Escape From Port Pandelimon

Saturday, May 18, 2013
Itháki, Ionian Islands, Greece
May 16
Port Pandelimon to Vathy, Ithaki
 
The conditions weren't looking great for crossing but there was no way we were spending another day fending off the wildlife in Port Pandelimon, so we raised the anchor and set off for Ithaki. The first hour or so was good sailing and then in an instant the wind disappeared. The sails flopped and we were standing still on the sea - our speed not even registering. We had basically dropped the world's longest anchor chain. Convinced the wind would pick up, we waited. And waited. We sat in front of the same tiny island for more than an hour. I took a nap, woke up and my view hadn't changed. Sadly though, even the prospect of movement was better than another day at Pandelimon. 
 
After a few slight course adjustments and some jiggering (technical sailing talk there) with the sails we were on the move again. Barely. But two knots per hour was two knots per hour further from Pandelimon. With under 10 miles to go the winds started kicking up. It didn't take long before we were at four knots. Then five... five point five... six. We were flying. It made sense. The weather report had called for Force-7 winds starting in the early evening. I'm not sure exactly how fast Force-7 winds are but I did know we needed to be anchored in Ithaki before they hit. 
 
The approach to Ithaki was gorgeous. Homes built into the hillsides. Tiny beaches along the shore. An even tinier church just up from the coast. We turned into a bay at the village of Vathy. The winds had really started blowing and the water was a little rough so rather than try to tie up along the quay we anchored off to the side, a short walk from the town.


 
There is no better description of Vathy than: it is not Port Pandelimon. Cafes, bars and shops line the waterfront. Narrow streets and tiny alleys reach back towards the hills.   If we were looking to explore Greek legends, this is the place to do it. Ithaki prominently figures in Homer's Odyssey and sites are scattered around the island. Before setting out in search of the mythical spots, we planned on taking advantage of our arrival in a village inhabited by more than cows, dogs and pigs. Hello tavernas. We've missed you. 
 
Walking around the bay to the village, Francis spotted a boat that looked familiar. It was the boat of a retired British couple that had spent the winter moored at the same marina in Sicily. We knocked on the stern of the boat to say hello and made plans to meet up for a drink later.  
 
The people in town greeted us a with mixture of "hello"s and "yasas"es. Vathy is a regular landing spot for boats sailing the Islands and anyone not Greek is often assumed to speak English. We finished our walk and joined the Brits for Alphas in front of a statue of Poseiden. Yes, this is the Greek Islands I had in mind.
 
Gordon and Ann invited us back to their boat for an after dinner (or in our case, after drink) drink. And about that drink... the most accurate description I can provide is: Moonshine Limoncello. The fumes that escaped when the cap came off were more paint thinner than liqueur. I sipped my way through the small glass but was too slow to react before another was poured. Thankfully I was able to cut it off at just about a quarter of the glass. Still, it would be a challenge. As would "walking the plank" from the stern of the boat back to the shore. And climbing from the dinghy back onto our boat.
 
May 17
Vathy, Ithaki

As you might imagine, Friday got off to a bit of a slow start - and it probably wasn't the best day for a 15 kilometer hike back in time to Homer-land. We finally made our way into town at about noon with the goal of hiking to the Fountain of Arethousa where Eumaeus, Odysseus' swineherd, is believed to have brought his pigs to drink (or at least that's what Lonely Planet told us).   

There was no map in any of the guidebooks though so we stopped at the Ithaki Archaeolgical Museum in hopes of being pointed in the right direction. We were told to drive up the main road 5 kilometers and then we'd see a signpost. Of course, we didn't have a car so we'd be walking the 5k - to which the museum worker responded, "Oh no, very difficult. You will drive." Except no, we'd be walking. From the signpost, Lonely Planet told us, it was about an hour hike to the fountain. The Pilot Book added the good news that it was rocky, hilly and exposed to the elements. Trifecta!
 
The walk along the road was straight uphill but we were making pretty good time. About halfway up we met with a couple heading back towards Vathy. We asked if they knew if we were heading in the right direction and they said yes (they had done the hike yesterday) but it was still about another hour's walk to the signpost. And then they said we should pick up a big stick at some point before reaching the mountain trail because, "You will need it for the spiders. There are so many of them." Perfect. 

My stick-finding skills, honed on Lost Animal Farm Island, didn't let me down and I found the perfect weapon. We named it Norman in honor of crazy captain Norman and his machete from the Caribbean. I started the hike on spider patrol and despite my constant stick waving, took a web right in the face. And that was enough for me. I relinquished my duties to Francis.  

  Francis proudly swung Norman up, down and around at the sight of any and all webs. There was the ill-advised attempt to run through four webs at once but he more than made up for that when he began singing the Spiderman theme song (which sounds even better in a Czech accent). How many spiders were there? Let's just say "there are so many of them" doesn't really do it justice. They were everywhere. And huge. And horrible. 
 

 












We reached the fountain after about 45 minutes of trekking through the rough and thorny terrain. It was mostly downhill and the footing wasn't awful but on narrow footpaths at the edge of a cliff, one loose rock was too many. 

The fountain wasn't much more than a trickle - it's been pretty dry around here lately - but it was cold and refreshing and we each took a turn rinsing off the sweat, grime and spider webs. 

The downhill outbound trail meant an uphill return to the road. Once we reached the pavement we assessed the damage to our feet and legs. Erika clearly was the smartest of the group wearing sneakers. My feet and lower legs were a mess, blisters outnumbered only by scratches. 


 

























 



















 











Then there was still the matter of the 5k walk back to Vathy. This part was all downhill though so at least there was that. We passed all manner of wildlife - the best being this donkey and his passenger... the worst being the snakes. They almost had me longing for the wild boar.


 
Our return to town brought us right by Gordon & Ann's boat and they invited us in for drinks. The memory of the moonshine Limoncello still fresh in our minds we passed and headed back to the boat to recover from our journey. In my case that meant an ill-advised leap into the bay. It hadn't gotten any warmer since our 50-mile sail from Argostoli.  
 




 May 18
Vathy, Ithaki

We spent most of the morning watching the local kids' sailing club in action. About half a dozen sailing dinghies narrowly avoiding crashing into each other as they practiced their skills - all under the watchful eye of a less-than-patient instructor and her megaphone. 

We finally made it ashore with just enough energy to wander some of the back alleys of Vathy. Dodger as usual made a new friend.  

 






















 
















 In a new stage in boat showering and in need of some hair washing, I filled a bucket (hopefully not the one we put our fish in, although who can be sure really?), and in a scene that would have been at home in Zero Dark Thirty, dunked my head and shook it about. Then did the same a couple more times to rinse the shampoo. 
 
We called it an early night in anticipation of the next day's sail to Fiskardo although we did have time to watch an episode of a contender for favorite new British sit-com. It's certainly not The Inbetweeners (more on them next time) but give Black Books a shot. 

 


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