Friday 4th May

Friday 4^th May

Woke up to cloudy sky that quickly became clear blue and very little wind.

We sat on an old boat in the bay and watched the Hermit Crabs and small fish feeding in the shallows in front of us whilst we ate breakfast of bread and cheese. Arthur the shepherd wandered back with his mixed flock of goats and sheep and after much handshaking we presume he wished us luck and wandered off. We told him his cheese had been good and we had had it with dinner and he grinned his toothless smile at us.

We set sail at 10:15 and ran out into the bay until the wind dropped and we had to motor back in Vonitsa bay where it picked up top a steady F1-2 before settling down to a F2 with the odd hole. We sailed across the gulf on a decent reach for about 6 miles arriving in Koronisia at 113:15 and show boated a bit for the locals coming in and berthing under sail!!

Just after we berthed the wind increased from the steady F2 to a steady F5 with lots of white caps and decent swell and stayed that way for the rest of the afternoon. We were intending to sail back out to one of the islands for the night but as it was so windy found a little corner of the harbor to tuck into for the night.

One down side of sailing a small boat is having nowhere to sit inside but because we were sitting on the quay side we did get a cracking view of a big turtle swimming about in the harbor and watched it for about 20 minutes or so.

We decided to eat in the nearest restaurant after they came and asked us if we were coming in, dinner was either fish or meat, no menu and they seemed to make the price up to suit. Dinner was a large plate of squid, octopus and some sort of mullet with a Greek salad. The amusing thing was Viv had to converse in German with the staff. After we had set up the tent in a good force 5 with waves breaking over the breakwater a testing experience to say the least we went back for another wine before bed and were given a plate of anchovies and garlic potatoe salad.

The speed with which the wind picked up was a good reminder of what can happen and although we could have managed it I was glad we were safely tucked up in a sheltered harbor for the night. A rocky sleep but we could hear the fishing boats coming in through the night so they must have a really rough time as it blew a hooley until the early hours

A few pics!

Steve at the office, plug for laptop next to tap.!!!!

Wednesday 2 May

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Spent last night in the tent for the first time on the trailer seems strange this will be our home for the next seven weeks if all goes well. Still not quite sure how easy it will be to put up and down on the water but I’m sure we will manage. Sleeping in the tent there were all manner of weird noises not used to, frogs and crickets going like the clappers in the marshes at the back of the marina and animals running around the boat probably dogs but not sure during the night. I’m glad we were not in the land tent.

Woke up to another glorious sunny day and a very heavy dew on the boat. Caught the water taxi over to Preveza and registered the boat with the harbor police. Worth getting to the office early as it got really busy just after we arrived but they processed us very smoothly.  Cost E25-00 for a one off entry tax into Greece but no boat taxes or fees as it is too small. I thought the RYA said there might be a E1-00 fee for small boats but it appears they do not collect it at present. At least we now have an entry stamp and official recognition to be here and sail.

Paid the marina fees of E235-00 this includes launch, storage of the car and trailer and lift out plus use of facilities such as showers, washing machines and internet. It will cost E9-25 a night in the marina after launch. It seems E1500-00 is the standard rate for leaving a boat here all year talking to a few people with boats of different sizes.

Just looking forward to getting underway now, they may launch us early tomorrow any time after 08:00 if they have a spare slot.

Monday 1st May

Monday 1^st May

Well we have made it to Cleopatra Marina and parked the boat up ready to be lifted into the water on Thursday.

After our night in the Rocky Horror Hotel we drove on down to Ancona looking for a campsite, loads to the north of Ancona but none near it, eventually we found a place about 20 miles south and camped next to the sea, you could lob a rock from our pitch into the water if you wanted.

We did the Italian thing and strolled along the main street, I felt distinctly over dressed in my shorts and Viv wished she had put her lipstick and eyeliner on. We had an ice cream and then walked back along the beach to the campsite and had a couple of very welcome beers.

Each town we passed through on the way down had hordes of screaming swifts soaring around overhead and the campsite was full of what I think were Citril Finches that have a call like a Yellowhammer on helium gas!

Sunday morning we were up early and packed to get the ferry, it was quite interesting talking to the various people waiting on the dockside. A couple of Brits building a house on Lefkada, a Dutch couple taking their new boat to the same marina as us and a large group of Dutch caravaners going to Turkey for two months.

We camped out on deck for the night tucked up on the stern in our sleeping bags and had the place to ourselves, no surprise! The sunset though was beautiful and we woke up to the sun rising over Albania.

We arrived in Ingoumenitsa in bright sunshine, not a cloud in the sky and to my horror I had to reverse the car and trailer off the second floor down the ramp and off the boat. Not the calmest of ways to enter Greece. To the large audience of Dutch caravaners and other assorted interested parties.

We shall look for somewhere to spend the night in a nearby town and then set the boat up tomorrow sleeping on it overnight before taking to the water Thursday afternoon.

There is an internet connection here so we will check mail tomorrow (Wednesday) and possibly Thursday before we set off.

Saturday 28 April

Saturday 28 April

Set off from Schliersee after another fine breakfast at 09:30 in bright sunshine and as we headed south we could see the mountains stacking up with snow capped peaks.  We drove up the River Inn valley a “U” shaped valley with a wide flat bottom and steep sides to Innsbruck in Austria. The snow line was just about the same height as the top of the tree line and I kept seeing tops I wished I could go climbing on.

The Brenner pass was not as bad as I thought it would be, it was certainly worth while getting a motorway vingnette (pass) for Austria as the roads were great and we climbed without any trouble even hitting 57 mpg  on some of the downhill bits. The toll on the pass was an additional 8 Euros.

We stopped for lunch just after the summit and watched three eagles soaring and diving over the hills whilst we ate off the trailer cover stretching our legs.

The downhill trek into Italy was equally as beautiful as the hike up through the mountains, whereas on the German/Austrian side it was all green fields, flowers and snow capped tops. The Italian side reminded me of a huge version of the Cheddar Gorge in Somerset only with a motorway through it and Italian signs and it went on for over a hundred miles through the Dolomites with dry valleys, rushing green rivers and caves.

Once out of the hills we hit the flat plains of northern Italy that went for miles like crossing the Fens back home but for over a hundred miles! I have yet to figure out how to navigate in Italy and will be eternally greatful for the fact we have a Tomtom with European routes on it. How we would be expected to get through Ferrara without it is beyond me.

We eventually hit the coast around Rivenna and drove past large lagoons full of Little Egret, Flamingoes and Herons having covered 403 miles during the day. The temperature thankfully started to drop having hit 30 centigrade at times, not like home!

Our intention was to camp for the night but we couldn’t find anywhere and the one place we did get on to would not allow the boat on site. So at 20:30 we pulled off and drove up a side road until we hit a hotel in the middle of nowhere. It was a crazy place like arriving at the hotel in the Rocky Horror Show, all done out in gothic style with chandeliers, a four poster bed and suits of armour at the base of the stairs. There was even an Italian horror film on the telly when Viv turned it on. Apparently it was built in 1845 and used to be a regional Gendarme centre, then a finance centre for farming before becoming a police station. It was bombed in the war and then converted to a hotel.