View from our bedroom window

A Revelation

 It was very pleasant being back in Pythagoria again and we spent the day walking around the town. Left the next day for Lipso and found a lovely anchorage at the bottom of the island. Typical rural Greek with a small chapel and about 3 houses. Clear water and just delightful. A party of students had loud music on the beach but they left by 7pm and we were alone again. We spent the next day relaxing in the bay listening to the bells on the goats as they were moved between pastures and were joined in the evening by a German yacht with mother and son on board. Mother was born in Turkey and they came on board to share stories. They spoke Turkish German and English. We set sail for Patmos the next day, motored around the town basin then headed for an anchorage a little south in a bay called Grikos which had a small town, tourist hotels and tavern.

We hired a motor scooter and visited the chora (town centre) of the old town on the hill and St John’s monastery. It is an imposing basilica right on the top of the hill. Interesting to wander around the monastery and contemplate what it must have seen during the last 2000 years. There is a museum attached to the monastery. On the way back down to the main town (Skala) we stopped and visited the cave of the Apocalypse where St John dictated the book of Revelations. He must have been on something good in his diet to have written many of his predictions. Raewyn’s take on it is that God spoke directly to St John. It is again an interesting place complete with portion cut out of stone where he lay his head and a handhold to help pull himself up.

We began to feel the force of the meltimi (strong wind) in Patmos and were relived to be secure and well anchored. Each anchorage can take some time to get the anchor in and set. Each time I will dive to ensure it is secure (or most times anyway) I enjoy swimming and checking the anchor gives me something to do. Staying a few extra days we caught up on shopping by taking the bus to Skala. We also purchased a router from Vodafone so now have wi-fi on board when we are in a “phone cell”

We left Patmos for Dhenoussa. A small Island on the way to Naxos. We anchored in a small bay (one before the official anchorage) and it seemed Ok although it was still blowing. The bay was full of picknickers where clothing was optional. In the evening a boat arrived and took most of the people away – I guess to the main town. Some opted to walk out of the bay via a steep track. The islands are all rock and a few scrubby bushes. Very sparse. We have not had a day of rain or even clouds since we have been here and the countryside looks the worse the wear for it. Water is in short supply in most of the islands.

Next day we sailed to Naxos. Since Patmos there has been plenty of wind from the North and that is the way we are heading so it has been a mixed bag of sailing. Not at all what the brochures depict, but it has not been uncomfortable either. We do small hops so four hours is a big day.

At Naxos we stopped at a bay again in the south of the island and enjoyed a windless night again in a rural setting with the bells of two flocks of sheep breaking the silence.  That was to be the last of the windless nights for a while.

We arrived at Naxos town after a reasonable passage except for the last 2 miles where we had to negotiate a cape, an underwater rock and numerous ferries.

We opted to take the safe course and go outside the underwater rock. Ferries were arriving from many directions and one was coming straight for us (these are large and fast ferries). I kept the underwater rock between the ferry and us. The ferry opted for the short cut and we were safe. The anchorage was within 100 meters of the ferry terminal and they were coming and going continuously. Often two at a time taking just ten minutes to offload and load passengers and vehicles.

The anchorage was OK and we dinghied ashore for groceries and had dinner at a Taverna.  With only 12 miles to Mykynos we opted to leave early and make a run for it before the  sea state got up. Most of the way was fine at 6+ knots, but the last few miles the wind and sea increased with 30+ knots of wind and 1.5metre swells. Not ideal, but it was thankfully just for the last hour. We were pleased we had not decided to leave later.

At Mykynos we had a look at the superyachts near the town centre and decided to head instead to an isolated bay nearby. We are still there with no promise of letup from the Meltimi. We are safe and it is not uncomfortable. There is a good beach in the bay and several discos. There are boats towing people on toys in the bay. The discos are not loud and do not seem to go late. We are looking forward to getting ashore and looking around Mykynos.

 

More Photos - Pythagoria (Samos) and Patmos

Bodrum and Kos

On reaching Turgetreis

Hi all,

Just an update on what we have been doing and where we have been. 

27th June we stayed in the bay behind theByzantine fort in Marti Marina and just relaxed. We met a lovely Australian couple and had drinks with them on their boat in the evening. 

28th we up anchored and we headed to a bay called Ciftlik Limani. A pretty little bay.

29th we left and headed for Knidos. We backed into the wharf there and were nice and safe for the night. There was not a lot of anchorage without weed so it was better to tie up. There were a lot of ruins here dating back to 4BC A very interesting place.

30th June we left Knidos to go to Kos but the sea was really rough and we were motoring to charge the batteries. We were hoping to find a nice safe calm anchorage but it wasn't to be,. So we decided to go back to Bodrum in Turkey,. It was a good wind so we sailed back with the Genoa up. It was a good sail. So quiet and peaceful. We found what we thought was good anchorage in Gumbet on the southern side of the harbour but unfortunately we dragged twice so we up anchored and headed for the northern side of the bay where we found fantastic anchorage in sand. The only problem was we were in the water sports area so we had speed boats doing parasailing rides, biscuit rides plus other water sports. We were also across from the Hotels and night clubs. So you could say we were in the thick of it. It was an interesting place to be and we both enjoyed it. Rather noisy at night but ear plugs did the trick sort of. We spent the whole day on the boat to make sure the anchor was well buried and we would be safe. Tony dived on the anchor and it was well dug in.

1st July As expected there was plenty of music to put us to sleep the night before hahaha! !! But we were determined to see and do things so today we decided to spend the day in Bodrum town and have a look around. It is a very busy place and well worth visiting. We found a good fruit market on the way back to the bus depot. It was a good day for checking things out. 

2nd July today we rowed into shore and once again left the dinghy with the water sports guys. From there we got the Dolmus (local bus) back into town walked down to the docks, got our tickets for the ferry to Kos. 

It was a pretty straight forward process in Bodrum with passport and customs  but when we got to Kos  (Greece) what an absolute circus. Two boats arrived at the same time for processing and it must have taken us 1.5hours to get through.  Once outside with map in hand we proceeded to try to tick off as many historical sites that we could. We saw the Plane Tree where Hippocrates taught medicine under this tree.  It is placed in the middle of a square.  We saw ancient sites of the harbour and market place, Altar of Dionysis, the Roman Agora and a old Roman theatre. Plus others. The history is mind blowing.  Very pleasant lunch in the town square - very reminiscent of Italy. Tony had his first Pita Gyros since a Greek day in Milford NZ.

3rd July an early start at 6.30am. We motored up to Yalikavak and staying in D Marin which is Turguteris. Very nice marina with everything you could want. Very nicely appointed in all bathrooms, yacht club, pool area and own shopping center. It is quite expensive but we'll worth it. 

We intend to leave tomorrow and head north making our way to Ephesus. 

So that's it to-date. Keep well and happy. 

Lots of love 

Raewyn and Tony Xxxx 

After one night in Turgetreis we left the marina and headed for Yalikavac. A pleasant bay and anchorage although there were a few superyachts and large motor launches in the bays. One in  particular provided some amusement as he anchored, then dragged, anchored then dragged, then set out two anchors. The owner and entourage were ashore at a restaurant for the performance. The motor launch left in the evening only to return the next day to repeat the show. There was no need to be so close to us as the vessel was well equipped with a fast and large tender.

We moved after two nights via Altinkum to Cukurcuk. Altinkum was a very crowded beach with lots of hotels, beach loungers, umbrellas, the works. We anchored at 10am. At 11am all the tripper boats left mostly one after the other in quick succession, speakers blaring and full of day trippers. What fun we had watching the untanglement of anchors from the quay. 14 boats, anchors crossed, divers down, all trying to leave. One large ferry came dangerously close and we were sure it was going to hit the anchor chain and drag us into his side. So after watching the show we left before the mass return in the evening. We headed for Cukurcuk. What a windswept godforsaken place with the wind howling over a low landscape. Fortunately we were well anchored in shallow water.

Oh – by the way. We moved from Bodrum to Cukurcuk during the lead up to the finish of Ramadan. – 4 July. After the Imaam had called the faithful to prayer at sunset on his loudspeakers atop the mosque minaret, large guns were fired in the hills. Very reassuring for us with no understanding of Moslem holy day celebrations. Just large guns being fired in the hills.

We set off for Samos at 6.30am. Straight in to a headwind and 1.5metre swell. By 12.30 we were anchored in a lovely bay east of the marina, harbour and main town. The next day we anchored in Pythagoria harbour. Kodak moments everywhere. A classical lovely fishing village and a pleasure to be ashore again. Think we had not left the boat for a week other than to swim. Took a bus to Vathi town (actually called Samos -we told the bus driver we wanted to go to Vathi when he told us the bus stopped in Samos) – same place. Not much happening in Samos but we managed to spend 3 hours doing nothing and missed the last bus back. Taxi to the rescue.

Samos had a large scrub fire. Moondance was covered in ash and two helicopters with the assistance of four aircraft scooped up buckets and plane loads of seawater to dump on the fire. Quite a performance and we had ringside seats. In the evening of 9 July we moved To Posidion near the NW side of Samos. A lovely anchorage with a few tavernas ashore.   

One of our longest days – motoring in to an insignificant wind for 7 hours saw us in Sigacik – Turkey again. I wintered over here in 2004/5. The marina was much improved and with it the prices. 53 Euro per night. Sigacik also had many more houses and restaurants near the marina. We walked in the evening through the old walled town where a produce market was in full swing. It was wonderful to experience the ancient walled town where people still lived. The atmosphere was vibrant.

The next day we caught a Dolmus from Sigacik to Seferisar (about 5k ) then another Dolmus to Selcuk (about 70k) then another Dolmus to Ephesus. It was hot and sticky. Every day since Istanbul has been blue skies and windy.

Ephesus was a major reason for travelling so far north and did not disappoint. We wandered among the ancient ruins starting with the Church of Mary complete with large “bath” that was possibly used by Cleopatra and maybe as a font after the introduction of Christianity by St Paul who came to Ephesus for three years converted people and founded a church. Disliked by the silversmiths whose business was selling silver statues of Artemis St Paul was taken from Ephesus to Rome where he was beheaded outside the city walls.

 St john and the Virgin Mary also lived in Ephesus so this all added to the interest of the historical site. Of course the library of Celsus façade still standing provided the greatest visual impact of what had once been a large and prosperous city. The grand theatre was also impressive, but in reality the whole place was interesting and conjured visions of civilisation that existed long ago.

We hired a taxi for 50Euros and 40lire to take us to the seven sleepers (look it up if you are interested) Merymana – the house of virgin Mary where she lived and died. It is certainly worth the visit. Next stop was the Basilica of St John which contains his tomb and a very large baptistry where it appears baptism by full immersion would have taken place. All in all a very biblical experience in a Moslem country. The taxi driver dropped us off in Kusadasi for the Dolmus ride home. Of course it would have been easier to just go from Pythagoria to Kusadasi marina but the experience is not about being easy. It is about adventure and experience. We are getting plenty of that with just the language differences.

An update 26 June to 13 July

While in Sigacick we also walked in the evening around Teos. The remains of another ancient city largely untouched – just spread among the fields and olive groves.

We then checked out of Turkey and had a wonderful day sailing back to Pythagoria where we checked in to Greece.