Souvlaki on Santorini

It appears that the making of souvlaki on Thira/Santorini goes back to at least the 17th century BC, as evidenced by this ancient souvlaki grilling device.

This basic design is still in use in Greece.

Such continuity of culture in Greece is rather fascinating.

The modern souvlaki is small pieces of pork (fatty, such as shoulder) that is skewered onto sticks. It is cooked slowly over coals. It is then seasoned with salt, oregano and lemon as it comes off the coals.

The ancient Thirans would not have had the lemons. They didn't really come to Greece until 1000 AD.

A Vacation from Sailing

We hopped on a ferry to Santorini for two nights. Was a nice break from sailing and we didn't have to handle the docking.

Was truly stunning to see the caldera and the towns perched above.

The crowds and the level of tourism made us look forward to our Kolossos and sleepy Paros.

We had a wonderful dinner in Oia on Santorini at a slow food restaurant (called "1800"). Ate outside and had wonderful white wines from Santorini.  Truly enchanting evening. 

The break was nice and we could compare ferry island hopping to sailing ourselves. Nice to have dinner on our boat this evening with the setting sun.

Paros

We arrived yesterday in Paros.

It is obviously more into tourism than sleepy Sifnos.

The old part of town is a delight to walk and is relatively flat, making ideal for my parents.

The attached photo is of a Frankish castle remnant that was made with parts of ancient temples.

Paros also has a beautiful Byzantine church complex dating back to the 7th Century. Well worth the visit. Sorry no pictures of it.

Crossing to the Cyclades

Up to our crossing to the Cyclades Islands, the weather had stayed calm.

The weather crossing from Paros to Cyclades was rough. (I probably threw up 6 times, but I was the only one. Probably tired, sick (with cold), raising anchor twice that morning, addressing a plugged raw water line, ate greasy ham and cheese coissant, stressed, and tried to do reading of instruments and maps, etc., in heavy seas.)

We then holed up a day in a beautiful bay on Kithnos for two nights. Strong winds all the time, but good protection. Warm spring on the beach for a bit of soak after a wet crossing. Grilled lamb chops on the back. Rested. Cleaned clothes. Art and Tara hiked to the top of an island connect to the main island by a sand spit. Goats on the hills. Really nice spot.

We then took off for Sifnos, where we are now. It started rather calm for about two hours, but then we hit rough seas and strong winds near the southern end of Serifos (not sure on island name, it is the first island south of Kithnos). We tried at one point to go into a bay on the bottom of that island to hole up until the winds diminished. It was supposed to have great protection, but it denied us entry. It had a gail roaring out of it that prevented the boat from making way. Water was swirling into the air as mist and going up probably 30 feet on both sides of the bay. It was the most amazing thing. Felt ancient, like some sea god was playing with us.

Needless to say, we aborted that entry and continued to Sifnos. By now we had on all of our wet gear and lifelines. Art was at the helm and was riding the waves. My mom was enjoying the rush of running down the waves.

When we hit Sifnos, we decided to stay put for three nights until the winds from the north die down. Art took of for Mykonos by ferries.

Saturday should be a pleasant day for travel to Paros, although we probably won't be able to sail.

Perahora

The photo as promised.

The blackberry

One of the most useful devices for us has been my blackberry.

The uses include,

1. E-mail.

2. Phone. Works everywhere.

3. Google maps. Locates us usually within 3 meters with satellite photo of where we are. Always works. 

4. Photos, which we e-mail to post on the blog.

5. Weather forecasts. We get decent hourly forecasts going 3 days into the future and they are decent.

6. Internet access. At the site of the battle of Actium, we read the wikipedia entry for the battle and info on triremes.

This is a photo of the diesel fuel separator. (Upside down). It's located in a place under the engine that is impossible to see. (You are looking for water or fuel impurities to bleed out, since they are heavier.) Just stick the blackberry down there with forced flash and take a picture. Another set of eyes.
We guard it with our lives.

Aegina

We finished our first day of sailing with my parents and Art in Aegina.

We left Kiato, sailed past a point called Perahora. It was a site that we often visit when we visit Greece. It is at the end of Loutraki mountain, which sits to the north of Corinth across the bay. The site is an ancient one. It has a small harbor carved in stone. Supposedly, Medea, upon rejection by Jason (of the Argonauts) and the killing of their children came here to cry. It is a point is quite magical. I will e-mail a photo later to the blog off the blackberry.

Then to the Corinth Canal. After that we sailed the seas, with nice wind, to Aegina.

Did a nice docking in Aegina and spent two nights there. Went and saw this wonderful classical temple. This temple, with the Parthenon and the temple on Cape Sounion make an equilateral triangle.

Wonderful pistachios in Aegina. They grow them here.

Corinth Canal

We have been a little slow at post. The sailing has been a bit more consuming and the access to internet has been limited.

We took off from Kiato and headed for the Corinth Canal. The above photo is passing through the Canal.

Having lived in Corinth in 1964-65, it was quite a hoot going through the Canal. Compared to the Lefkas Canal in the Ionian Sea, this was easy. But the slice through the earth of the Corinth Canal is much grander.

From there we headed to Aegina.

Sailing to Delphi

Yesterday we sailed from Patras to Itea, where we grabbed a bus up to Delphi.

It was exciting to arrive by sea, since so many pilgrims most likely did so during the 1000+ plus years that it was the dominant oracle.

We had visited in 1980 with backpacks, but failed to really enjoy the experience. It sits on a rocky shelf about 1300 feet above a sea off olive trees that lead to the bay on which Itea is located.

We arrived late in the day and hit the museum first. It seems all of the archaeological museums in Greece have been extensively revamped since 2001. Delphi is no exception. The attached bowl is an example of one of the pieces in the collection.

We ended up wandering the site between 6:30 an 7:30 as the sun was sending shadows over the site.

The stadium, which we didn't visit in 2001, is at the top of the site and is in incredible shape and is a wonderful example of an ancient stadium, even better than Olympia.

A recent find was the debree from a temple that burned. It was all buried at that time in two pits. The picture of the gold work was part of what was found.

We are now in Kiato, about 20 kilometers West of Corinth. We are picking up my parents, Mike and Myrt,  and our brother-in-law, Art, and dropping off our friend, David. We head for the Corinth Canal on Friday.

Into the Gulf of Corinth

We just went under the Rion Suspension Bridge, which separates the Gulf of Patras and Gulf of Corinth.

We are headed for Delphi.

We spent two nights in Patras. Visits before in 1964 (45 years ago) and 1980 were in transit and only in the port area. The other areas of the city are quite charming and vibrant.

The Cathedral here is the largest in Greece and is quite impressive. Mosaics, icons, carved stone, carved wood, and silver work are all impressive and well done. They have the head of the Apostle Andrew and part of his X cross. A wedding was to happen a little later in the evening, so it was all adorned for the ceremony. In addition, the chanters were active and the priest was swinging the incense.  Nice experience, especially for David.

We had a taxi driver drive us to all the sites in the early evening. From the church to the Odeon, to the Kastro and finally he dropped us off in this area that goes from a large plateia down a walking area with many outdoor restaurants.

After eating outside we walked part of the way back passing another large square with lots of activity. Greeks stay up late.

Back at our boat that night, we were in the middle of probably the hottest scene. Blaring music in the line of clubs along the marina and people having fun.  It doesn't seem to keep us from sleeping. 

Sailing to Patras

Sunrise as we leave Kefalonia for Patras.

Beautiful morning. Quite calm.

We have a good 8 hour trip before us.

Everyone in good spirits, but our coffee has yet to arrive.

A Week of Sailing

Sorry that we have not blogged much this past week.

Being on the sailboat, a 46 foot Beneteau, has been both a blast and also a busy time working out the systems and kinks. Also, on the boat we seem to have less access to the internet.

The boat sails well, but with all sailing, there is a lot of problem solving.

The main problem is with an intermittent windlass remote. The windlass raises and lowers the anchor, and it has been misbehaving.

It has not slowed the trip, but has literally made us stronger, since we have been raising it often. Had someone fix it, but didn't really correct the problem. We would go up, test it before using, and it would work fine, but at the moment to raise or lower, it wouldn't work.

We finally determined a work around and determined the problem was the remote. With a insulated wire with to bare ends we can insert one end into the power and the other into the the up or down slot, we could make it work without the remote.

Anyway, we are figuring things out, eating great Greek food, sleeping well and overall enjoying ourselves.

The Ionian Islands are quite large and all we are really getting is a taste of them. They have high mountains on almost all of them. Kefalonia for example has 5,000+ foot high mountains.

(We are currently at an bar/cafe and at a table four young boys, probably 12 to 15 years old, are having orange drinks, cokes and playing tabli, also known as backgammon. Nice to see it is being played by the young as well as the old.)

We are amazed at how well google maps on my blackberry works for GPS locating. We do use the GPS unit on the boat and the charts, but google maps is usually within 3 meters of our location and provides a satellite photo of where we are, as well. In addition, we are able to get hourly weather forcasts for weather during the day and night.

The problem solving with the boat allows for interaction with others, both Greeks and other sailors.

Kalo Myna

Here are some roadside flowers, picked on a walk through the olive groves that cover Paxos. On the first day of May folks here, like elsewhere, pick flowers and put them on their doors. Near the summer equinox, on one of the saint days (St. John's?) folks will take them down and burn them in the streets. I will put these on the boat and burn them over the water. Another custom I learned is that of saying Kalo Myna (sp?) to wish all those you meet a good new month. TSM

The Boat

Another view as we wait.

View from the Boat

Wonderful weather for our departure, but we are waiting for final approval of the papers by the port authority.