Day 356 to 359: 5th to 8th June 2018 - Vonitsa, Lefkada, Nidri, ready for Athens!

Tuesday

Up, breakfasted, and considering boatschool when we got a message from Helen saying that the crew of Titania were going for a walk to visit the Venetian Fort on the hill. I quickly reassessed the morning and sent Patrick and the kids off walking while I stayed on the boat to tidy the kids cabin. I enjoyed a lovely hour or two of solitude which passed only too quickly while Patrick and the kids sweated up the hill and explored.

Back in time for lunch and a little rest before we heard the voices of Ben and Annabel who had swum/rowed over. The kids then spent a good couple of hours playing in the water before Helen and Matt came over too to join in the fun.

In the evening we cooked a whole chicken on the Cobb on board and had an enjoyable last night with the Titania Crew, promising to meet up again when we return to the UK for Christmas.

Wednesday

Up and off early as we wanted to call in at Lefkada, wind was supposed to build and Patrick was concerned about my ability to moor Laurin with  crosswind if it built up... I agreed! It took us just over 3 hours to get to the bridge which we made with 5 minutes to spare before opening time, during which Patrick and Esmé tried to suss out how to work with loom bands!

We then found an easy berth on the Town Quay and Esmé and I hiked off to buy bus tickets to Athens for Saturday before heading back for lunch. We bumped into some other boat kids and decided to stay the night as the mooring fee was less than 10 Euros for the night.

In the afternoon (after the obligatory ice cream) we did a tour of the chandleries, finding new hinges for the toilet seat, mc-4 connectors, a spare winch handle and a new halyard shackle for the mizzen.

In the evening we went for a lovely stroll, with Esmé alternating between skipping and practicing her knots!

Thursday

In the morning we had one last walk to the final chandlery where we were happy to find new coat hooks, and Esmé was mesmerised by the large array of fixings and fastenings. 

After a brief shop for a new toy the kids played for a while before we headed off, AJ helming us down the canal!

We sailed to an anchorage called either "Varko" or " Two Fox Bay" depending on who you ask. The other kid boat had said they were heading this way and it looked like a good choice, however despite a promising start, 

the Laurin kids were struggling with motivation for school work after our morning's shopping and so were somewhat delayed heading out to play with new friends on the Cat, "Altogether". In fact Esmé took so long that they had left by the time she was ready to play, cue major disappointment!

As more and more boats left the anchorage we took a second look at the weather forecast and decided we'd perhaps be better anchored near Nidri so motored south. As we approached we saw a sea full of anchored boats and took quite a while to choose our spot. I'm sure it will be even more crazy in Summer when we return with the cousins!

Friday

Up, more boatschool drama, then up anchor and on to the IBA Athos Hotel pontoon where we are booked onto for the next 5 nights. In the morning we are heading to Athens for 3 nights at AJ's request so we can see the Parthenon and head out to see Poseidon's Temple. Most of the afternoon was taken up buying picnic supplies, booking in, finding a laundry and also a place to exchange our gas cylinder before we had an hour and a half relaxation in the hotel pool!

 Now scrabbling around packing and contemplating a 6am start after weeks of not waking until 8:30 am.