Crew: Barry & Betty Gimbel and Jean Miller
June 23, The Gimbles arrive. Jean gets in earlier than expected, much to our delight. Off to Spanomichou after visiting with Helena & George. Another wonderful dinner for all.
June 24, in Boufeas’ Land Rover we drove to Mystra over serpentine roads. We walked to the upper village and had hot strenuous climb to the palace. We toured through a couple of churches and then lunched in Mystra town. After a nice tour through the modern air-conditioned museum, we drove through Githeon and took the shore route back to Kalamata. Dinner and lively conversation with our new friends the Boufeas.
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June 25, we motored to Limeni and swam to shore. The water was fantastic. Later, we had dinner at the One Fish Taverna. The food was wonderful, as usual. Fish was barbequed with lemon and olive oil, crusted. The swells were coming in the bay, so Mike set a stern anchor. Getting on board was tricky, but we all made it. Another grand day!
June 26, went to Dirou Caves, a fantastic experience and nice and cool. We motored to Elafonisi. Barry fished, but the boat was well-stocked. The beaches were the sandiest of the Peloponnese, with sand dunes like the south shore of Long Island. We took the dinghy in to stroll among the tourists and take in the sights.
June 27, on to Kapsali harbor on the island of Kithira. We moored next to a cute Canadian couple with a dog. They are writers traveling around and doing articles for French magazines. They will eventually go through the Panama Canal. Rafting on the outside were two Greek couples. One of them caught an octopus from our fore deck leaving ink all over. Later they graciously cleaned it up. Barry learned about this and was eager to give it a try. We took a taxi to the chora and walked up to the ruins of the castle. A hot sweaty hike but magnificent view. We met the Canadians at the town square for a good chat. Then it was back for necessary shower and to a taverna at the end of the waterfront.
June 28, we sailed/motored to Monemvasia while dedicated Barry continued to drag lures with great hope. The view of Monemvasia, as we arrived, was breathtaking. Each day Mike & Barry worked on installing the new Kiss Wind Generator. We tied up broadside to the dock. Behind us was Andeaus, who was a Scottish math professor who taught at the U of Penn. And quite a character. He has been living on his boat for more than 20 years in retirement and speaking fluent Greek. He helped everyone land. We called him the mayor of the harbor.
June 29, after walking around the medieval town we climbed up all the way to the ancient town. Betty was a trouper to make it all the way. She suffers from severe fear of heights. Helpful were the high walls along the serpentine trail. They felt very permanent and blocked the view straight down what seemed like miles. She said that the church was worth the climb. Afterwards we had lunch in the old town. Watch out for the three-legged cat who works the crowds! After cleaning up at the boat, we returned to Monemvasia for dinner. Returning to the boat the walk was special. In the cool of the evening we admired the clear starlit sky, the moon overhead, the romance in the air. Back at the boat we had some sumptuous deserts and ouzo.
