Glorious Greece - Part IV: The Saronic Islands

The Saronic Islands are south of Athens off the coast of the Peloponese. We motor-sailed to Póros and anchored about 1.5 miles west of the main harborfront, then decided to relocate to the harbor by the ferry landing where it would be easier to get to town. Póros Town is picturesque by day and even more so at night. We were delighted to be serenaded by live traditional Greek music from one of the cafés on shore and I danced happily all around the boat.

The archeological museum wasn't much to speak of (2 rooms only) but still enjoyable. We found an excellent place for gyros, which we visited 3 times while there (for one week), and homemade ice cream which was awesome. Our new cruising friends showed up a few days later and we enjoyed one more dinner together with everyone before they all headed back to Athens for the end of the season.

The Meltemi winds were blowing, so we decided to stay put for a while before continuing on. Much to our surprise, one of the boats we'd met up with returned to Póros to pick up their grandson and cruise for another week. We decided spur-of-the-moment to join them at an anchorage they assured us was good for all wind conditions. So off we went to Dókos, an uninhabited island next to Hýdra. We set the anchor near shore in shallow waters, put the anchor alarm on and hopped into the crystal clear water for a swim. The sunset was amazing and we had an impromptu pot-luck dinner on s/v Christa later under a glorious full moon with a cooling breeze. Unfortunately, the cooling breeze came from all directions and we were spinning this way and that, getting close to the rocky shore and a neighboring boat. Roger was up just about all night checking the anchor and keeping watch. At 4am it seemed that we were dragging some and shortly before 5am we were getting dangerously close to our friends' boat. We pulled up the anchor and looked for a place to reset. Unfortunately, with the waters so deep until close to shore and several boats surrounding us, we didn't find a place that we felt comfortable with. So off we went an hour before dawn into open waters and across the channel to the mainland. It took us over an hour to get there and get situated, but we found a good spot, good holding, with plenty of swing room. That's the flip side of glorious, wonderful, relaxed cruising... middle-of-the-night fire drills. A few days to wait out the winds here and then we're heading back east into the Cyclades again.

With Equanimity and Joy,
 

Glorious Greece - Part III: Athens

Athens - the big city. The marina was a beehive of activity when we arrived on Saturday... charter boats and private boats alike were loading up provisions and preparing their escape for the holiday week. There was no berth assignment and no one met us when we arrived. We picked a place we liked at the end of the pier and checked in at the office. We watched all afternoon as a comical parade of boats streamed out of the basin. By the evening of the following day the place had all but cleared out and enjoyed some tranquility. Aside from washing the boat and doing long-neglected stainless polishing, we planned to visit the highlights of Athens and then clear out before all the boats headed back for the barn.

Breathtaking ruins of Parthenon

Our first day as tourists in Athens was spent at the Acropolis and Parthenon, of course! Although most of the local Athenians had left the city for the holiday, there were still throngs of tourists sightseeing. We arrived at the Acropolis summit mid-day (although we know better than to do that!) and were queued up with hundreds of people on their way up through the gate to the top. Once there we saw the breathtaking ruins. The views were somewhat diminished by the scaffolding, the cranes and the crowds which covered most everything. Still, it was fantastic to see.

Parthenon with scaffolding, cranes and crowds

The Parthenon was amazing, as were several of the other temple ruins. The views of Athens from the summit were spectacular as you look down over an endless sea of new buildings puzzled in amidst old ruins. We walked back down to town and enjoyed gyros and Greek salad for lunch at a nearby sidewalk cafe.

We then proceeded to the Acropolis Museum, a new building situated directly under the Acropolis. Much of the first level was done with clear floor panels to view the preserved ruins of the site. The side of the building facing the Acropolis was all glass, so as you gazed at statues and artifacts within the museum you could look up at their original location.The sculptures were incredible... the flow and drape of fabric, the body's muscles and texture, the windswept locks of hair... softness and curves all magnificently chiseled in hard stone.

Our second day as tourists was spent at the Archaeological Museum. It is huge and impressive with its diversity, and we kept finding more and more exhibits around each turn and corridor. We started with gold and riches discovered in ancient burial sites and then viewed the statues carved over the many centuries. Some of the statues of gods, such as the one of Poseidon (right) were simply amazing. The style went from plain/austere taken from that of the Egyptian's to a more complex and natural expression of the human form (below). We took a short break for lunch at the museum's cafe and then continued on.

Changing style of Greek statues over the centuries

There were two other museums we would have liked to visited, but we were done after this one. We might have enjoyed spending another day or two just walking around the city itself and seeing more of the ancient ruins, but we needed to move on before all the boats came back to the harbour.

Sunset at the Alimos Marina in Athens

We enjoyed one last lovely sunset at the dock and were ready to go. For this season, this is probably the furthest west and north we'll be... unless we change our minds again, and again.

With Equanimity and Joy,

Glorious Greece - Part II: Delos, Kythnos and Kea

We finally pried ourselves off our mooring in Finikas on Syros Island and headed east 23 miles for a day at Delos, the center of the ancient world... or at least of the Cyclades. This small sacred island has awesome architectural ruins of a city that reigned in importance and grandeur centuries ago. The divine twins, Artemis (goddess of chastity, virginity, the moon, wild animals and various other things) and Apollo (god of light and music and more) were believed to have been born here. The mosaics, statues, and the famous Naxion lions (sort of on the thin side, but still fiercely roaring) were all amazing to see.

We walked up to the top of the hill to the sanctuary of Zeus and Athena, and looked east to Mykonos and west over Rinia Island to Syros in the background. The small spec of a boat in the middle of the photo (right) is EQ.

We motored back west the following day to Kythnos, anchored overnight, and then continued on to Kea, where we met up with our new cruising friends. What a delightful little harbor and another favorite place. We enjoyed our homemade pizza, with pasta and salad (Greek, of course) for six on board EQ the first evening and then took the bus up to Ioulidha, the town on top of the hill, the next night. It was lovely to walk through the winding streets with traditional houses and tavernas. The sunset beyond the church domes and houses was enchanting.

Onward and onward, we parted company with our friends (but will meet up again shortly in the Saronic Islands somewhere) and we set out for Athens. We took a deep breath and prepared to move from the tranquility of the lovely Cyclades Island group to the big city of over 11 million. We will be arriving on August 15th, a huge holiday week and we think we should have the marina just about to ourselves while everyone else sails out to enjoy their time off!

With Equanimity and Joy!