best possible protection against a storm, being surrounded by high land with just a narrow entrance by water.

As we sailed off the next day, we didn't know it at the time, but we leaving a storm hole to go into a storm. We were due to meet up again with our lead crew and the rest of our flotilla at the port of Atheni on the island of Meganisi. We were quite excited about this as we'd been there before and enjoyed some great Greek dancing.

We had plenty of time ahead of us and not too far to go, so decided to do some sailing in the Zaverda Bay. We had a good but not particularly fast sail until lunchtime. The wind then suddenly dropped completely. At about the same time our VHF radio came to life with a message from our lead crew, telling us a big storm was brewing and we should head immediately for port.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that the sky was an ominous black and the clouds were racing along. I realised that we had encountered the calm before the storm and ordered the sails to be taken down as quickly as possible.

Thanks to my efficient crew, we just had time to drop the sails, don waterproofs, take a bearing on our destination, and secure everything we could, before the storm caught us.

As you can see, the waves started to build very quickly and Milia was plunging up and down through them. She was handling the conditions really well, so I felt confident that as long as I held onto the wheel, we would be alright.

I began to change my mind when it started to rain, and visibility completely disappeared. We couldn't even see Meganisi - our world shrank to just boiling sea and howling wind. The wind kept getting stronger and stronger. At the start of the storm we thought winds of over 20 m.p.h. were strong, but they seemed nothing when we recorded on our instruments a wind speed of 34.6 m.p.h. We were experiencing force 7 winds and it didn't look good outside the safety of our boat.

This picture was taken before the rain and lost visibility; at that point taking photos wasn't practical and there would have been nothing to see. As the entrance to all the Meganisi ports is hard to spot from the sea, and we knew there were small islands just off the entrance, I had to make the hard decision to delay putting into the safety of harbour and stay out in the open. It was the only option as I couldn't risk hitting rock.

A few minutes later the rain eased and we could start to see again. We spotted a configuration of small islands which, when compared to the chart, could only be the approach to Port Atheni. What luck! We motored inside the entrance and spotted a number of boats sheltering at anchor in a calm spot in the lee of the wind.

We joined them, and put down our anchor. It was great to be still and flat! As the moorings are some way down the inlet and were out of sight, we called up our lead crew for instructions. We reached them on the VHF, only to find they weren't there. The anchoring wasn't suitable for the conditions, and they had already had an anchor pop. They had decided that mooring at George's Taverna, at Vathi, was the safer option.

It was the next port along, and not far, but it did mean putting out into the storm again, this time motoring across the waves, rather than having them push us along. We were quite relaxed by this time though, as we knew we could make safety.

Within 30 minutes, George's moorings were in the sight and the lead crew were ready to moor us. We were very pleased to see them and most of the rest of our boats (a few had taken shelter elsewhere and would join us the next day). It was lovely to warm up with a hot shower, change into dry clothes and then to join everyone in the taverna to share our adventures.

For me, the star of the show was our boat Milia - what a performance she had given, and she had kept us  safe and given us lots of confidence, should we encounter a similar storm again!

Lots of love, Eddie, George and Yorkie xxx

Goodbye Mother Hen

We'd enjoyed our overnight stay in Fiskardo very much, so it was tempting to stay a bit longer. The lead crew were having a rest day there and we had the option of staying there as well, or having a day's free sailing.

Nearly all the other boats were going off free sailing and we decided this would be a good experience for us. It wasn't long before the busy harbour started to empty and Milia had large gaps to either side of her.

After consulting charts and making plans we were ready to leave too. It was quite exciting going on our first solo adventure.

We joined the queue of boats leaving the harbour; it's amazing how a busy harbour can suddenly become so quiet when everyone leaves after breakfast.

Our choice of harbour for that night was determined by two things: a) there wasn't a huge amount of wind that day and anyway we didn't want to venture too far from mother hen, our lead boat Loutraki, and b) in common with the other boats in our flotilla we were nervous about mooring up in harbour without assistance.

The latter fact meant that nearly all of the boats in our flotilla headed for one of two destinations. The harbour of Spartahori on Meganisi, where there are lazy lines so you don't have to drop anchor, and the taverna owner is there to help, was a popular choice. We, however, but we opted for the alternative, of the harbour of Vliho, on the island of Lefkas. This is a very sheltered natural harbour surrounded by land on 3 sides and with just one small entrance. It is quite shallow and provides a very safe mooring. You don't have to tie up alongside a quayside, you just drop your anchor, and, if by any chance you came adrift in the night, you wouldn't go very far.

This was definitely the safe choice, and, as it was our first night on our own, it seemed the sensible one to make. Also it was somewhere new to us, whereas we'd been to Spartahori before.  

Milia, is the boat on the right. We took this picture from our inflatable dinghy as we rowed ashore to a taverna to have a beer and a plate of calamari.

Two other boats from our flotilla made the same choice as us, one being the boat on the left. We could wave across to them from our mooring, and it felt good to have company, even if it was distant.

We had a fine night and were very securely anchored in quite a bit of mud! The only drawback was that the water was murky and there were lots of big jellyfish, so it wasn't the best spot for swimming. We did have the best plate of calamari of the holiday though.

We did remember to text Loutraki to let them know we were safe.

Lots of love Eddie, George and Yorkie xxx

Fiskardo by Night

What was it I was saying in our last post about being King of the Castle? Well it was only minutes later that I found my castle. Sadly though it was in ruins, and there wasn't much left to be king of. But I did strike what I thought was a suitably regal pose for my next picture, and, looking at it now, I feel that I was rather lucky that that crack over my head didn't get any bigger!

On our way back to our boat we spotted a restuarant that the lead crew had recommended to us, especially good for moussaka, we were told. It was Nicolas' Taverna, at the top of a short hill.

We decided to return there for a meal and what a good choice it was. As it wasn't a waterfront restaurant it wasn't crowded and we got the very best of service. We were also the only British diners there. We were able to sit outside on a terrace looking down on the harbour ...

... and as you can see there were some lovely flowers scenting the warm night air. Fiskardo at night was a rather magical sight ... we sat there for quite a while taking it all in and the wonderful atmosphere ...

... until we started to get hungry and thirsty. We can really recommend the wine ...

... our choice that night was a cool and refreshing rose, lovely to look at and even better to drink. The food lived up to expectations too, especially the moussaka that had been recommended.  

We did hear from others in our flotilla that the Thai restaurant in Fiskardo was very good, but we'd had such a lovely evening we wouldn't have changed it for anything.

Lots of love, Eddie, George and Yorkie xxx

King of the Castle

Fiskardo is a lovely place to spend a few hours. About 15 minutes walk away is lovely secluded beach, where you can well and truly escape from the crowds, who are more interested in the swanky shops and cafes.

If you go in the other direction, you can walk out to the old Venetian lighthouse on the headland. It's in ruins now, having been replaced by a Victorian lighthouse, but it's great for exploring.

Greece hasn't gone Health and Safety mad, so it's possible to climb all the way to the top (mind you we did recently find a website that said it was possible, but not advisable, to climb the tower. The article was probably written by Brits!). We felt very safe climbing up and found a great Eddie sized porthole half way up which provided a great opportunity to have a rest and check out the view to sea. 

It didn't take long to get to the top and hopefully you see it's me at the top, by my profile of sticky out ears. It was wonderful to have such great 360 degree views, but my favourite was the view out across the harbour approach. I took a seat in the sun to watch all the sailing boats. Fortunately for me - not so good for the sailors - there wasn't much wind, so I wasn't in any danger of being blown off my tower top perch. 

Seeing all those boats heading out of harbour made me think of Dunkirk - not that I was there - and I truly knew what is is to be 'king of the castle'.

Lots of love Eddie, George and Yorkie xxx