Week 4: Corfu to Trizonia (150nm)

This week we travelled from Paxos (just south of Corfu) through the Ionian and then into the Gulf of Patras and Gulf of Corinth. It was a week of two halves, with the first part spent in the well-trafficked and yacht-friendly Ionian islands. This contrasted strongly with the second half in the Gulfs, which thus far have been characterised by semi-derelict (but still charming!) harbours and an absence of charter yachts. But what really made this week stand out was the people. Everywhere we stayed we met friendly fellow sailors, lots of whom were doing a similar thing to us. In particular, as we headed into the Gulfs, we found ourselves in with a group of liveaboard boats all heading the same direction and started to experience the vibrant community among them that we’ve heard so much about.

We started the week still in the bay of Lakka on the island of Paxos, south of Corfu. It was such a lovely place that we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to leave and so stayed a second day. This gave Alec another opportunity to get back in the cockpit locker and try to fix some more of the instrument functionality (this time calibrating the log, which measures the boat’s speed through the water). I think he’s starting to rather enjoy these forays?

On Sunday a good following wind was forecast, so we (somewhat reluctantly) decided to leave Lakka and make the long jump down to Lefkas. It’s a c.40nm journey, so we left at the crack of dawn to give ourselves as much time as possible to get there. With the wind directly behind us, we set the sails goose-winged again and were pootling along delightfully when it started to sprinkle. With no hazards around, we decided to head below decks to wait out the rain. This was where we went wrong – we should have got our wet weather gear ready in case we needed to go back out in it! But it had been such a chill morning… Then, as tends to happen when you’re least ready for it, a squall whipped up and the wind changed direction. The heavens opened just as we dashed back outside to fix the sails for the new wind direction, and we were instantly drenched! The wind in the squall was fickle and we had a bit of sea state, so Alec had to helm (the electric autopilot doesn’t really work in these conditions) and I decided to stay out with him for moral support. Water continued to pour from the sky, so eventually I headed back below to dig out all our gear, which we duly put on over our soaked clothes. This of course did not make us any drier, but kept us warm and provided a useful hood / visor to keep vision clear. We’ve learned our lesson now!

The downpour didn’t seem to be letting up, so after a while we decided to use it to our advantage. Alec got out the deck brush and gave the whole boat a scrubbing – which was wonderfully effective. He also suggested there was an additional benefit from the rain in that we didn’t need to take showers that day, though this I was more dubious about. We also caught our first fish! But we never actually saw it… it took our lure down with it :(!

Eventually it cleared, and we arrived at the entrance to the Lefkas canal about 10 minutes before 15:00. We were very pleased at this timing, because there is a large ferry bridge there that one has to pass to get into Lefkas town, which only opens on the hour. The bridge is really more like a barge that is exactly the width of the canal. Normally it sits “moored” across the canal to allow the local car traffic to cross. When it opens for the boats, it pivots itself sideways and tucks back in to the side of the canal. Very cool to watch!

We were excited to make it to Lefkas, as this was where we started our honeymoon in 2014, and we have so many great memories of the islands in this part of the Ionian. After a leisurely morning re-exploring the town, we set off to visit a bay a few miles south that we hadn’t been to before.

We joined the queue of boats heading down the Lefkas canal, which is a narrow, dredged waterway that separates the island of Lefkada (and Lefkas town) from the mainland. It’s a couple of miles long and quite a fun experience to motor down, because normally on a boat like ours you can’t go into canals! After this, it was only about 10 miles down to our destination in Nydri / Vlikho, which is a long inlet that ends in a wide, well-protected bay. The journey took us past “Tranquil Bay,” which we chuckled to note was completely and utterly packed full of boats – perhaps it had been named ironically?

We anchored up in Vlikho bay at the bottom of the inlet, and had a lovely afternoon playing with the paddleboard. I was delighted to discover that it makes an excellent tanning / napping spot when tied behind the boat. We were having such fun with the paddleboard that we even decided to use it as our mode of transport to the nearby taverna for dinner, which was much lauded by the other restaurant goers. We were extra pleased that we managed not to fall in either on arrival to or departure from the restaurant!

We’d had several people recommend visiting the waterfalls near Nydri, so the next day we dinghied over to the town. About an hour’s walk up into the hills alongside a creek, with a bit of a rock scramble towards the end, led to a spectacular waterfall surrounded by lovely rock pools. Alec even bravely went in for a swim (he reported it was even colder than the sea, so I declined). Well worth the trip!

We’d originally thought we might stay an extra day here, but after lunch the wind looked too good to pass up. We were very glad we went out, because we had a fantastic sail! We spent the majority of it steaming along at over 7 knots, rocking out to tunes and letting Serenity do her thing. We made for the island of Kastos, which was one of our favourite spots from our honeymoon. It’s a tiny little island with just one village, where there is an old windmill at the top of the nearby hill that someone has very cleverly turned into a brilliant cocktail bar. We toasted a great day there, enjoying the beautiful view out over the sea. There we befriended another English couple, and had a lovely evening sharing a few ouzos while swapping sailing stories.

My head was a touch sore the next day (nothing to do with the ouzo, honest), so I suggested we have a chill day here. This gave us time to plan out the next leg of our route (in between many naps), and ended up being very useful as it gave us a chance to chat to some of the other liveaboards moored nearby who gave some great recommendations for stopovers. We had thought we might spend more time in the Ionian this week, but were also keen to break new ground and decided to instead start heading towards Corinth and its famous canal that we have been so looking forward to!

Staying an extra day also paid off by giving us a chance to indulge in one of our favourite guilty pleasures, which is watching other boats come into the harbour to park at the end of the day. This may sound a bit dull on the surface, but where there are charter boats there are usually many novices, and this often provides extremely entertaining viewing. We were so not disappointed! Seven boats turned up at once, and all drove straight into the tiny harbour at the same time, leaving no one any space for manoeuvring. There was much yelling and gesticulating, and many near misses, but eventually four of the boats managed to squeeze in or anchor. The rest eventually gave up and just left! We had an excellent vantage point to enjoy the circus sat on our bow with a beer in hand :).

The next day we waved goodbye to the Ionian and headed into the gulf of Patras towards Messolonghi. This town is set behind a big salt marsh, so getting to the harbour requires going up another unusual canal. As we passed the first set of buoys marking its entrance, we were a bit shocked to suddenly find ourselves in southeast Asia. The canal was lined with a maze of little fishermen’s houses all on stilts in the marsh, many of which were clearly only accessible by boat. A hodgepodge of rickety piers and walkways connected things together. It was incredibly beautiful and very surreal! At the end of the canal we emerged back into Greece and anchored in the little bay. There was a marina there, but since they usually aren’t good value we’d ignored it. I’m glad we did, because we later ran into an older cruising couple on shore who knew the place well and explained the marina was in the middle of some legal / political mess. Apparently we’d have been fined for trying to moor there? Very strange – but then we are way off the beaten tourist track.

The couple were another set of cruisers, which was particularly evident from the port / starboard nail polish that the lady, Lynn, was sporting (she said it was a bit of a hazard, as it only worked if she was facing in the correct direction!). They were also headed towards Corinth, and we then realised that by chance we’d now become part of a little group of 5-6 boats all travelling together. They are on Nemesis, and we also have Ice Bear (Canadian), Buona Vista (Dutch) and several others. Each boat is full of delightful, friendly people, all keen to help and share tips (and beers), and who are generally a real pleasure to be around.

The next day, we all set off (at varying times) for Trizonia, a little island in the gulf of Corinth. Particularly fun on the journey there is that you have to pass under the Rio-Antirrio Bridge (which connects mainland Greece to the Peloponnese). This is a very cool bridge with the illustrious title of “world’s longest multi-span, fully suspended, cable-stayed bridge.” Forgive me, but I now need to share some cool bridge facts, because it is a real engineering marvel! The area here is prone to seismic and tectonic activity, so they couldn’t fix the four large pylons to the seabed. Instead, they sit freely on beds of gravel that allow them to move laterally in the event of an earthquake. The gulf is also prone to very high winds, so the cabling and roadway all are specially shaped (like a car spoiler) to be very aerodynamic. Finally, when it was built it apparently came in on budget and ahead of time – a true marvel, especially in Greece I should think!

We had to motor most of the day, so I took the opportunity to do a bit of cooking en route. We’ve had feedback that our blog is lacking in recipes. So, Duncan, this one’s for you! Today we’ll be making something called Ajvar (pronounced EYE-var), which is a Balkan condiment we discovered and fell in love with in Croatia. It is a sort of mild relish made from sweet red peppers and aubergine / eggplant. It tastes excellent on everything (sandwiches, eggs, pasta, you name it). Panic has been starting to set in lately because we only have one jar left, so it was definitely time to work out how to make our own. I have adapted the below from a consortium of local recipes, though note that it is not a terribly exact science – there is room for creativity!

AJVAR

Makes: approximately 1.5 cups. Active time: 1 hour. Total time: 2 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg (2 pounds) red peppers (the long, sweet kind are what they use locally, but I suspect any red peppers will do fine)
• 350 grams (3/4 pound) aubergine / eggplant
• 5 medium cloves of garlic
• 60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons vinegar (I used balsamic)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste

Steps:

1. First we need to blacken and then peel the peppers. There are lots of ways to do this, but I put them in a hot pan on high heat. You can also turn them directly over a flame, or even easier would be to do them in the oven under the grill (turn them every few minutes until you’ve got all sides blackened and the skin is wrinkled). When they’re done, pop them in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap / cling film while they cool.
2. While the peppers are cooling, use a fork to pierce the skin of the aubergine and cook it whole on a medium heat, either covered in a pan on the hob or in the oven until the skin darkens and wrinkles, and it is soft. On the hob it took 10-15 minutes (would be maybe 30 in the oven). Turn it every so often to ensure even cooking. When it’s done, take it off the heat and let it cool.
3. Core and deseed the peppers, and then peel off the charred skin. Cut the top off of the aubergine and peel it as well. Chuck the pepper and aubergine into a food processor with the garlic and pulse until fairly smooth. Alternatively, chop and then mash with a potato masher or forks (a bit more rustic, but just as delicious). Add in the oil, vinegar and salt, and pulse (or stir) until uniformly incorporated.
4. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and season to taste with pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to keep it at a simmer for about 30 minutes. Let it cool to room temperature, and then apply liberally to all your favourite foods! Should keep in the fridge for a week, but it won’t last that long :).

We finally arrived at the head of the bay on Trizonia about 17:30, and nestled ourselves in to the quay between an ostentatious gold megayacht and another cruising yacht (who had the cutest pug…). We’d heard a few tales about Trizonia harbour, and it definitely lived up to them. Its a bit of a boat graveyard – about 50% of the space is taken by strange, old boats, most of which are in terrible states of repair. Two have actually sunk, including a large ketch with just its masts left sticking out of the water. Very strange indeed! We enjoyed having a wander round to look at all the oddities, before joining our new Canadian friends on Ice Bear for a couple of beers to round out what was a truly varied and great week.