Envoy
is now cruising around Meganisi with our daughter Amy aboard.
I
meant to include this picture of Di in the Corfu market in an earlier
post. Although we've been mostly unsuccessful in our fishing
endeavors there is an enormous annual fish catch in the Med of 800,000
tonnes.
Di in Corfu fish and produce market
Fish shops and markets are common place, supplied by an estimated 82,000 commercial fishing boats employing 314,000 people. Virtually every seaside village has its own tiny shallow harbour, generally consisting of a simple rock wall providing some shelter to its fishing boat fleet - mostly boats under 10 metres.
Di in Corfu fish and produce market
Fish shops and markets are common place, supplied by an estimated 82,000 commercial fishing boats employing 314,000 people. Virtually every seaside village has its own tiny shallow harbour, generally consisting of a simple rock wall providing some shelter to its fishing boat fleet - mostly boats under 10 metres.
After
leaving Lefkas Marina we head south through the canal, initially
constructed by Corinthians in the 8th
century BC. It's always great to visit places for the first time and
we anchor in a stunning bay at the island of Nisis Arkoudian.
During the day there are five RHIBs anchored but we enjoy the
solitude of being the only boat there at night.
From
here it's a short cruise over to Ithica Island, said to be the home
of Odysseus in ancient times.
Many
nice bays are too deep to anchor in, being over 40 metres and
offshore the depth is hundreds of metres. We anchor in Ormos
Skhoinos offshore from a local family's holiday villa. They've had
the same caretaker for over 50 years, who lives in a beautifully
maintained wooden sailing boat alongside their jetty.
The family villa's caretaker lives aboard this unusually painted boat
Envoy at anchor in Ormos Skhoinis
Further out in the bay a superyacht is anchored looking more like a floating childrens' playground than a serious boat.
While a boat of this size would turn heads back in New Zealand, there are hundreds of boats like this in the Med and nobody really bats an eyelid.
Very close to this anchorage is a stunning unnamed bay with a rustic but ramshackle beach bar.
Sitting outside the bar is a very thin older
man looking like a biblical prophet cleaning some recently caught
squid that are covered in wasps. When Di and Amy commented on this
he replied “wasps don't worry me they are my friends.” We think this highly amusing as wasps
have been an issue in some bays and both Di and Amy have been stung.
Very few flies or mosquitoes though.
This ferry drives up onto the beach to disembark day trippers using a builder's ladder
We move on to Cephalonia, the largest of seven main Ionian islands, although there are many dozen smaller islands. I'm sure I've mentioned previously that this island is also where the events took place on which the novel and movie Captain Corelli's mandolin are based. That is in 1943 German soldiers massacred around 5,000 Italian soldiers of the Acqui Division who had surrendered and represented no threat to the Germans.
The family villa's caretaker lives aboard this unusually painted boat
Envoy at anchor in Ormos Skhoinis
Further out in the bay a superyacht is anchored looking more like a floating childrens' playground than a serious boat.
While a boat of this size would turn heads back in New Zealand, there are hundreds of boats like this in the Med and nobody really bats an eyelid.
Very close to this anchorage is a stunning unnamed bay with a rustic but ramshackle beach bar.
This ferry drives up onto the beach to disembark day trippers using a builder's ladder
We move on to Cephalonia, the largest of seven main Ionian islands, although there are many dozen smaller islands. I'm sure I've mentioned previously that this island is also where the events took place on which the novel and movie Captain Corelli's mandolin are based. That is in 1943 German soldiers massacred around 5,000 Italian soldiers of the Acqui Division who had surrendered and represented no threat to the Germans.
First
we anchor in the harbour of Ay Eufimia, one of our favorite
anchorages. Here is a great butcher's shop where we are able to buy
New Zealand lamb chops and top quality fillet steak at surprisingly reasonable prices.
One
morning we walk inland up a gorgeous valley to an old Turkish village
called Drakopoulata.
The lush valley leading inland from Ay Eufimia
During the 1920s Turks living in Greece were sent home as were Greeks living in Turkey and now the village remains largely ruined.
This old building contains rusty remains of olive presses
Cruising down to Ormos Katelios we put our trolling lure in the water for the first time this year and catch a small tuna. It's far too small to eat but at least it proves the lure works.
The lush valley leading inland from Ay Eufimia
During the 1920s Turks living in Greece were sent home as were Greeks living in Turkey and now the village remains largely ruined.
This old building contains rusty remains of olive presses
Cruising down to Ormos Katelios we put our trolling lure in the water for the first time this year and catch a small tuna. It's far too small to eat but at least it proves the lure works.
This
is an interesting anchorage as it's quite shallow with many areas of
underwater rocks and requires great care. The locals have marked some
of the reefs and rocks with buoys which is a big help.
Looking down on Ormos Katelios
Looking down on Ormos Katelios
From
here we're heading to Cephalonia's capital – Argostoli.
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