Crew: Hy and Verna Livingston
September 5 Arrived Corfu 12:30AM. Took taxi to N.O.A.C. boat club. Only problem, left my new digital camera in taxi or at airport. Boo hoo. Mike met us at the dock and transferred us to lovely Migration. Damn that dinghy. Boat looking spiffy and it is great to see Sheila & Mike again.
September 6 Up early in morning… A bit hot so we swam off the boat. Delightful. Next we took a walk around Corfu Old Town. Went to Museum of Asiatic Art, housed in Palace of St. Michael & St. George. Very hot so stopped for water & orange ade. We are moored on a hook in harbor. Swells at night but slept well anyway. Our travel mate, Patrick Hayes, is delightful. Second swim off boat today. Lots of little fishes swimming along with us. Visibility 30 feet. Good news, I finally learned how to climb up the ladder onto boat.
September 7 Left Corfu for mainland. Mirtos - Sivotas. We followed Mike & Sheila's new friend Jason, of Cyprus, formerly America, in his 70 foot sailboat. Patrick & Hy took their first dinghy excursion this afternoon. They went off to a rocky beach to swim. Evidently Hy fell on rocks and Patrick lent him his water shoes. They mentioned something about a "surprised" Greek lady wearing a black dress and the spectacle they made. Later to dinner--roast chicken. Lots of late night political discussion.
September 8 Left the mainland for Island of Paxos. Lunch on board Migration. Sheila made chicken salad. As we neared island of Paxos Captain Mike announced that a pod of dolphins was ahead of us. Everyone scrambled on deck to see the dolphins cross our bow, slip under the boat and come out the other side. Some even swam alongside boat for a while. Lots of delighted and squealing from Verna & Sheila. What a thrill to finally see dolphins.
We stayed in Paxos Friday & Saturday nights. Hooked up Grinnell's boat with Jason's. His sailing companions are his son Michael and his errant friend Adrian.
September 9 Sheila & Verna walked into town to buy supplies for boat. Lovely place with picturesque harbor lined with little Greek fishing boats. On our way to town we spotted a jewelry store close to marina. Later on stopped there and bought myself a gold starfish necklace and earrings.
Verna a bit under the weather this afternoon due to the heat. Stayed on board Migration, while everyone else toured the island in a rented car. Dinner at Vasili's was superb.
September 10 After breakfast Hy & Patrick took dinghy in search of caves. Went south and ran out of gas. They drifted around for a bit. Hy took off his T-shirt, wrapped it around an oar and waved it in the air. Shortly, a nice Greek guy in a red sailboat came to the rescue. He gave them his 5 gallon jug of gas which was enough for them to fill up and make it back to Migration. Mike hauled anchor and proceed to our next destination. On way to Preveza, we stopped at Anti Paxos and anchored so we could go for a swim off the boat. Busy beach with lots of tourists. All too soon we had to leave this idealic setting to keep up the schedule. We docked for water at large marina in Preveza. Later had dinner in local "fancy" Satha Restaurant (English: Bamboo Mat). Disco music played well into the morning at our mooring, but fell asleep anyway.
September 11 Up at 9:30AM. French toast for breakfast on board. We pulled the hook at 11:45AM and headed for Lefkas Marina for gas. Then went through channel & on to Meganisi (tiny island). We moored next to "Elegance," Jason's boat. NOTE: We passed by island of Scorpios, Onassis' island, on way to Meganisi.
Many flotillas of charter boats pulled into Meganisi harbor after us. It looked like Grand Central Station on water. Boats were rocking up and down, people were yelling and boat engines were gunning as the sailboats jockeyed for anchoring positons.
Dinner ashore at Meganisi was looking a bit doubtful due to the heaving seas, heavy winds and rocking passarell. Everyone made it safely ashore but Verna. She was a bit doubtful. Mike came to her rescue and did the cha-cha with her down the wobbly passarell.
September 12 Pulled anchor at 10:00 AM, leaving island of Meganisi behind. We are heading south to Cephalonia. First we will stop at town of Fiscardo on Cephalonia for lunch. E.T.A. 1 PM. Jib out for speed and stability. Wind coming from SSW at 8-10 knots. (Mike must have given me this info.) We will then head north for island of Lefkada and town of Syvota for dinner. And overnight. Tomorrow, Wed., we return to marina in Lefkas.
We arrived Fiscardo at 12:30. Anchored in harbor and dingied into town for lunch. This is an adorable, picturesque little village. The water's edge is lined with sailboats. The charming little buildings ashore are painted in wonderful color combinations. The designer in me is swooning as I take in the sights. I can't believe the color combinations. Soft terracotta painted houses are decked out with royal blue shutters, white window trim and royal blue painted metal balconies are just dripping with window boxes of red geraniums & ivy. I could go on and on.
NOTE: The weather is extraordinary. Temp. in the low 80s. No rain, sunny everyday. We left town of Fiscardo at 3PM and arrived in Syvota at 4:30 PM. Jason came out to meet us in his dinghy as we entered harbor. He guided us to his boat, where we tied up next to him in left side of harbor by a cement wall (quieter). This was another crowded anchorage. We tied up at the stone wall. Many other boats ended up there with their lines overlapping. Huge goings on. We finally got ourselves squared away with the passarell on the cement dock and settled in for a nice afternoon of watching yet another sailboat squeeze itself into what looked like an impossible slot.
Patrick & Hy, the little devils, decided it was time to have another dinghy adventure. "It's dinghy time" said Patrick. I thought it was high time I joined them. Why should the Hardy Boys have all the fun? So, Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys headed off in the infamous dinghy to find a swimming spot. We motored left out of the harbor and, luckily, discovered a tiny beach tucked away in a distant cove… We snorkeled and swam to our hearts' content. Lots of lovely fish as well as sea urchins entertained us in our snorkeling gear. We all made it back to Migration in one piece and got ourselves ready for dinner on terra firma.
Later that evening, as we relaxed ashore on the balcony at Liotrivi, we sipped our Ouzo and smelled the lovely jasmine vines above our heads. Paradise. As the sounds of the evening quieted, the winds died down and the sailors bedded down in their boats. I thought to myself, could life get any better? This is heaven on earth.
September 13 Up at 7:30 AM. Took an early walk to other end of harbor in Fiscardo. Saw local fishermen mending their nets. Came upon a very different sight. There sat a fisherman at the edge of the cement pier scrubbing the cement with what appeared to be a pink foamy rag. A closer look revealed that it was a squid he was scrubbing with and this is the way they are tenderized. The pink foam was actually blood. I wish I had my camera.
We pulled anchor at 11:15 AM. This is to be our last full day on Migration. We are heading north. We pass town of Nidri. Lots of Brits have homes here. Sheila busy making Greek baked eggplant for our lunch. Hy slept most of afternoon. We pulled into Lefkas Marina on Island of Lefkada about 1:30 PM. Sheila & I walked into town to look around. Later back to town for dinner at one of Mike & Sheila's favorite tavernas. September 14 Lefkas Marina. Up at 8:30 AM. for Sheila's French toast for breakfast. Hy & I are busting out of our clothes. After cleaning up Sheila and I head back to stores in town for some final souvenir shopping. Back to boat for final lunch. After our repast, Patrick, Hy & I go for our final dinghy adventure. We motor under the bridge to a beach of tiny smooth flat pebbles. They looked like microscopic river rock. The water is beautiful and just the right temperature for swimming. We all enjoy the glorious afternoon. Patrick proclaims that the pebbles are just the right size for a foot massage, and he intended to take enough of them home to make his very own "bucket of pebbles" for his daily foot massage back at his home in Florida. Hmmm. Won't that be about 50 LBS. of pebbles to cart home by plane??? I took a small baggie full of them myself as a reminder of our lovely time together on our last day in Greece. Back to boat to finish packing and wait for our taxi to pick us up for final trip to airport. Goodbye, Mike & Sheila, and thanks for another awesome vacation on Migration.
Several days later Patrick did indeed did fill a half dozen 1.5 Ltr empty water bottles with the above mentioned pebbles. But not after washing them with fresh water and drying them on the deck. Mike was very careful to inspect and be sure Patrick cleared the deck and the dinghy of every stone. Hear that whip? Then he carefully taped the bottles into pairs and wrapped them with cloths and divided them among his various pieces of luggage. Weeks later he emailed that they made it to his home in Florida. No problem with customs claiming he was removing antiquities of Greece.