Well we were right, the weather changed and we woke up the following morning to brilliant sunshine! The wind was still quite strong but the mooring on the town quay was safe and so we decided to stay for a couple of days to recoup from the passage and the bad weather.
Kassiopi is a lovely small town and although it is very ‘British’ it still has a certain charm. I am afraid that we did have a full English breakfast at the local cafe/bar – but we used the excuse that we needed their wi-fi internet access! Great grub in a fabulous setting overlooking the harbour and within spitting distance of ma Belle Helene. We were able to access their wi-fi when we got back on board although it had to be in the front cabin.
Later in the day after we had warmed up a little and dried off we had a lovely walk around the headland to a couple of bays. Although the sun was shining the water was very cold, as Justin found out after he fell in trying to scale some rocks! A beautiful spot though. Justin took the fuel container on the trolley the mile or so to the local petrol station to get some diesel – this should get us around to the fuel station at Gouvia on Tuesday.
By the evening, the sea had settled down and we had a comfortable nights sleep, although there was occasionally a very violent swell coming into the harbour caused by the Italian ferries steaming up the channel.
Our next door neighbour, Bill and his son Tom, aboard their yacht ‘Kite’, were very friendly and gave us some useful tips about cruising the Greek islands.
We decided to hire a car on the Monday (very cheap!) and go into Gouvia to get all of the paperwork sorted out for our sailing in Greece. An early start, and a beautiful drive down the coast to the marina at Gouvia – Oh and how pleased we were that we didn’t decide to come in here. It is a soulless dirty village with very little to offer! We parked the car and Helen did her stuff charming the Port Authority official and we soon had our ‘Boat Passport’ – a mere 45 Euros, much cheaper than Croatia. Justin left Helen in the marina Cafe having a coffee and made that ‘must do’ trip to the chandlery! We managed to get a new shower head for the cockpit shower and some oil for the windlass – all very exciting!
We then made our way into the old town of Corfu. Although all the gui,de books say that it is a little tacky, we really enjoyed its quaint streets and small shops. Justin wanted to try and get a sim card for mobile Internet access but the company offering it have just finished doing this! Oh well we will have to rely on Wi-Fi spots and internet cafes. Helen managed to find a Marks and Spencers but Justin managed to get her out without a purchase! We had a quick look at the old fort and then had a traditional greek lunch of Mousakka, before heading off to the other side of the island. We spotted another chandlers and bought another couple of fenders (very necessary when anchoring stern to with many other yachts), and some fuel and water containers. These should allow us to visit the more remote islands and still get fuel and water supplies.
We had a drive through the stunning mountains to the town of Paleokastitsa – a beautiful small holiday resort with many small coves, bays etc.
We then drove on to the very North of the island, to the town of Sidari and really wished that we hadn’t – what a place, Bill’s bar, fish and chip shops and amusement arcades, you could have been in Cleethorpes! Are we getting a bit snobby in our old age? A swift exit and a return to the boat – Justin took another trip to the fuel station (this time in the car) and gave a lift to the non-English speaking Italian neighbour, who was very grateful (I think!) Another good night’s sleep and this morning we head off to refuel and then make for the Greek mainland – Mourtos…. Oh and the sun is shining again!…
Wednesday – the sun is still shining! Justin prepared the boat whilst Helen went ashore for supplies. We said goodbye to our neighbours – a lovely family from Manchester – Dad is an architect and he designed the Taunton Odeon, what a small world.
Went along side the fuel berth and filled up with very expensive diesel and took on water, although the attendant didn’t appear very keen to let us have some! A can of Justin’s finest (cheap!) beer placated him somewhat!
We then motored around to see the old town of Corfu from the sea and made our ay across the straights to Mourtos on the mainland. The wind picked up and we had a lovely afternoon sailing. We anchored in a beautiful bay with one other British yacht and had the calmest night’s sleep for a while – no rocking about from the big ferries. We have just realised that Greece is in a different time zone and we are now 3 hours ahead of UTC! No wonder it is always so difficult to get Helen out of bed in a morning! We plan to go ashore this morning and then make our way to the next island of Paxos – Oh and the sun is still shining!…
We had a good run ashore in the morning – Mourtos is a small holiday town with a harbour surrounded by tavernas and small shops. We had a drink in a small, very busy taverna and then went to an internet cafe to check emails and the weather forecast. It was very hot so we had a quick swim when we returned to the boat and then set off for the island of Paxos. Not a breath of wind so we motored the 10 miles or so to the bay at Lakka, on the North of the island. What a beautiful spot with fantastic turquoise seas. We anchored quite close to the mouth of the bay as it was very busy and although we managed to get some sleep we were disturbed by quite a heavy swell and a bunch of drunken middle aged Brits on the next door catamaran – people enjoying themselves, outrageous!
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