BLOG 2
GREECE
– SPRING 2024
CIRCUMNAVIGATION
OF THE PELOPONNESE ‘ISLAND’
PART TWO
INTRODUCTION
We are now back in the UK
after three months in Greece. During that time we spent one month servicing and
working on the boat and two months circumnavigating the Peloponnese to the
south of Athens and the Greek mainland.
Blog No 1 covered the first
leg of our circumnavigation, on which we were joined by our younger son Will
and his family on our passage from Preveza to Athens via the Gulfs of Patras
and Corinth and through the Corinth Canal itself.
This Blog [No 2] covers the
rest of our circumnavigation around the east, south and west coasts of the
Peloponnese.
Route taken around the Peloponnese in Spring 2024
PELOPONNESE
– OVERVIEW
The Peloponnese is the last
southern thrust of mainland Greece into the waters of the Mediterranean. It
looks somewhat like the palm of a hand with three fingers pointing south. Its
one connection with the rest of Europe is a thin isthmus to the north-east
joining it to the continent above – or arguably it would be if the late
19th-century Corinth Canal had not been created to separate it therefrom. Two
thirds of its landmass is mountainous; the majority of which forms a central
spine heading south down to Mani, the central ‘finger’.
The Greek islands themselves
consistently feature on bucket lists and polls of where to visit. The
Peloponnese, an area the size of Wales, claims to equal any one of them in
terms of scenery, history, wildlife, and culture. It also remains less changed
than almost any other part of Greece.
SARONIC
GULF
SALAMIS ISLAND
Once Will and family left us
in Athens, by Uber for the airport, we slipped our lines and left the Piraeus
Sailing Club’s pontoon in Mikrolimeni harbour and headed back west to Salamis
town, some 20 miles away, on the southwest coast of the island of the same
name. There we met up with our friends Rolf and Roz [R&R] and since
visiting yachts are not welcome in the harbour itself, we anchored off in
Salamis Bay.
While there, we took time off
to reorganise storage areas on board, (after having had family visiting), and
were introduced by R&R to, among other things, a very nice ouzerie
in the harbour area, which served barbecued food on market day.
Salamis’s principal claim to
fame is the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, when Greek Naval forces effectively
destroyed the Persian fleet and with it the Persian threat in the Aegean.
POROS ISLAND
After three days in Salamis we
sailed in company with R&R to Poros, where we both anchored off the town of
Poros. While there, Rolf, an IT expert, paired our new headsets, which we had
failed to do. Since then they have proved an absolute godsend, in that we can
now communicate easily throughout the boat with the engine running when
anchoring or mooring – or even when Helen is up the mast!
Poros Bay is at the SW corner of the Saronic Gulf, close to the
Peloponnese coast. The picturesque town of Poros itself is built on rocky
slopes overlooking the SE exit of the bay.
R&R, who know it well,
showed us round – something that is always helpful. After three days, however,
we had to go our separate ways and we headed south down the east coast of the
Peloponnese.
PELOPONNESE – EAST COAST
KIPARISSI
In the Autumn of 2019, while still based in Leros, we sailed across the Aegean Sea before cruising and exploring the east coast of the Peloponnese from Poros in the north to Monemvasia, the most southerly harbour on that coast:
[Blogs 8–10, Autumn 2019. The link to Blog 8 also gives access to Blogs 9 and 10:
Blog 8: https://islanddriftergreece2019.blogspot.com/p/blog-1autumn-2019.html
This time we simply stopped
halfway in Kiparissi to meet up with Anne Armstrong whom we had met there in
2019. She now has full Greek residency and enjoys life in the house she has had
built there. Kiparissi is now a major area for experienced climbers.
PELOPONNESE – SOUTH COAST
In 2022 we sailed non-stop for
72 hours from Leros off the Turkish coast in the Aegean via the south and west
coasts of the Peloponnese to the North Ionian Sea, where we made landfall in
Kefalonia. En route we passed between the Peloponnese and the north coast of
Kithera.
This time we headed due south
from Kiparissi to the island of Kithera off the SW tip of Laconia, the eastern
finger of the Peloponnese, otherwise known as the land of the Spartans. The
island has a range of harbours and anchorages. We looked at three of them.
AVELOMONAS
On arrival in Ay Nikolaos Bay,
we anchored off the beach, close to the hamlet of Avelomonas. To cool down we
swam to the shore. It was only once there that we realised how far we had to
swim back! After doing so, we had a shower, a sundowner and a light supper, and
an early night, having been sailing for the last 16 hours.
Next morning, we launched the
dinghy and outboard and motored a mile or so into Avelomonas Harbour to do a
close-up recce of the hamlet and berthing facilities. As it turned out, the
latter were pretty limited and we were quite happy to remain at anchor in the
bay since apart from anything else it would, with the breeze, be cooler there. The
hamlet itself has numerous modern studios and apartments which intermingle with
the remaining traditional fishermen’s cottages. A very pleasant, low-key
location.
After looking around the
hamlet and having locally caught fish for lunch, in one of its four tavernas,
we returned to ID. This time, however, we did so against the traditional
afternoon ‘blow’. It was a slow and wet trip into a considerable fetch.
KAPSALI
We had planned to stop the
night in Kapsali on the south coast of Kithera. The Chora on the hill above
Kapsali is the island’s capital. It is a very picturesque location. Today it
has become something of a magnet for young professional Greeks and the quays
were already packed with smart motorboats.
Anchoring inside the harbour
is forbidden and the smart quay, supposedly built for visiting boats, was
empty, although there was a pristine office building for the Coast Guard and
Port Police, who have a reputation for being ‘awkward’. Not what we were looking
for!
PORT KAYIO
After a brief spin around the
harbour of Kapsali, we decided not to stay in Kithera. We therefore continued
our passage north and headed for Port Kayio on the SE corner of the middle
peninsula (the Mani) of the Peloponnese. The bay is well protected from the
prevailing NW winds, which were forecast to be particularly strong that night.
Over the years, this natural
harbour was used by the Venetians, Turks and various Maniote pirates, of whom
the most famous was Katsonis – a monument to this freedom fighter-cum-pirate
stands near the quay in the SW corner of the bay.
In the 1980s there were only a
few fishermen and their families living in the small hamlet. Since then, the
summer arrival of yachts on passage around the Peloponnese has rejuvenated the
hamlet. Most houses around the bay have been tastefully renovated and it has
become a chic destination, complete with a helipad.
DIROS
We left Port Kayio before dawn
to take advantage of a forecast early-morning lull in the wind around Cape
Tainaron at the bottom of the Mani peninsula, before heading north up the west
coast of the peninsula to Diros Bay so that we could anchor off and visit the
famous caves there.
The Caves are spectacular. To
paraphrase Rod Heikell’s words: “one of the sights that stay with you for a
long time and which few adjectives adequately describe”. A guide punts and
pushes a flat-bottomed boat (for six people) around 1.5km of underground passages,
which are interconnected and lit for convenience and effect. We were told that
the whole of the Mani peninsula is riddled with such caves which are said to
rank with the best in the world.
LIMENI
After our cave trip, we
continued north to Port Limeni, located at the end of a very large bay of the
same name. The neo-Maniote houses around the bay blend into the background,
since they are constructed of bricks made from local rock.
KARAVOSTASI
Unfortunately, when we reached
Port Limeni where we’d planned to anchor, we were uncomfortable with the
forecast wind strength and direction and therefore crossed the bay to
Karavostasi in the NW corner where there was
just enough room to berth alongside on the fishermen’s well-protected quay.
We stayed there for four days
since the weather deteriorated significantly for the first two and we’d got to
like the place! A day after we arrived, another British yacht joined us on the
quay. It, Susanne, was owned by Stewart and Anne who were also going
north up the Peloponnese back to their base in Trizonia Island in the Gulf of
Corinth.
We had a light lunch each day
at the nearby taverna, Little Algeria, close to the quay where the very affable
young owner, Nikos, allowed us to fill cans of water which he insisted on
carrying to the boat.
We also purchased fish from
one of the local fishermen, which Stewart barbequed for supper on his portable
grill. Delicious!
Turtles swam around the
breakwater – as indeed we did. We only subsequently heard that other turtles
had the day before ‘gummed’ six swimmers off nearby beaches. The unfortunate
victims were severely bruised and had to have tetanus and antibiotic shots!
Fortunately ‘our’ turtles seemed friendlier!
PELOPONNESE
– WEST COAST
KORONI
We headed west to Koroni which
we planned to use as our launch point for getting round Cape Akritas, the most
western cape of the Peloponnese.
Stewart and Anne had decided
to sail up to Kalamata, once the principal port of the Peloponnese. Today its
commercial traffic is much diminished. We refrained from doing the same, since
its hyperactive port police have a reputation for being particularly awkward
with visiting yachts, possibly as a result of being overstaffed and underworked
– as indeed, Stewart and Anne found out!
The anchorage of Koroni is
notorious for slabs of rock that can entrap an anchor or chain. Helen found
when snorkelling to check that our anchor was properly dug in, that we were in
danger of trapping our chain under such a rock slab so, while we still could,
we cautiously raised our anchor, found a sandier location and re-anchored
successfully. Even so, we put out a tripping buoy and an ‘angel’ on the chain
to limit the possibility of getting it irrevocably entrapped.
METHONI
Next day, we weighed anchor,
fortunately without any problem, and left well before dawn to get round Cape
Akritas before the mild weather deteriorated as forecast. Once we’d done so, we
made our way inside the small islands of Skhiza and Sapientza, through the
narrow coral entrance to Methoni Bay, where we anchored behind the town’s large
breakwater.
Stewart and Anne, with whom we
had remained in contact, were due to join us but the winds around the cape were
such that they were forced to anchor in a well-protected bay on Sapientza
island. Sadly, the fish farm shown on the chart had been abandoned together
with all its plastic paraphernalia which was strewn around the shore.
The enormous Venetian fort was
built to guard their shipping routes along the west coast of the Peloponnese.
Subsequently, it was captured by the Turks who in 1571 imprisoned Cervantes in
their notorious prison tower on the end of what is now the town’s spit. It is
thought that this experience could have been the inspiration for a passage in Cervantes’
novel Don Quixote.
NAVARINO BAY
Yet again, we left before dawn
next day to cross the coral reef/sand bar between the prison tower and the
island of Sapientza, since the bar would be impassable in the forecast bad weather.
Navarino Bay, our next port of
call, is famous for the Battle of Navarino, in 1827, between the vastly
outnumbered combined fleets of Great Britain, France and Russia who fought, on
behalf of Greece, against the significantly superior Turkish and Egyptian
forces. It was an unremitting and bloody four-hour battle, fought at anchor:
one of the most extraordinary Naval battles ever fought, being not only the
last major confrontation between ships with sails but also one of the first
where the fleets remained stationary and slogged it out with cannon and sword.
The Allied victory effectively won the War of Independence for the Greeks.
PILOS
At the entrance to the bay is
the town of Pilos. We wanted to stop as there was a Vodafone store (where Helen
could top up our Greek data SIM), a good chandlery and a decent supermarket. We
had the choice of either berthing on the public town quay or trying to find a
space in the large unadopted marina, which was full of local boats and
long-term, down-and-out liveaboards. We opted for the former and were later
joined there by Stewart and Anne, with whom we spent a very pleasant evening in
Taverna Koikos [Cuckoo].
After a couple of days we left
the quay and anchored off the enormous beach at the head of the bay, while
Stewart and Anne headed north to Katakolon where they had arranged to pick up
friends.
KIPARISSIA
After a pleasant couple of
days at anchor, we headed south out of Navarino Bay and then north up to
Kiparissia, a large well-protected harbour. As previously advised, we quickly
discovered that the harbour was full of large, endangered loggerhead turtles (carreta
carreta). The surrounding coast is a major breeding ground for them. On one
occasion we counted over thirty turtles ‘sunbathing’ in a group on the surface in
the harbour!
KATAKOLON
We met up again with Stewart
and Anne who kindly took our lines when we berthed in Katakolon. They then
departed with their guests to ensure that they had time to catch their booked
ferry from Patras to Italy, from where they were driving home to Scotland.
We had come to Katakolon as it
is the most convenient place from which to visit the site of Ancient Olympia.
The port was once the thriving centre of the currant trade. Today it caters principally for cruise liners.
The town does, however, have
its own small museum of Ancient Greek Technology which we found absolutely
fascinating. It contains 300 amazing inventions of the Ancient Greeks from the
Robot Servant of Philon through the Cinema of Heron and the Hydraulic Clock
of Archimedes to the Analogue Computer found in the island of Antikithera. It
covers the period from 2000BC up to the end of the Ancient Greek world. The
inventions are conceptually incredibly similar to modern technology!
Ancient Olympia is a standard
‘must see’ for cruise-liner clients. Taxis and coaches assemble en masse in the
enormous car park adjacent to the yacht quay to meet each liner, and the town,
which is virtually ‘dead’ in their absence, comes dramatically to life. On one
day, seven monster liners disgorged their passengers either on one of the enormous
quays or by shuttle boat.
We waited a couple of days
until only one liner was scheduled, before taking the small train directly from
the port to Olympia, for a 50-minute journey through a most interesting
agricultural plain. A very relaxing (and air-conditioned!) trip in itself!
Rod Heikell’s description of
the Ancient Site of Olympia summarises it well: “The actual site is a rambling
muddle with a jumble of ruins partially overgrown with olive trees and machis”.
[The principal areas however were more open but still looked a bit of a
muddle.] The site itself is in a wooded valley with the twin rivers of Alfios
and Kladhios running through it.
The original Olympic stadium
is actually a little underwhelming, although it is large enough to have housed
the discus event in front of 46,000 people when Greece hosted the Games in
2004.
Ancient Olympia hosted the
Panhellenic Games for over a thousand years. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who
revived the modern Games in 1896, asked for his heart to be buried in Olympia.
There is a small separate museum at the entrance to the site covering the
history of the Games, in addition to the excellent Archaeological Museum in the
middle of the site.
KILLINI
The next day we were up early
yet again, this time for Killini, the last major port on the west coast of the Peloponnese.
In Venetian times the port was an important link in the trade route around the
Peloponnese. These days it is a dusty ferry port for Zakinthos and Kefalonia.
While en route we reviewed our
pilot and travel books and concluded that although Killini could be a useful
port of refuge when travelling between the north and south of the Ionian Sea,
it was not exactly a glamorous spot to visit.
THE
INLAND SEA
KEFALONIA
As we had time to spare that
day, we changed our plan and motorsailed the 52 miles to Ag Efimia in Kefalonia,
west of the entrance to the Gulf of Patras. As we approached the island the
wind started to increase, until by the time we were crossing the Bay of Sami
towards Ag Efimia we were reaching in a F6, gusting F7, with two reefs in each
sail!
On arrival, we sheltered
briefly behind the harbour’s breakwater while preparing to moor stern-to the
quay. This we did in a crosswind of 28kts. By some miracle and to the
entertainment of the ‘meerkats’ on every yacht, we actually successfully
dropped the anchor and reversed on to the quay as well as one could have done
in the circumstances. After tying up, we thanked the Gods and downed a large
G&T!
We stayed four nights, two as
a consequence of the F7 that passed through and the others because Ag Efimia
offered everything we wanted: tavernas, water, electricity, good swimming and,
in Helen’s case, a haircut!
LEFKAS
With only four days to go
before being lifted out into the boatyard at Aktio, we reluctantly left Ag
Efimia to sail north to Lefkas. To our delight there was a space on our
favourite quay at the north end of the Lefkas Canal. After mooring up, our
first priority was a swim off the adjacent ‘wild’ beach – and the second was to
have souvlaki and fries at the local taverna on wheels!
We stayed on the quay for a
few extra days and commenced decommissioning ID to minimise the number
of days spent in the heat of the dusty boatyard. Thereafter we were lifted out
into Aktio marina, before catching a flight from the local airport four days
later.
Comments
Post a Comment