Crew: Bob & Sue Kintner and Dan & Corinne Rosen
July 18, after traveling from New York to Paris to Athens to Heraklion cab to Agio Nikolau. Phew. Wonderful seaside town with lots of shops, tavernas and known for its very deep lake-like old harbor. It was reputed that the Germans, after their occupation, dumped tanks and other large items in it. It seemed bottomless. It was very pleasant to dine in the tavernas circling the lake, because it was noticeably cooler. Migration was moored at the quay making access very convenient. Sheila & Mike befriended Tony, the captain of "No Rehearsal," a 70-foot sailing yacht, owned by a Norwegian, at the end of the quay. At cocktails Tony, who is from San Diego, passed valuable information on Turkey. We had dinner at Avli, a lovely garden restaurant.
July 19, Sheila starts the day with delicious yogurt and fresh peaches. We bussed to Krista, a beautiful little village with great linens and pottery at very attractive prices. Danny discovered a lovely rooftop taverna overlooking the hillside and valley. Back to town for a swim, late cocktails and late dinner.
July 20, Another gorgeous day in paradise, swimming at the beach, late breakfast, archeological museum, which was so-so after Athens. We lunched on the boat with gyros from the favorite local barbecue place. Back to Krista. We just loved it. Long cocktail hour, then dinner on the boat with barbecued chicken and pork from you know where.
July 21, we departed for Sitea. Sue unfortunately rediscovered "mal de mer." After anchoring in the middle of the harbor, Mike took the girls ashore to shop. Since it was Sunday, they quickly became bored. In a competitive taverna environment we decided to have dinner at Creta House, because they offered us all the free house wine we wanted. We took them up on the offer. Everything was wonderful, but I don’t think they made as much profit as they expected.
July 22, off to Karpathos at 6:00 am. Dan had a ball at the helm. As the day progressed, we had a beautiful beam reach in 25-30 knots breeze and 15’ seas. We had been warned by Tony that the north side of Karpathos was one of the most foul with wind and waves he had ever experienced. We chose the south side. The gusts coming over the island were some of the most wind we had ever experienced. 55 knots! Needless to say we doused the Genoa and powered directly upwind into the lee of the island. With minimal spray and difficulty, we made our way east to Amoopi Beach by 1500 hrs. It seemed so tranquil with the beach umbrellas barely moving and the sunbathers oblivious to the powers of Mother Nature not far away. This breathtaking view turned out to be the most popular of the island. Corinne & Dan snorkeled.
July 23, After visiting Karpathos town we explored, by dinghy, local caves and gorgeous swimming opportunities. We later dined at the excellent Calypso Taverna.
July 24, Back to Karpathos to catch a ferry to Olymbos, an old town on top of the mountain. Great rocky vistas but the scenery was spectacular. Landed in Diagaim (sp?) to take a scary 4 km bus ride through hairpin turns to the top. We walked the narrow streets. The ladies were dressed in traditional garb. We bought oils and linens that were said to be locally made but we heard they may have been imported from Athens at a fraction of the price. We lunched at a rooftop taverna where Sheila was in heaven with her order of goat.