BEAUTIFUL BARNEY...cuddling up to Bruno in the Porto Cafe!
What comfort! Bliss! Time is flying by, especially that we have had sunny days since beginning of December, BUT certainly turning colder! The winter quilt is now on our bed, necessary, especially as we have no heating during the night. Therefore pretty chilly inside the boat in the mornings! My hand is slowly improving, still tender, but I am able to work out in the gym again thankfully. Plus Bruno and I try to get out and walk as much as possible, enjoying the local Xmas decorations..Lefkas Town is looking very festive. Bruno, naturally, is following closely the rugby every weekend. We will return to France for 3 weeks during January for our medical controls, admin issues and family etc. All organised. I have not returned for 2 years because of visits to my dearest Mum in Cairns, Australia. Last week, new haircut, but I also had a nasty looking ganglion cyst removed from by left upper wrist....incredibly painful.
7 days on, swelling is slowly decreasing, bandage off, but I have to be patient and very careful not to knock my hand. However, the doctor did say...try to use normally now. When it rains in Lefkas, it rains! Miserable! When the sun is shining it is absolutely glorious, as we have appreciated so much these past 10 days...the marina 'welcome get together' a few days ago was a huge success...we caught up with many past acquaintances and met interesting young cruisers, from South Africa, Australia, the UK. etc etc...always very international. The Men's Shanty singers and the local Women's choir entertained us after drinks and goodies, followed by a rock n'roll band at the popular Porto Café later at aperitif hour. 'Pacific Pearl' is berthed on Ponton G (below)...no close liveaboard neighbors, just charter boats at this stage. Therefore very calm.... Bruno has been taking advantage of the sunny days to continue 'wintering' our yacht, and has been extremely efficient I must say...bravo! Looking north from our berth.....
The sailing charter companies have an impressive number of boats in this marina, especially Sunsail (below), as the Ionion is a very popular sailing destination. However, the season is over for this year and all boats are being prepared for wintering. We are happy to be back in Lefkas, a lively enjoyable small town, catching up with a few friends, watching rugby of course, buying local fresh produce at the weekly market, conveniently located just outside the marina entrance..... and of course, starting on our long list of annual maintenance jobs. Last Friday , 28th October, in Greece was a Public Holiday, an extra special one called OCHI DAY, meaning NO! As going back to 1940, when the Italians attempted to force the Greeks to surrender...the Greeks proudly said NO! Therefore the Italians invaded via Albania, but the Greeks won and they retreated. This famous day is celebrated by parades and marching bands and speeches in town squares all over the country...with of course afterwards, lots of eating, drinking! and dancing! Unfortunately this year, the weather was atrocious, but the locals were still out in force celebrating their OCHI DAY! Ormos Drepanou ( Ak Choironisi)....our anchorage off the farm! For our last 2 nights at anchor, we found a delightful sleepy spot, on the mainland coast with the marvelous view over to Lefkada island. Just one small mile from the southern entrance of the canal, which we will use tomorrow in order to enter the marina for 5 months wintering.
Loads of enjoyable entertainment and lovely animal sounds from over on the farm....imagine seeing cows relaxing on the small sandy beach. Not forgetting the big herd of joyful goats, a few big black pigs, frollicking sheep kept in check by the dogs, and of course the lazy cows. Plus yesterday we saw a beautiful black horse being exercised by it's owner. Oops, forgot the chooks! A real farm! 'Pacific Pearl' is prepared, we are ready, I even managed a very last swim yesterday, but quick, as only 21.4 degrees! Apparently the temperatures will drop this week, so maybe it is the moment to end this memorable 2016 sailing season. Maybe our last? Who knows, as 'Pacific Pearl' is for sale.....on verra!! Still socializing....more lovely friends around! As planned, we caught up in Vliho Bay recently with Lorna and Simon (NZ) S/Y ELSA MAY, before they haul in Cleopatra, Preveza. Lots to chat about as they have been back in NZ for over 12 months. Angela and John from Melbourne also anchored in Vliho, S/Y AMZER ZO... thoroughly enjoyed their exciting news of selling Amzer Zo, and building a brand new 49 ft aluminium sloop in Holland....construction well under way. Good luck with the sale! After a period of heavy rain, yet again, we headed back out at anchor. Firstly in Abelike Bay in northern Meganisi, then back to One Tree Bay, our preference! Charter boats are still around as school holidays in the UK and other countries, but all in all definitely much quieter, thankfully! However, in Meganisi, we enjoyed the change of scenery, and took full advantage of the absolutely gorgeous calm conditions to walk, swim and BBQ! Friday looks to be shocking again, so we may pop back over to Nidhri/Vliho to be more protected with strong winds and storms, plus purchase supplies. 6 more nights at anchor.......!! A busy past few days....gorgeous weather!
including a surprise meeting with Swedish friends on S/Y OCEANVIEW, Kerstin and Christer....many thanks for having us over...we had loads to talk about after so many years! Also enjoyed meeting a lively French couple, Chantal and Etienne who have sailed around the world on their 55ft Outremer catamaran, S/V GABIAN.....so many interesting stories! The water is still around the 22 degrees...maybe yesterday was my last swim?? I keep saying that, but here in Vliho I will certainly not be swimming with the huge ugly jellyfish....!! Tomorrow, we have a much awaited RDV with dear friends, Lorna and Simon 'Elsa May'..... a suivre..... Shocking storm hits Poros last weekend ....the photos speak for themselves! Navplion also!10/15/2016 Poros town quay....45 boats damaged, 2 sunk, plus extensive damage ashore!
Navplion town quay...19 boats damaged, including a friend's boat. Makes one realise that we must be extremely vigilant at all times .... anything can happen, even at anchor. Thankfully, we have returned to clean waters again, after having anchored in the alpine lake ambiance of Vliho Bay..... heavy rain and winds, but now the sun is shining brilliantly.
Apart from shopping for supplies, we had the great pleasure to enjoy a few happy chatty hours with our dear friends, Barb and Con S/Y BIGSKY, who are settled into Lefkas Marina, before hauling out for this coming winter season. Today has been gloriously hot, but will cool down this evening (we are mid October!). Bruno and I both swam in 22 degrees....certainly acceptable as completely calm conditions. Maybe again tomorrow?? Taking each day as it comes....16 more days at anchor before our wintering. Ormos Varko....One tree bay....just over on the mainland opposite Lefkas....an old favourite!10/9/2016 We have always enjoyed this peaceful bay...especially if nearly all alone!
The holding is excellent in sand with clean clear water (for our water maker).....winds are very light or practically non existant, therefore we are able to swim in 23.2 degrees water and not feel cold, especially as it is incredibly hot today. The meteo informs us that we could have some rain again over the next few days, so tonight we will cook up a BBQ and remain here at anchor tonight. Demain, on verra?? Maybe pop over to Vlikho? Taking advantage of each beautiful day. Our thoughts however, are with sailing friends who are in Florida with their boats...we hope that they are safe and sound and have not suffered damage or injuries. Must have been frightening! Impressive..! View over to the boat yards from our anchorage at Preveza...now we can see all the masts clearly!!
The photo below is same time, next day...yes, it was a serious storm with the works, but we consider ourselves lucky as it passed over in a few hours, max 25 knts. In Lefkas there were gusts up to 50 knts! Next morning all clear and sunshine again... Enjoying this peaceful anchorage enormously, an easy walk into town (or by dinghy of course), very calm, just a few boats around coming and going..... Plus, especially attractive at night with the bridge beautifully illuminated, as the castle. Only disadvantage is that with the green shallow water and fish farms in the Gulf, we do not wish to use our watermaker...however, we do have sufficient until we head out into the big blue sea....after all these years, we have learnt to be very economical. Definitely end of season here in Vonitsa. A few yachts on the quay are preparing to haul out for the winter in one of the local boatyards. Our plan tomorrow is to anchor off Preveza for a couple of days before heading down thru the Lefkas canal to find more secluded bays, as the weather may be more unsettled next weekend. We still have 27 days at anchor before we enter the marina for our wintering...so we plan to make the most of them...!! Looking forward to catching up with Barb and Con 'BIGSKY' who will be in the area, plus Lorna and Simon 'ELSA MAY' actually heading this way also. . In contrast to the anchorage at Lakka (see last post), this is us this morning anchored all alone in the Amvrakikos gulf, (like a big inland lake) just inside past Preveza.....no neighbors, utter quietness, except for a few small fishing boats gliding by discreetly. Wonderful to see 'water' birds, and many fluttering butterflies...silence! bliss! However, the water is actually green, appears blue in the photo! The small islands in the distance seem to be 'floating'. I took this pretty photo during a very quiet period of the day...Bruno counted, there were over 60/70 boats at anchor each night in this beautiful bay of Lakka, plus another 20 squashed on the town quay....we are end of September!! The charter business in the Ionian is flourishing! Still, so busy!! Fenders were absolutely necessary at anchor.....just in case!! We managed 3 nights, would have loved to stay longer, but always some drama with the boats anchoring on top of each other, winds changing or becoming stronger, as last night when we changed places ....bref, this am we headed south >>> Preveza, where we are tonight anchored inside the strange Amvrakikos Gulf, in a deserted bay, all alone....absolutely silent....what a contrast....but the water is green! Still, we cannot have everything! Bruno and I often remember, that once upon a time, during the month of April, we were the only yacht at anchor in Lakka...we remained a whole week taking full advantage of the early season. Many pleasant walks around the area, plus easy to visit the 'main' town Gaios on the local bus. Paxos, is famous for the exceptional quality of it's olive oil....apparently sold by Harrods in London. Despite the increase in tourism over the past decades, income from olives and olive oil remains important for many households on the island. The small Antipaxos, just a little further south, has only about 150 permanent residents mainly occupied with viticulture, producing a high quality wine. Both these low green islands have a unique natural beauty, surrounded by crystal clear turquoise waters....of course attracting many tourists! One has to take care with these fast ferries in Greece...they approach so rapidly..
Three huge boatyards in Preveza......a sea of masts, must be at least 1000 boats on the hard! This photo just shows a small section! |
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June 2019
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