Summer is gone, fall is in full swing and we are back in Spanish waters. We've had a busy summer getting through the Meltemi winds that play havoc on any plans you may think you have, while passing through the Greek Islands. Luckily, no one but ourselves were aboard so we were able to sit out the bad times and make new friends along the way.
As we left the Greek Island of Folegandros the genoa decided to take itself off the mast leaving us with a furler stuck at the top (more furler issues!) on an island not equipped for these type of issues. So up the mast I went with Jeff safely operating the winch to get me up and back down. He weighs more and it wouldn't be safe for me to lower him down as gravity would not be kind in that situation (lucky him). While temporarily stuck up there, it became obvious that help was needed if we were to be able to sail back to Spain with our genoa. After much research Jeff found the island of Ios for a safe (alebeit busy) ferry harbour where the moorings were friendly, cheap and there was an American rigging and sail business that could help us. For those of you with boats in The Med, his name is Timothy Bender and he owns Kahuna Sails (kahunasails@yahoo.com). He's a great guy with friendly California surfer dude vibes and he'll even travel to nearby islands for service if you need him to.
Does my leg make the mast look fat? I was too scared for more pics. It was quite windy.
After that unwelcome interruption, we were also lucky enough to find ourselves blown by the August winds to Santorini which was on both of our bucket lists. While it was as breath-taking as the pictures I've seen, the crowds made it impossible to enjoy. Therefore, I hope to go back some day and do it properly, being sure to do so in either March or late October. Learn from my mistakes! Most sailors think you can't anchor in Santorini when, in fact, you can. The anchorage is nowhere near the town of Oia (and a bit rolly) but it does the job. We rented a moped to get to town which allowed us to see more of the island as well as be able to get a few groceries—which turned out to be the highlight of that trip. Sad but true!
Unfortunately, when traveling by boat, the permitted anchorages are often not where you wish them to be. The typical land-loving, sightseeing destinations are often a car/bus/taxi/moped ride away making them difficult to get to if you are only there for a couple days and work full time. On the plus side, we see things normal tourists don't and things you can only get to by boat—there is a yin and a yang to everything. For now, I accept that to see all the things I'd like on land, I'll have to return as a tourist later.
From Santorini, we then made our way to Kefalonia to meet up with Jeff's brother Nick and his husband Richard. They were going there for the 60th birthday celebration of their friend Marie, so it seemed a convenient and fun way to reunite with family we've not seen for a long time. Having met Marie before, we were still humbled to be invited to join in all the festivities of which there were many. The first was a lovely dinner out with 40+ amazing people for some of these best food I've had in Greece in addition to great company. We missed the other two parties as the winds were crazy and it would have been stupid to leave the boat unaccompanied on anchor—one of those 'boat life' things no one tells you about. But that lead to meeting some very lovely people (Stu and Ash) with two adorable children (Isabelle, 9 and Hudson, 6) that have just begun their sailing adventures. This turned a negative 'boat life' thing into a positive and is one of the reasons we love this lifestyle. Jeff then helped them sort out a few systems issues which lead to wonderful dinner out as payment in kind. Not long after, I was crowned 'Boat Aunty' by Hudson—most likely due to my world famous popcorn and movie night aboard Belvedere—but I am proud for it no matter why it was bestowed upon me. We are in contact still and hope to meet up in the future somewhere someday.
On our last day in Kefalonia, we hosted a last minute day trip of sailing and swimming to celebrate Nick and Richard's wedding and Marie and Dave's engagement. You can't imagine the logistics involved in sourcing helium balloons and a cake on a Sunday in a tourist area on short notice. And once you do manage to purchase these things, you must lug them back in 40°C heat to a dingy in choppy seas and gale force winds! But I did it, because a celebration isn't a celebration without balloons and cake no matter what country you are in.
Sicily, another one of my bucket list items. But, due to the reasons already written above, we weren't really passing by Etna. So, 'Sorry Etna I couldn't met ya.' But I vow to return by boat or plane for that one. We did, however, thoroughly enjoy the town of Cefalu. It was quaint and a nice surprise despite being a bit touristy.
My biggest bucket list item was to get to Palermo to see Capuchin Catacombs. Hit the link and you'll see why: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/capuchincatacombs/
Get it now?! Wowza what a weird thing. My friend Bruce Calvin used to tell me about this all the time and told me I MUST see it someday. So, I talked my buddy boat pals Noel McDowell and Jacqui Smith of sailing vessel Mad 2, into coming along. We began the day early by going into a marina closer to where we needed to go (to make the journey easier as we where on anchor) from which we were turned away and told we weren't allowed to go into town via the marina. So, back to the ghetto marina we'd found the day before, that would allow us in, but was much further away. I'd taken a day off work and didn't want to lose any more time, so we booked an expensive cab ride to get back on schedule. We rocked up excited as hell only to have it be closed for emergency repairs. I've no idea what the emergency was, but it most certainly didn't pertain to the dead. We then went about trying to salvage our day by seeing other things, all of which had varying degrees of disappointment or unavailability leading me to dub the entire Palermo experience as 'PalerNO!' The entire city was also in the 'throws' of a garbage strike (see what I did there?) making it stinky and full of litter. The graffiti, which can be something to behold but wasn't in this case, was on most every building, including the few of any architectural significance. While I am sure there are good things to see there, we did not see any of them. My one takeaway, thanks to the context of Palerno, was that organized crime (mafia) now makes perfect sense.
For more perspective of the places we've traveled, you can check out our buddy boat Mad 2's blog: https://themadboat.com/all-the-way-to-spain/?fbclid=IwAR01_QgC9MyODUaZpYAs1cpHr5XyZjd1sJ9LbxlvkKnYwsgg_1uOfqS9W98 we've been with them since Kefalonia and they are now in Sant Carles de la Rapita marina with us preparing for their Atlantic crossing next November. Who knows, maybe we'll go, too!
That's it for today dear readers. Thanks for sticking with us despite my lack of timely posts. I owe you a few details about Sardinia and Menorca, but it's a beautiful Sunday here in Sant Carles, and I can't stand another minute at this keyboard. I promise to put the second part of these travels together in the next week or so before I leave for America. I can't wait to enjoy my first Thanksgiving in over 8 years with the most important people in my life (minus one)! Jeff will remain aboard in Spain working on various projects, including redoing the floors in the boat (a huge task) and taking care of Pebbles the dingy dog. Jeff also wants you to know we now have Starlink, so we have complete internet access anywhere in the world and I now have no excuse for not getting the blog done…sigh.
PS: I've started a T-shirt company for a cause close to my heart: repurposing artwork by amazing designers, illustrators and companies that have cultural relevance and making it available to the world. More importantly, I want to create cool products from these people's toil and hopefully make 'em some scratch in the process—before someone else rips them off. All the designs are licensed from their creators (who retain their copyrights) and they'll get a 50/50 split of the profits, something no other company I know of offers. Most of the work featured is by people I know well or have friended along the way in my past while living and working as a graphic designer. You can check it out here if you are so inclined: www.graphicdisturbance.com
Comments