N Evia and Gulf of Volos

We anchored in Atalanta bay and then moved across to behind the island as the wind and swell came in. From there we continued north and anchored off the village of St George - again the only boat there other than the local fishing boats.

The village of St Georges

The church in the centre of the village. While we were here we met a couple from London (she was Greek and he was South African) who should have been getting married here today - another wedding postponed.

Love the health and safety in Greece!
Nice secure hand rails but a bit of a trip hazard at the top!

Sign seen on the way to the fuel station

Morning expedition ashore by dinghy and walk along the coast to the fuel station to pick up diesel and petrol - glad we have the shopping trolleys!

Stop off for iced coffee on the way back

Next stop was a rather roly but deserted anchorage in the south western corner of the Gulf of Volos

The town of Achillion

Jetty made of tree trunks and slats from a pallet - bit Heath Robinson but it works - for now!

Huge boulders of marble used as a breakwater

Anti-aircraft gun - Not something you usually come across on a town square! 

A quiet spot in a very quiet town for ouzo and meze.

We met Dimitris, a very friendly retired local fisherman who chatted for a while, insisted we had three tomatoes out of his shopping and recommended we go to his friend's taverna at our next stop - he would contact him and let him know we were coming!

Knowing that there was bad weather coming in, we moored alongside a concrete jetty tucked into the bay on the small island of Palaio Trikeri in the south east of the gulf. Here we should be sheltered from the predicted north easterly winds.

A walk up to the top of the island took us to the monastery, seen here beyond the old olive groves.

The front view of the monastery and the resident cats outside

A mauve stinger jellyfish seen swimming past - I am definitely not going in there!

Once a week the taxi boat which was continually crossing from the island here to the mainland, brought across a couple and their fruit and veg stall. Then I think,  the entire population (20 in winter, 30 in summer) came to stock up for the week. As you can see it was set out and filled the narrow pontoon next to the boat but, amazingly no one fell in - not even an orange rolled off the edge!

A visit to Dimitris' friend, Nikos' taverna - no shops just two tavernas on the island. Apparently Dimitris had phoned him twice to see if we had been yet. 

A Tsipouro and meze included sea urchins which we had never tried before but were very tasty - a bit like crab - just don't touch the shells!

Tsipouro is an un-aged brandy, typical of this region and is made from either the pomace - the residue of the wine press - or from the wine after the grapes and juice have been separated. It can be plain or aniseed flavour which we had and tastes like strong ouzo. 

The day the hurricane hit Greece. Thank goodness we were this side of the country and not in our usual Ionian islands. There they recorded winds of 120knts and there were many wrecked  and sunken boats - we were so lucky to be on the edge of it but still it was wild, wet and windy. Torrential rain caused a lot of flooding, breaking bridges and even destroying a hospital nearby. 

The not-so-sunny side of Greece.

Here you can see the wind churning up the water outside of the bay but fairly calm in here - just swell coming in and hitting the back of boat as well as being lashed by wind and rain.

Luckily not too much damage here - the corner of the roof torn and the steel holder for the umbrella snapped off. Plants and shelf units had to be fished out of the water and the pole holding the lights up smashed on the quay. The rib in front of us and the small fishing boats had to be bailed out but all survived.

This is the water supply for the island - a huge tanker which is taken away every other week to be refilled.

All is calm after the storm.

An interesting way to cover a roof - slabs of local stone just rested on the wooden structure - bit heavy!

An interesting corner in the village

A very well made path taking us around the coast from the village.

The taverna of Nikos

Khakis

........no we never did find the praying mantis again. Guess he just needed a lift to Eretria! 

We spent a very pleasant evening in Eretria with Carole and Dave on Hydra and their Danish friends Lars and Lisa. Dave had seen our Cruising Association flag and come over to say hello.

Having got the laundry done and stocked up with food we left Eretria and went north up to the bridge at Khalkis - the narrowest point of the Evia Channel.

As we got closer to Khalkis there were some huge ships anchored off near the cement works.

This is the first modern road bridge crossing the channel

Always that moment when you think "will we fit under there?" despite everything you have read beforehand when planning the route.

We arrived in Khalkis and tied up alongside the Port Authority quay with Hydra and Lars - they had left before us as we had to wait for laundry and, being catamarans, they are faster than us. 

We then had to register our documents with the authority, pay our 35€ to pass through the sliding bridge. Then, at 16.00hrs we had to go to the port police to be added to the list of boats passing through and then wait. They only open the bridge between 21.00hrs and 03.30hrs to avoid disrupting the traffic. The time depends on the currents at the time as they are very unusual at this point.

Luckily that night we only had to wait until midnight before they called us on the radio to say it was opening - boats from the north passing first and then us from the south.

Here you can see how the bridge slides back under the road on either side to let boats through.

The bridge in daylight looking south to north.

The changing currents 

According to Wikipedia The strait is subject to strong tidal currents which reverse direction approximately four times a day. Tidal flows are very weak in the Eastern Mediterranean, but the strait is a remarkable exception. Water flow peaks at about 12 kilometres per hour (7.5 mph; 6.5 kn), either northwards or southwards, and lesser vessels are often incapable of sailing against it. When nearing flow reversal, sailing is even more precarious because of vortex formation.

So many "fried egg jellyfish" behind the boat!

Khalkis is the capital of Evia, this is looking back to the bridge from the quay on the north side.

After a day in Khalkis we sailed north heading for the anchorage in Atalanta bay. However, strong, gusty winds and seas that felt like being in a washing machine, we decided to head into Limnari bay for shelter. Again we were the only boat in here, nice on our side but very industrial on the other. Huge cupronickel factory with large freight ships coming and going.

We anchored behind the small island, glad of the shelter but still a very windy night.

This small island was the night roost for at least 15 herons and about the same number of egrets who all landed in the trees.

Approaching the bay of Atalanta, Dave spotted the "face" on the hillside!

Chris and Desi come to visit

We were anchored outside Aegina in the bay but when the strong winds changed direction, the anchor dragged as there was so much weed on the bottom and it didn't reset. We decided to go into the harbour where we were due to meet Chris and Desi the next day. They had flown into Athens, stayed at an airbnb overnight and then taxi and ferry to Aegina.

The next morning, after a walk around town, stocking up with supplies, pita gyros for lunch, we went to explore the old part of town and came across this fortified house - the Markellos Tower from the Venetian era 

Making good use of the BBQ! 

One of our new favourites - imam bayaldi - Aubergine topped with onion, tomato and feta and then baked

From Aegina town harbour we motor sailed a few miles down the coast of the island and anchored in a beautiful , quiet bay - Marathonos bay.

From the island of Aegina across to the mainland south east of Athens we had quite a rough sail with strong winds and high seas. The next morning Chris found this poor fish on the deck - must have been washed up as the waves broke over the bow and then got stuck.

Music sessions in Chapel Cove

We spent three days in Chapel Cove waiting for the meltemi winds to ease. The cove is named after the chapel you can see in the distance where there were two weddings while we were there.

From Chapel Cove round Sunion Point - where you can see the temple to Poseidon on the top of the cliffs and into the port of Lavrion.

From Lavrion up to anchor in Porto Rafti. Even though the temperature in the daytime was in the mid thirties, it was still chilly at sunrise when we left the anchorage.

Sailing into the sunrise - lovely time of day, before the strong meltemi winds got up and before the seas got too big. It also meant we had the rest of the day in the bay to swim etc

Amazing colours of sunrise

The bay of Vasiliko on the small island of Nisos Petaloi. There were very few boats anywhere we went and we often had the bays to ourselves.

Another early morning start!

Fisherman returning accompanied by a flock of hungry seagulls.

Lunch at the small family taverna in Vliko bay.

Serenity looking a bit lonely as we were the only boat in the bay.

Another bay to ourselves, this time the bay of Tigani where the only building was the tiny chapel on the shore.

A trip ashore in the dinghy / swimming and an expedition through very spiky scrub to see the chapel.

One of our favourite stops was the village of Voufalo. Very traditional village, no shop but a quick jump into the dinghy and row ashore meant that we did manage to catch the fruit and veg van when it came round.

We were anchored behind the sand spit so this was the view looking out to the Evia channel.

Happy crew!

We went to the taverna in the first photo of Voufalo for dinner that night. Stella, the Moldovan lady who ran it had heard Dave playing guitar out in the bay in the afternoon and asked him to play in the taverna. A good sing song with Stella (on the left) joining in and also two Germans who were staying in a camper van in the village. An evening of English, German, Moldovan and Swedish (Viking) songs was enjoyed by all!

Stella requested some funny English songs but when Chris sang "My baby has gone down the plughole" and "Always look on the bright side of life" from Life of Brian she thought the English had a strange sense of humour - on reflection we had to agree!

Sunset looking out from the town of Eretria

In the port of Chalkoutsi waiting for our "prawn saganaki" - prawns in tomato and feta cheese sauce - wonderful!

Covid19: The tavernas in Greece are open as usual but, being quieter than normal we were able to keep our distance from other people and were careful to sanitise our hands - a lot of places provided bottles of sanitiser on the tables. All shops insisted on you wearing a mask and everyone abided by the rule.

Chris and Desi left by taxi to Athens airport the next morning.

We walked around the coast to the Boatclub boatyard where Serenity will be for this winter. We had a look around, met Sia one of the owners and were given coffee and cake.

As we were leaving Chalkoutsi the next morning we found this praying mantis on the boat. We carefully moved him on a pice of card and left him on the shore......

.............but when we were out in the Evia channel we found him back on the back stay!

 He travelled like this for the five miles across to anchor off Eretria and stayed with us for the evening- then I am not sure where he went .......maybe he is still on board somewhere!!