Emergency haul out, stairway to heaven and outboard dramas

We dropped off our friend Jackie in Lefkada on the Greek mainland after a fun three weeks together aboard Sunday. She was off to Athens and onward to more adventures in Europe and Scandinavia

We then left straight away for the Ionian island of Paxos as we were on a mission to get to Corfu where we were picking up new boat guests – our great friends Peter and Cathy – just a few days later.

The small bay we anchored at in Paxos was gorgeous – with water the colour of a bottle of Bombay Sapphire! There wasn’t time to look around the island but we have made a pact to explore the Ionian Islands thoroughly next season.

We were treated to a rare rosy red full moon that night – unfortunately my phone camera was not able to capture the full beauty of this magnificent “stairway to heaven”.

On our way again and soon we could see the southern end of Corfu coming into view. We had made it in plenty of time to meet Cathy and Peter!

We anchored in Garitsa Bay where we had a splendid view of the 16th Century Venetian fort which we went to explore as soon as we were settled.

After a quick walk around the fort which was built on the site of the original Byzantine fortress, we headed for the “Old Town” of Corfu, now classified as an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Monument.

We were impressed with the architecture in the old town of Corfu which was very different from most other Greek islands we have visited.

There were many rows of grand but faded mansions – more reminiscent of the “shabby chic” of Paris or the streets of Milan than Athens or any other Greek city. Hardly surprising really as Corfu was ruled by the Venetians for four centuries and the French occupied the islands during the Napoleonic Wars (1807-1814).

The area was bustling with many busy shops and attractive restaurants and is dominated by the impressive Spianada – the largest square in the whole of Greece.

The following day we saw our first rain of the season! It felt like quite an event and we enjoyed watching the rain bouncing off the water and listening to the thrum of the fat drops drumming on our roof.

Cathy and Peter were arriving the very next day so we were hoping that the rain clouds would be blown away by the time they arrived which fortunately they were, leaving behind pink tinged clouds and beautiful clear air.

Although they had gone through quite a day – finding themselves “bumped off” their flight, waitlisted and eventually getting on the flight after all and then experiencing delays, Cathy and Peter were all for a wander round the old town and dinner out that evening.

Jonathan went to meet them at the “Mayor’s Stairway Dock” – very close to where we were anchored and a reasonable walk from their hotel.

They came on board to inspect their home for the next couple of weeks and then we hit the town!

It was so great to see them and we had a very happy evening together, with a lovely dinner in a backstreet taverna that served delicious food.

Half way through the meal the bells from a local church started to peal – a fitting welcome for our friends!

Their time on board started with a typical hiccup that yachties everywhere are totally used to. Jonathan went to collect them at the “Mayor’s stairs” – first Peter with the luggage which went fine. Then Jonathan was going back for Cathy and the wretched outboard (which had been playing up for a while) wouldn’t start. Meanwhile poor Cathy was waiting on the quay wondering what on earth was happening!

Eventually Jonathan was able to get the outboard going but as he approached the pick up point the engine stalled. He drifted in and tied up but no matter what he did he couldn’t start it again!

Extremely fortunately a fellow yachtie we had met in our last days at Viaport Marina, in Turkey – Chris from Lowana – happened to arrive at this point and offered to tow Jonathan and Cathy to Sunday. What a fortuitous meeting – thanks Chris!

We were hoping for a day to explore Corfu but ended up having to spend the day at a local boatyard in the next bay around where we had to haul Sunday out of the water to replace the depth sounder which had been flaky for a while and had suddenly totally packed up.

Not a great start to Cathy and Peter’s time aboard but luckily they embraced it as “all part of the experience”!

It was quite an interesting exercise as rather than being hauled out by a massive travel lift or a huge crane, we were pulled out by a very ancient and slow moving pulley system – the time honoured traditional method of pulling boats out of the water.

Although the equipment was antiquated and unsophisticated, it did its job well, if rather laboriously. It felt good to have a working depth sounder again!

Before we set off for Albania, Cathy and I walked up to Corfu Central Market to stock up with fruit and veggies for our trip. Overall the market was quite disappointing compared to the fabulous Turkish markets – and a lot more expensive but we still managed to get all the essentials.

On our last day in Corfu we noticed a coast guard boat going round the anchorage and stopping at some boats for “a chat”. For some reason, even though we had nothing to worry about and hadn’t done anything wrong, it still made us feel a little nervous – just in case the coast guards were issuing fines to boats who transgressed an hitherto unknown misdemeanour. However, it turned out that they were just informing boats that had anchored close in that the Varkarola Festival would be taking place the following day and that they would have to move.

When it was our turn we regretfully told them we were leaving the following day and wished we could stay to watch but as our 90 day Schengen entitlement was coming to an end we weren’t able to stay the extra day.

The Varkarola Festival is basically a recreation of a battle against the Turks that took place in 1716. Legend has it that the patron saint of Corfu, Saint Spyridon, worsened the weather conditions, creating an unfavorable battlefield and halted the advance of the Turks, who were otherwise well on their way to conquering Corfu and the rest of the Ionian islands.

As well as the mock battle, local bands and dancers entertain the crowds and at the end a boat is set on fire to commemorate the burning of Turkish naval ships during the 1716 siege. No wonder the Coastguards were asking nearby boats to move!

Before leaving Corfu we decided to visit the archeological museum which conveniently, was very close to our anchorage. But first lunch!

We landed at a small restaurant -over the road from the museum – called Fishalida’s Garden. It turned out to be a real find and although we just had a light meal if shared entrees, each morsel was mouthwatering. If we get back to Corfu next year, we will definitely return!

The Archeological Museum was well worth a visit. Built to exhibit the huge Gorgon pediment of the Artemis temple which was excavated in Paleopolis in the beginning of the 20th century, it has been gradually been expanded to house other major finds from Corfu.

There were some items on display that I’d never seen in any other Turkish or Greek museum before – for example the jawbone of a hippopotamus- who knew that they once existed in Greece?!

Another interesting item was a child’s feeding cup – solid food would be mashed up on the top and the liquid would fall down into the cup and be fed to the child through the spout. Ingenious!

Our last night in Greece was spent enjoying a beautiful sunset and a drink or two on Sunday’s foredeck – looking forward to seeing what Albania had in store for us in the coming days!