PREVESA

Our impressions of Prevesa were not good from the moment we first entered the port. It is usual to berth stern-to or at worst bow-to ( in difficult situations). Here we noticed all the boats were moored alongside both on the quay and in the marina. Our approach was not well timed and that in addition to my clumsiness left me falling over onto the wharf and nearby coffee drinkers rushing to help us. We eventually tied up safely and then settled down to 3 days of peace love and quiet, NOT!

Every port has its plusses and minuses. Preveza has the 'volta', a tradition of strolling up and down the esplanade for hour upon hour in the evening, occasionally taking a break to eat ice creams or eat dinner at one of the many tavernas lining the quay.

This was all terrific until we decided to go to bed at about 10 or 10.30.  This must have been a signal to the many bars to increase the music (heavy rock) to earsplitting levels which continued till dawn. If wasn't for the injury we would have left the next morning!

Aubergine and fetta with Greek salad

In site of the setbacks, it was still pleasant wandering through the backstreets, dining at small traditional tavernas and just watching the world go by.

This tree trunk was entirely covered in staples and bits of old posters

We continued our saga with the port authority and registered our transit log for the first time. We discovered that our original instructions at Igoumenitsa were not quite correct and experienced the annoyance of the officials. Apparently the govt was doing a thorough passport check and ours had to be approved again by the police.

The customs official also warned us about the 'Greek Reciprocal Tax', which sounded rather frightening. We'll face that obstacle when it happens.




 
Our exit from the port was exemplary and we headed across the bay the 8 miles to Lefkas.

PARGA

We left Syvota early in the morning and travelled the 15 miles to Parga.

First impressions were of a bay with typical umbrella-covered beaches with many houses dotted across the hillside and a few tavernas along the beach. We anchored in the bay and tolerated the wave surge during the afternoon from the fast ferries and the speedboats towing inflated tourist covered rafts. In the evening, the swell from the bay gently rocked the boat.

Next morning we moved the boat to calmer waters inside the old quay. At first, there were only 3 boats and by early evening the number swelled to 24, most being from the Nielsen and Tip Top sailing flotillas. Once again we experienced problems with anchors overlapping anchors especially when the wind is not helpful!

We ventured around the corner of the bay by small ferry and found the main town of Parga, a tourist town that reminded us a bit of Bali, (including the smell!). Lots of tourists, trinket shops, bars and tavernas in every alleyway.

Happily, we returned to the peace and calm of the bay and our boat.

SYVOTA

Slow living at it's best. Somehow life became even simpler once we reached Syvota. Unlike many small ports, Syvota had excellent moorings right up against he town quay. Not only did we NOT have to walk more than 2 mins to get supplies, visit the local ice creamery etc, but also the taverna delivered coffees to the boat 6 metres away.

 And, every day the diesel truck came by and personally delivered fuel!

The town appears to have dedicated itself to pleasing visitors, both those on boats and the many who seem to descend on the town after dusk. Roads are beautifully paved, there is no rubbish to be seen and everyone seems happy.

We loved being in Syvota and found excuses to stay the extra 3 days. Nighttime was amazing. Hundreds of tourists emerged from who knows where and strolled (doing the Volta) up and down the paved promenade. As usual, we petered out by about 10pm and this was just when the action seem to start. Tucked up in our boat we enjoyed sitting, watching the world go by until late in the evening.

PLATARIA

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After our rather unhappy experience at Gouvia we left early the next morning for Corfu Town hoping to find a pleasant place to stay for a few days. The result was in fact the opposite.

 We motor/sailed down the coast and upon arriving at the town port realised there was absolutely no room. Being inexperienced and gullible, we moored in front of a similar boat on the town wharf. Everything was peaceful and ok until a large ferry passed out in the bay. The volume of waves that thundered across was so massive that it lifted the entire boat about 1metre up and down just missing the edge of the wharf. We were back on board ASAP, started up the motor and fled, just as another ferry started to pass. Never before have we experienced the terror of waves and swell. Hopefully the other boat was in one piece when the owners returned!

So, slightly shaken, we decided to give Corfu Town a miss and set off again to find a port. One day we’ll return to visit in happier circumstances.

The weather was beautiful once back in the water and we spent the next few hours wandering along the coast eventually landing in an utterly beautiful port – Plataria.

Chooks in the van on the quay

A delightful Greek lady, Maria, spends all day on the quay, with two young children managing the electricity and water fees - so cheap at 10 euros for electricity and water for 3-4 days! Once moored we made friends with a delightful Dutch couple, Hans and Petra, who kept us entertained with sailing stories.

 

The bad experiences of the past few days disappeared quickly as we settled into slow living in Plataria. The tavernas were brilliant. Repeat visits to ‘Olga’s’ allowed me to indulge in the best seafood ever while David gave the local beer a good workout. Paradise!

We decided to venture further afield and so tried to take the bus to the nearest town, Igoumenitsa. 

The kind priest's church in Igoumenitsa

Apparently a bus goes in the morning and afternoon although no-one could give us a definite time. 

We waited patiently for 30 mins at lonely bus stop just out of town only to see the other 4 people also at the stop picked up by cars. 

Inside his beautiful church

We had nearly given up hope when along came a little car and the driver beckoned us to get in.  The gods were smiling on us that day – the driver was the local Greek orthodox priest, and he took us 10 kms right to the door of the shop we needed in the town. 

While at Gouvia we had been told by the loud little man to register with the Greek customs. So, after finding their office at the Igoumenitsa port we asked for assistance. No-one really knew what we were talking about (maybe we’re the only ones who worry) until one of the many customs officers found the information and forms. More than an hour later we left having paid our 30E, sat and listened to many discussions in Greek and now having a 10 page log book to fill out every where we go.

Tired and hot we found the bus back to Plataria.

 

A proud young Kiwi moored next to us

The marina is used as a base for chartered flotilla yachts which provided us with much entertainment watching the young and inexperienced tourists taking charge of yachts for the first time. 

Thank goodness the weather is kind in this part of Greece!

 Every day the wind dies down at sunset making the evening views of the marina and across the water to Corfu, incredibly beautiful.

the marina at dusk

Corfu in the distance

 It was wonderful to see so many yachts in the bay, the morning we left Plataria.

 

Starter switch saga update

A few days after we posted the story about the starter switch, it stopped working again.  This time David found a red wire attached to the very heavy red cable on the starter motor.  Apparenlty this wire goes up to the starter switch and then back to the starter solenoid 10cm from its starting point.  Along the 6 metres of wire there are no less than 7 breaks comprising terminal, junctions and switches.  David wiggled the terminal coming off the starter motor and the junction nearby.  The motor started perfectly and the switch has worked every time since.  Perhaps the terminal at the starter had a dry joint to the wire and a wiggle was enough to overcome this.  Once more we have succeeded in fixing the problem, perhaps!

AIOS STEPHANOS and GOUVIA

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The tavernas lining the shore

Just 4 miles around the corner from Kassiopi we came across Aios Stephanos. It’s a little cove surrounded by steep hills with 50 or so villas perched on the western side. On the shore there were 4 or 5 small tavernas, a mini mart and bars that did a roaring trade with the nearby holiday makers and the 10 or so yachts anchored neatly in the bay.

Our boat second from the left

We had no electricity or water again but this made no difference, as this was the most beautiful and peaceful stop we’d had since reaching Greece. Our anchoring skills were put to the test once again with no problems!! 

Mixed seafood plate for 2 - E10.50

 We’ve decided to forego cooking for a while and instead, enjoy the excellent local fare – squid, fish and amazing Greek salads.  Mooring fees are zero and so we feel quite ok splurging at the tavernas. We thought that such a tiny village would be immune from the doof doof music we heard all through the night in Italian marinas, instead, the one small bar played bouzouki music till 1am! It’s amazing how the water amplifies every sound.

 GOUVIA

 Next morning we set off for Gouvia – a large modern marina where we hoped to charge the batteries and fill up with water. On the far side of the marina are some archeological ruins  the ancient Venetian boat sheds, so there might be things to see and do...

 It was quite a shock to arrive at this gigantic marina and after a mooring which is best described as a fiasco, we went to sign in.   

Gouvia Marina

We definitely felt very insignificant mooring amongst 1000 boats of every size and type.

THE REGISTRATION SAGA : Austral 1 meets Barney Fife (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsg0EvZozI)

The first sign we saw was for the 'Port Authority' and, knowing that we had to register our entry into Greece, we went into the office.

There was a sharp featured man sitting at a relatively empty desk watching a fuzzy image on tv.  He turned down the volume and we sat in a couple of chairs.

“You, captain, sit!” he shouted and pointed at a chair directly in front of the desk.

“Name boat?” he barked.

“Austral” I replied.

“Plug?” he asked

I looked blank.

“Plug, plug?”

“Yes, I found the plug and connected the boat to electricity.”

Anne quietly suggested that he might want to know the flag under which the boat was registered.

His phone rang and he commenced a conversation that lasted for at least five minutes during which his speech volume varied from 20 to 120 decibels and his emotional reactions covered the full gamut of possibilities.

After this he then started to interrogate us using the same range of volume and in the same clipped English as he used when we first came in; for a moment we felt like we were in one of those 'punk' trick tv shows and we were the victims.

“OK now go customs and pay”

'Where is the office?"

“That way” he shouted, pointing in a vague direction.

“How do I get there?”

”Walk, take taxi, take boat”

”How far is it?”

“no far, 5 kilometres, take taxi, take boat”

With that he leant back in his chair and folded his arms.

We got up and left, none the wiser about what we should do or where we should go. We were both totally overwhelmed by the pace and force of the conversation, although quite honestly all you could do was laugh.

We experienced the same sort of officious attitude at the marina office with no warmth or friendliness as before in the small villages.  

We stayed one night and decided to move on, as there was no real atmosphere, the port was isolated from the main town and we just felt empty.

KASSIOPI - GREECE

Sunrise over the east coast of Italy

After many days of worry and constant checking our trusty 'Windfinder' weather site, we set off for Greece at 5.30 Saturday morning. At first, the sea near the Leuca Cape was not comfortable, big swells and reasonably strong winds. However once we had gone about 10 miles it settled down and from then on was smooth trip for the next 10 hours to Corfu.
The wind was kind and with the main, genoa and motor we often reached 8 kts. Dave was pretty happy as everything worked without a hitch (we even had time for a nap).

Othonoi

 The northern coast of Corfu

It was a relief to pass Othonoi island, then the north of Corfu and finally turn down to Kassiopi. The weather began to change dramatically as we approached the small harbour and with the help of a couple of fellow yachts we squeezed into the last inch of space on the small stone wharf. 15 minutes later the black clouds above opened up, the wind increased to 38kts and we experienced a massive thunderstorm. Looking out from the safety of our cabin it was as though we were in a foreign place. Then, just as quickly, the storm stopped and apart from everything being flooded, life returned to normal.

kassiopi is a beautiful, very civilized small harbour.


Everything is very easy to access with free wifi, great restaurants and shops lining the harbour.





Food is very reasonably priced, coffee is delicious (both Geek and espresso) and gorgeous beaches every few kms.










We walked from one bay to the next and passed 3 or 4 small stunning coves.

Old olive groves on the way

There is no electricity or water on tap so we now have to be a little more cautious washing and using our taken for granted appliances!

Still, we're not complaining.

We'll remain here until the band of rough weather passes through and then it's off south to Agios Stefanos

Our boat on the small quay