Last days in Greece

Cave near Fiskardo, Kefalonia.

Itea is a great base to explore Delphi. It is an abandoned marina and that means free! We tied up Roundabout and set off to find a bus or taxi to the top of the mountains.

Delphi is an extremely beautiful place. If only we had more time to spend! We had a few hours and could have easily spent an entire day. However, we needed to make a provisioning run and sail to the island of Trizonia before nightfall.

Delphi

Trizonia is a lovely island with grassy meadows and lush pine forest. There is a small marina there, as well. We spent a peaceful night and explored a little of the surrounding islands before setting off for the large port town of Patras. The starboard air conditioning unit needed servicing and despite our best attempts to do it ourselves, we decided it was time to call in the professionals.

Sunset over Trizonia island.

Lovely scenery.

At anchor off Trizonia.

About 10 minutes after tying up to the quay, a man appeared from a yacht service agency. In less than an hour, we had a team repairing the air conditioner. They finished a couple of hours later and so after 100 euros and a big 'thank you', we settled in for the night.

3am found us up and exiting the harbor, setting sail for the island of Zakythnos. We had a pretty good run out of the Gulf of Patras and down to the island. We anchored off Shipwreck Beach and enjoyed a couple of hours there before the swell picked up.

We sailed over to the island of Kefalonia and anchored off a nice beach. After some swimming and dinner, we were treated to another music and fireworks show!

Music and fireworks on the beach. Anchored out, we had front row seats!

Fiskardo, Kefalonia Greece

Dinghy inside and then go ashore and explore.

Lots of tunnels to follow.

That water!

A new favorite anchorage.

Next morning we sailed on up to Fiskardo Bay to meet up with Plan B. We anchored in the bay and stern tied to shore. We really enjoyed our time there, as the water is gorgeous and there are so many things to do! We went on a neat hike and explored a nearby cave. With a weather window opening, it was time to sail up to Lefkada and source some parts in Lefkas town.

Sailing through the channel was a bit precarious, as lots of charter boats were exiting the time we were about ready to enter. It was no less than 30 boats all single file! Approaching Lefkas, we were a bit worried about finding a spot, but fortunately, we timed it right. We met up with two other sailing families, acquired some parts, and then set off for the island of Corfu.

Corfu is the last Greek island and our final port of call in this country. We spent two nights in Gouvia bay, again next to our friends on Plan B. They have a similar itinerary. Checking out was a breeze and we spent the rest of the time at the pool and swimming in the bay. We were fortunate enough to meet up with yet another sailing family, although they were on their way south for the season.

We set sail for Montenegro around 8am and waved goodbye to  Greece.

Taking down the Greek courtesy flag as we sail towards Montenegro.

Island Hopping Around Greece

Made it to the top of the Minoan site! Amorgos, Greece.

From Crete, we made quite a few hops along the island chain. We stopped at Astipalaia, Amorgos, Koufonisia, Naxos, Mykonos, Delos, Rhenia, Paros, and Antiparos.

Dolphin at the entrance to Astipalea lagoon.

Astipalaia was our least favorite, due to all the trash. This island had trash dumps on every beach, and while it had a reputation for its lagoon, it was nowhere near what Spinalonga was like. We spent two nights here until we had a good enough weather window to head to Amorgos.

Amorgos was better. The guide book mentioned it was an excellent fishing spot and known for dolphins visiting. We tossed out the fishing line and no sooner had the dolphins paid a visit, we had a fish on the line! It made for a delicious dinner and lunch the following day. 

Our first fish caught aboard Roundabout while on passage

We anchored in a few places, saw bioluminescence at night, and weathered a windstorm in the port. We were invited to a traditional Greek wedding ceremony and hiked up to an ancient Minoan site. 

Climbing to the top of the Minoan site. Amorgos, Greece

From there, we were scheduled to meet up with some other sailing families, so we hopped over to Naxos for a night and then on up to Mykonos.

Temple of Apollo on Naxos.

Temple of Apollo and little cave at Naxos.

We met up with the crew of Wiz and Aleasea. All the kids had a blast playing together. After weathering out another meltemi (wind storm), we hopped over to Delos to explore the ruins. Wow, what an amazing place! This was our most favorite ancient site of all. It is expansive and you need at least two days to explore everything.

More kid fun!

Pondering the ruins at Delos.

A temple at Delos. This tree marks the exact spot where Apollo and Artemis were born (at the sacred lake).

Dolphin mosaic at Delos.

Lots of furry friends at Delos.

From Delos, we spent a night on Rhenia and then sailed back to Paros to meet up with another kid boat, Abaco. Having four kid boats together was awesome. We hiked, played, and enjoyed each other’s company. Such fun times! 

All the kids hanging out around Roundabout and the other kid boats. Rhenia anchorage near Delos.

Our fleet sailed over to AntiParos to explore the cave and met up with yet another kid boat, Wildest Dreams. That night we had a fun beach potluck. Cadence and a friend made cupcakes to celebrate one of the other kiddo’s birthdays, lavender swirled vanilla cupcakes with lavender frosting. Yum!

Antiparos cave field trip with all the boat kids!

Boat kids from s/v Roundabout, Abaco, Alesea, and Wiz (Wildest Dreams arrived later that day).

Making cupcakes as a birthday surprise.

Another meltemi was coming, so our fleet went back to Paros to ride it out. The crew of Abaco went with us to take windsurfing lessons. That was a great day and so much fun! IF you are ever near Paros island, check out Paroskite.gr. You can anchor in the channel between Paros and Antiparos to take lessons at the school or check out their gear. I found a new wetsuit for Cadence and I for a great deal. George G. is the owner and is very nice. 

Learning how to windsurf.

In the end, we all had to go our separate ways. Two were going to Turkey and the rest of us were heading west. The kids really loved hanging out with other kid boats and spent most of each day playing in the water or swimming from boat to boat. It's hard to leave such fun times, but we've got to make tracks towards Croatia!