Some More Little Islands

After leaving Fournoi we spent the next week doing island hops to three more small islands in the Dodecanese; Agathonisi, Marathos/Arki and Lipsi.

We had a fantastic sail from Fournoi to Agathonisi.  For once the wind predictions were correct and we had a perfect 10 knot wind from the NW for our 26nm ESE sail.  Bliss. 

 

Looking south from Megalo Chorio, Agathonisi

The harbour consists of about a dozen buildings with a Mikro and Megalo Chorio on the north and south hillsides.  These little islands are quaint and each has its own character but we puzzled at how they can be viable.  Everything must be brought in by ship, including water.  Each island has several ferry companies which come to drop off or pick up a handful of passengers and drop off supplies.  There is no industry except for a bit of tourism but these islands are well and truly off the beaten track.  Then in Agathonisi we saw a warship come in, complete with lots of guns, torpedoes and missiles as well as lots of Coast guard vessels. The penny finally dropped, duh!  These little islands are maintained for their strategic purpose.  They are only a few miles from Turkey and the Greeks and Turks are still not the best of friends.

Ferry coming into Agathonisi

Warship docked

View from the Taverna

We spent about 4 days in Agathonisi (population 185) as we waited out yet another blow.  We went to Agathonisi as on the charts it looked like a bullet proof anchorage for the northerly meltemi.  Unfortunately the east and west coves were fairly narrow and we found out the harbour in the middle was affected by katabolic winds coming down the hillsides making for a rolly anchorage.  After a bit of trial and error over the few days we did manage to find space in the western cove and carefully monitored our swing on anchor with the GPS.

Pebble map of Agathonisi

Our final safe anchorage

The second day, before the blow truly set in, we moved into the main harbour and anchored there as there was more space to swing.  The next morning the little harbour was a hive of activity.  First a ferry came in to drop off half a dozen people, then a water carrier tied up to the dock to await a second even bigger ferry which offloaded big trucks.  Meanwhile five of the seven yachts moored to the pontoon were preparing to leave complete with the usual dramas and tangles of crossed anchor chains.  In the middle of all this two large Turkish motor yachts came in and anchored quite close to us.  As I was making sure the motor yacht wasn’t swinging too close, a Swiss flagged boat, which had anchored with a line ashore, was in strife.  The skipper had fallen out of his dinghy as he was untying the line from a rock on shore.  He managed to swim back to the boat but his dinghy was blowing out of the bay.  Bob was taking a shower at the time and as I called to him he jumped into action, quickly pulled on some shorts, hopped into the dinghy and raced off to rescue the other dinghy which was surprisingly quickly going out to sea.  The Turkish grandmother on the motor yacht was applauding and calling out what a ‘real’ sailor my husband was and so brave, I must be so proud, etc.  Now I am trying to shrink Bob’s head back to normal size.  Sadly I didn’t think to take pictures of our brave hero in action but Phoebe produced a medal (actually a rubber ducky on a ribbon) for him ‘in recognition of his heroic dinghy rescue’.

The winds eased and after two days on the boat monitoring the anchor we needed to stretch our legs.  We took a nice walk to the other side of the island to a little harbour filled with fish farms.  On the way we saw the usual herds of goats (we had two meals of goats over the 4 days – excellent, the island speciality) and saw an abandoned MSF (Doctors without Borders) refugee camp.  Apparently this little island had been inundated with refugees last year but there wasn’t a single refugee to be seen now.

Goats and abandoned MSF camp

Our next destination was Arki (population 54).  The anchorage had a lot of weed and was not good holding so we picked up a mooring ball across the channel off another island called Marathos.  I had some great snorkeling here.  There was a huge school of anchovies stretching the length of the shore and I just slowly swam through them.  A real treat.

 

We took the dinghy across the channel to Arki, a funky little place of a few tavernas (one with model boats in a mini harbour), a really nice upmarket clothing store (something you would expect to find in Paddington, not an isolated island of 54 people), and a few houses serviced by a supermarket that might open at 5 pm but maybe not.

Model harbour

Arki waterfront

After two nights in Marathos, we went to Lipsoi (population 800).  We were intending to go to an anchorage on the northern part of the island that looked good for the predicted southerly blow.  This is the weather pattern here - a few days of meltemi where you need to find a sheltered anchorage followed by a few days of no wind followed by a couple of days of good sailing wind then back to too much wind and finding a hidey hole.  But once again what looked good on the charts was not so in reality.  The coves were narrow and poor holding.  We should have guessed as Rod the God (Rod Heikell who writes the pilot guides for this area) did not mention these north western bays.  We moved on to Lipsi main harbour and although open to the south has a side bay that offered good protection.

 

Lipsi harbour

Before the blow set in we took a long walk essentially circumnavigating the southern half of the island.  Phoebe had found the track on the internet but the description didn't quite meet the reality.  It was termed a moderate walk but the path for much of the way was little more than a goat track, not well marked and went over quite rocky ground.  Still I really did enjoy the walk.  It had some very pretty scenery and although a bit more rugged than some walks we have taken of late was a lot easier than others we have been known to do.  The main destination was One Tree Beach (Monodentri).  It is amazing that anything can grow on these barren rocks.  The tree was supposed to sing in the wind but it was quiet when we visited, despite a good breeze blowing.

Monodentri Beach

Listening for the tree to sing to us

A stone church instead of the usual blue and white one

 

Back in the village for a much needed cold beer.  In the anchorage Shiraz had arrived, cruising friends we all met in Marmaris.  Looks like some hot games of Mexican Trains are in the offing for Songster, Three Sheets, and Shiraz.

Fournoi

I really liked the little island of Fournoi.  It had a very cheerful feel to it.  The streets were neat and tidy and the community of 1500 seemed close knit.  We tucked into a bay just south of the main village.  It was just Three Sheets and Songster there.  After we got settled, I hopped in the water to check the anchor and do a bit of snorkeling.  The water is still a bit cool for me and I must wear a wet suit.  The snorkeling was great though and I saw the best display of fish yet in this fished out Mediterranean.  I loved watching the flounder scuttle after a cat fish like bottom feeder getting the scraps stirred up in the symbiotic relationship. 

Three Sheets in our private bay

The night was a bit rolly so in the morning the four of us climbed into the dinghy to check out the other little bays and main village for a better spot.  Bob has been cursing our dinghy ever since we first put it in the water as being too big and heavy but at times like this it has come in very handy and we had a lot of fun zipping around in it.

When we reached the main village there were quite a few official looking people milling around.  Then a boat came on the dock to much fanfare.  There were representatives from all 4 services, photographers and little girls carrying flowers to greet the politician who arrived from Athens.  No one in the village seemed to know who he was exactly or why he was here and just rolled their eyes at the mention of him.

Service representatives to greet the politician.  Check out the heels on the Navy uniform.  Can this be regulation?

While the politician was in the restaurant next to where we were having a cold drink a big procession came down the street.  At first we thought it was some political protest and got quite excited at the prospect, but it turned out to be a funeral procession.  An orange flare was lit on the water and the mourners, all in black, walked slowly from the church to the graveyard to say goodbye to the 54 year old fısherman.

Funeral procession

Flare in honour of the fisherman

We explored the town a bit and checked out some potential spots for dinner then went back to the boats to move them into a more sheltered bay a bit closer to the village. 

Neat and tidy streets of Fournoi

The harbour in the main village was strictly a working fishing harbour and there was no room for pleasure yachts.  I went snorkeling again and this bay was filled with fish as well.  The little taverna in the bay told us of a nice pathway along the cliff face that would take us into the village.  It was a wonderfully maintained walkway with fantastic views.   

View from the path into the village

We found a restaurant in the village square that had various cuts of pork, lamb and chicken roasting over an open spit.  The smell was fantastic and tasted even better.  After a delicious meal topped off with Ouzo we walked back along the cliff face and were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Sunset over Fournoi

Afterwards there was a hot re-match of Mexican Train Dominos and more Ouzo – A perfect end to the day.

 

Grikos Patmos and Samos

By mid-morning the day after my birthday we left Leros for a lovely sail to a great anchorage on the southeast of Patmos.  For once we were able to sail the whole way and it was a fantastic 19 nm passage.  There were free mooring balls in Grikos and it was heaven to be able to tie up to these – so easy and secure.  We went ashore, had another great Greek dinner and slept soundly bobbing on the sturdy mooring.

Approach to Grikos

Wonderful mooring balls

Not a bad view for dinner

We had reconnected with Three Sheets and planned to meet them in Samos.  The winds were predicted to be perfect for that heading so we said goodbye to Patmos with a promise to return and give it the thorough exploration it deserves.  The wind gods were not behaving and the predicted 10 knots were barely four.  We pottered along sailing as much as we could but had to resort to the iron spinnaker for about half of the trip.

Still the passage was not without its delights.  Just off Patmos we saw a square rigger looming out of the early morning mist.  We detoured to get a closer look and had a wonderful photo opportunity.  The ship was the Sea Clipper, a modern day Barquentine made of steel and able to carry 170 passengers in luxury.

Thr Sea Clipper

Three Sheets were making their way to Samos from Lipsoi and we caught up with them on VHF radio and Messenger.  Given we were ‘racing’ to Samos in 3 knots of wind, we decided that rather than the last one being a rotten egg, the winner could provide the Ouzo!  

After an 8 hour sail we anchored in the delightful harbour of Pythagoreio, the birthplace of Pythagoras.  We took the dinghy ashore to have a brief preliminary reconnoitre of the town and then on the way back stopped by Three Sheets to collect our winnings.

The next day we explored the town with Reg and Phoebe.  It was a very pleasant place.  The town is set up for tourists but not crassly.  The shops were quite nice, not the usual tacky tourist tat.  The streets were clean and well maintained and I thought the atmosphere was quite cheerful.  

The quaint streets of Pythagoreio

The waterfront and ubiquitous fishing boats

After dropping off our laundry we walked to the castle ruins.  There was a cemetery and church nearby.  We noticed that all the graves in the small cemetery had been interned within about 8 years or so.  We then saw some rooms near the graves piled from floor to ceiling with boxes labelled with names and dates.  We realised this was the ossuary where the bones of the deceased are stored after they are removed from the grave 9 years after death.  Bob had a peek in one of the boxes and sure enough ‘Alas, poor Yorrick’ and all that – a bit creepy really.

The Church with the cemetery behind the wall of the ruins

Castle ruins, the Mediterranean, a yacht and Turkey in the distance

We continued our exploration of the town and found a restaurant a bit away from the main tourist streets and as always here in Greece had a epicurean delight.

Octopus drying

Phoebe hamming it up while Reg chills with his ouzo

Our lunch - lamb chops, grilled sardines and Kleftido

Replete, we decided to find the Eupalinos Tunnel.  In the 6^th Century BC the tyrant Polycrates had commissioned the engineer Eupalinos to dig a tunnel through Mount Kastro to be used as an aquaduct to provide the city with water.  Two sets of slaves from Lesbos dug the tunnel from opposite ends of the mountain and 15 years later they met in the middle, erring in calculations by only a few feet.  It was an amazing engineering feat.  Sadly the tunnel was closed for renovations.  A great disappointment made more so by the very hot and sweaty walk we had to get there.  Summer has come suddenly and with a vengeance to this part of the world.

View of the Castle and Church on our walk to the closed tunnel

The following day we caught a local bus to the main town of Samos.  This capital town did not really appeal.  The waterfront seemed a wasted opportunity.  It was a very uninviting hot concrete walkway along a busy road.  The harbour itself was quite pretty but the EU money for improvements was not well invested.  We tried to find the Old Town but were totally unsuccessful despite asking directions and following signs.  It didn’t matter for in our search we stumbled upon a fantastic little restaurant on the hill overlooking the town and had a great lunch.

Samos harbour with a ferry - the lifeblood of these islands

A chapel near the restaurant

Back to Pythagoreio on another local bus, this one taking a different route so we managed to see a good slice of the island.  A quiet night followed in preparation for our next day sail.