Well hello.... We have not fallen off the edge of the earth due to bad navigation, just had to travel to Scotland, but more about that later.
When we last left you we displaying increasing sloth like behaviour. On our last night in Sivota (Mourtos) we were rudely shaken out of this lethargy by increasing north westerly winds which were blowing directly onto the town quay upon which we had taken temporary residence. With the increasing winds came increasing waves (as tends to happen) and the boats along the quay were in danger of being blown onto the lovely inviting concrete structures.
Craig and I decided that we would do an anchor watch which was very hard due to all the happy, comfortable people who we could see sitting drinking in the Bamboo Cafe! Around 2 am the charter boat next to us started to drag it's anchor and was bashing against the quay. Soon the whole family (dad, mum and two kids) were rudely awoken from their slumber. It took a good hour of fending them off (both our boat and the stone jetties and quay), checking anchor lines, trying to calm the poor wife and mother (who had never sailed at night before and was panicking so much that she was screaming and wakening up anyone who had been lucky enough to sleep through the dramas) and trying to give them directions on where to go to get a safe anchorage. Craig nearly broke his leg jumping onto their surging stern to show them our pilot guide. Eventually we managed to get them off safely into the night and bid them well.
We decided to sit out the wee dark hours in Sivota and then head off at day break. We got a few hours sleep and after a quick trip to the supermarket and another neighbour dragging their anchor and bashing into the quay we made a hasty exit. We had been ready to head off all night just in case the proverbial hit the fan so we were soon on our way. It was actually quite sad to see Sivota disappearing into the gloom as we had become so fond of the place and we will definately return if we get half a chance.
We were planning to anchor around the corner between the island of Sivota and the mainland, however lots of other people had had the same idea and the anchorage was pretty crowded, so after checking on the German boat from the night before we headed off across to Paxos.
After a blistering beat across the bay (6 and a half to seven knots just under genoa) we inched our nose into Gaios on Paxos which didn't look very inviting at that particular time. We therefore continued on to Mongonissi, about ten minutes south of Gaios, and thankfully dropped our anchor in the reasonably sheltered bay. We had a bit of a sloppy night due to our position in the anchorage, but very preferable to staying in Sivota! We heard from some friends that the port police had actually chased everyone off the town quay at Sivota later on in the morning.
The following morning after the usual morning exodus of boats from anchorages, we decided to move slightly further into the bay for more shelter. This was to be our first major stuff up! To cut a long story short, Craig had rowed ashore that morning and spoken to a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy (you get the picture.....) and had decided that we were going to drop anchor near one of the tavernas and take stern lines ashore to the taverna jetty. There was of course a subtly understanding (unspoken of course!) that we would be coming to that same taverna for dinner that night (you get the picture......!).
Well, we dropped anchor and took a stern line ashore. Something didn't feel right and I had a bad feeling in my water...... Our stern line was rubbing up against a nice new motor boat tied to the same taverna jetty and I was getting concerned. There was a wreck in the water to our port side which looked dangerously close to the surface. Craig assured me that everything was fine and I went below to sulk and nurse that bad feeling. Soon after, I asked Craig to up on deck to check if we were OK as there was some change in the noises (you get very aware of 'noises' in this game) that I was hearing. Very soon I heard 'I need a hand up here'. Surprise, surprise.... we were dragging our anchor.
Craig rowed ashore quickly to release the stern line and then returned as we pulled up the anchor which was thickly covered in weed. Unfortunately, as we turned around to get out of trouble we (sorry, did I say we? Mmmmm..... think Craig was on the helm then!) got the mooring line of the lovely new motor boat caught around our keel. Craig, and about 300 people from the restaurant, were soon struggling to get us free. I was on the helm trying to stop us running aground / hitting the motor boat / hitting the wreck / hitting the jetty / making absolute fools of ourselves and soon we were freed with the only damage being to our egos. Unfortunately Craig was on the jetty and I was on Shirley so.... he had to swim! :-)
After returning virtually to where we had been before this debarcle we anchored again and took stern lines ashore, this time with no dramas. We swam ashore in the afternoon and ended up walking about 3 kms in our swimming costumes to explore Gaios. Not very good planning if I say so myself! Luckily it's fairly standard to see people walking around in swimming costumes in the Greek summer time.
We found Gaios to be a very pleasant little town and decided to return in Shirley Valentine in the next couple of days or so. We had dinner at the taverna in Mongonissi that evening where we met some very pleasant English men and women who were on Paxos for a 40th birthday party.
The following morning we decided to motor round to Gaios 'for a look'. Our impressions of the day before were amplified and when we saw a spot with our name on it on the northern end of the quay we decided to stay put. After a quick phone call to Freedom who thought they were meeting us in Mongonissim, we settled in. Gaios is nestled in behind two islands which make it very sheltered and calm. The harbour looks more like a narrow river and turned out to be a fairly happening place with the usual dozens of tripper boats coming and going taking tourists to swimming spots. There was a lovely feel to the town, which although 'touristy' has retained a real Greek feel.
Maree and Sandy on Freedom arrived early the next morning and we managed to squeeze them in next to us. They executed their first proper med mooring with great aplomb! Very polished! After a day of catching up, eating and drinking, the usual book swapping etc we went to a restaurant (of my choice) a little out of town to have dinner. Although it had very nice views and friendly waitresses, the food was pretty awful (don't trust me to choose the restaurant again guys!) and the mozzies were even worse. We couldn't understand why the restaurant was so quiet, however when we walked back through town we discovered that it was world cup final day! Nothing worse than watching a match with the commentary in a foreign language, especially when a goal is challenged and you can't work out why. We eventually managed to work out that Spain had won.
The next day I went for a haircut. I found a little hairdressing salon in the back streets of Gaios where I had to basically use sign language to indicate what I wanted done (I always wonder how I would ask for chicken breasts!!!). The 'Greek Mama' hairdresser, although lovely, did not seem like someone that I would like to mess with and I was pinned down while I was primped and preened, sprayed and gelled etc etc. There was no way my hair was going to move for about a month, but the cut actually wasn't too bad and a fraction of the price that I would pay back home for the same hours of attention.
That afternoon, we all hopped in Costas and motored around to a little beach on the other side of the island. We soon got talking to a group of Australians (can't get away from the buggers!) who were of Greek family descent and were holidaying on a charter boat with their cousin. I wish I was bilingual like that! I was so jealous of their ability to switch from one language to the other. Ah well....... We had a lovely swim and pottered back to our boats to get ready for dinner.
Our meal out that night was a lot more successful (Maree is much better at picking restaurants than me!).
The following morning, Craig and I decided to head south with Freedom staying put in Gaios for a few more days.
Anyway, more about that later.........
