Serifos to Poros

Moments before the storm on Kythnos

This has been a week of fewer ports but much wind. We hadn't planned specific legs of our journey except for a few, this Saturday being one of them, when we had to be near Athens for Catherine to fly out. The weather being what it is in the Cyclades, we have been trying to time this carefully and it had been going so well. Until last night that is. We were moored up in a peaceful bay on Kythnos which resembles a transiting location and had been watching an ominous cloud for some time and just as it got dark all hell broke loose and a we had lightning and 40kt plus wind in an instant. Some people got into their dinghies and went ashore to seek refuge from the lightning, which seemed like a risky thing to do, so we stayed put, didn't touch any metal and put VHF, phones and all the electronics we could into the oven which acts as a Faraday cage in case we got struck. By midnight it had blown over and an eerie stillness descended on the bay. The next day we met some crews in Poros who told us that they had been through it on Hydra and they had mooring lines snap and all manner of damage. All fun and games.

Sunrise on the way to Poros

Windmill island interrupts 8 hour tack 

Just before sunrise we set off towards Poros and the forecast turned out to be just we had hoped and we had a great wind on the beam taking us at 7 - 8kts across a relatively flat sea. 8 hours later we entered the Poros south channel. This is a busy place and the last time we were here was in summer 2007 when we sailed from Athens with our cousin Anthony and the whole family. Quite coincidentally we moored up almost exactly where we did 9 years ago. Not a huge amount has changed, although the quay is well organised now and the services are quite slick.  It has a very different feel to being on the remote islands and although this is a small place with limited facilities we have the feeling of being back in civilisation. I am sure it is a feeling one can tolerate for a week or so.

Me (white legs) haggling with the same water man 9 years ago

On the right - Skipper turns Violinist again 

Catherine set off to work for a week - taking a ferry to Athens  - the same one we curse as its wash causes havoc in the harbour. Just to make sure I am ok on my own this next week, she bought me a leaving present of some worry beads - or calming beads as they are more accurately called. I explained that the chandlers (boat supply shop) will keep me occupied as will a few projects I have to complete along with some of my ongoing Sommelier duties.



Earlier in the week....

Chora on Serifos

Looking down on our anchorage -  Livadiou

Serifos is a small island with a population the size of our High Street at home. Admittedly the view is better though, as well as the olives and Ouzo. The Chora is perched on the side of the hill and looks as thought it will slide off at any moment. We decided to anchor in the bay for the couple of days we were here even though the harbour has been completely renovated - the water is cleaner and rowing is healthy for you - I am told.

A recipe for anchor problems in Poros 

Poros from the hill

Greetings From Europe!

Rocko is 3rd from the Left

On Monday we left Ormos Varis for Sifnos, some 30 nautical miles SW from Siros with not much wind forecast. Several hours later after a peaceful crossing on flat water, we headed for the protection of the port of Kamares to sit out a strong northerly wind that was about to blow in for the rest of the week.  Again we can say that there are certainly worse places in the world to be stuck for a few days. Despite the fast ferry offloading a steady trickle of tourists who disperse quickly around the island , Sifnos is a charming and largely uncommercialised place.
The lack of hustle and bustle is also in part due to the temperatures having shot up in the past few days and anyone with any common sense disappearing for most of the afternoon heat.

Appalonia on Sifnos

After the siesta hiatus the village wakes up again with restaurants only just starting to fill up after sunset when the temperature drops to a sensible 25 degrees.   The forecast for the week was unusually accurate and the Meltemi kept the whole harbour on its toes for days. The paranoid skippers sent crew members diving to check their anchors while others postulated endlessly as to whether they would hold or whether someone had crossed their anchor chain or not.  In these circumstances advice is given very generously, taking it needs a fair bit of judgement and discretion though. 

Street dancing in Kamares

During the languid afternoons all manner of things seem to pass the time. One day, the ferry broke down leaving a troupe of folk dancers stranded on the island.  Unhindered they took to the street (there is only one street) and practiced their dances to the accompaniment of their small band. Catherine didn't take much convincing to join in (dancing, I hasten to add) while I sat modestly in the wings making sure the Ouzo and olives were still up to scratch.  Crisis? What crisis?

Inland on Sifnos

Again we met charming people of diverse backgrounds yet united in our trepidation of the wind and the sea.  Far less could be said about the referendum in the UK though from what we had been reading and hearing. Opinion between yachties was equally divided and on Friday when we woke up to the leave result the debate was as lively as the NW wind. This is hardly the place to discuss politics though, so I shall leave it at that. Anyway, we did have to move on as Catherine needs to be in Athens in about a week to get back to a concert in Monaco (part of Europe I believe).  As a consequence there has been the slightly unusual whistling of the rigging in the 30 knot winds together with the sound of the baroque violin. For those of you in the know - you realise it all blends into one after a while.

We braved some formidable waves for a few hours to get to Serifos and anchored in a bay in the south that, while safe, had a force 7 blowing down the hill. We had tons of chain out and were holding well, but had the Katabatic wind to look forward to later in the evening. For you non-yachtie types this is a wind that is the result of a body of air cooling and basically being drawn down the mountain-side by gravity, accelerating as it does and producing gale force strength winds with a vengeance. Lots of anchor chain and good holding makes this a harmless, if somewhat noisy and rocky, encounter and, in the end, more pleasant than being in a crowded harbour with concrete quays acting like giant storage heaters. 

One of our neighbours

Typical lunch

Our penultimate stopover in the Cyclades, before we cross to the Saronic Gulf is Kythnos and we  are slowly making our way there so that we time it with a good weather day next week when we get a favourable wind for the 65 or so nautical miles to our next destination.

Livadhiou on Serifos

Dhespotico to Siros

Dhespostico - Paros - Naxos - Tinos - Sirios

Paros

On Saturday 11th we left our anchorage south of Anti Paros and headed around the west of the island towards Naoussa on Paros. The marina is just about in the middle of town and chaotic as it is quaint. The newly appointed harbour lady explained that we needed to be careful with the water as it is in short supply and that it, electricity and indeed the mooring is free at the moment as they have no mechanism for charging. 'So, enjoy your stay' - and we did.

Paros 

The town is a cacophony of restaurants all vying for tourist attention. They look equally charming, so finding a good one is the challenge. Our senses soon guided us to one that stuck out, not just because its extensive wine list, but mainly because of all the reserved tables that seemed to indicate the locals knew something the tourists didn't.  It could have been that we had not stepped off the boat for days or we were suckered by a marketing ploy, but we rather thought it was a fine place.

Paros Fishing Harbour during afternoon Siesta 

Naxos seen from Paros

In the morning we headed the short sail for Naxos, partly to escape the SW wind coming on Sunday evening, partly to see Naxos and partly to retrieve our gas bottle we loaned to Narayan. The protocol for arriving at Naxos marina is that one calls the harbour master a bit before and he finds you a spot. Me being me, I called him way in advance and made sure we had a berth. When we arrived we were greeted by a decent SW wind and thanks to Nikos, we seemed to get the perfect spot. Blown off the pontoon in the strong SW and nowhere near any wayward anchors. Of course we moored up next to numerous Swissies - what is it with them - don’t they work?

Naxos pontoon

Chora - Naxos

We got talking to one couple and he explained that in summer they sail and in winter they holiday - perfectly understandable. The pontoon is always a hive of activity and the congregation of nationalities and languages makes for some interesting exchanges. Catherine takes care of the central European language pool, while I exchange G'Days with the Aussies and Kiwis. Even a Saffer I happen to mistake for an Aussie - what is happening with my ears? 

Apollo Temple in Naxos

Narayan instructed us to head to Cafe Maya to retrieve our gas bottle, so we headed off to Jerome, the proprietor,  and were invited to a drink at his delightful place.  After that I sorted out the paperwork at the harbour and parted with the princely sum of €15 a day for mooring, water and electricity.

Potemia on Naxos

There is a lot to experience on Naxos aside form the Chora and harbour area so we hired a car and set off the following morning to discover the island. At first we drove around a little confused by the less than accurate map, but happy to take in the new scenery. Naxos highlights the fact that the islands are so different from each other.  It is quite green and rolling hills with cultivated fields create the illusion of being somewhere in northern Greece.

In Halki at Fish & Olive Pottery 

Surveying Naxos 

Right in the middle of the island is the ancient capital of Halki.  Aside from having the obligatory Byzantine chapel it has become somewhat of an arts and crafts centre.  We were drawn to a shop and workshop with fine ceramics and artwork.  We got talking to the couple who own  Fish & Olive, Alex and Katharina, and connected immediately. It is a longer story how the afternoon and evening unfolded, worthy of being told on its own, but suffice it to say we ended up cancelling the idea of driving around and ended up having dinner with them and a visiting potter from New Zealand, John,  along the beach front at the Chora after a few drinks on board Rocko.

Demeter Temple on Naxos

Tranquility on Rinia

On Wednesday it felt like time to be sailing again and we headed northwards to the island of Rinia. Catherine was skipper of the day and was able to cajole every last ounce of wind into the sails meaning we flew along for several peaceful hours. Rinia is next to Delos, an uninhabited island that was once the centre of the Cyclades. It boasts several ruins, but unfortunately one is not permitted to stop to anchor there due to a history of looting that started way back when, when the inhabitants of neighbouring Mykonos carted off perfectly hewn blocks of marble to build their houses. Our anchorage for the night was in a bay in the north of Rinia that offered refuge from the unusual southerly wind that was coming in over night. When the sun set our only company was a flock of seagulls and the fishermen whose catch had attracted them. The crystal clear and calm water in the morning was very special and we didn't really want to leave. We had arranged to meet friends of friends however so we made the short, if lumpy crossing to Tinos.

Our Lady of Tinos

Dovecotes on Tinos

Overlooking the harbour is the imposing church of Our Lady of Tinos where the devout gather twice a year to make the enormous trek up the hill on hands and knees to find a cure for various ailments.  I am not sure some of those don't include those injuries sustained crawling up a hill in the heat of the August sun.

Windmills on Tinos

Our evening with new friends from Basel started with drinks on Rocko and continued with a lovely meal at their retreat in an idyllic mountain setting. By mountain, I mean high hill of course.  Tinos is more wooded than most of the islands and their garden was a showcase of trees they had planted the past 20 or so years as well as some much older Olive trees. There is a connection people have to olive trees that transcends gardening and this has become a recurring theme that we will have to revisit when we get to the Apulian cost of Italy. More of that later in our journey though..

Tinos Harbour

Before losing my Panama hat

After losing my Panama hat

Our next port of call is the island of Siros and the capital of the Cyclades, Ermoupoli. One of the reasons we wanted to visit is that Alex from Fish & Olive said that he had an idea for a music festival on Siros, so we wanted to get a feel for the place.  It is only a 2 hour sail from Tinos and when we got to the harbour it looked rather busy and noisy,  with the hot Meltemi wind blasting like a hair dryer, so we decided to make our way to the south of the island to an anchorage where we could swim and have some peace and quiet. This was a very good idea in theory and we found Ormos Varis, which aside from some holiday villas just has one or two tavernas some distance away.  In practice, however, the chances of a wedding reception on a Saturday evening, in the summer, at a beach taverna, in a deserted bay are relatively high and, over the completely still water, we were treated to very loud 80s disco hits until the small hours. Did I mention very loud...

Tinos Harbour

    

Astipalaia to Dhespotico - Cyclades Islands

Cliffs of Amorgos

On Friday the the 3rd of June we set off before 7am, early for us, from Skala with the promise of a good wind to take us NNE to Amorgos. We were rewarded with a force 5 just outside the harbour and, after a man overboard mishap with one of the fenders, made good headway to the eastern tip of the island.  Along the way we saw dolphins and, somewhat incongruously, a smelly freighter from Zanzibar - Lady Maria.

We found an amazing looking anchorage on the NE tip in the pilot book, but unfortunately when we got there we found it was polluted with plastic and detritus from the fishermen’s boats.  As it turned out, the whole of that part of the coast was a depressing mess. Although I am happy to say that the vast majority of people are meticulous with their rubbish.

Kalotiri seen from our road trip

Anyway, we moved on to a small bay called Kalotiri and anchored in calm waters with neighbouring yachts a discrete distance away. In the morning, having consulted the pilot book with a pinch of salt this time, we headed for Katapola on the central northern coast of Amorgos. This village has mixed reviews, but none of the negative aspects materialised for us and we both spontaneously took to it. The harbour is a bustling place but all people noise and none of the racy scooters nonsense of some other places we know. In the evening we went for a leisurely stroll to the other side of the bay and ate in a very nice fish restaurant recommended to us by the chap in the tourist office.

Katapola

In the morning we hired a car and drove up the Chora to have a look around before we went to the ancient Monastery of Hozoviotissa. Built into the cliff face this is either a feat of dogged determination or divine inspiration. Whichever, it is very imposing and impressive. My iPhone app registered that we had climbed 39 flights of steps that day, it left out the heat and the fact that we had to wear long trousers to comply with the modesty wishes of the monks. The few monks who live there make their guests feel very welcome and after a short tour of the medieval chapel and its ante chamber, we were invited to a glass of Rokomelo - a cinnamon and honey flavoured Raki. This Greek Orthodox business is very civilised.

Monastery of Hozoviotissa

Looking suitably modest

We drove to the east of the island and passed a very primitive settlement on the top of the high hills. Primitive save for the wind generators and solar panels. 

Chora on Amorgo

Having seen a couple of days of bad weather on the forecast two days ahead we decided to leave for somewhere better protected from the northerlies - as Katapola is completely open. Naxos marina was full so we headed for Mirsini on the island Skinousa. This tiny place has 84 inhabitants apparently and its own homegrown scandal. The disgraced art dealer Robin Symes lived here in palatial luxury with his partner before the latter died in an accident and Symes was exposed for fraud having dealt in looted antiquities, which subsequently led to a period spent at her Majesty's pleasure. Our evening's entertainment was provided by a superyacht trying to get into the small port and the arrogant crew dragging their anchor chains across all of ours, meaning most of our anchors tripped. They deserved a limpet mine, but I didn't have one handy. The captain was French and pretended not to speak english, our resident polyglot gave him the benefit of some choice French vocabulary though.

Ready for some sporty sailing

The forecast Meltemi arrived almost to the minute in the morning and our previously safe anchorage became untenable thanks to yacht Midnight Sun and its fat anchor chains. After a slightly messy departure we anchored in a bay further south and sat out the worst of the storm. In the morning we headed toward Anti Paros. In the Naxos Paros channel it all blew up and we braved an unforecasted Force 8 - 9. Completely reefed in, Rocko behaved beautifully and the only damage we sustained was lots of salt water in our faces. 

7 hours later we found land in the shape of Ormos Dhespotico. A desert island-like setting with little or no signs of civilisation. This welcome respite served us well for two days as we regrouped and planned the next few days. The Cyclades have a reputation for being windy and we can attest to that too...