Crew: Steve & Ilene Silberstein and Milt & Caroline Ciplit
July 2/3
Jacob did a great job ferrying us to the airport. I was running late due a work call and last minute errands to get photo stuff. But he got us there on time. Delta was a disaster - the beautiful old Pan Am building has seen its day and is no longer viable. Couple the bad facilities with grumpy staff and you had a really unpleasant experience. Then add in unbelievably slow restaurant help to complete the picture. I remember my grandmother dressing up when she traveled—-it was so special then. Now it can feel like the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
July 3 - Arrive Athens
Check into Hotel Adonis on Kodrou Street in the Plaka section of Athens. Minos at the desk takes good care of us. A new experience: he asks us our schedule so he can remember to turn on the master switch for our room’s hot water and AC.
Per the "Lost Planet Guide" we look for real Greek food at the Byzantium Restaurant as suggested by the tourist book. Only language not heard was Greek. The place is serviceable but nowhere near the promise of the guide. But they do have a nice fan to cool us. Lesson for later. Off to sleep, up early, taxi to Piraeus. Great taxi driver who repeatedly dragged us around trying to find the right place on the waterfront.
Amazing ride, virtually on time. Our buses and trains should run so smoothly. Mike and Sheila are waiting on the dock at Monemvasia. Quick stop at the taverna formerly known as Nykos. A great start in Greek cuisine. Schlepped suitcases to the lovely boat, unpacked, and walked to the beach for a quick dip. SDS started his mission to learn to float.
Some shopping on the way home. Drinks and hors d’ouevres, then a barefoot walk to the cab that will take us to the Byzantine section of Monemvasia, built on a rock outcropping reached by a little bridge over the harbor.
Sheila leads us ruthlessly over the switchbacks that lead from the medieval lower old town up 200m to the ancient ruins at the top of the rock in Monemvasia. She is the mountain goat as we all scramble over the marble rock polished to an ice smooth finish. Then we explored the ruins, ending at the Aghia Sophia church!! Simply amazing.
Also known as the "Gibraltar of Greece," the name comes from "One Entrance" Monemvasia.
Then dinner on the roof of a cute taverna in the lower medieval section. Classic great dinner - fava, salad, calamari, wine.
We put on a major fireworks show for the Fourth of July. Grucci could not have generated such excitement from one box of sparklers waved dockside in Monemvasia by 6 crazy Yanks.
Late quick showers, off to bed.
July 5, 8:45am
Mike decides to bug out of Monemvasia in the quickest sailboat departure of my short sailing life. Monemvasia rock is foreboding when viewed from the sea and it is apparent why it carries the "Gibraltar" moniker.
We motor south, then we buttonhook west around a finger of the Peloponnese to Elafonisi where we find a beautiful white sand horseshoe beach with dunes. This will turn out be almost unique and atypical of the dark, rocky Greek beaches. Milt swims to the beach to make friends. No luck. Me, I’m disappointed by the lack of topless Nordics. Caroline has mercy on Steve and valiantly tries to teach him to float. Partial buoyancy obtained. Steve now has a mission, but he claims that salinity is the answer. Caroline claims, "Only relaxation is required." Steve remains skeptical.
Post swim we motor on SSE around the island of Kithira to the village of Kapsali. Big debate on Med mooring vs. parallel park. Once again Captain Mike calls the right shot as Med moored boat rocks hull to the waves while our parallel park is very quiet.
At 5:30 the phones ring and business starts. As we come to find out, even the smallest of seaside villages have excellent cell phone coverage. All of us who thought that Mike really didn’t work over the summer can hear the reality as he juggles emails and client calls from the nav station. Sheila goes to placate the port police, who conveniently convert 50 ft to 50 meters to calculate extraordinary parking fees. Dinner is planned in the Chora - Castro - old town above the port.
Dinner in the Hora of Kapsali - in a restaurant named "Zorba"! A meat-only restaurant. The best meatballs ever according to Ilene.
July 6
The six-hour sail under power from Kithira to the west end of Crete goes quickly with everyone handling the rolling seas well. The original plan to sail to Kissomos gets modified to further up the bay, then Captain Mike suggests dropping anchor between Nisos Gramvousa and the western edge of Crete. Nisos Gramvousa is not really detailed in the guide books and maps.
It looks like a bare rock, but as we get closer it gets more interesting. First we see a small cave, then a few hundred feet up on the rock is a fort! A small horseshoe-shaped sand beach, a local tour boat, and fisherman complete this picturesque scene.
We drop anchor, leaving Mike behind to fix the head, and we row the dinghy to the small quay. Up the goat path to the fort. Very steep, with real goats. Sheila points out real capers growing on the rocks. She also gives us a quick education on their life cycle. Very pretty plant. Who knew!
Dramatic 360-degree views of the vista. Fort of unknown origin. We think Byzantine, then Roman, then Ottoman, then pirates!
We hike back down and have a well-deserved swim on the beach. Flotus Erectus is achieved on the beach. Bay is named after Mike and Sheila. Caroline calls it the most beautiful place on earth. Mike calls it the perfect pirate hideout.
Floating taverna tonight. Bimini is pulled back and we enjoy the stars. Greek music on CD., champagne and galabactorio, dancing on the dance deck with lights rigged overhead. Shooting stars, good friends, CP summons it up for the group - "It doesn't get any better!"
July 7
Motor over to Akra Tigami. White sands, amazing lagoon, even a micro taverna. Besides us there is only a day trip boat. Possibly volcanic, nice warm spots, some sulfur smell in a particular spot. Pink igneous itrusios in the rock and the overall areas looks like a big ring. At the taverna are the fisherman who shared the harbor with us last night. The cook had prepared the huge pile of fish they caught. Looks much better than our sad moussaka.
Motor on to Chania. Mike rebuilds mast pulpits. Steve gets SSB radio working halfway. Great naps all around.
First Med mooring for this tour. Brilliant job in spite of dropped sugar scoop transom bumper. Big tourist parade around harbor. Eat in a restaurant in a old ruined building - Tholos - WWII ruin. Good food, first Cretan wine - great bargain.
July 8
Ilene, Milt and Steve out at 6 am for trip to Samaria Gorge. A one-hour bus ride through the mountains is breathtaking. We ride along 180-degree switchbacks through the olive groves. Roads in Crete are built by pointing the bulldozer and telling the driver to go make a road. No earth moving to ease route - just flattening Nature’s trail. We reach Omalos, on a plateau, which is very cool and comfortable. Breakfast at a place whose sole mission is serving Gorge trekkers.
Gorge - rocks, scramble, steep, etc.
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Agia Roumelli
Igngrid
Ferry
2 hour bus
Steve sleeps, Ilene enjoys switch backs
Milt - Designed for masochists
Sheila, Carol keep busy - Archaeological Museum is small and lovely. Minoan artifacts in great shape not seen in print. Byzantine museum also worth a visit. Much shopping.
Mike works and works on boat.
Dinner - we find the Synagogue Restaurant, which is built right next to a synagogue restored by the Rothchilds. Missed services but noteworthy for Jews. Restaurant is a happening place. Moaning from S I M.
July 10
Leave Chania
Motor to Rethymnom. Midway wind picks up, wakes up Mike from nap and up go sails for 1 hour. Crew is tested in raising sails successfully. Wind dies so back to motor with a cooling stop for a mid Med. (technically the Sea of Crete) swim. Memorable first for visitors!! Mike tries to snake out master stateroom head from underneath boat with no success.
Big tourist venue. Major work front. Major shopping. Very late dinner at Avli.
July 11
Iraklion via motor. The Venetian harbor is very full, so we tie up along the quay in front of the Harbor Police to ask for a spot. Earlier attempts to raise them on VHF failed. Mike speaks to the officer, who goes into the front rooms and asks his staff where they had been watching us tie up while sitting in front of their radios. We are directed to the harbor seawall that stretches for a mile. The only suitable spot has to be half a mile out!. We use some tires as a bumper/step. Very mellow. Reading. Steve tries to psych out GPS gear, etc. Roam all over Iraklion looking for a particular ouzeri but fail. We ask one gentleman for directions. Also ask for a good rest. He says his, which is opening tomorrow! Go to the mediocre ouzeri.
Research Knossos tours and rental car. Everything a negotiation. Someone tries to sell us a Knossos tour for 29 euros. Not available tomorrow. We ask about bus: four blocks away, 15min, .85 euros.
July 12
Negotiate tour guide - a must. Amy does a brilliant job (details later). We rehire her for tour of Archeological Museum (buy the dual ticket an d save 2 euros.) She makes it come alive after doing it for 2 1/2 years and will do it until she can't. Amy leads us back to the original bus stop for the "best Cretan-style gyro"—Oraka—2 euros, the best.
Dinner at the restaurant opening. The owner offers suggestions—wife's specialties—we take all. Small stuffed cabbages are better than the best dim sum. Mike self-serves a draft and is happy. Ouzo for all. Feast for 40 euros all in. Owner was electrical engineer for thirty years. Opens weekday "club" for friends years ago, who then convince him to stay open on weekends.
July 13
Steve picks up very mini-van from rental place. Decides to pay cash up front so he can skip country. Sets a trend. Quick acclimation ride around waterfront before meeting crew yields existence of McDonald's in Iraklion. Fiat Scuda is very serviceable and half the price of automatic models, if they are available.
On the road. Five people offer six opinions on best route out of town. Milt defers opinions, saving commentary for later. But the scale is so small we reach the ancient town wall quickly and just follow the geography. We also discover that no two maps of Crete agree. Driving through the small town of Agia Varvara, Steve has glimpse of big hardware store and scoots over the side of the road, parking Crete style - which is almost anywhere. Mike comes back with perfect snake for attempting fix of master stateroom head. By the looks of it Crete plumbing must be very fragile (toilet paper?). Owner is amazed and happy to get American customer.
A beautiful climb through the hills towards Phaestos, following a river valley. Olive trees are everywhere. A strong breeze blows them and they do look like waves over land as their leaves switch between the green tops and silvery bottoms.
The main road is suddenly blocked in Mires, taken over by the Saturday morning market. C buys lace, M buys cookies/sweets. Fruit for all. Mike tries hand at wheel, probably thinking that after the exit from Iraklion things will be easier.
Phaestos is viewed from above, photos of all, but after the great tour of Knossos we are just happy to view.
Next, on to the beach. Yesterday's guide Amy and the guide book both suggest heading to the south coast village of Kali Limenes. The roads appears to lead there from Phaestos. Some bobbing and weaving but eventually we hit a freshly paved road with signs saying Kali Limenes. Sheila insists we are going the wrong way but the navigator’s map shows real roads. All is good until the pavement runs out. Not too bad until we pass the goats lying on the road. Always a bad sign before a well traveled path. Road becomes two goats wide, pray for our tires.....
Milt's sweets improve mood. He probably gave them up because he didn't think that he would be around to enjoy them.
Kali Limenes - Greeks camping on bit of black beach. Great water.
Road back - paved but treacherous switchbacks. Mike takes a well-deserved nap in back seat.
Car returned Island style - leave unlocked at ferries with key in the glove compartment. Mo return lines.
I and S get memorable dinghy lift to ferry. Mike goes to harbor police to check out and gets a break—they can't find their own receipt book, so they can't take his money.