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,
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,
