Tuesday 15th May Meganisi

Tuesday 15^th May

At the moment I’m sitting in the tent looking out over the beach we found in the south west corner of Ambelaki Bay at rain falling on the water. We’ve been in Greece two weeks now and this is the first rain we have had since we crossed the channel into France. The forecast said it should have been yesterday but last night as we got into bed there was a terrific thunderstorm and rain. Fortunately the bay is really sheltered although I did hear one of the other boats that had moored for the night move their anchor in the middle of the storm. We had three other boats moor overnight in our little bay, usually there has only been a Swedish boat and the odd yacht that has called in for an afternoon lunch stop.

We were intending to sail over to Mitika on the mainland today but as the tent was so wet and it has continued to rain off and on we have decided to postpone until tomorrow. Another day here won’t hurt as it really is quite a beautiful spot, only trouble though with camping under the olive trees is it continues to drip water, pollen and leaves on the tent long after the rain actually stops.

Viv made really nice savoury pancakes last night with local sausage and ratatouille which we washed down with a couple of glasses of local red plonk. One good thing about camping a few days is it has brought the budget back on line as things are much more expensive than the last time we were here.

Having given the routes some thought we have decided to go over to Mitika then sail back and explore the islands of Kalamos and Kastos for a few days before then sailing across to Ithaca possibly via the little island of Atoko. We had considered going back to the Amvrakikos Gulf as it had more wildlife and seemed less commercial but it would be a fair old trek back up the coast and then back to Kephalonia to meet Gareth next month. The original plan to sail down to Patras and then across to Zakinthos is on hold for another year maybe.

From where we are camped it is about 10-15 minutes to walk over the hill into Vathi the main town on Meganisi so at least we are close enough to get fresh bread and provisions if needed.