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.