Here's our account of our wonderful trip across the Agean - very late thanks to a computer breakdown which we got fixed in Athens, and then having to load back the software and docs, most of which we had backed up luckily!!
We waved goodbye to Finike with some sadness, having grown so fond of Turkey and the gentle, friendly Turks during our year long stay. In addition, our final inland trip to the stunning fairytale land of Cappadocia was a highlight not only of Turkey but of our odessey so far.
We cruised up into the wonderful anchorages at Kekova Roads with its Lycian ruins spread both above ground and under water, and spent a good week readjusting to living at marinas. Then we moved to our first Greek stop at the islet of Castellorizon,. It is only 2 miles off the Turkish town of Kas, small, very picturesque and very typical of the Dodecanese architecture with Venetian influence - and still one of my favourite islands. From there we returned to the Turkish coast making our way to Fethiye to formally check out of Turkey, and then crossed over to Rhodes to pick up Mark and Bridget who were going to cruise with us for the 2 month trip across the Agean to Athens and beyond.
We had a good schedule of islands planned out, going north through the Dodecanese from Rhodes to Patmos, then turning south to the Cyclades towards Santorini and then turning northwest through the lower Cyclades towards Athens. This route was meant to dovetail with the meltemi season, and whilst I would love to put it down to my exquisite planning, the wind gods were definitely on our side as we had a really great passage.
The highlight in Rhodes was undoubtedly the castle and the old city. The town of Lindos, on the east coast, was also truly worth the visit. In Rhodes, we also caught up with Marie Christine & Yves on Blue Marine, whom we had first met in Malaysia and had not seen for over a year.
We waved goodbye to Finike with some sadness, having grown so fond of Turkey and the gentle, friendly Turks during our year long stay. In addition, our final inland trip to the stunning fairytale land of Cappadocia was a highlight not only of Turkey but of our odessey so far.
We cruised up into the wonderful anchorages at Kekova Roads with its Lycian ruins spread both above ground and under water, and spent a good week readjusting to living at marinas. Then we moved to our first Greek stop at the islet of Castellorizon,. It is only 2 miles off the Turkish town of Kas, small, very picturesque and very typical of the Dodecanese architecture with Venetian influence - and still one of my favourite islands. From there we returned to the Turkish coast making our way to Fethiye to formally check out of Turkey, and then crossed over to Rhodes to pick up Mark and Bridget who were going to cruise with us for the 2 month trip across the Agean to Athens and beyond.
We had a good schedule of islands planned out, going north through the Dodecanese from Rhodes to Patmos, then turning south to the Cyclades towards Santorini and then turning northwest through the lower Cyclades towards Athens. This route was meant to dovetail with the meltemi season, and whilst I would love to put it down to my exquisite planning, the wind gods were definitely on our side as we had a really great passage.
The highlight in Rhodes was undoubtedly the castle and the old city. The town of Lindos, on the east coast, was also truly worth the visit. In Rhodes, we also caught up with Marie Christine & Yves on Blue Marine, whom we had first met in Malaysia and had not seen for over a year.
The next stop was at the pretty island of Simi for a few days and then on to the anchorage on the Turkish coast at the old Lycian port of Knidos. From there we headed to Kos and stayed at the very pretty old harbour with the Castle of the Knights dominating the port. Here we visited the Hellenistic and Roman ruins all around us, and enjoyed the shade under Hippocrates Plane Tree, where he reputedly taught his pupils. An overnight stop at a lovely anchorage at Pserimos and then we called into Kalimnos, a very Greek town out of the tourist mainstream.
We really like Leros - almost completely overlooked by tourists, despite its not very promising description in our cruising guide. A stunning medevial castle and some very pretty villages on the east coast made for a very pleasant stay. From here we moved to the small island of Lipsi and a lovely anchorage to wait out some northerly winds. Luckily there were some moorings which we could use, as the holding for the anchor was not the best, and we had one of the best Greek meals ashore at the only taverna in the turquoise bay.
We got to Patmos in time to meet up with the Fremantle Sailing Club cruisers who chartere
d boats from Athens and were sailing east to Rhodes. It was a real treat to catch up with old friends and added to the appeal of Patmos (John the Divine wrote the Apocalypse here) with its stunning monastry and the winding streets with whitewashed houses of Hora perched on top of the hill overlooking the island and the harbour.
We waved goodbye to old friends and to the Dodecanese and started south to the Cyclades, and had the only uncomfortable trip in the Agean - not so much because of strong winds, which actually were not that strong, but because of uncomfortable seas as the winds had gone from southerlies to northerlies, and the swell was quite confused.
The very small island of Levitha offered a wonderfully safe overnight anchorage and the next day we continued on with very pleasant gently northerlies to Amorgos. Here we rented a car and visited the spectacular east coast with magnificient cliffs and a stunning monastry built into the side of a very steep cliff (and a good walk up to get to it too)!
The main hora is very pretty and Amorgas also boasts some lovely, picturesque hilltop villages at the northern end.
Next stop was Thira (Santorini) with its magnificient volcanic crater. We rented a car and drove up to visit the fantastic hilltop towns perched on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the
semicircular caldera with its spectacular multicoloured cliffs. The main town of Fira is the picture postcard of the Cyclades with its immaculate whitewashed houses- and streets sometimes - and blue trim/ roofs! We all agreed however that the even older town of Oia at the northern tip - with its cave homes - was the most attractive, and the sunset at Oia is not to be missed, despite the hordes that gather there and take up every square inch of wall or roof top to watch! Definitely a must!
We took the boat into the caldera, and anchored in one to the tiny bays on Nea Kameni, the crater core which is still active, for Mark to walk up to the crater. After lunch we started on our northwesterly route, to a lovely anchorage on the south side of Ios, before heading around to the main harbour the next day to pick up my nephew, Ben and his partner Nadine. We won't say much about Ben turning up with his leg in plaster and on crutches, but the good thing is that even with six of us on the boat, we all spread around and had a great 4-5 days of partying and cruising (actually we let the "kids" do the all night parties, and watched the hangovers with bemusement....)
Ios is definitely fun island for the young. The main Hora is not only a very attractive Cycladic village with the usual labyrinth of narrow winding lanes with thatch roofs straddling the lanes. It is also filled with nightspots which are relatively inexpensive by Greek standards. This island certainly grew on us, and we left a few days later so explore more islands and anchorages. We crossed to the island of Sikinos, only 7 miles away, to the most delightful small harbour we had seen so far. We anchored just outside the harbour in turquoise waters, but realised that this would not do as an overnight stop if the wind blew up, so reluctantly left late afternoon and headed to Antiparos for the night, heading north to Ioannis Cove in the northern end of Paros the next morning.
After relentlessly moving on for the last six weeks, we were delighted that we had now crossed the main waters of the Agean without too much adverse winds. We were all feeling somewhat jaded from too many islands, monasteries, Horas etc... and needed time out. What luck then that Ioannis Cove was turquoise heaven with lovely, tiny seculeded sandy beaches and a very safe all weather anchorage. One of the main beaches had a beach concession, and a ferry into the very pretty town of Naousa very regularly. It was here that we bid Ben & Nadine farewell, and a few days later welcomed Clare and her brother Lucas for another short visit. Strong winds blew up (a first taste of strong meltemis) and we decided to stay put, and enjoy the wonderful anchorage, and explore the island and surrounds. We also took the ferry to visit the ancient site of Delos and the island of Mykonos via Naxos.
We ended up spending 11 days in Paros, and as the winds settled we sailed off first to Serifos, to see was is reputedly the most stunning Hora of the Cyclades (it was too: white houses crowning two steep peaks - one higher than the other and crowned itself with a Venetian Kastro). From here we moved on to Kithnos before crossing to mainland Greece on the Peloponnese side to the large safe anchorage (Russian Bay) at Poros. We planned to stay here for a week or so, celebrate our Agean crossing, visit Athens and plan the rest of our Greek odessey... We did all that, went into Athens and visited the Acropolis, crowned by the Parthenon overlooking the centre of
Athens - and got our computer fixed. A few days of rest and relaxation around the wonderful anchorage at Russian Bay, with a few visits into the town of Poros, and we started thinking of our crossing the Corinth Canal and into the Ionian - all in our next newsletter!!
One other item that deserves mention is the number of cruisers that we caught up with that sometimes cruised with us and so often gave us some excellent anchorage and restaurant tips! Thanks to all you guys and we certainly enjoyed the company!
All the very best from us all on Mischief: Chris & Bjorn, Bridget and Mark
We really like Leros - almost completely overlooked by tourists, despite its not very promising description in our cruising guide. A stunning medevial castle and some very pretty villages on the east coast made for a very pleasant stay. From here we moved to the small island of Lipsi and a lovely anchorage to wait out some northerly winds. Luckily there were some moorings which we could use, as the holding for the anchor was not the best, and we had one of the best Greek meals ashore at the only taverna in the turquoise bay.
We got to Patmos in time to meet up with the Fremantle Sailing Club cruisers who chartere
d boats from Athens and were sailing east to Rhodes. It was a real treat to catch up with old friends and added to the appeal of Patmos (John the Divine wrote the Apocalypse here) with its stunning monastry and the winding streets with whitewashed houses of Hora perched on top of the hill overlooking the island and the harbour.
We waved goodbye to old friends and to the Dodecanese and started south to the Cyclades, and had the only uncomfortable trip in the Agean - not so much because of strong winds, which actually were not that strong, but because of uncomfortable seas as the winds had gone from southerlies to northerlies, and the swell was quite confused.
The very small island of Levitha offered a wonderfully safe overnight anchorage and the next day we continued on with very pleasant gently northerlies to Amorgos. Here we rented a car and visited the spectacular east coast with magnificient cliffs and a stunning monastry built into the side of a very steep cliff (and a good walk up to get to it too)!
The main hora is very pretty and Amorgas also boasts some lovely, picturesque hilltop villages at the northern end.
Next stop was Thira (Santorini) with its magnificient volcanic crater. We rented a car and drove up to visit the fantastic hilltop towns perched on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the
semicircular caldera with its spectacular multicoloured cliffs. The main town of Fira is the picture postcard of the Cyclades with its immaculate whitewashed houses- and streets sometimes - and blue trim/ roofs! We all agreed however that the even older town of Oia at the northern tip - with its cave homes - was the most attractive, and the sunset at Oia is not to be missed, despite the hordes that gather there and take up every square inch of wall or roof top to watch! Definitely a must!
We took the boat into the caldera, and anchored in one to the tiny bays on Nea Kameni, the crater core which is still active, for Mark to walk up to the crater. After lunch we started on our northwesterly route, to a lovely anchorage on the south side of Ios, before heading around to the main harbour the next day to pick up my nephew, Ben and his partner Nadine. We won't say much about Ben turning up with his leg in plaster and on crutches, but the good thing is that even with six of us on the boat, we all spread around and had a great 4-5 days of partying and cruising (actually we let the "kids" do the all night parties, and watched the hangovers with bemusement....)
Ios is definitely fun island for the young. The main Hora is not only a very attractive Cycladic village with the usual labyrinth of narrow winding lanes with thatch roofs straddling the lanes. It is also filled with nightspots which are relatively inexpensive by Greek standards. This island certainly grew on us, and we left a few days later so explore more islands and anchorages. We crossed to the island of Sikinos, only 7 miles away, to the most delightful small harbour we had seen so far. We anchored just outside the harbour in turquoise waters, but realised that this would not do as an overnight stop if the wind blew up, so reluctantly left late afternoon and headed to Antiparos for the night, heading north to Ioannis Cove in the northern end of Paros the next morning.
After relentlessly moving on for the last six weeks, we were delighted that we had now crossed the main waters of the Agean without too much adverse winds. We were all feeling somewhat jaded from too many islands, monasteries, Horas etc... and needed time out. What luck then that Ioannis Cove was turquoise heaven with lovely, tiny seculeded sandy beaches and a very safe all weather anchorage. One of the main beaches had a beach concession, and a ferry into the very pretty town of Naousa very regularly. It was here that we bid Ben & Nadine farewell, and a few days later welcomed Clare and her brother Lucas for another short visit. Strong winds blew up (a first taste of strong meltemis) and we decided to stay put, and enjoy the wonderful anchorage, and explore the island and surrounds. We also took the ferry to visit the ancient site of Delos and the island of Mykonos via Naxos.
We ended up spending 11 days in Paros, and as the winds settled we sailed off first to Serifos, to see was is reputedly the most stunning Hora of the Cyclades (it was too: white houses crowning two steep peaks - one higher than the other and crowned itself with a Venetian Kastro). From here we moved on to Kithnos before crossing to mainland Greece on the Peloponnese side to the large safe anchorage (Russian Bay) at Poros. We planned to stay here for a week or so, celebrate our Agean crossing, visit Athens and plan the rest of our Greek odessey... We did all that, went into Athens and visited the Acropolis, crowned by the Parthenon overlooking the centre of
Athens - and got our computer fixed. A few days of rest and relaxation around the wonderful anchorage at Russian Bay, with a few visits into the town of Poros, and we started thinking of our crossing the Corinth Canal and into the Ionian - all in our next newsletter!!
One other item that deserves mention is the number of cruisers that we caught up with that sometimes cruised with us and so often gave us some excellent anchorage and restaurant tips! Thanks to all you guys and we certainly enjoyed the company!
All the very best from us all on Mischief: Chris & Bjorn, Bridget and Mark
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