Koufo to Porto Carras, 23 May

Today we are learning a new boat exercise. Departing and pulling up the anchor. That means Carl at the stern pulling and Leslie first at the bow letting go of the lines and fending off and in to the cockpit and manoeuvre the boat in case the anchor get stuck. We managed like we had done this hundreds of times before.

After planning of today's route we found we had time for a morning swim. Walked about 2 km to the next beach in Torino where we found the ruins of a Byzantine settlement, Toron.

En route from Koufo to Port Carras along the beautiful coast of the Sinthonian peninsula. Today we saw for the first time yachts with full sail. Three of them. Otherwise we are alone on the water expect for the occasional fishing boat.

Because of the need of doing our laundry we are staying in this fancy Marina complex. 

For one wash you need 3 euros, but in 50c coins. It took more than an hour to gather 12 50c coins, nobody has change, you get change for euro here and one euro there. All in good humour though. But laundry all done, now. Took a 15 minute ride in a little ferry to the town Nea Marmara to buy some supplies. Nea Marmara impressed us as a pretty town with stable economy. Very hilly. This impression after 1 1/2 hour visit.

Back at Port Carras and time for an evening swim. Delicious!

Met a lovely elderly Italian couple on a yacht, also heading for Corfu by the end of June.

A pic of Halkidhiki with its three peninsulas, Akti (Athos), Sinthonian and Cassandra as we see them on our route.

Limenaria to Koufo, 22 May

In the far distance we can see Athos on the Akti peninsula. It is a distance of 30 nautical miles but with a height of 2033 m it is visible from far away.

We are coming close to Athos which lies on the the tip of the most eastern peninsula of the three peninsulas of Halkidhiki. On the peninsula which is autonomous under Greek control are 20 orthodox monestaries. Approx 1400 monks live on Athos. To visit the peninsula a special permit is required and no women are allowed to visit. Previously not even female animals were allowed but now that has changed. Maybe they had some reproduction education!

This is what I call "a pond", a flat sea, which we had most of the way from Thasos to Koufo. I it was quite unbelievable .

On top of Athos  we could see an enormous Greek flag.

On the west side of the Skto peninsula we could see monasteries and fantastic rock formations.

One more photo of Athos from the west.

Entering the natural harbour Porto Kofou, apperently the Mediterraneans most wonderful natural harbour. Beyond the entrance was a lagoon with a harbour and a little town. All night large fishing boats came in to off load their catch. 

Another view of the entrance.

The little village of Koufo with the harbour and tavernas along the waterfront. With found a berth next to a Bulgarian whom had bought a catamaran and was planning to sail to the Canary Islands. We used our stern anchor for the first time. And Leslie managed to throw it out exactly as it should. And that was mainly thanks to the fact that Carl had prepared everything and placed the rope and chain perfectly for easy anchoring!

We have wifi at the tavernas, but not on the boat so we have had an afternoon of tapas or Mezzogiorno and Internet and a lovely swim in the lagoon. Some German and English tourists, but otherwise very quiet in this pre-season.

Kavala to Limenaria, 21 May

 We have waved goodbye to Kevin who took the 6.00 bus to Thessolonika to connect with Easy Jet to Gatwick. Thanks Kevin for a wonderful 10 days, we look forward to your return.

We have to fill up with diesel today and it has to be done with canisters. So it means a few trips back and forth to the pump station. After t hat we plan to travel to the southern part of the island Thasos.

But first an early morning walk to see if we can reach the aqueduct which dominates the city.

The aqueduct was build by the Turks in the 15 th century. Although built by Turks it it in Romsm style.

It is a magnificent structure right in the middle of the city.

Just from another angle.

We left Kavala at 9.55. We really enjoyed our stay here and are very glad that we stayed for two days.

Headed towards The island Thasos and to a port on the southern part of the island, Limanaria. Caves just outside the town.

I suppose we are going to see many of these, but needed to be photographed because this is our First Greek Island,  Thasos has an interesting history

Found a spot in the little harbour. No electricity and it seems as if there is no water but we have a full tank and will do not need to cook because we will eat at one on the numerous tavernas here. The tourists have not come do there is a rush for our custom!

Just above the harbour was the mine managers house. The Palataki. A magnificent house conspicuous when you enter the Limenaria port. Yellow colour and green window shutters, two towers. A place for a mine manager overlooking the Aegean Sea and the mine activities. But on a closer look the place is in a state of decay and the old grandeur is no longer only a ghost like building.

The mining started in 1903 when the German company Speidel got the permission from the then Turkish rulers to start a mine for production of zink and lead mineral products. After WW1 the mine was   confiscicated, the island given th the Greeks. In 1920 the mine was auctioned and tha Belgium company Viellege Montangue ( previous owner of Swedish mine Zinkgruvan which is now under Lundin Mining) The last owner of the mine was Krupp who ran a iron ore mine on the island and using the old Shipping facilities and other infrastructure. In the end of the sixties the operations seized and the mines closed down. 

Here is the old Palatakis story from its own perspective.

The vertical furnaces used to calcine the zink and lead ore. 

The universal Patron Saint Barbara looks after all mining and artillery people and their activities. Fire in the mountain!

Kavala 20 May

Thunder and lightning!! We are lucky to be in the Port of Kavala. It is heavy rain for the whole morning. 

We are berthed right next to the fishing boats who went out yesterday evening. They came back in the middle of the night /early morning, possibly because of the enormous storm, thunder and lightning, which we experienced this morning. Nice and cosily tucked up in lellebelle we waited for the storm to pass.

And as soon as it stopped raining, breakfast was prepared, yoghurt, creamy like we have never seen before, red, sweet strawberries, fresh bread, honey, fresh coffee to start the day.

We set off for Philippi by bus. 

The ancient city of Philippi was first settled by people from Thasos who were aware of rich sources of precious metals, timber and agricultural products. They founded the colony of Kremides in 360 BC. The colony was threatened by the Thracians and in 356 BC sought the aid of Philip II, king of Macedonia. Philip captured and fortified the city and gave it his name, Philippi. King Philip is the father of Alexander the Great.

The bus ride was only about 25 minutes. We got off the bus and started walking towards the archaeological site of Philippi

And what happened was that Kevin discovered that he left his bag with passport and iPad on the bus. He set off at great speed running after the bus, which of course did not stop because it was too far away. Kevin hailed down a car and the driver very kindly raced after the bus with Kevin in the car. This is Kevin been brought back having caught up with the bus and retrieved his belongings. We can't take Kevin anywhere!

Back to Philippi. In 42 BC the Romans fought and won a battle and converted Philippi into a Roman colony. The beautiful amphitheatre was built during the Hellenic period and continued to be used by the Romans with some alterations.   

Another event which changed the personality of the city was the visit by St Paul, the apostle, who founded the first Christian church on European soil here in AD 49.

After the fantastic visit to Philippi we stopped at a little taverna in the town where we were treated to a delicious plate with potatoes, cheese, sausages, meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber and bread. All made specially for us.

We had to return to the old town in Kavala for a flambeid fried cheese starter. The name is Taganaki and is quite delicious when ouzo is used for the flambee fire effect.  

 And once again, Kevin left his jersey in the restaurant and had to run back to retrieve it.

It must be said that leaving or forgetting valuables in Greece does not seem to be a problem. There is always someone to help and valuables do not disappear.

Lagos to Kabala 19 May

We left Porto Lagos just before 7 am prepared for a 5 hour trip to Kavala. Started out very well with Leslie steering! The sea got a bit lumpy but the coastline was very pretty. Carl and Kevin thought that is was a wonderful trip. Leslie was lulled to sleep by the rocking and exhausted after 1 hours steering.

Passed the island of Nisos Thasos.

After nearly 5 hours Kavala was sighted. Although we were unsure whether it was just a rocky outcrop or if it really was Kavala. We were unsure as to where we should berth. We tied up between two commercial boats and C & K went off to find out how it is done in Kavala. They met a gentleman who has a berth we can use until Thursday. Very kind. For electricity and water we had to contact the Port authority. Very friendly reception and water & electricity connected. 

Muhammad Ali, not the boxer, but the Viceroy of Egypt and the successful merchant of Kavala during the Ottoman rule. 

Some information about Kavala: Kavala, previously known as Neapolis, gained importance during Roman times as the port serving Phillipi. ( we will visit Phillipi tomorrow for more info). Following the assassination of Julis Ceaesar in AD42, Brutus and Cassous gained control of Eastern part of Roman Empire. Brutus stationed his fleet in the harbour at Neapolis. In the battle of Phillipi they were defeated by Anthony and Cleopatra. Brutus and Cassius misjudged their strategy and following a truncated battle, first Cassius then Brutus fell on their swords. ( does this mean that they committed suicide?) 

St Paul is said to have stopped here 7 years later, was arrested and prisoned, a pattern that was to follow him on his travels.

Lellebelle in the marina, right in the middle of the town where all the bars and restaurants are situated. We have a wonderful view of the old town with the fort on top of the hill

Alexandroupolis to Lagos 18 May

We left Alexandroupolis at about 10 am with the plan to reach Porto Lagos in the early afternoon. We were originally planning to get to Kavala, but our friends the police, the customs and the coastal police needed a number of papers to be signed and stamped, so we had to change our plans. We had a smooth 5 hour run to Porto Lagos. We were in dire need of a swim and after contact with the only other occupied boat, Peter and Pauline from Berkshire, we were directed to a beach.

After a walk through a previous summer holiday place, all neglected now, we walked across 30 metres of strange see weed. Spongy and springy and the most amazing round spongy balls, perfectly round, which could be some type of sea plant? Or sea weed? The water was shallow and warm, but we were able to take a ice cold shower in Pedros boat yard. The shower, toilet and washbasin was housed in a tiny shack at the far end of Pedros boatyard. We got electricity and a berth for nothing!

The little Marina at Porto Lagos. The marina was on a sort of lagoon, no swells reached us, but the mosquitos found us!  This area is a nature conservation area and bird sanctuary. There is a large lake behind the town where, according to Paul, numerous bird species can be seen. We saw about 50 black egrets.

Dinner at one of the three waterfront restaurants. How to choose? They have fish as a speciality. Carl and Kevin ordered pork fillet and were given enormous helpings of pork, but not fillet. The food was however very tasty. Leslie ordered the fish, which was fresh but not that tasty. Although the buildings on the Main Street were very neglected, parts of the town looked ok. If one would consider coming back it would be to discover the wetlands and birdlife in the area. 

Canakkale to Alexandroupolis 17 May

As planned we left Canakkale at 05.10 and set off for the 8-10 hour trip to Greece and Alexandropolous. 

Passing the Turkish monument at the entrance of the Dardanelles.

Entering the harbour Alexandropolous

At the station.

Leaving the Dardanelles, Turkish monument 

Leaving the Dardanelles, British monument and lighthouse.

Happy sailors!

We had to check into EU at Alexandropolous. Not as bad as Checking out of Turkey, but we have to wait for some authorities tomorrow. So we are not sure when we will get away. It being Sunday, we could not get a proper berth in the marina. This is where we spend the night. Quite a swell from passing boats. At least we had electricity and the use of a builders portable toilet. Alexandroulpolis, a friendly town. Lots of people out and about in the evenings, restaurants full and food good.we had a Greek salad, tsasiki, Kalamari and souvlaki. This is probably not the last time we will have this menu.

The army band was out playing a marching tune.