Back in Greece (Kalimnos and Leros) and packing up

In the morning, we fuelled Bisou one final time for the season (the fuel dock is just outside the marina on the south side) and headed north to Kalimnos.  We were able to sail a short distance before being back to motoring as our heading took us head on into the wind. 

We had initially planned to anchor in Ormos Emborios at the northwestern end of Kalimnos, but after several failed attempts to get the anchor to hold we resorted to picking up a mooring in front of the small village (?) with three tavernas.  We chose Captain Kosta’s  and went ashore for a short walk  through this charming place and have dinner.

   Kalimnos:  A local basket maker and vendor - I bought one (a basket that is)!

                     
                                                A beautiful sunset over the bay at Kalimnos

Our third season on Bisou was gradually drawing to a close.  We had booked to be hauled ashore on the 11^th of October and it was now the 2^nd as we made our way north to the island of Leros.  With a number of anchorages to choose from around the island, we had decided to spend the last few days starting to pack up Bisou while still afloat.  Our first anchorage on Leros was the town of Pandeli on the east side.  It is not so much a town as a collection of guest accommodation, tavernas and bars, with a few boutiques thrown in.  There is a small harbour which has no room for yachts, but many tie stern-to along the rocks to the south of the harbour.  We chose to anchor in a sandy patch just south of that, off a lovely beach in about 6m of water.   Tad and Pat went ashore to a bar to watch a Manchester United game on tv and I relaxed on Bisou.  Later Tad and I went for a walk through the town but we ate dinner on Bisou.

Our next anchorage was a deep bay on the south end of the island – Xerokambos.  The head of the bay is quite shallow and there are moorings from several different tavernas – it is possible to anchor here but further out, and the holding is patchy.  We picked up a mooring and during the course of the afternoon two  Danish boats and a French boat joined us in the anchorage.  Later in the afternoon, while Patrick had a beer and used one of the taverna’s internet, Tad and I went for a walk to find the “Our Lady of Crabs” chapel (Panagia Kavouradena).  According to the legend, a crab fisherman found the icon of the Virgin while fishing for crabs near this area; he was bitten by a crab and the wound festered. He dreamed of a lady in black who told him to put the icon back among the rocks and his wound would heal.  He did so and built a small chapel in which to house the icon.  The wound healed and it was declared a miracle!  It’s a cute but tiny chapel in an exquisite location.

Panagia Kavourdena

The actual icon inside the chapel

Xerokambos Anchorage

The "Hello" Taverna

There is a taverna at the head of the bay which we nicknamed the “Hello” Taverna due to the number of signs in which the word “Hello” has been written in so many languages.  We had a beer there but felt committed to having dinner at the mooring owner’s tavern – sadly this was disappointing – the cook/server/owner spoke no English (which was not really a problem) but took forever to bring us our food and in the end completely forgot about my main course (only realizing when she brought out the dessert!).  The food was very tasty, however, and as it was late we didn’t bother with re-ordering.  We were rather surprised to see that the other boats who had taken up moorings never bothered to go ashore and even purchase a drink in return for using the mooring.  This sort of behavior will lead to charging for moorings in the future I fear!

Being a pleasant place to stay, we remained for a second night in Xerokambos but moved on to Lakki Harbour the next day to rendezvous with friends.  Lakki is probably the least attractive place in Leros and most visitors get off the ferry and go straight on through to some of the other more popular parts of the island.  It is filled with Italian Art Deco buildings on the waterfront which must have been rather spectacular in their day but now are crumbling and no longer in use (although there is scaffolding on one or two buildings which is promising).  It’s a quiet sort of town but exploring the back streets will uncover all sorts of delights!  There are two marinas – one is an actual marina and the other really just a town quay.  We chose to anchor in the harbor where the holding is good.  We met up with our friends the Boardmans, whom we had met initially in Tunisia and stayed in touch.  They had recommended the boatyard we planned to use for storing Bisou over winter and we were thrilled to see them again.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Lyxnos Taverna just a short walk from the waterfront (this tavern specializes in home-grown organic vegetables and local produce).  It was a fun evening catching up on both our travels over the previous year.

Some of the buildings around Lakki harbour

The cinema - under restoration?

Lakki Harbour

Dinner with John and Terri  Boardman at Lyxnos Taverna in Lakki

It’s always hard to get used to a busy harbour or town when you have been anchoring in quiet bays so after just the one night in Lakki, we moved north to a small group of islands known as Archangelos – just a mile north of the northern end of Leros.  Here, the only noise came from the occasional goat bell and the waves lapping onshore.  Unfortunately we couldn’t stay more than one night because the winds were due to turn southerly (this anchorage is completely exposed to the south) so we went into Ormos Plakhoudi nearby.  We spent the next two days there, washing, sorting and putting away various boat items, including the sunscreens, fenders, clothes, etc. so it was not all relaxation and fun!

The peaceful anchorage at Nisos Archangelos

Bisou at her final quayside at Artemis Boatyard, Partheni, Leros

Bisou's very slow hauling ashore

Our 'puddle hopper' Aegean Airlines flight to Athens

Our last two nights afloat were spent back at Nisos Archangelos almost completely alone – this place becomes very crowded in the summer as it’s an easy trip from Lakki for the local motor boats, jet skis and day-trippers – but for now it was peaceful and lovely!  It was time to ‘pickle’ the watermaker for storage, clean out the holding tanks of the toilets, and start packing.

The day to haul Bisou finally came and we moored up to the small quay outside the boatyard.  Artemis Boatyard on Leros is a small, family-owned and run boatyard literally beside the airport runway (there are only two flights a day during high season and one when we were there so very little noise).  They have a tractor with a trailer to haul boats and although we knew they could haul us it was a rather nerve-wracking experience!  They were extremely careful and did everything very slowly and although it took about 3 hours from start to finish, eventually Bisou was in her parking spot, propped and ready for the final business of packing her up.

Because of its location, being rather remote, a rental car is a must for anyone considering using this boatyard.  There are no shops, restaurants or any facilities within walking (or even cycling) distance and the road to the main road is unpaved.  Apparently there is a town bus that comes by twice a day but since one can rent a car (we used Giannakis Rentals) for EUR 25 a day, it makes more sense to be somewhat flexible.

Patrick left us a couple of days after we lifted Bisou, and we took him to catch his ferry to Athens.  From then the time flew by as we finished packing, washing, drying, sorting and closing everything up, as usual, hoping that Bisou would weather the winter safely.

The people who work at Artemis were so friendly and helpful, we felt quite reassured that all would be well.

We spent the last couple of nights at a nearby hotel (Marilen Hotel) with incredibly hard beds but convenient and a friendly host, before boarding our very tiny propeller flight to Athens and heading back to Sydney.

Back in Greece (Kos)

We motored slowly (to make water) to Kos and by noon were tied up alongside on the outer mole of Kos marina.  It’s not a huge marina, and we might have stayed in the Old Town harbour had we known more about it, but we were planning to drop off Karl (Tad’s eldest son) who was catching the ferry to Athens in a couple of days.  The marina is curious in that the entrance is open to the prevailing northerly winds!  As such, where we were tied alongside, we had a considerable swell coming in over the next few days as well as plenty of wind – not particularly comfortable!  The berths were all occupied and a flotilla came in while we were there as well so the place was packed!  As well, being on the outer mole meant that we were a good hike from the toilet/shower block, so out came the bicycles to make that journey a little faster!

Patrick raising the Greek and Q flags

Patrick sitting under Hippocrates' Plane Tree

The citadel of Kos looking towards the old harbour

View from the marina end of town looking towards the Old Harbour

An afternoon walk into town for me to clear us in, get us checked into Greece and obtain all the necessary documentation, while the boys wandered through the streets (and of course found a cheap beer!).  We also found the tree under which Hippocrates was said to lecture to his students and took a photo of Patrick there (he is hoping to study medicine in the future).  That night we had a delicious dinner not far from the marina – I mention it because it doesn’t look like much but super-friendly service and great value – it’s called O’ Sakis and is about 200m from the northern exit of the marina on the west side of the road into town.

Of course a visit to the Aesclepion was a must so we rented bicycles for the two boys (and used our own as well) to ride the few kilometres to the site. Of course not everything is well marked and we took the ‘scenic’ route which was mostly uphill but lovely and quiet with no traffic.  The town of Kos is practically an archaeological site in its own right with ruins everywhere, and so there were lots of stops to take a look both on the way to the Aesclepion and on the way back.

Taking the back roads to the Aesclepion

Some of the sights along the way

View from the top of the Aesclepion

The Aesclepion is a magnificent site with spectacular views and must have been a very inspiring place to learn and be healed once upon a time.  There is a small ‘museum’ with a slide show to one side of the site to which very few people venture but contains some very interesting information.

We cycled back to town for lunch and a visit to the citadel/castle.  Mostly ruins, but beautiful views over the town and across to Turkey.

The Old Harbour Kos

View of the citadel Kos

View south from the Citadel towards the marina in the distance

The next day we decided to explore the island in a little more detail – we rented a car and drove south to Kefalos for some more lovely views over the island.  We discovered a beautiful beach at Agios Stefanos with a tiny island just off the beach (the water is so shallow you can almost walk there but you do have to swim a short distance), with a cute chapel ashore.  There are some ruins at the northern end of the beach. We enjoyed a couple of hours of relaxation on rented beach chairs, and enjoyed being ‘land lubbers’ for a short while.  In the afternoon we drove to Palio Pyli, high up in the mountains on the north side of Kos and discovered a ‘taverna’ at the end of a dirt road and up some steps (see Lonely Planet Guide for Kos).  It’s called Orena Taverna and is run by a man who lives alone up there in the summer.  He produces some rather amazing food (we just let him bring us what he wanted to, which ended up being grilled meat, salads and dips with lots of bread) and with the most spectacular view of the 1000 year old ruined fort and the sea beyond, we were in 7^th Heaven!

Agios Stefanos beach with the small islet in the distance

The view from Orena Taverna - worth the hike up!

We then drove to Zia, another (much more touristy but still lovely) village town where we had an ice cream and bought a few souvenirs.  It would have been a great place from which to watch the sun set but I didn’t want to drive in the dark so we headed back to the marina and Bisou for the evening. 

Karl left the evening of the following day, so laundry, packing and generally hanging out was the order of the day.  We wandered into town for an early dinner and I checked us out of Kos (as we would be leaving the next day – the winds finally laying down).

In the morning, we fuelled Bisou one final time for the season (the fuel dock is just outside the marina on the south side) and headed north to Kalimnos.  We were able to sail a short distance before being back to motoring as our heading took us head on into the wind. 

Last Days in Turkey

Our time in Turkey was slowly drawing to a close – we anchored just north of Orhaniye in what appeared to be a lovely bay at Küyü Bükü, but turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The holding was soft mud and rocks so not great, and we were swarmed by wasps! The boys took great delight in chasing them with the fly swatters we had bought – then we got biting flies!  They all disappeared by sunset fortunately, but it wasn’t very pleasant.

The weather can be very fickle, and particularly when it blows a good deal more strongly than forecast.  We had a long day the next day as we made our way to Knidos, wishing to visit the ruins at the anchorage there.  We arrived in the late afternoon as the winds were gusting to 27knots from the NNW, so while the anchorage was somewhat protected from the wind (no fetch/waves) there is only a small spit of land between the anchorage and the open water on the other side so every bit of that wind was funneling straight through.  We attempted to anchor several times but there were already boats in there and it was rather shallow so we were limited in what we could do.  In the end, we gave in and went over to tie up to the long pier, willing to pay the price for a secure night.  Ironically there was a UK-flagged boat already on the pier on the side to which we wanted to tie, and as we approached, the ‘nice’ lady asked if we would mind tying up to the front of their boat so we wouldn’t spoil their view.  We obliged but holding our breath as the bottom was only centimetres below Bisou’s keel in that position!  We were gratified later as a large French sailboat came in about 20 minutes after we did and promptly tied up behind the British boat, well and truly blocking their view!  Once we had tied up securely, we went ashore to visit the ruins of Knidos before it closed for the evening.  Once a prosperous port town, the ruins are extensive and great fun to walk around with good views over the harbour.  We enjoyed exploring and then came back to the restaurant at the end of the pier for our dinner (that ended up being the payment for our spot on the pier).  The wind continued to blow all night, so we were happy to be safely tied to the pier rather than being at anchor in patchy holding.

View of the harbour at Knidos from the top of the hill above the ruins

The amphitheatre at Knidos

 The next morning we departed early in an effort to avoid strong winds off the northern cape, but it was still gusty at 7am.  We motored north towards Bodrum to have a look at the anchorage to the east of the citadel, but the forecast winds were not favouring us staying there so we decided to anchor at a nearby bay to the west of Bodrum, Aspat Köyü.  We anchored in about 5m of gravel/sand mixture in between patches of weed and had good holding.  Ashore was a resort (but not very busy) with a creek, so I took the kayak to explore.  It was a quiet place with a few people around (still windy) but the creek was lovely – eventually it got too shallow for even my kayak so I turned around.  At the resort I saw a cow wandering around the grounds!  The wind continued to blow all afternoon so we just relaxed, swam and lazed for the day.

Our anchorage at Aspat Köyü

 We had already made plans to get out of Turkey within the next couple of days and more wind was coming, so in order to facilitate our exit from Turkey we planned to stay at D-Marin Turgutreis.  For some unknown reason, the Turkish marinas were more than twice as expensive as their Greek counterparts – prime example being Turgutreis – we paid EUR 150 for one night on the end of a pontoon (alongside) here, while the next day at Kos, also alongside, we paid EUR 60 per night.  Admittedly the Turgutreis marina was very nice with all sorts of bells and whistles, but we used no water or electricity and it was hard to justify that much more money.  There is a small bay just to the south of the marina in which it is possible to anchor (in favourable winds), and had we known, we would have stayed there.  However, we did take advantage of being safely tied up in the marina to take a dolmuş into Bodrum (TL 5 per person, 45 minutes) and spend the afternoon exploring the fabulous castle and museum.  Well worth a visit!  On our last night in Turkey we enjoyed a delicious wood-fired pizza at a nearby Italian restaurant (just behind the marina)!

The Foley Family at Bodrum Castle

The view over the anchorage from Bodrum Castle

The ever-present Turkish coastguard (especially when Greece is so close by)

Although our passage the next day was to be a mere 6nm, the wind was forecast to blow fairly strongly and we wanted to leave early.  I had asked the local agent if we could check out the night before but that was vetoed; I then asked if we could check out early the next morning, but apparently the immigration and customs people were only going to be in the office around 10am when the local ferry went across to Kos and we could check out afterwards. In addition, our boat was required to be at the customs quay (ferry wharf) to clear out (likewise to clear in).  Fortunately we were the only ones clearing out/in the next day and so it was not too chaotic – also the winds were light at the time we needed to move from our place on the pontoon so no dramas – we heard a few other stories from other yachties who jostled for space on the ferry wharf to clear in/out!

The whole procedure took only 20 minutes and we were on our way to Greece (Kos)!