Greece Log
Hi,
We are in Greece now exploring the islands.
So far this place is nothing like Turkey so we are finally out of the middle east! Our dealings with the
greeks range from friendly people in the country to downright rude folks in the tourist areas. Still it is a
nice country and so far fun to explore. Too bad they have not quite gotten the concept of trash bins...
Simi: A nice small very scenic island. You can rent a scooter for 15 euros and explore the whole place
in a day. The town is small and quiet at night when the day ferries leave taking all the tourist hordes.
There is great food and at reasonable prices. Now make sure to get the anchor set well when you do the
whole med tie thing and hope some idiot does not smack into you when they pull in during the normal
crosswind. Who designs a seawall that is not lined up with the prevailing winds?
Rhodes: We took the ferry from simi for the day and that was plenty. There is a bit of history to see, but
lots of tourists and cruise ships as well. I am glad we did not sail there.
Tilos: We only hit the southern anchorage and it was pretty much like anchoring in the NASA Ames wind
tunnel. Great for wind power at least! There is a very funky town just inland with just about jack to buy in
the way of food. It is kind of scary when you approach the store and a cat jumps out of the outdoor soda
cooler. It was broken of course and the owner was the usual gruff just don't give a damn greek that we
have run into way too much. There is a castle up on the hill worth hiking up for the views. We did meet
one great local that gave us a ride back to the beach and liked to talk.
Pergousa: Nice empty island and only the ocasional fishing boat ties up there. The anchorage would
be a bit uncomfortable for a monohull, but was fine for a cat. The snorkeling is the best so far and the
island is fun to explore with a couple of ruins and a few goats.
Marathos: Quiet island with three places to eat (two open this time of year). Just grab a mooring and
relax. Nobody hassles you and likely you don't even have to eat there, but one place had some nice
fresh fish for a decent price. Not too much to see on the island, but still relaxing.
Samos: Well all I can say is hell. This is seriously a tourist trap in the town of Pathagoria. The food is
pretty much terrible with two exceptions so far. The guide book even agrees with us so we are not
making it up! We have been stuck here a week waiting for new batteries to arrive from athens. You
know the one day shipping you pay for and is now 5 days late. They take nothing seriously here after
they have your money. The inland part of the island is quite nice with green hills covered in wild flowers
and trees. That might be a spring thing, but still it is worth renting a car for 30 euros to see. Suddenly
here they claim you need a proper motorcycle licence to rent a scooter so that is pretty weird. They
probably want you to upgrade to a car for more money. Watching the clowns on charter boats try to
anchor in all of 15 feet of water in good holding is pretty fun entertainment. The winner is 6 tries so far!
We have only been hit twice by boats that can't anchor, but the day is young. Don't bother with the
tourist info office, because they said it may be open next week or next month or more likely never. The
two best places we have found so far are the dutch run wood fired pizza place (go for the hawiian pizza)
and the scandanavia style place in front of the anchorage (look for the flags hanging up). The owner is
a nice character and likes to talk when you are the only customer late at night. The rest of the places we
have tried (both on the water and away from the water) range from bad to worse. Several times the cats
got wendy's food and I think they were even gagging on the overcooked dry meat! Supposedly this is
the home town of good old Pathagras and his triangle math formulas. I wonder how his food was?
Maybe that is why he had so much free time to play around with math...
Never use the yacht services place in this town! Not only do they mess things up, but then then royally
screw you on the bill. I ordered two things from them and both had hidden fees where they rip you off.
One is that the tax in athens is 19 percent and here it is 13 percent. So the first item she claimed I had to
pay the athens tax because it is coming to me not her company. I then get the receipt and it shows the
local tax of 13 so she pocketed the difference! The other small item was 6 new batteries for the boat.
She not only messed up the shipping so they arrived 5 days late, but they were sold to her company from
a place in athens at wholesale of course. She then charges me retail with the local 13 percent tax and I
think that is fair. After they come she tacks on shipping fees (twice I think) and then charges me an
agent fee of 50 euros for her time! Boy does she make a killing and she won't take my old batteries back
to recycle. I am now fighting for an actual paper receipt proving I bought these (already 6 month old
batteries so they must save the old ones for yachties) to validate the warranty! God you got to love
greeks for doing business with. So it is with great relief we are leaving!
Fournoi: Nice anchorage on the south end that is not really listed in the guide book. It does get windy
in there, but no swell at least. Not too much to see on shore unless you do the long hike up to the radio
antenna for a great view. There are lots of goats and goat bells if the wind ever dies enough to hear
them.
Mykonos: This island is pure turism and crazy. If you like expensive, wild, anything goes then by all
means come. Otherwise stay away! Now Delos next door is full of ruins and you can only get there by
ferry is worth a trip and I guess one day in Mykonos town is ok... The anchorage we took was just east of
the last one in the book on the south side and relatively quiet except for the nightly disco. Turns out we
can't really navigate and got the wrong bay. Oops.
Rineia: This is a lovely island with little to see, but the peace and quiet is worth a stop. That is of course
until a mega yacht pulls in and out comes those dang annoying jet skies that decide to use the anchored
boats as a slalom course! The snorkeling is decent for greece and if you are lucky to be here in light
winds it is a nice place to hang out. Still good in heavy winds, but dusty.
Tinos: We just arrived at the only town on the north side (waiting out a strong low for a few days so we
get to explore the normally windy rugged side). There are a couple of nice anchorages on the north side
and one has some decent places to eat at and some minor groceries to be had. Don't expect much
english to be spoken as these islands are off the beaten path.
Andros: We only hit one place here (Korthion), but it is really nice. It is a town building fast and seems
to be a summer vacation spot for europeans to buy houses at. Likely it will loose it's charm soon, but for
now it is a nice stop if the meltemies are not blowing. There are a few places to eat, internet, and
grocery stores so a great place to stock up.
I got a bit behind on the whole log thing so here is a quick summary:
The corinth canal is neat, but the most expensive per mile canal in the world so they say. It was a mere
200 euros for 3 miles but still it was interesting.
The places we stopped near the canal are not so exciting, but you can get a bus to Delfi so that is worth
a visit.
Western greece is very crowded and the anchorages are busy. I only visited Ithica, Lefkada, and Kefalu
so I don't know much about the rest. We rented scooters and explored the northern end of kefalu and
that was nice. So anyway we jumped to Sicily from here.