Day 371 to 373. 20th June to 22nd June 2018 - Cephalonia part 2

Wednesday

A really good morning of school, AJ having already done a little maths the night before. A little sewing in the afternoon starting off making a windscoop for AJ and Esme's cabin whilst Esmé made a carrier for her toy dog Cocoa.

Early evening we celebrated the arrival of Lynita's Dad with beer and nibbles on the beach while the kids swam and played.

Thursday

By this point we had decided to ask Tiffany to get a Taxi to us in Agias Euphimias when she arrived on Saturday, but rather than hang around until then we opted to explore one of the bays we had passed on the journey south from Fiskado. Kalo Limini was the perfect little bay where we could relax, swim, paddleboard and have fun on Dizzie's swing. The kids had been great and done school on the way so it was an idyllic, chilled out day.

Friday

After school and a quick swim we left our lovely bay, heading back to Agias Euphimias ready to pick Tiffany up the next day. We dropped anchor just before 2 and I rowed ashore to get fresh bread and some cold drinks. I also took the opportunity to grab food for the evening, check we could get water on the quay on Sunday, and unsuccessfully tried to hitch Tiffany a lift on the Sailing Holidays transfer bus.

 

On my return Patrick was somewhat concerned as the wind had picked up and some boats had already dragged in the anchorage. We needed to let out more chain but didn't have space so upped anchor and tried to find a better spot. A couple of goes later we actually motored out of the harbour looking for alternatives but on spotting Dizzie heading in we decided on one last shot. In the end we managed to get the anchor to hold in a reasonable spot behind a catamaran, just needing a tight circle on our anchor watch app to detect any movement towards the rocks behind us. Not perfect but we were holding well and there wasn't anywhere better to go either in this anchorage or nearby.

Either Patrick or I stayed in the cockpit until we gained some confidence, taking it in turns to brave the rocking and rolling to do a little tidying up.

A late dinner once the wind had calmed down a little and then bed, although a very excited Esmé would take a long time to get to sleep!

Day 368 to 370: 17th to 19th June 2018 - Fathers Day and onward to Cephalonia

Sunday

As must always happen in the Gregory Family, Fathers Day Breakfast is a cooked affair! It was rather dull and drizzly, but once it cleared up the crews of Dizzie and Laurin set off for Nidri in dinghies with the intention of walking to Nidri waterfall. Unfortunately AJ has developed a bit of a wasp phobia and so after a while he and I turned back, letting Patrick continue on the 8km round trip with Esmé and the others. I think the walk was rather longer than anticipated although the pictures look absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to try again with AJ when the cousins come to stay!

Back on the boat AJ did some reading whilst I caught up with the blog. We then pumped the paddleboard up ready for the others return and the associated dinghy taxi service requirements. Once we had picked them up I went for a paddle, spying a small café with pool with  the owner outside saying we could use the pool if we bought drinks. A good find for the next day I thought. I then called in on Dizzie and the kids larked about rowing between the two boats. In what other situation would we be ok with a 7, 5, and 3 year old in a dinghy on their own? They did great though!

With the sound of thunder we all went back to our own boats for dinner, but not before Justin tried out the paddleboard.

Monday

Not sure why both kids can't seem to have a good day of boatschool at the same time. Today it was AJ's chance to shine where as Esmé was kicking her heals. In the end Patrick went ashore for petrol while I dealt with the girl. After lunch I took both kids to the café swimming pool but Esmé had to complete her school work first!

I enjoyed a cold beer while both kids played, and waited for Lynita to join us. It was great, the owner let the kids use inflatables piled by the pool and I was relaxed... until she announced she would charger us 5 Euros each to swim (included a soft drink or ice cream). I was a bit put out by this as it hadn't been agreed before, just that we would buy some drinks, but felt unable to argue. What was worse was that Lynita had just arrived and so it was now 20 Euros for 4 kids to swim (we didn't swim to reduce the cost). This is a lot of money when we are full time cruising and although in principle it is reasonable, we would have preferred to know beforehand so we could have chosen not to come. However the kids enjoyed the ice cream and we all went back to Dizzie for dinner!

Tuesday

By the time we woke Dizzie had already left towards Fiskado but with the intention of heading to Agias Euphimias if things were going well. We hung around to get water from the IBA pontoon before following them. We were quite keen to try Fiskado and meet up with Dizzie in a night or two, but on arriving at Fiskado it was so busy we decided to leave it for another time. There were at least 4 flotillas in on a Tuesday night!

Onwards to Agias Euphimias which was lovely but with not so much room to free anchor, however after a little mooching round we found a spot we were happy with and went for a swim. Next up was a tidy up before Lynita text to say they were going for ice cream. We joined them despite not having dinner yet!

The ice cream, just like the town, was lovely. Lots of locals at the playground which the kids loved. It felt like a place we might hang around for a few days waiting for Cousin Tiffany to arrive!

All too soon it was time to go back to Laurin for a Thai Green curry enjoyed by all. Lovely end to the day!

Day 365 to 367: 14th to 16th June - One year anniversary

Thursday

Our one year anniversary passed in quite a low key way. If you'd asked me before we got to this stage I would have said that I expected us to mark this special day by going out for a meal and celebrating. However having just blown 600 Euros on a trip to Athens we need to tighten our belts for a while. Add to that the fact that we felt the need to stay on wasp infested Meganisi due to forecast southerly winds, and the fact that AJ seems to be developing a phobia for wasps, it wasn't quite the celebration I had been hoping for. However we did meet a lovely UK based family who flexi school, spending October to Spring Bank in the UK with their boy attending mainstream school, and then spend Spring Bank to October homeschooling in Greece, alternating between their house in Sivota and their boat. We had pleasant late afternoon drinks before they went back to their boat for dinner and returned without kid for more drinks in the evening whilst our kids enjoyed the much awaited movie "Wonder". All in all it was a pleasant day, but we are keen to leave this anchorage tomorrow.

We've also been thinking a lot about the rest of our trip after leaving Greece in August. It's coming up to decision point about how we get back to the UK. Our original plan was to winter in Spain and then go up the Atlantic coast, however although this is still possible we are questioning if it is the right move for our family. We would be sailing, against prevailing winds and currents, with a lot of long days due to the distances between safe ports\anchorages. Thus, leaving very little time for boat school. Also there is increased potential for some heavier weather than some of us are comfortable with. Another unknown is how long we may need to wait for good weather in port and how much this might cost. Patrick is dead set against going back up the French canals as he doesn't want to go up the Rhone with a strong current against us, and we are both leaning towards the reality that shipping Laurin back on a lorry might make more financial sense. If this is the case then we also need to question if it is worthwhile spending the winter in Spain or if it would make more sense to sail as much as we can this season, end with another road trip somewhere and come home a little early, particularly if we can't find a community of boat kids in Spain (the kids are very unsure about attending Spanish school which may still be an option). We have all learned so much from this trip, growing both personally and as a family, the kids have become more independent than we would ever have allowed them to at home. However we're not sure if there is much added value in continuing past Christmas this year. We are finding home school quite challenging and returning earlier may allow us to relax a little about this, it would also allow us to relax the finances a little and enjoy a few more side trips and meals out. One of the surprises of the trip for me is how much the kids get out of the side trips to historical sites, capital cities and associated museums. For this reason I'm really glad we decided to come to the Med rather than crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean. No decisions as yet but these discussions are now happening on a regular basis.

Friday

Boatschool in the morning and then after much discussion with the crew of Dizzie who are having plotter problems we agreed to meet them in Nidri. It took a while to extract ourselves from our anchorage as the chain from two boats was over our anchor chain, and another boat had laid their chain over the other two. Luckily the guy on the big motor boat (complete with portable Jacuzzi to take to the beach) had dive gear on board and their guy went down to sort out the mess. Esmé is getting really helpful on deck now and she enjoys working hard to pull in the long lines! As we motored away from the bay we could hear thunder all around, but thankfully not close to us, although it looked as if Dizzie might be having fun waiting for the bridge at Lefkas. However as we approached Nidri the storm was getting closer.

After one failed anchoring attempt we motored to a larger gap to try again and witnessed a really weird phenomenon where we could see rain falling all around us but we were stood in a patch of no rain. Literally 10 metres away all around us we could see raindrops on the water! However very soon the deluge hit us as we tried to anchor with winds swirling all around. The wind strength wasn't that high.... 20 knots at most, but it made digging the anchor in almost impossible due to the fact it changed direction so frequently. All boats in the anchorage seemed to be facing in different directions.

However eventually it subsided enough for us to be able to re-anchor again and this time get it to hold. We retreated down below to dry up and rest. Once the rain had stopped we went up to view the aftermath. Our big truckle buckets which we use for hand washing were half full.... about 8 inches of water in 1 hour! The dinghy was also ankle deep in water!

It wasn't long before Dizzie arrived and all kids were excited to see each other. We decided to pool resources for dinner and enjoyed a lovely evening catching up and eating a large mishmash tea cooked on their rail mount BBQ.

Saturday

Woohoo... the weekend and no boatschool! We all packed swim stuff and headed to the Athos Hotel. Not sure if we were meant to be able to use their pool if we weren't on the IBA pontoon but we figured it would probably be ok if we bought drinks at the bar. Patrick and Justin went on ahead to see if they could find any help with the plotter and Lynita and I followed with the kids.

We parked ourselves at the bar and ordered a drink while all 4 kids splashed, swam and played in the pool for a good 3 hours with only a short break for food in the middle, after which I headed in to Lefkas on the bus while Patrick took AJ and E back to Laurin for some downtime. Unfortunately I got the bus timetable a little wrong, meaning I only had 1/2 hour to shop once there or I would have another 2 hour wait to get a bus back. The timetable at Nydri seem to show the time busses leave Nydri to go to Lefkas, and times they leave Lefkas to return rather than the time they will arrive at Nidri to travel in the opposite direction.... seems strange!

I legged it into the nearest supermarket to the bus station which is pretty good, did a good impression of a supermarket dash and headed for the tills where the lady looked at me packing like I was some crazy woman... I think I would have beaten even the fastest Lidl checkout worker! Out of the door with a minute to go, thew a bag of bananas at the kids begging at the door (I had seen them previously and thought they looked really hungry but didn't want to give them money) and ran for the bus station with granny trolley, rucksack and two shopping bags. I saw the bus reversing out of its spot but luckily it needed to go through a barrier onto the road in front of me first, so, waving like a mad woman I flagged it down... no way did I want to wait 2 hours in the heat with cold meat that needed to be in our fridge. Thankfully they saw me, opened the luggage hold, helping to throw my bags in before I got on into the lovely air conditioned seat and we were off. 7% charge left on my phone was just enough to call Patrick and ask him to bring the dinghy to meet me at the pontoon! Result!

Back in Nydri we packed food away before I headed over to Dizzie to deliver meat and pick the kids up. We then enjoyed the still warm roast chicken I had bought in Lefkas while we watched "Wonder" as a family. AJ struggling not to give us a commentary, (he's the king of spoilers) despite the fact that we have all read the book. It was a lovely end to a lovely day catching up with friends.

Day 362 to 364: 11th to 13th June: Athens part 2

Monday

Todays objective was to see the Temple of Poseidon, I guess as he's the God of the Sea we all felt the need to make this trip, although it did seem a little crazy to embark on another 4 hour round trip to see one more temple!

Anyway, up we got and trotted to the appropriate bus stop which was thankfully only 5 minutes away from the apartment, found the bus and settled down for the two hour journey. This time we enjoyed a lovely journey along the coast, and finally got our first view of the Temple.

Another 20 minutes and we were there! Esmé was feeling somewhat jaded by temples by now and really wanted to swim, however we had brought no swim stuff and the beach was a long way down hill and she didn't want to walk.. hey ho! AJ on the other hand loved the Temple, as did Patrick and I, however we were done in less than an hour, having time for a brief look round the gift shop before heading back to Athens.

To be honest nobody fancied moving once we were back at the flat so we had a chill out few hours enjoying real wifi before heading back to the first restaurant for dinner!

Tuesday

We decided to head out early and see the Archaeological Museum before heading for the bus back to Nidri. Our host had recommended it, saying it was much better than the Acropolis museum as it covered much more, including  the Mycenaean's. We, however, found that although there was a greater variety of exhibits, it wasn't nearly as child friendly. Esmé really loves the children's guides and activities that some Museums provide and the lack of this at the Archaeological museum along with it being the end of a tiring few days meant that she lost interest quite quickly.

Before this happened though, both kids marvelled at the Mycenaean Gold. There was just so much of it and it led us to wonder if it was far less scarce in those days!

 It was truly amazing to see artefacts that were 7000 years old! I was also really pleased to see that the kids were engaged by the Egyptian artefacts, remembering the Shabti dolls which were supposed to be servants for the afterlife, buried with Egyptian bodies.

We were somewhat perplexed though by the presence of a boomerang!

The kids spent a good hour or so looking at the exhibits before we finally got bored and headed back to the apartment to check out, but not before having a bit of fun with one of the sculptures!

We said our goodbyes to our host and then scrabbled around to find a taxi to the bus station which cost less than the local bus we had caught on the way! 

Then the 5 hour trip back to Lefkas, where we found there was a 1 hour wait for the bus to Nydri, just time for me to pop into the supermarket opposite to get some groceries for the next few days!

Wednesday

The next morning was a flurry of activity, restarting boatschool, picking up washing from the laundry, getting a new gas bottle, doing some handwashing while we had access to fill our tanks with water, filling up with diesel and finally a quick swim at the hotel before leaving the pontoon just before the 2pm deadline. We then motored over to Meganisi and anchored in Port Atheni. It had been a long, hot day and the boat was in chaos with washing and shopping everywhere. We had a swim and took it relatively easy, waiting until it had cooled down a little to cook dinner and tidy up.

Day 360 to 361: 9th & 10th June 2018 - Athens Part 1

Saturday

Up early as our bus from Nidri to Lefkada was due at 8:15am. Given that the kids seem to be surfacing at something approaching 9am at the moment this was always going to be somewhat of a challenge, but the excitement (of the cool apartment in Esme's case rather than any historic sites,) meant that our early morning call was met by smiles rather than groans. A quick breakfast then we packed our final bits and pieces and prepared Laurin to be left for a few days before heading to the bus stop. It was really nice to be travelling light for a change... our trip to Corsica we didn't know how long we were going to be so had to pack school stuff, and our trip to Rome was on the way back from the UK after Christmas so were dragging back a months worth of stuff plus Christmas presents! Sat waiting for the bus outside the Athos Hotel it felt like we were waiting for a school trip to begin, however we were very soon starting to get concerned as 8:15 came and went with no sign of the bus. A quick chat with the local shopkeeper told us there was another bus at 8:45 but he was unsure of if it would get us to  Lefkada bus station in time for the 9:30 bus to Athens. We reached an agreement that we would wait until it arrived and then ask the driver. If it was going to be too late we still had time for a taxi. In the end the bus arrived and somehow the shopkeeper had already spoken with him and he just ushered us on saying "yes, I know, Athens, quick quick!"


We made the Athens bus with 5 minutes to spare and settled down for the 5 1/4 hour drive, iPads, kindles and books at the ready. It was a pretty uneventful journey, but beautiful scenery, first passing Vonitsa and then crossing a bridge over to Patras before eventually crossing the Corinth Canal and the last stretch into Athens. From there we got a local bus towards our rental apartment where we were met by our wonderful host.

The apartment was absolutely amazing and all that Esmé and AJ had anticipated. It was quirky, funky, had a swing, climbing wall and hidden music room, all for the princely sum of 39 Euros per night! We can highly recommend.... here's the link. Not only was it an amazing place at a cheap price but the owner left us lovely cakes one day, and wristband presents for the kids the next!

I had vague ideas about exploring once we had settled in to the apartment but the kids loved it so much we just chilled out in the afternoon before finding a lovely place for dinner, just 5 minutes walk away,  where we all ate our fill for under 40 Euros.

Sunday

Up early as we wanted to visit the Acropolis before it got too hot. We were keen to arrive as it opened at 8am so it was an early alarm, quick breakfast and then out to find a taxi. Once we were there we walked up the hill and explored the site, first viewing the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the lower slopes.

Next up to the entrance at the top of the hill where we passed an old crane which was indicative of the ongoing restoration of the site.

AJ was particularly interested in the Temple of Athena so we took a look at that first. He commented on how it was smaller than he expected as we walked round it looking for the olive tree!

Then on to the Parthenon which was being significantly renovated on one side which was covered in scaffolding. It was disappointing not to have an uninterrupted view of this magnificent structure however it is nice to see that they are being preserved for future generations and at least the view from the other end was much less interrupted.

The views of Athens from the top were magnificent and we also took time to look down upon the Theatre of Dionysus before heading back down the hill to the Acropolis Museum.

The Museum was a bargain at 5 Euros per adult and free for kids. The entrance was really impressive with a glass floor through which you could view archaeological excavations of the site! After dropping our rucksack at the cloakroom and picking up a kids pack we headed straight to the café (via the lego model of the Acropolis) for a snack.

Water was provided immediately free of charge and we got the cheapest item on the menu to fill kids hungry stomachs which was home made bread with local marmalade and honey!

The café had a wonderful view of the Parthenon and we spent a while enjoying the air conditioning and the view whilst Esmé and AJ played with some of the contents of the kids pack.

The whole museum was laid out pretty much as the Parthenon with exhibits being positioned in the corresponding place mirroring the physical building which could be viewed through massive windows on each floor.

AJ and Esmé were kept amused by a treasure hunt found in the kids pack where they found specific exhibits and filled in a worksheet with corresponding stickers.

It was amazing how the museum had taken time to reproduce parts of the carvings to recreate broken parts before putting them in their relevant positions.

It was also nice to see models of what each end of the Parthenon would have looked like with it's carvings.

All in all the museum was a big success but by then we were ready for lunch and a rest so headed back to the apartment by taxi.

Once rested and chilled out we walked to the National Gardens where the kids had a play in the playground before we listened to a local high school choir perform in the lovely surroundings.

Unfortunately it then started to rain so we hurried to another TripAdvisor "cheap eats" recommendation for dinner!