St George dances on the table

We stopped off at a very shallow harbour on our way to Poros. In fact we stopped because the wind had died, and in Sam's words "it was so bleedy hot". Rather than motor on in the heat we checked the charts and 1.5 miles away was St Georges. We discovered that yes he was a dragon-slayer and that the town celebrates 23rd April.

After a tricky manoueuvre (that may not be how you spell it, but I have only an American spell-checker here, and they certainly can't spell it!), getting into the berth, with only about 6 inches spare below the boat, we spotted a taverna across the harbour and decided that although we had been on the wagon for a week, JUST ONE beer would not hurt. I'm not sure that the beer actually touched the sides and then we wondered about sharing another......

....at the table next to us was a large party of Greeks. They were clearly enjoying themselves, and gales of laughter were making us smile and laugh too. Next thing we know, two beers arrived for us, courtesy of the Greeks, and soon we were invited to join them. Next thing we know, we were not allowed to pay for a thing, but quantities of ouzo were being supplied along with more beer. Now we hadn't eaten since breakfast, and this is late afternoon......

......so when they decided we should all go swimming, no problem, although I had no trunks, and Sam decided to go in wearing her skirt.

.....and when the dancing started, we joined in, I am aware of my own skills, but at least when Sam was dancing on the table, she was being tutored in the art of belly dancing.

In the morning we woke up feeling pretty much as you might expect. In my own case I have no recollection of why my shoes and shirt were on the deck, or how they had manged to get two of us up over the bow - 4 feet above the dock, but we did have the bruises as a clue!!

Obviously, we haven't got any photos of this particular event.

Moni Island near Aigina, July

We spent one night anchored off Moni, near Aigina, and were hauled out the following day. As We got up, and long before the (large numbers) of tourists arrived from Athens we could see a herd of about 20 ibex nearby on the shore. There were some youngsters as well as a larger male, not to mention a few pretenders to his crown. Later he made it plain in a play fight just who was boss, and then turned his back on all of them and strolled casually about his business, leaving the rest to follow in their own time.

It was the sort of scene that it is a privilege to watch, and I am glad that the camera was to hand to record it.

Poros, Greece

Now we are sitting on the deck, with a sheet acting as an awning to keep the sun off. The temperature is a little cooler for the last couple of days, cool enough to pull the sheet over at night, which helps with the mozzies. If fact, at 4:30pm it is a mere 33 degrees down below, much fresher!

We have managed to rip our cruising chute again, a fearsome gust on the way to Hydra. We also managed somehow to break the autohelm (also again) as we were anchoring at Hydra. We came back here to Poros and luckily the autohelm ram is now fixed, and on its way back to us, so we will be mobile again soon. Actually, we weren't going too far over the last 3-4 days, because the meltemi has been blowing, and sometimes a harbour seems a good place to be.

When we arrived back in Poros they had a full scale fire going on. We watched the fire engines racing towards the fire, actually in Galatos on the mainland. They were on the local ferry, making nearly 10 knots. Later there were 4 aeroplanes and two helicopters involved, one of them filling and dumping a large bucket which was filled from the bay.

The town is a tourist town, with loads of waterfront cafes and tavernas, but I'm not sure exactly why visitors come here, as the swimming isn't clear water and there isn't really a beach worthy of too much note. However, it is a very friendly place, and town is convenient. The downside of that is that occasionally we have to get up before it gets hot, and get some boat cleaning, or other task done. Since the sun is strong by 8 am, you can really start to feel sorry for us. (Or not, as the case may be!).

The sunsets here are pretty too, and about that time we also hear a bugle from the nearby naval installation. Apparently one of Greece's admirals sank a couple of ships from the newly independent
Greek state here, when they came to sort out the
rival government, and there has been a military













presence since - not taking any chances, I guess.

Nearby there is an island called Soupia (Nisos Soupia in Greek) which is said to resemble a frog, not sure if I can see it myself, but here is a photo for all frog lovers.













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Photos at Navpaktos

Local residents greet us on the way down from the fortifications.










A views through defensive windows - one high - one low






Approaching the bridge under sail - we didn't rip it until two days later!

... and into Greece.....

Well, we made it! From Croatia to Italy, and then to Corfu. Then we headed for the gulf of Patras, the gulf of Corinth and then through the Corinth Canal and on to Aegina. Lusty Wench is currently out of the water for another scrape of her bottom.

On our way, we stopped at Galaxidhi and visited Delphi, unfortunately Sybil wasn't there that day, so no fortune telling. It is an incredible site with all the massive temple remains and a huge theatre and stadium above that.

We also managed a trip up to the fort at Navpaktos, where the view down to the medieval port and modern (huge) suspension bridge are impressive in a different way to Delphi.

The Corinth Canal can manage to take cruise ships up to 25m wide - you wouldn't think so! Lusty Wench being only 4m wide had no problem. At a cost of 226 Euros for 3 miles it is the most expensive canal we can go through! Stunning to do so though.

Update - ending in Croatia

Finally, an internet signal that works well!!

We moved on from Corsica to Elba, then to the Italian mainland, taking in Naples and Pompeii from the island of Procida, as we were advised that leaving things (like boats) lying around in Naples could lead to them going missing!). We also went, to Ischia, and Capri. I think Augustus should have avoided his swap and kept Ischia, rather than give it away for Capri. Perhaps he just wanted the designer shoes and jewelery that seem to be prolific there.

After that, we headed past the "oldest lighthouse in the world" Stromboli, and spent a few days on the island of Vulcano.

The Straits of Messina were relatively kind to us, ie the unforecast 30 knot wind was in the right direction, and we had listened to the advice and had reefed sail "in case".

We then headed along the sole of Italy's boot and called in to Otranto, just beating the Season, so it was lovely and fairly quiet. Bridisi was good too, and from there we headed to Cavtat in Croatia.

A week soon passed there, as we had met up with John and Wendy, who kindly brought important things with them to give to us (most important of all - PG tips tea bags). Dubrovnik is very impressive.

Next call was the island of Lokrum, near Dubrovnik - excellent fo a bit of P&Q.

We headed up the coast, and stopped in the National Park at Miljet where we actually got the bikes - yes, bought in Elba - off, and unseized the rusty joints, so that we could make our legs ache again.

Now on the island of Korcula, where we have done some maintenance - much needed, and climbed a peak on the "half island" opposite - not really needed, but spectacular views!

Planning to head to Hvar tomorrow 10th June.

Don't worry Nedra, we are still afloat!

Corsica

We left Sardinia, and made it to Corsica, Bonifacio and Porto Vecchio. Both good. The island is very green, and also mountainous, all told a beautiful island. Being French, the wine is not only good, but also cheap - very important.

Our first anchorage nearly had a bad ending, when the swell rolled in a bit from the sea, and one of our anchors let go. A new extended vocabulary was tested about one o'clock in the morning that particular day, and we then added shore lines to the four anchors we were using. After that the only real problem was how long it takes to get them back up. Bonifacio is spectacular with the old fortified town perched on top of a limestone cliff. We'll post a photo when we get a chance. One drawback was that we could not find any car-hire offices that were not closed for the off-season.

Porto Vecchio was a lot safer as an anchorage, and we were able to hire a car to travel around. The price of the car was the same for 4 days or a week, so we stayed a little longer. Not a problem.