July 12, 2006
Hi from Tapestry,
On Saturday we left Amorgos pretty much as we had planned. There was a bit of
a let-up in the Meltime and though winds were still in the 20 plus knots range,
seas had subsided to 1.5 Meters (about 5 feet) from their previous 3 meters and,
especially as we were going down wind, sailing was good.
Of course, there was a special challenge to this, our G.P.S., which we had
used since we purchased the boat in Annapolis failed to start. It would begin
to come up and then blink out. Again and again we tried, but it was dead. We
got out the Trimble and Magellen backups and both worked, but neither would
feed to the computer, so we went back to a more basic form of navigation. We
still had the computer for detailed charts, but we had to locate our position
manually. No big deal; everything was fine. Paper charts were spread out on
the table in the pilothouse; it was like the good old days. We reefed both
sails and left at first light. Astipalaia, a barren, brown and rocky island was
our goal. It was a forty mile sail, but downwind and by 2 in the afternoon we
slipped into the narrow entrance at Vhati, a small lake-like harbor where we
anchored with half a dozen other boats. One Turkish boat carried an American
couple from San Diego who had circumnavigated in the 80's. We had a nice visit
with them. There was a "taverna" ashore, and that was about it.
Brown hills descended to the water's edge. The following day we headed for Kos,
the home of Hippocrates, father of modern medicine. Winds had moderated, but
old waves soaked us and added another layer of salt to our very sticky vessel.
The harbor where we landed was ringed with restaurants and rental sailboats and
jet skis crossed and recrossed the bay.
Leaving Kos, we were out of the Cyclades and the winds dropped to nearly
nothing. We motored to Symi. Here we found a very different Greek town. The
Dodecanese Islands had been Italian prior to World War II and were ceded to
Greece after the Second World War. Unlike the cities in the Cyclades, where
buildings were bright white with blue trim, here homes and businesses were
painted in colorful pastel colors. The harbor was strikingly beautiful in the
afternoon sun. Fortunately, we arrived in early afternoon and there was plenty
of space along the wall for us. We motored to the center of the harbor, dropped
our anchor, and backed into the wall. A helpful sailor took our lines and
fastened us to the pier. We lowered our dinghy to just above the water and
extended our new "passerelle from the stern to the seawall. We adjusted
the lines and before long we had a wooden path from boat to wall, like everyone
else. Huge ferries bring tourists by the hundreds to the shores of Symi, but it
is an accommodating town and happy with swarms of people. Yachts from
everywhere line the shore until there is no vacant inch of wall space. The Port
Police are active, directing everyone to squeeze over to make room for one more
boat. At night music blasts from the many restaurants and laughing, talking
people roam the streets along with cars and motorcycles. One disadvantage to
our new passerelle was that it allowed us to be so close to town that it was
difficult to sleep until the crowds dispersed, about four in the morning. Of
course we could have closed the ports, but then we would have suffocated from
the heat. Take your choice.
One of the first things we did when we arrived in Symi was buy fuel. A shining
"mini tanker" pulled up behind the boats and both Dick and I filled
our tanks. At a Euro per liter, fuel is much cheaper in Greece than in Turkey.
This would be our last chance to fill up at reasonable prices. Later that
afternoon Julie and I walked around the harbor. We met a leather merchant there
who claimed Tom Hanks was one of his regular customers. He had coats of
Lambskin at the price of a luxury car, and spent nearly half an hour explaining
the meaning of quality in leather goods. He could have been a movie actor
himself with his deep voice and smooth manner.
The following day we climbed the steps up the center of town to the top of the
hill where the church was located. Several young ladies from the American
mid-west joined us and we had an enjoyable time. It was very hot- over 90 in
the sun. Half way up we saw an old Greek woman sitting on the stairs with a
large bottle of water. Kali Mera (hello) she said. and poured each of us a
glass of water. Then she placed a bag of herbs (oregano) in our hand and asked
for a euro. Rather a hard sell, I'd say.
Interestingly, much of the town in actually in ruin. There are elegant homes
built on the sides of the stairs that ascend the hill, but there are ruins as
well. Some have simply fallen into disrepair but many were bombed by the
Germans when they pulled out after World War II. It is not a happy memory for
residents here. Symi was a delightful town, but we were anxious to move on. So
Tuesday night, we again approached the harbor police and customs. Here we would
clear out of not only Greece, but the E.U. as well. With our papers in order we
walked first to the Port Police and then to the Harbor Control. In spite of
some problems with the internet our check out was, thankfully, smooth and
pleasant. At six the following morning we dropped our lines and picked up our
anchors as we headed east toward Turkey, and the middle East.
All the best, Hank and Julie