The Ionian Islands, Corfu and Paxos

A sailing holiday within a holiday, 1 May 2008 to 30 July 2008

We had a vague plan to head from the north end of Corfu to Kefalonia or Zakynthos before heading east through the Corinth Canal or around the south of the Peloponnese. All that we read about the Ionian encouraged us to get here early in the season before the crowds and flotillas and charterers made it less enjoyable. We'd been told that by August the bays would be very full as the Italians arrive en mass for their summer holiday. 

Apologies first - we've tried to be brief in writing about our travels, but it never works!!

Ay Stefanos, Corfu

After leaving Corfu Old town, our first anchorage stop was in my name-sake bay Ay Stefanos, at the north east end of Corfu. It was an idyllic place, but a Sailing Holidays flotilla had already beaten us to it. Never mind – there was still plenty of room. The taverna to the right as you look at the beach has prize for the most overpriced and poor quality meal in Greece yet!  You can easily see Albania across the water, and occasionally a Greek patrol boat cruises up and down looking for trouble. At night the ferries that ply this stretch of water produce waves that reach into these eastern bays, making you fall out of bed in the night.

9th May – Petriti, Corfu

A relatively unspoilt fishing harbour with a few tavernas, occasionally visited by a sailing flotilla. 

It was free to stay on the concrete wall, with the bow (front) anchor out and tied to the quay at the stern in the normal Mediterranean manner. Its free because the local businesses benefit from the tourism of sailing boats. There was a free water supply on the quay so we did our laundry too. 

One day the fishing boat came in and gave us a big bag of anchovies. Stu occupied himself for the rest of the day filleting them and we ate anchovies in various recipes for days. 

10th May – Sivota Islands/Mourtos Greek mainland opposite Corfu

This is a beautiful anchorage, very protected from the weather and enclosed, so it feels like you are in a French river. We went ashore to the town to find the port police to attempt to get stamped in and out. They started to get the quadruplicate book out and asked us where we had moored. When we said we were at anchor, they dismissed us with a wave. They told us that if we anchor we should just report to port police once per month for a stamp. This is the advice that others have had but none of the officials are willing to put it in writing! 

While at anchor Stu was fiddling with the anchor hook leaning out over the chain. I looked up in time to see his legs disappear through the bars of pulpit in a perfect dive! He managed to grab the chain as he went, and then the chain hook landed on his head giving him a little gash for his efforts. 

It was the first swim of the season, and he didn't spend long at it. He got out, had a warm shower and got dressed, then realised that his sunglasses had been on the top of his head before 'the accident'. So he had to have the second swim of the season to retrieve them from the bottom!

12th May Lakka, Paxos

After a short motor we arrived at a new island. We had arranged to meet Kate and Davy (Roamer) here and we spent a couple of days catching up with their news since we stayed with them in Malta. 

The bay is pretty and lovely clear water for swimming but the town touristy and priced accordingly so we didn't stay long before we motored around to the west coast. The cliffs are gargantuan and peppered with caves. To the right of the photo you may be able to see the cave that had recently collapsed into a big pile of stones and trees.

14th May Gaios, Paxos

We moved a whole 8 miles today and moored on the quay next to the seaplane dock. This was very convenient for a walk into town, but we didn't really enjoy aviation fuel fumes in the cabin at 7.30 every morning. The manoeuvrability of the seaplanes is impressive, as is the short distance they require for take-off and landing. We were amazed that there was no boat on patrol to clear the area of boats, but it manages to come and go without landing on anyone's head!

The seaplane moors alongside us at Gaios

Feeling that we should do some exercise before the summer arrives and it gets too hot, we got the bikes out and went for a cycle. In the usual mad dog fashion we got organised by around midday just in time for maximum heat and sun! In Paxos you only need 2 gears on your bike, first gear for going up and top gear for going down. There is nothing in between. We went off looking for a nice coastal path, but this involved going over the highest hill on the island first, then exploring every road in case it led us back around the coast – they didn't – just down to a cove and then back up to the same road again! We liked it so much we went and did it again the next day!

We can only spend 72 hours in company with Roamer before we mutually have to have a liver-recovery break, so we waved them off, they went north to Corfu and we went to Mongonisi, a landlocked anchorage at the south end of Paxos. 

Mongonisi, Paxos

20th May Preveza, Greek mainland

After a wonderful upwind sail at 7 knots, we crossed back to the mainland to the busy Greek workaday town of Preveza. It was tempting to stay on the quay, and it rumoured that the port police were yet to start charging. We found out later that the glamorous bars and restaurants on the newly poshed-up waterfront are active and loud until the very wee hours, so we were happy that we'd chosen to anchor a little way off the town and come in by dinghy. 

The weather deserves a mention at this point, only because we had about 2 hours of rain on 22nd May. It soon passed and after an hour everything was dry again. 

We took the dinghy across the busy fairway to have a look at the 3 huge boatyards side by side, Cleopatra, Preveza and Aktio. There must be about 1000 boats in each yard, testimony to the number of people who keep a yacht in the Ionian and have it launched just for 3 months in the summer. We subsequently met a lot of yachties doing just that. We got prices for a haul out and hard standing - all very similar, not surprisingly, and a fraction of the cost it would have been in Italy. Then we thought about the heat and the joys of antifouling when the paint dries on the roller before you can spread it on the boat, and we decided to carry on scrubbing the bottom of the boat from the water, until we winter the boat in Turkey. 

The names Aktio and Cleopatra reflect the historical significance of Preveza, as this was the site of the Battle of Actium in 31BC. The future Emperor Augustus routed the fleet of his adversary Mark Antony who was accompanied by Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, thereby deciding the fate of the Roman Empire and the history of the Mediterranean. 

Preveza stands at the entrance to a large inland sea, called the Ambracian Gulf. We sailed inside and anchored in the north west corner, looking across the 30 mile wide sea. All around us fish jumped out of the water and pelicans swirled around the sky looking for food. 

We wandered ashore and found the road. A short walk found us at the ruins of the Nikopolis (Victory City) founded by Augustus in 30 BC to commemorate his success at Actium. We were about to clamber across the grassy banks to the ruins, when we remembered that the guide book said to watch out for snakes. A little further along the path, we saw a big brown snake (5 ' long and as thick as my wrist) and were very glad that we hadn't gone on a foray into the undergrowth! 

Nikopolis ruins

Can you spot him?

All around us flowers sprung from every crevice, birds chirped and insects jumped. It is an area rich in nutrients and the presence of so much flourishing nature is testimony to the lack of intensive farming and pesticides. 

24th May - Vonitsa, Gulf of Ambracia. 

A lovely laid back Greek town, still waiting for tourism to happen. Free berthing on the town quay which is in the process of having moorings laid. The water is free here, and is straight out of a spring, so the quality is exceptional.

We met another kiwi boat, Kiwi Volant, with Gary and Maria on board. We enjoyed a couple of cheap and delicious meals at the local spiteria – like a BBQ without all the washing up. It has become a regular quest throughout Greece, to search out good spiterias as they are the best value and tastiest food. 

Another Sailing Holidays flotilla arrived and provided an early evening of entertainment as they crossed anchors and bashed into each other and into the quay, broke down, and generally demonstrated their startling lack of experience and knowledge of all things nautical.

This chap really fouled up; he has one anchor chain under his bow, and another between the keel and rudder. After being untangled he left the bay with his tail between his legs, too embarrassed to try again.