bags all packed

Anne doing the chores

AGNI BAY

We left Benitses without any sentiment; it was not a place we want to love. 

The trip up the Corfu coast was pleasantly diverting as we pondered the stories behind the occasional tunnel dug into the cliff face, the history of the Achilleon palace whose gardens come down to the shoreline, the new fort at Corfu, 'Mon Repos' the huge mansion where Phil the Greek was born, and so on. 

The fort at Corfu Town

Mon Repos - Prince Phillip's birthplace

Our boat at the end of the small jetty

 

Soon we dropped anchor in Agni Bay and at the beckoning of the tavern staff, tied up at the end of the jetty at Taverna Nikolas.

We knew we were expected to lunch there and so forewent Toula’s to have whitebait cooked by Nikolas’ wife, Voula (absolutely true).

the bay

Boats anchored in Agni bay

Children playing by the taverna

Toula's taverna

We spent the afternoon resting, Anne went for a swim, and then we did as little as possible in the heat of the day.








Agni Bay is very pretty. The hills all around are covered in conifers and olives. There is a sprinkling of villas, but the bay appears to be quite isolated. However,  around the corners but out of sight are large hotels.  Nikolas is smart enough to offer a free boat taxi to both of them and so his taverna was full for lunch and dinner. The tourists are mostly British and there seems to be a tradition of remembering Nikolas and his family as he remembers the tourists and their family; very twee, but somehow nice.

Now at dusk, the sea is calm apart from the roll of wake from passing boats every now and then.  The chatter of diners drifts across the water, swallows twitter and fend off cats near the tavernas, Greek music is playing in the background. The 6 sailing boats including 2 large Lagoons drift around their anchor chains and the mistiness over the Albanian hills is starting to obscure the town opposite us, some 10 miles away.

We are relaxed, renewed and resolved to live this life for as long as we can lift the sails.

BENITSES

 We had heard many stories about the small port of Benitses, just south of Corfu Town and so decided to visit for a day or two. It was disappointing to say the least - no power,no water, fairly grubby and a rather difficult harbour to moor in. Apparently the local authority (govt,council etc) decided not to finish the marina, and so everything is in place but nothing works. As well most of the power units are broken.

Many of the boats around us were very poorly kept, some looked like they permanently parked there. Perhaps the lack of good facilities, ie free, mooring attracts poorly kept boats. Anyway, the stay was very ordinary.

The marina

One saving grace - the fruit and vegs are great

The town square

We hired a bike again and took off into the mountains and villages surrounding Benitses.

Travelling through the countryside beyond the east cost was amazing. Small plots of land and picturesque farms dotted the valleys. It was easy to see how you could fall in love with the rural lifestyle.

We continued on to the west side of Corfu, down to the rather touristy beaches, had a bite to eat and left feeling a little overwhelmed by the 'beach' culture - a bit too commercially developed!

Our last memories of Benitses were not so positive. Our chain was caught on another boat's  anchor and after an embarrassing lift we were able to motor out of the marina on our way to hopefully happier times at Agni further north.

PARGA revisited

Parga and Valtos Bay always brings back great memories and so we decided to drop in on our homeward journey. Anchoring was perfect, the sea was calm and the weather quite warm.

Our boat (2nd from right)

One thing we've learned about this part of Greece is the potential for sudden changes of weather. Sure enough, just as we had finished eating, a massive summer storm hit the bay. Boats dragged their anchors, one collided with another (both were very brand new), rain poured down and generally things were a bit scary. The storm lasted about 1 hour then disappeared as quickly as it it came. Our boat just stood firm, the anchor as solid a rock and no harm was done. An interesting experience!

SPILIA

We had checked out Spilia while riding around Meganisi and decided it was a rather beautiful spot to visit after Mitikas and so, we sailed into the small privately run marina and settled in for the night. We had heard that mooring, electricity and water were free at the port as long as you bought a meal at the restaurant. We did so and had a brilliant, relatively inexpensive meal (20 Euro for two). We would have had dinner at the restaurant anyway so this was a good solution. David had Greek lamb casserole baked in an alfoil packet that was utterly heavenly. Mine was the tastiest stuffed aubergine.

Our boat at the dock

 We decided to stay another day, and catch up with the second lot of curtain making and generally take it easy.

The excellent marina restaurant

After 2 nights we decided to spend a day just sailing across the inland sea catching as much wind as possible from Meganisi to Nidri and then back to Spilia. We sailed and sailed, touching 6.5 kts in the most beautiful beam reach conditions. Once again David was a happy, happy boy!!

A rather large 'Wally' next to our boat

Late in the afternoon we headed back to Spilia, moored at the next wharf (cost 5 Euro electricity and water) and settled in for the night By 6pm the seas had turned and we experienced a massive storm, raging 30kt winds and generally unpleasant conditions. Thank goodness we were safely tucked up in the marina!

MITIKAS and KALAMOS

For some time, we've been fantasising about buying a house in Greece. Mitikas seemed to be a small port that might fit the bill and so, after locating a couple of places for sale on the internet, we sailed over to Mitikas to check out the real estate. It's a lovely, quiet little town, very much undiscovered in the Ionian area (no one seemed to know much about it) and perhaps for good reason. Apparently it's very popular with locals from the inland towns during summer and the tiny marina becomes unavailable to any visiting yachts.  As it was, there was limited space, no electricity or water and the town is positioned at the end of fierce north westerly winds that blow all summer. Probably not such a good place to be!
The sea level is about 20cms below land. I cant imagine how global warming will eventually affect the town.

The small restaurants were excellent. Many seemed to concentrate on traditional dishes and were delicious.

We spent some time chatting with the locals, who felt there town was missing out on the tourist progress being made in the Ionian because of too much complacency and bureaucracy.

KALAMOS

We had a brilliant sail to Kalamos where we took refuge from a summer gale that covered the boat in brown dust apparently brought on the winds from Africa. We walked up the steep roads above the marina to explore the town, but realised how difficult it would be to organise and carry every piece of wood and nail from the mainland.
That night we went to the marina restaurant for dinner but were told that they have no mastercard facilities. This would not be a problem as we could pay next time or even next year! Imagine this happening in Australia.