Sybaris Travel Log

This morning we woke early and took the 7am bus to the ancient town of Delphi about half an hour away, through acres and acres of olive groves.
Delphi is built on the steep slopes of mount Parnassos. The setting is just beautiful and the views amazing from the steep mountain side.

Delphi's first traces of inhabitation go back to 14th-11th century BC. From the end of the 9th century the cult of Apollo became established and Temples were built in his honour like here in Delphi. We admired the remains of it and took many pictures from all angles!

We walked past the ancient theatre and many other monuments and ruins and finally came to the top of the site. Phew what a climb, lucky we were mountain goats in our previous lives!

Seeing the very much in tact stadium was worth the effort! We could only see it from one angle as like everything else on this ancient site, it was cordoned off. From far we could see the runner's starting blocks and as the stadium is still so in tact we could really get a feel what it must have been like to be an athlete or spectator in the olden days.

We slowly walked back down, enjoying the nature and the sound of the birds and crickets all around us.

We followed the road and after a short walk we came to another part of ancient Delphi. Here we found the remains of a large gymnasium

and a little further down the hill the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, cosisting of 2 temples dating from the 4th and 5th century and the Tholos or dome which was built about 380BC. This circular structure comprises of 20 columns (of which 3 have been reconstructed) on a three tiered podium.

We found some building blocks looking very much like Lego.

We walked back through the little touristy 'new' town of Delphi, waiting for our bus to take us back to Sybaris.

We motored over to Itea leisurely. There was just a little breeze, not enough to sail.  We arrived to Itea in time for lunch. After we walked around the sleepy and somewhat abandoned looking town. Some of the buildings were brand spanking new and modern whilst others were in dire need of attention. The old buildings had more of a western Mediterranean style than Greek.

In the afternoon we invited Peter and Elaine on Lady of Rhodesia over for a drink and had a pleasant time together.
In the evening we went to a Taverna for a simple dinner and were entertained by the owner singing and playing the bouzouki and his friends singing along.

Since leaving Corinth we have stayed in two small towns. The first night we stayed in Paralia Saranda. We arrived there after a very windy crossing!

We did not go on land preferring not to leave Sybaris on her own while it was still so windy. We rocked and rolled all night on the swells and so the next day we left early!
We arrived in Andikiron where we arrived yesterday mid morning. A lovely little town where we immediately felt at home! We decided to stay another night tied to the pier.

Mid morning Sybaris motored away from Susaki but we took Mythos the dog, Annie and Patty along as crew. We motored up to the Corinth Canal and tied up Sybaris at the entrance to pay for the Canal fees. At 270 euros for one way it is not something we will do often! Even a return ticket for the Suez Canal is cheaper than this and that is 100nm long!

The Corinth Canal is about 6 km long and just 23 meters wide and the edges 90 meters high at some points. Already in the 7th century BC plans were made to build the Canal but  Nero was the first to actually started digging in 67AD. The projects was halted soon after it began and finally in 1893 French engineers completed it after working on it for 10 years.

The sea state and weather were calm on the Aegean side but when we arrived at the Gulf of Corinth side the sea was very rough and strong winds were blowing! David was there to pick up Mythos the dog, Annie and Patty who jumped off as quick as they could as there was no way we could tie up Sybaris in that storm.

We continued in the heavy seas to Corinth and anchored up in the port.

NB the canal is closed on Tuesdays and costs double on Sundays!

Annie, Patty and I took the train today to Athens. It was a lovely ride along the coast. Once there we took the Metro to the Acropolis. What a smooth ride. In less than an hour and a half since leaving Sybaris we were at one of the major ancient sites in the world!
At the bottom of the hill is the long awaited for (5 years overdue)  and newly opened (3 days ago!) Acropolis Museum which we planned to visit after lunch.

We walked past it and slowly walked up the hill, paid our entry fee and there we were: one of the top ancient sites in the world!
Per visited the Acropolis several years ago while I was not well and that day was scorching hot and thousands of other people decided to be there as well. No wonder he did not want to join me here today! Although we were not alone up there, there were surprisingly little tourists and a pleasant breeze was blowing to keep us cool while we walked around.
The views over Athens were amazing especially as the skies were very clear today. 

From above we saw other ancients sites, remnants of gates and temples all around the Acropolis. Too bad we only had one day in Athens as there is so much to see. We enjoyed walking around the ancient site taking in as much as we could before we made our way down.

We ate lunch in the quaint Plaka area and then made our way to the Museum only to be disappointed: tickets could only be purchased on the Internet and all had been sold for today.
Instead we walked around and enjoyed window shopping passing by some of the ancients sites we had earlier seen from above. There seemed to be more shoe shops than anything else...what a punishment for us girls to look at all those shoes!

We returned back the way we came, by metro and train.

Our men were happy to meet up with us again and listen to our adventures of the day over a delicious meal in one of the local Tavernas.

Today Sweden celebrates Midsommar and since Per is a Swede we prepared for a party as well. In the morning Annie and I visited Ikea in Athens and filled our baskets with Swedish herring and bread.
We returned to Sybaris where Per and I prepared the dinner. What a fun night we had together with David, Annie and Patty!

We slowly made our way to Susaki, close to the Corinth Canal. We stopped on the way to cool down and swim. The temperatures are rising and reached just over 40c in our cockpit. The water is lovely and refreshing at 27c.
We continued passing by an industrial area to the boat yard in Susaki where our friends David & Annie are based. We spend a nice late afternoon with them and their friend Patty, first at a little cafe, then in great Taverna.

In the morning we went ashore and rented a 50cc motorbike and drove into the country side through acres and acres of olive groves. We eventually got to the very intact amphitheatre dating from the 3rd Century. It seats 14000 people and is enormous. It is still used today for music and drama.
We walked to the highest row and sat in the shade of some pistachio trees where we ate a picnic lunch. We enjoyed the views and the peace and quiet until a helicopter started circling around. Cool, maybe next time we should rent a helicopter instead of a motorbike too?

Next we walked around the site a little before returning back to town.

We visited another amphitheatre, this tome a very small one. It is in the process of being renovated. The setting around it is beautiful, close to the sea.

We lifted anchor and spent the night in Korfos, an unexciting town in a rather dirty bay. No swimming tonight!

We arrived in Epidavros mid afternoon.

We had heard there is a sunken village in the bay next to the port and so we lowered the dinghy soon after dropping anchor. It took as a while to find the spot as it is not marked on any charts or even mentioned in tourist guides. We eventually found it  and snorkelled around. The water was not very clear but we saw plenty. We must have come across the former home of the local wine merchant as we found the remains of one house full with some left over shards from what looked like enormous amphora.

Yesterday was another good day to sail! We used the Genakker most of the way and flew across the Saronic Sea!

Arriving at the island of Poros is always exciting, The island is so close to main land that there is a narrow channel to get to the main town by boat.
We anchored in the bay and took the dinghy in for a walk-about.

There are ferries running across from main land to Poros and back which are a lot more modern than an old fashioned one we saw a picture of.  Would you trust your car on these?

Today we pulled up anchor only to drop it again a few miles along the coasts in one of our all time favourite bays between a ruin on the beach and a little island which has a small church on it.

The wind has reached this area of Greece as well and we are happy we are safely tucked in this anchorage. Even though we are well protected we have been getting gusts of 30knots. We threw out our second anchor just to make us feel better and left Sybaris at anchor to have a long lazy lunch with David & Annie and their friends in a Taverna 10 minutes along the coast.
David, Annie & Mythos the dog returned with us to Sybaris where we enjoyed the dramatic cloud formations and soon after the amazing sunset!

Yesterday we had a great sail from Mykonos to the island of Syros, the capital of the Cyclades. We anchored in the bay in Fineka and invited the crew of a neighbouring Swedish sailboat. They have spent 3 years in the Ionian Sea and shared their favorite spots with us while we gave them tips of nice places in the Cyclades and Dodecanese.
This morning we left knowing that tomorrow a strong wind (beaufort 8) is expected in this area. We decided to go to the island of Kythnos instead which should be just outside the wind band. The sailing today was outstanding, reaching close to 9knots and so when we got to Kythnos just wanted to continue sailing! And so we did all the way here to Cape Sounio.
The bay is large and today was full! We did manage to find a good spot and dropped anchor under the remains of the Temple of  Poseidon. It was built in 444BC and stands 66 meters above the sea.
Soon after arriving Annie and David, great friends we met here 4 summers ago came to visit. We spent a fun evening catching up.

Sybaris has a special guest since yesterday: Leonidas, the previous owner of Sybaris. We bought Sybaris from him 3 years ago and have been in contact ever since.
We have had a good time telling each other stories about adventures with Sybaris and the longer Leonidas has been on board the more tricks and tips he has remembered to share with Per.
His daughter Ioanna and her friend Rob who are staying on the island for a vacation also visited last night and we spent an enjoyable evening together.

Leonidas has been in the shoe business all his life and when we searched the Internet we even found an old advertisement with him for sale on Ebay! And to prove that 'once a shoemaker always a shoemaker', he immediately modified his flip-flops when they started to hurt him!

We have spent the last 2 days strolling around Mykonos town, a short bus ride away from our anchorage in Ornos Beach on the island of Mykonos. Mykonos town is a favourite stop on the cruise ship route and is very touristy. Strolling around you can see why as it is very picturesque!
On top of the hill there is a row of traditional Greek windmills.

Around every corner is a church and another alley and before you know it you have lost your bearings. Luckily all roads lead to a cafe and the old town is small so you can always find your way out again!

Somewhere in the middle of town we found a enormous pelican grooming itself.

Just a few miles west of Mykonos lies the island of Delos, an ancient archaeological site. The island is no longer inhabited and can only be visited during opening hours.
We got there at lunch time and immediately went ashore to walk around. There was not much more than rubble of the public areas of the town but once we walked up the hill we found the walls of many of then mansions still standing giving us a good idea of how people lived.
Many homes had beautiful mosaic floors which were surprisingly well kept. There was also a little museum which showed statues and some pieces of murals salvaged from the site.
We walked around and loved the nature with the wild flowers and many many lizards.

After closing hours no boats are allowed to anchor in the bay and so we left for the next little island called Rinia, another uninhabited island. When we entered the bay we realized we had forgotten about all the big super-yachts in the Cyclades, the playground of the rich and famous in Greece! We anchored Sybaris amongst them and tried to be inconspicuous!