Crew: Don & Jane Horton and Mark & Karen Ezratty
The crew consisted of a most charming couple, the Hortons of Westport, and a mismatched duo, the lovely Mrs. Ezratty and her half-baked, red-headed carnivore of a husband, Mr. Ezratty.
The Hortons arrived via the highspeed ferry--an efficient method of travel. The Ezrattys, on the other hand, thought it would be interesting to grab a cab in Piraeus and experience a three-hour hair-raising ride that would arrive late into the evening. A sign of things to come! At 11:30pm after a raucous first fight, which determined who sleeps where, our cozy clan of six took off for the local taverna in Galatas. We arrived to a packed house, but our gracious hostess/cook/server Helena immediately made us feel welcome. Leader of the Pack Sheila ordered 23 starters including small fishes and introduced us to the local wine. After much review of the day’s events and recollection of past experiences together, our happy, well-fed gang returned via dinghy to our home away from home, Migration.
May 20th, Sunday
Another sunny day in paradise--also known as Poros. The crew woke at different intervals throughout the morning and after multiple cups of coffee and morning boat rituals (consisting of unpacking and sneaking out to the head before anyone could guess who did that nasty in the toilet), prepared for a day of adventure on the local hillside. We found another charming taverna halfway up the hill to the clock tower and shared another memorable meal. The group was feeling confident and started helping Sheila with the ordering of the feast. We all agreed on the joys of horta and fava beans, tomato salad and cheese pie, but Don, our least adventuresome eater, was quietly whining for meat. We added moussaka to the list, which made him happy. Dining until we felt like engorged ticks, we left our eatery and hiked up the hill to the clock tower, which provided us a most awesome view of the harbor and surrounding hillsides. Upon descending we window-shopped and strolled the waterfront. A need for a siesta called us back to the boat with promises of further adventures once we met our sleep quota.
Sunday evening we met Costas Douzinas and an old friend of the family, Elias, at a shoreside bar. Upon consumption of many beers of distinction, we followed the local flow to a restaurant frequented by diners in the know. Costas did the ordering, filling the table with fava bean mash, made with olive oil, oregano, onion olive oil and more olive oil. Also featured were keftides: little pancakes made with leek "prasso" and potato and others with fish roe "tarama" as well as beets with garlic. Horta, as is at every meal, also filled the table. Other stuff comprised the main course, such as fish heads and tails and cod deep-fried in olive oil. Everything was delicious. Conversation was lively. Elias at one point seemed not to actively be part of the conversation. I was sure I insulted him by laughing when he might have said "his wife had passed on." It was so difficult to understand his soft-spoken Greek accented words in this taverna full of people competing to be heard. Dessert was ice cream in the local place, pistachio being a very good flavor. When we returned to the boat Mike wanted to know who had left the light on. It wasn’t me, I swear. Either Mike or Sheila. Ta, ha.
May 22nd Monday
We were off at the crack of dawn at 7:30am! Don was wandering around making up the bridle to lift the outboard off the dinghy, while Michael was fast asleep. You know it takes time and energy to raise the dinghy and lift up the anchor, so it’s good to get your beauty rest! We calculated an 8-hour day of sailing so we all kicked back and read and napped our way to the island of Serifos. Upon arrival, we dinghied to town to pick up supplies--beer, bakery goods and beer. After scoping the taverna scene we headed back to the boat for cocktails and conversation. At 10:30pm we headed back to town for an early dinner of octopus, stuffed tomatoes, and horta, of course!! We also brought home with us a collection of fleabites on our ankles. There were quite a few cats licking their chops as we ate ours! Then it was early to bed to be ready for a quick sail to Milos. P.S. Every time I use the verb "sail," it is to be assumed I mean "motor."
May 23rd Tuesday
Having done Serifos research, the crew decided they would ascend a few steps up the hill to view the town of Livadhi up close and personal. I did not join the happy trackers for indeed I needed a few more hours of sleep. Captain Mike also declined the vertical offer to wade through manual after manual of who knew what! Upon their return, the fearsome foursome raved about the church, homes, flora and the baker who insisted they taste his fare. They also highly exaggerated the number of stairs climbed and vertical drop. Mike and I humored them--we know how fragile egos can be when out at sea. Then we were off to Milos, a sail of approximately four hours. Did I mention the rolling waves and the up and down motion of the boat? Anyway, we found a charming harbor on the N.E coast of Milos called Appollonia. We noticed a ferry quay and a few boats snuggled against the opposite side. We cozied up with the sailboats and settled in for our first home-cooked meal. Sheila prepared a yummy artichoke risotto, fava beans and tomato salad. Can you say delicious?? After another wonderful evening of witty conversation and toasts all around, we went to bed for another night of sleep.
May 24th Wednesday
Remember the ferry quay? Well it was approximately 8:30am when Karen, Mark and I were sipping our morning cups of Mike’s favorite blend when we heard a loud obnoxious long blast from a very sizable ship. We stuck our heads out of the companionway and saw one of the over-sized ferries bearing down on us at ramming speed. Our first reaction was to look at one another and laugh hysterically. We sized up the situation, realized that we were in the middle of the channel and laughed some more! As the horn continued to blast, we watched the ferry captain motioning with his upper torso to move out of the channel. Karen, Mark and I looked at on another again and laughed. We called Mike, who was working down below: "Uh, Mike, there’s someone out here who wants to meet you. He’s gesturing with his hands a lot. We think he’s giving you the peace sign." Needless to say we had the engine cranked and were on the road pretty darn quickly! Little did we realize that the potential T-boning ceremony involving ferry + Migration would become a much embellished story as the days went by. Lunchtime found us in a town called Adamos, where we ate and shopped for the evening’s dinner. We all love the collection of food groups in each store. For instance, at the bakery you can buy wine, liquor and gum. It brings a whole new meaning to one-stop shopping!! After lunch, we decided to sail over to Sifnos to cozy southern harbor--Orm Vathi. On the chart, it looked like a simple passage. In reality it was long. The wind gusted to 30 kts with seas up to 5 ft. It was 6 hours of pounding and laughing as we reminded Sheila that this was not even the windy season. We were rewarded at the end of the journey with a most charming crystal water and a beautifully protected harbor. The town surrounded on three sides by hills consisted of a few beachside tavernas, a hotel, and a beautiful double-domed church. It was a well-kept secret village that provided us with one of our most favorite stays. Dinner was a feast of chicken, Greek salad with a special desert--glactaborikos--prepared by our favorite cooking twosome, Mark and Karen. After clocking wind gusts of 30 kts in the harbor, we said "good night."
May 25th, Thursday
Hello sunshine, gentle breezes and water as clear as we have ever seen. The group decided on a pre-lunch trip to town to walk the beach and poke around. We found a lovely taverna on the beach for lunch and continued to compliment this tiny jewel of a place. After lunch with favorable winds we sailed—yes, sports fans, I said SAILED--west toward Paros. It was one of those perfect days; the wind cooperated to the max, except for the momentary "puffs" which put the rail under the water and the boat starting to round up. When the excitement ended and all were accounted for, Mark announced that he needed to change his underwear! The breeze continued to gently push us to another wonderful location, Dhespotiko, which is a small island off Antiparos. That evening we had another wonderful home-cooked meal of pasta and capanata and much wine. After sunset we made absolutely no sense as we tried to identify all of the stars in a most magnificent vast sky. After committing ourselves to learning more about celestial navigation, we called it a night.
May 26th Friday
Off we went to the town of Antiparos on the N.E. corner of the island, Antiparos. Our various collections of Greek guidebooks did not do this special place justice. We discovered a most wonderful village with ruins of an ancient town within its limits. We also stumbled on a luncheon spot called Taverna 5?! We had the most scrumptious grilled octopus and beer. The taverna owner/fisherman, who caught the octopus, joined us for some ouzo. He charmed us with his friendliness and easy manner and gave us pointers to help navigate the shallows between Antiparos and Paros. After shopping for treasures and food, we sailed for Paros. The harbor of Paroikia on the N.W. coast was large body of water with a town of size stocked hourly by the many ferries. After multiple afternoon naps we ventured to town to find the taverna, but at 10:00pm all of the lights in the town and neighboring hillsides went out. Pitch black. It was as if someone tripped on the only electrical plug and turned out all the lights. The only light we could see was the masthead light on Migration out in the harbor. We lucked out because the lovely Sheila, a former Girl Scout, had in her backpack a major flashlight. She showed us the way to a hidden taverna tucked among some back roads. As we approached, the owner warmly beckoned us to have a "look-see" in his kitchen. Suddenly, as we were trying to see the offerings in the kitchen, the lights came back on. Ah, it was a sign that we would have a most enjoyable supper with our friends! Everything from horta to artichoke, to spinach with calamari to the finest grilled mushrooms and more. Jane, thinking Don didn’t get his meat and potato fix, asked Don if he had enough to eat. He came out with one of the quotes of the week: "Are you kidding? We all ate like condemned prisoners." We had a leisurely stroll and dinghy ride back to Migration, after planning the slow torturous death of the dog on shore who would not stop barking. We all retired. We spent the last few days touring and dining in Lefkos, Parikia and Naoussa.