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.