Crew: Ron & Deb Lefton and Bob & Susie Kintner
The Leftons & Kintners arrived. We booked a day trip to Ephesus, Turkey for one of the highlights of the summer. Cautious Bob Kintner earlier in the year had expressed disinterest in touring Turkey. Bob and Ron Lefton share a deep interest in history. They have gone to Civil War battlegrounds and other U.S. trips together. Little did Bob know he was about to have a lifetime experience in Ephesus. We remembered Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians, and that John the Apostle and Mary, mother of Jesus, lived there. Cleopatra and Mark Anthony honeymooned there. And much more.
June 14 we sailed a beam reach to Arki. Five to ten knots built to 30 to 35. The crews of a German and a Dutch boat helped us tie up. Later, after a great dinner at the 5 Star taverna, Zorba The Greek began pumping up the music. The owner was ready for fun. He pressed his kids into spinning the CDs and cajoled everybody, including some of the local fishermen, to dance. One of the German crews was celebrating his birthday, so out came cake and some sweet German liqueur for all to sample. At 2:00am everybody began to wander back to their boats. The next morning when we got up we realized the Germans were gone. Hardy group. After copious coffee, Bob and Deb managed to scale the mountain to the old church and spectacular 360-degree view. They broke the speed record for slowly making the climb, because the directions were not easy to follow, nor were there any signs. It took a great distance, many brambles and steep rock climbing, before they realized they were not on the path.
We took off for Patmos. St. John, who was exiled there for 15 years, did much of his writing from this island. Mike, still a bit shy of the Med mooring system, anchored in the middle of the harbor. The Port Police encouraged him to move and he complied. After some touring we found a taverna known for steak. We, especially Bob, were ready for a change from the everyday Greek menu.
The sail to Kos could not have been more perfect. Mike and Sheila are the only ones on the boat with experience. After a week we learned some crew jobs we could do with everybody’s satisfaction. We must have been struck by paradise. No harsh words. No panic. Just great.
There was no room in the main Kos harbor, at least for Mike, who was not ready to try a second tier of Med mooring. We attempted the uncompleted new harbor, but it had not been dredged adequately. We simply anchored in front of it and dinghyed into town for dinner. Kos is very popular with young Europeans. Party all night. And loud. However we found suitable escape. The next day the main harbor seemed to completely empty out. We took advantage and did a Med mooring in a grand spot along the Promenade. George Christos Soultanos (Tel.: 28078), a 77-year-old Greek gentleman, took our lines and offered his services as a licensed guide. George did a comprehensive job of showing us Hippocrates’ Hospital, Asclepion. Great history. This is where the Hippocratic oath began. After a leisurely lunch we returned to the boat to find the local Port Police very upset. We had moored in the spot of the Day Boats, who were just coming over the horizon. Before we could leave the Kintners realized this was the only opportunity to quickly remove their bags and prepare for the journey home. Who knew where Migration would go from here. When asked, the frantic Police said "I don’t know, just leave NOW." Short-handed, we circled the harbor surveying each segment. Half the harbor was charter sailboats. Finally one of the charter captains waived us over to help us Med moor second tier. A first for Captain Mike.