Ending and Beginning: Montenegro 2024 and 2025

 While were still making our way through Turkey, to explore Greece, we had to turn our heads towards the issue of where we needed or wanted to be for the next winter. Supposedly we chose Montenegro as it would bring us closer to Croatia and Italy for the 2025 season. 

But in reality, Montenegro had called to me since I watched a Youtube sailing channel years ago extoll it's virtues as a winter hidey-hole. The idea of sailing into a country with soaring mountain peaks bursting out of the sea was very persistent. I'm not sure that the practicalities or costs were properly considered, despite my pretence these were my reasons. Luckily, Lazure Marina was reasonably priced, well set up and provided a secure place for Kirrikie.

After we had checked in at Bar, and battled a nasty but short-lived storm, we bypassed Budva and Bigova - tried to entice us in, but we chose the longer journey for a more secure anchorage inside the Bay of Kotor. We thought we would be able to return to these places at the beginning of 2025, before heading to Croatia - spoiler alert, we didn't get back there.

As revealed in our last blog, we traveled through the entrance to the bay, past Zelinika, turned left  motoring past old submarine tunnels on the right, past the Monastery of Miholjska (St. Michael) one the left, just one of the churches built on islands in the bay, to release our anchor into the mud of Solila, high-fived and gushed that we already love Montenegro, eat, rest and wake to start a new set of travel experiences.

I have never sailed in Sydney, so take this with a pinch of salt, but to me the Bay of Kotor is like Sydney Harbour, shaped liked a squashed, jellified figure '8' . However, it also felt as if we were in Norweigan Fjord with islets and steep green sides  (never been there either).  There are 3 main towns,  being Tivat, Kotor and Herceg-Novi, where our marina is situated.  We had a couple of days before we would check into the marina, and I fly home to celebrate Kanoa's 1st Birthday. I'd already bought the T-shirt, just had to catch the flight. So, eager to make the most of the fine weather and time, we motored around to Tivat so we could once again report to authorites to complete and pay for another tourist document for the time we would be in the area.

Map of the Bay of Kotor, stars showing our anchorages and marina

We were looking for a place to leave our car/dinghy amongst the huge expensive boats, to find that luckily for us Vandy and Eric on SV Awildian (named after a NZ wine) had reached their winter berth in Porto Montenegro marina, so we were able to dinghy over to their catamaran, ducking down under their hull and pulling ourselves along the bottom of their boat to tie up to the dock, right next to the authorities. I gotta say, this marina is in a very posh area, with boats as big as buildings, emulating Monaco with Dolce and Gabbanana and shops that Pretty Woman would have been thrown out of. I held my breath and tried not to think of the price of a cup of coffee, glad we hadn't put our name on the waiting list. Very smart apartment blocks and shops were springing up all around Porto Montenegro, evidence of new wealth, but Vandy and Eric quickly led us to a clubroom a short walking distance away where we enjoyed a set lunch menu for less than $15. Boaties rule - always try to eat and shop a few streets back from the harbour, and boaties in this marina were just as relaxed and non-posh as anywhere else.  

The cheaper section of Porto Montenegro 

Perast, Bay of Kotor 

We explored the area, sooo pretty with the pale grey and/ or multicoloured  stone architecture we were to find characteristic of Montenegro. We, also  checked out the startling Black Pearl - a 105 meter super yacht worth US$200million, once the property of a Russian billionaire, now the subject of a legal dispute aka family feud, and available for hire by the rich and famous. The Black Pearl is one of the most environmentally and technologically advanced yachts in world, able to generate and store it's own power under sail, able to run all systems and cross oceans without using fuel. Plus it's home to Napleon's piano. It took us 2 years to include a portable bluetooth speaker on Kirrikie.

The Black Pearl, with rotating masts with lifts for the crew

Soon it was time to say farewell, as sailors always seem to do, and make our way further into the bay, via the narrow channel linking the two loops of the figure '8' to join our Aussie friends from Finike, Ian and Malia on SV Longo Mai, anchored near the old town of Kotor. This was a very overdue reunion. In April 2023 we stood on the harbour wall, at Finike, waving hankies and pip-pipping them out as they sailed away, expecting to see them in a few weeks. Nup. We missed each other again  in North Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece. Despite similiar journeys this was the first time in 2 seasons we were in the one place with our boats. Malia/Betty and I were like Forrest Gump, waving at Capt'n Dan from the shrimp boat. 

Looking down on Kotor, Longo Mai and Kirrkie tucked into the bay on the left. Up to 2 massive cruise ships can dock along the quay next to the Old Town

That night we all explored the fairyland that is the Old Town of Kotor. Kotor is a Venetian medieval city surrounded by fortified walls, and is a UNESCO heritage site. You enter the city through one of 3 sets of gates - The River Gates, the Gurdic Gate, or the Sea Gate, which is the largest and closest to the marina, and the one we used on our visits. Soft modern lighting made the ancient cobblestone laneways shine, laughter and music carried around corners, opening up onto piazzas, where old palaces or churches looked down on us. Then onto find some dinner, and we scored a table in the  square where local and international capella choirs performed in front of The Tryphon Cathedral, with the golden lights of the steps leading up to the The Church of our Lady of the Remedy and Kotor Fortress,  completing the stunning evening for us. Magic.

Over 2 days we crammed in as much as we could, starting with the most important event in a trip to Kotor, lunch at Tanjga, the local barbecue and steakhouse. Ian is a smokin' meat man (in every aspect), and we had our precise instructions. Be there at 11.40am. After the smoker has been prepped and burning since dawn, when piles of ribs and steaks and chicken and pork have been barbecued or grilled or turned and perfected, before the queue starts to build, but not too early otherwise the owner will literally yell and say you are too early and to come back later. Only then will you will be one of the lucky ones and share in an orgy of scrumptious 'protein' and salad, while you watch the salivating crowd line up and wait... 

Suffice to say, that when we returned to Montenegro and had prepped Kirrikie in 2025, we made a beeline back for seconds, before departing for other lands. And made our mark on the wall like so many before us.

Ian and Malia had hired a car so we hitched a ride and went touring for a day. Montenegro is a very hilly and mountainous country, with spectacular scenery. Of course this means winding roads, and the "road" behind Kotor is the Kotor-Lovcen Serpertine, with 25 hairpin bends cut into the steep slopes. It truely is breathtaking, as you hold your breath for most of the the trip, wondering how our small vehicle will be able to make the tight turns - and then a tourist bus comes around the corner! It was definitely an experience, particuarly if you're driving on the right/wrong side of the road. There's a reason why most cars in Europe are small.

Having reached the top, we headed for the inland town of Cetinje. Heard it was pretty, so we stopped for a relaxed lunch in what we thought was close to the main tree-lined centre. It was a Sunday so pretty quiet, and we ventured off  to have a quick wander around the corner before continuing our trip.....  and Hooly-Dooley, did we ever underestimate this place. Turns out that Cetinje, founded in the 15th century, was once the royal capital  and cultural centre of Montenegro. It was only between the two world wars that the country's capital was moved to Titograd, now Podgorica, and Cetinje ceased to flourish.  A few streets and piazzas away from our lunch spot we discovered Baroque, Neo-Romanesque and Art Nouvuea architecture  (yes, I looked it up...). Slightly stunned,  we spent a couple of hours exploring, and discovered the Cetinje Monastery (Monastery of Saint Peter), Museum of King Nikola (very popular guy), The Ethnographic Musuem, The Castle Church (Royal Church), The National Museum of Montenegro, The Blue Palace which is the current resident of the President of Montenegro, and the former embassies of France, England and Russia. Plus sculptures, parks and statues. We were so lucky to have stopped here, particularly since we hadn't really done our research beforehand.

Somewhere in our limited time in the Bay of Kotor, we also visited a chandlery, and then walked all around the Old Town in Kotor, to appreciate it's beauty in the daytime. Ian and Mike decided to tackle an early morning climb up the 1350 steps to the top of San Giovanni Hill (St John's Hill) and the Kotor Fortress, while Malia and I blamed creaking hips and knees and stayed behind.

Then sadly it was time to part ways, having hopefully made some plans to sail together in 2025.  Kirrike left Longo Mai behind and headed for our winter berth in Lazure Marina. Two days later I headed back to Perth, Mike to Cornwall to see family, flying back to the marina for a couple of weeks to have work completed on the boat (replaced faulty navigation equipment), winterising the boat and then joined me in Perth for the southern summer.

And so it's now 2025.  After 2 weeks in Cornwall we returned to Kirrikie at the end of March, hoping to get an earlier start on the season than in 2023 AND 2024. The weather had shown signs of improving, sunny and crisp... but nup, we arrived in blistering cold and torrential rain. "It's been lovely up til now" chorused other marina mates. We booked a spot in the Navar boatyard on the other side of the bay near Tivat - a very loose arrangement dependent on the weather- and filled our days with keeping warm, boat maintenance, watching the rain, enjoying sunny spells and walking the picturesque path around the bay and uphill to the Old Town of Herceg-Novi. 

Snow on the mountains...

It was clear that unless we wanted to freeze and dodge wild weather we weren't going anywhere by boat for a while. So.... car trip time. We spent 5 days travelling along the coast through Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar, before turning inland and visited the wonderful Plitvice National Park (waterfalls),  crossing over into Bosnia - a really beautiful country - spending 2 nights in Sarajevo before travelling back to Herceg-Novi. 

Finally it was our turn to lift Kirrikie out of the water for hull cleaning and antifoul. Once she was above our heads we glanced over to see a catamaran next to us being lifted as well - good lord, it's SV Awildian.  What are the chances that our friend's boat was lifted at the same time?!

Mike was very happy in his work, getting other people to fix things.. inspecting and replacing 5 of our 11 thruhulls (kinda taps that plug up holes in the boat that allow water and other liquids in or out of the boat), new antifouling applied, sides polished, new macerator for the loo (it's always about toilets), and other miscellaneous jobs to keep Kirrikie afloat and operative. Meanwhile I concentrated on lunching with the boaties version of ladies do lunch, attending a Sailing Croatia information session, meeting more sailors at the local Indian restaurant where we learnt even more about sailing in this region, and finally getting all our washing done before we departed.

Then at last we 'launched' for 2025 venturing our to test out the repairs, commonly called a shakedown sail. Well, this is probably an slight exaggeration  - we motored and sailed around the gap, immediately encountered some issues we thought we'd fixed, and headed for the delightful anchorage of Morinjski. 

It was lovely! Normally after a couple days in an anchorage I get restless, but I could have stayed here for quite a while. It was now Easter and we enjoyed the sound of ringing church bells, and watched children on a yacht near us having fun searching for easter eggs on their floating home. 

Mike talking to his Mum, Happy Easter 

First time we had easter eggs for 3 years...

We explored the small stream leading into the small bay, and tied up the dinghy at a dock near a small restaurant with beautiful manicured and wild gardens, swans and ducks providing quite a bit of entertainment for children playing in the spirng sunshine. We had made the decision to limit our eating out, given the bad exchange rate for the Aussie dollar and the high cost of EVERYTHING in Croatia, so we ordered a single cup of coffee each.  And then capitulated, booked a table for that evening and returned for dinner, as it was just too pretty to be petty.

We motored around the bay, spent 2 more nights near Kotor Old Town, and returned to Tivat for yet another shop at a chandlery, and then it was back to our marina berth. We had a few more days before our 30 day tourist visa expired, so it we fixed minor issues, swapped ideas with our berth neighbours Julie and Tim on SV Morello who were also heading to Croatia, ate scrumptious meals prepared by Aussie friends Ray and Alison from SV Chill, and we all caught up with Malia and Ian who had a very delayed return to Montenegro. Sadly we were not to sail away with them to Venice as 'planned' as they had decided to sell Longo Mai to be with family at home, and headed  the other way to Malta via Greece.

Then finally, on our last permitted day in Montenegro, we shook off our lines, waved goodbye to the crews of  Longo Mai, Chill and Morello, checked out of Montenegro, which we had enjoyed immensely, and raised the sails heading for Croatia.

Farewell Greece, Hello the Balkans - Albania

It was time to leave Greece behind us as we pointed Kirrikie towards her winter destination. This time we had arranged a berth in Lazure Marina, in Bokor (Bay of Kotor) in Montenegro, where we could leave Kirrikie to wind and lots of rain while we returned home to the sunshine in Perth.

Leaving Corfu was bitter sweet, but we were ready for another change. To reach Montenegro you have 2 options - stay out at sea travelling for a few days to avoid the Albanian coast, or, travel via Albania which requires you to check into the country before proceeding further. Both have their pros and cons. The main deciding factor is the weather... we had a small window of opportunity which made option 2 the better one for us. 

So first up, check out of Greece - requiring us use up most of our 10,000 steps per day while negotiating officialdom at customs, port police, and harbour master who were either having a very long lunch or didn't want to deal with 2 sailors when they had huge cruise ships of tourists on day-trips.  You need to have patience for this process. We sat at the last office for such a long time that they were shutting up when they remembered us, and rushed us through so they could leave. 

Next morning we set off on the long voyage to the port of Sarande in Albania, the first place we could check in. A long voyage of... 15nm, or about 3.5 hours. Seriously. It takes longer for us to sail from Hillarys yacht club to Rottnest Island.

However, it is miles apart when it comes to culture. Albania was the first country we visited that had previously been a communist country. Tourism is an important but developing source of income for Albania, but there are few services or marinas to cater for visiting yachts. The coastline is also similiar to Western Australia - not in appearance of course - but there are few options for safe anchoring, and only 1 marina in the country. Port facilities are improving, but can be a little challenging for small boats such as ours. It is compulsory (and advisory) to engage an agent to assist with checkin and subsequent checkout, and they like to know where you are. As we were time poor, we approached sailing into and out of Albania purely from a functional viewpoint, to stop and shelter from coming storms (which plagued Italy, Greece and Adriatic countries from this time on).

But what a great opportunity to visit a country we would never have seen. I kept wandering around saying I'm in Albania! ( I did the same in Montenegro, except it was I'm in Yugoslavia!).  After checking into Sarande, which is part of the 'Albanian Riveriera', paying fees, handing over reams of paperwork to the lovely agent, who makes a pittance from this service in the hope you'll stay and book a car or take a tour, we stayed one night and sailed on. How rude....

Sunset lighting up Sarande, Albania

A quick stop for one night at the rocky and rolling  anchorage next to Vlore, stretching our legs and provisioning. We admired the colourful architecture of the old town, where unfortunately we had the only 'local food' meal we've had anywhere that we pushed away from us as politely as we could. We had a stroll around the wide boulevards and checked out the Independence Monument in Flag square commemorating Independence from the Ottomans in 1912, the 16th century Ottoman Moradie Mosque which is the oldest building in Vlore,  and the very pink Vlore City Hall. 

Independence Monument 

Vlore Old Town

Moradie Mosque 

Vlore City Hall

A storm was predicted in 2 nights time so we booked into Orikum Marina, deep into Vlora Bay, first anchoring outside the marina in the supposedly milder weather. Of course, the storm came early didn't it! Taking anti-lightning precautions, which are mainly putting spare electrical devices in the microwave and crossing our fingers,  we bobbed and strained in the wind, rain, lightning and thunder, while we watched the masts of boats already in the marina vaguely sway. Hmmf.

So we belatedly moved into the marina, where we stayed for 3 days, providing us with the opportunity to take a road trip (not to mention meeting new friends Vandy and Eric, who's company and friendship ever since has been an unexpected blessing). So far the vibe in Albania had been just a little strange and new, the remnants of a communist culture and system of government still in place. We are being very disrespectful of course, but we're quite certain a few KGB officers have retired in Orikum to run the car rental office or coffee shops. 

Change is coming.....

Our view from Orikum Marina, after the storm

Glorious views of the coastline near Vlore, the city port jutting out into the bay provides limited protection

The small but calm marina in Orikum

The big surprise - how lovely Albania is. Stunning. The steep hills behind and around the marina were like the peaks in Scotland, lighting up at sunset ( and presumably sunrise, but who's awake then??) and just glowed. There are a few outstanding places to visit in Albania,  there several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in this small country. While waiting for the swell to go down, we decided to visit one of these, Berat Castle,  a couple of hours away.

On our way, I spied a small sign pointing to the  'Apollonia Archeological Park'. Let's have a quick look I say... and doesn't Mike just love a deviation! It won't take long, it's just up a small dirt road, through a small village. Expecting maybe a stone wall or two, maybe even a tower, we were astonished to see a complex of ruins spreading across fields and slopes. Apollonia was an ancient city covering approximately 81 hectares, established by the Greeks in 6th century BC, first called Gylakeia, but changed to Apollonia after our good mate Apollo. The site has been recognised by UNESCO as a site of oustanding universal value, and includes the Temple of Apollo, cisterns, storehouses, Odeon (theatre), bouleuterion (city council), Triumphal Arc and Temenos (sacred area). 

A small part of Apollonia 

It is recommended to spend about 3 hours looking around, something I could have done easily, if only....  luckily Mike found a small cafe serving home made soup, which was dee-lish-ous. But wait, on our way back to the car I side-tracked again to have a quick look at a church on the site too.... oh no, it's the amazing Monastery of Saint Mary built in the 13th century, plus Museum of Archaeology with a collection of artifacts and sculptures from the city of Apollonia. There's only so much 'deviation' that Mike can take, so I was running around ooh and ahhing, trying to take it all in in 5 minutes. Such sweet torture. 

Monastery and Museum...

Artifacts from Apollonia 

For more information see:    Unesco information on Apollonia

 

We finally reached the town of Berat, lying next to the Osum River. The town itself didn't particularly impress us, as by now it was a grey and rainy day, the buildings were grey and the water was grey....    but the castle and surrounding buildings, which are still inhabited, were redeeming.  Berat Castle, established in the 13th century, is actually a citadel and fortress compound, containing the remains of both a Ottoman mosque - known as the Red Mosque - and Byzantine Churches.

Berat Castle

No idea.... but pretty impressive

View of the beautiful countryside from the Citadel

The buildings surrounding Berat are the reason it is called The City of a Thousand Windows, due to the many large and decorative windows included in their architecture.  We had a leisurely wander around, under a slightly grey sky, which only broke into rain when we were next to the 14th century Church of the Holy Trinity on the castle slopes - divine intervention perhaps? Mike tried to make friends with a horse nearby, I think it was his favourite moment of the day. The horse, however, was not easily impressed.

Minaret of the Red Mosque, possibly from the 14th century

Church of the Holy Trinity

Just a few of the thousand windows

We returned to Orikim nestled  at the base of the beautiful hills, very satisfied with our one day excursion in Albania. If you get a chance to go - do, and try the chicken and lemon soup.

As required by Albanian authorities we were not able to check out of  the country and then sail up their coastline; you must leave as soon as you have checked out. So we made out way back to Vlore and then to Durres in the north, where we docked for the night in the middle of a very industrial port. Not far across from us, was a sorry looking yacht with a tatty sail tied up to a much larger coastal cargo ship, which was quite an unusual set-up. It was explained to us later that this would have been a stolen yacht used to smuggle refugees across to Italy, and then abandoned. Then it was found and claimed by the operators of the cargo ship, and they were waiting out the period so they could keep it under salvage rights.

However, we were free to continue our journey. Like Albania, Montenegro has strict rules about your whereabouts while in the country, and we could not continue onto our final destination without reporting to the authorities in the first port we came to. In this case it was the city of Bar. We were slightly concerned about this port, as the dock and large black truck tires used to fend off boats are not kind to small white yachts. In addition, not long before, friends of ours from Finike (extremely experienced sailors) happened to be in the process of checking in, when a freak 100-year storm hit the city, badly damaging surrounding buildings, and their yacht which happened to be alongside at the time. In fact, as I write this, they have only just completed the repairs in Tunisia. I wondered if this weather might have something to do with why there seemed to be so many Bars in town. I am such an idiot, I confused bar with Bar...

But after this enforced overnight stop, we were on our way again, and today was the day we would finally enter the Bay of Kotor. All was predicted to be well, and off we set in a jubuilant mood. Not long after, the skies began to darken, with rain coming in sideways and the visibility reduced. Vandy, who was making her way on a faster catamaran and headed straight to Montenegro, bypassing Albania and Bar, contacted us to say, don't leave now.... Vandy is a weather guru, and if she says don't go, don't.  Ummmm... well, said I, we've already left, and yes it isn't looking so good out here.*  The rain plummeted down, the lightning was impressive but waaay too close. Kirrikie pushed on through the waves and we "joked" about our imminent demise.  Not far from us a yacht, just visible in the watery haze, battled on with full sails up - madness, and not, to us, the safest choice.

There's another yacht out there... somewhere

Safely inside Bokor , Bay of Kotor

Luckily it only lasted a few hours, and once we entered the Bay of Kotor about 2pm all calmed down, the rainbow appeared, we found a shallow anchorage in mud, and peace returned.  We celebrated with bacon sarnies which for some reason seemed to be the ultimate comfort food, tidied up, ready to join long-lost friends the next day and start exploring Montenegro.

*In our defence, this really was unpredicted: the famous CAPE index we use to check for storms showed nothing. Vandy was also flummoxed, and ended up contacting her weather friends in the US to ask why/how these conditions were not predicted anywhere. In other parts of the Adriatic and down past Corfu, yachts suffered badly and we counted ourselves lucky.

Corfu, The Ionian Emerald Isle

Mike had been obsessed with Corfu for months, pushing us on and on to this island of mythical proportions. The more he gabbed on about it, the less interested I was in going there. Yawn.... what's so special about Corfu, there are some lovely islands we are missing in this annoying quest to visit a place over-run with tourists. (cos of course, I'M not a tourist...)

I was an idiot. Just the once.

Corfu is indeed special, and was a total surprise to me. To start it's very green, in fact it is known (to everyone but me apparently) to be the greenest Greek island of all. The beautiful landscape is characterised by soaring hills, sparkling bays and outstanding views from the top of the many peaks.  Add to this Venetian castles and forts, cobbled streets and gardens. While it is a popular destination, it didn't seem at any time to be overun with tourists, there's just so many places to explore right around the island.

Having crossed over from the mainland in half a day, but expecting some winds and rain later, we stopped off at the bottom of the island in Lefkimmi Bay, a wide shallow bay where the landscape is a bit flatter than the rest of Corfu. While we had a bit of rain and wind, which required resetting the anchor 'to be sure to be sure', we watched with interest an intense lightning storm over Preveza, which we had left 2 days previously. We lazed around with no worries, until we tried to lift our anchor - we had dragged a little bit the day before - straight into a submerged plastic container, which was attached to a line attached to another container, attached to a rope that was tied to a (probably illegal) octopus pot. All of this was wrapped around and around our anchor chain. Long story short, when Mike jumped in the dinghy to sort out (cut away) the offending ropes, the outboard wouldn't start. This was just another  example of Sh*t happens, and we stayed another night while we sorted both anchor chain and outboard.

Might as well relax in Lefkimmi Bay

Preveza somewhere in the distance,  octopus pot lurking underneath us

Time for a little bit of civilisation, so our next stop was only 8nms away, at Benitses. Corfu offers the opportunity to stop at so many bays or towns, it can be a little hard to decide where to stop - too many choices. There are boats sailing or MED sailing (Motor Every Day) backwards and forwards between the mainland and around Corfu,  lovely boat-spotting as you go along. That evening we listened to a variety of Greek musicians and singing, the music floating across the water from the many bars lighting up the sea with flickerings lights. We even heard an excellent rendition of what we know as the music from Zorba the Greek. 

Beach side Bar, Benitses, Corfu

Again, time for a car trip. As we are sea-based travellers, we tend to drive around to see what the land is like, and only visit a few places. So there were many attractions or sites we didn't see in our limited time. Driving to the north-west peak of Corfu took us through the middle of the island to one of the 5 castles of Corfu, Angelokastro.  To see this Byzantium castle, which is really the ruins of walls, acropolis and church, you have to follow the steps up 305 metres, in the heat. Why do I choose these places?? But it was a lovely path, and the view from the top across to the mainland, and taking in the southern part of the Adriatic sea, was breathtaking. Or perhaps that was just me, unable to stop puffing for quite a while.

Beginning the climb...

Mike ready to catch me on the way down

Back down the steps, negotiate the tiny roads hugging the hillsides, and it's time for lunch. Oh look, a hilltop restaurant, with balcony views across the valley to blue sea and a great menu... don't mind if we do. (sorry....). 

Someone is looking pretty smug....

Just another view of more bays and (rocky) beaches

I heard there were some lovely gardens we could see at the Achilleion Palace, on the eastern side of Corfu, so that was our next stop.  We expected to see sumptuous well-planned gardens filled with flowers; surprisingly the gardens were a little sad and forgotten. However, the palace and statues were absolutely amazing, not expected at all. The Achilleion Palace was built for Empress Elizabeth (Sissy) of Austria in 1890 as a summer residence and refuge from her unhappy life at court. Unfortunately she was assassinated in 1898,  and the palace lay empty unitl 1907 when it was purchased by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. 

At the entrance of the grounds of the Achilleion Palace 

Unfortunately many statues did not have an explanation, and I have been unable to identify these while researching...

The palace is closed for renovations so we had lots of time to appreciate the of many classical statues honouring Greek gods, goddesses and muses, which are placed strategically around the grounds. Sissy, also known as the Melancholy Princess (unfair, she really had a bit of a rough time before being murdered), had a particular fondness for Achilles, hence the name Achilleion Palace. She commissioned the statue of Dying Achilles, lying down attempting to remove the arrow from his heel.

Apparently the Kaiser was't impressed, and removed it at one stage to build his House of the Knights for his garrison. He then had a more heroic depiction of Achilles created,  which stands majestically on the tip of the garden looking down onto the sea below. 

Among the many other statues are the Three Graces or Charites - Thalia, Euphrosyne and Aglaea, who represent Beauty, Grace and Charm,  and the Nine Muses - Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomeni, Terpsicore, Erato, Polymnia, Urania and Calliope (see my note at the end for more information).   If you want to see more of the palace, it was the location for the movie 'For Your Eyes Only', yes a James Bond movie, so Mike was having a great day...

My favourite, the Charites Euphrosyne, stood a little bit differntly to the others and is responsible for joy, mirth and merriment

Strategically situated in the Ionian Sea while looking over the Adriatic Sea, Corfu started out as a Byzantium city in 8 century BC, but since then has seen the Ottomans, Venetians  (for 4 hundred years) then the French, British and Germans, before Greece claimed it. All this I didn't know, and so was stunned to see how beautiful the location of our marina in Corfu was - right under The Old Fortress (called that because there's a newer, old fortress). It was constructed and amended over a period of 15 centuries. To reach the city, we had had to walk a cobbled stone path under an ancient arch, through the fortress grounds, past the building now housing the university music school (queue students practising the piano..), and over the moat. And because we were in the marina, we did all this for free! Magic. Combined with the New Fortress, the Old City of Corfu, the Old Fortress is a UNESCO heritage site.

Rounding the peninsular looking at the Old Fortress, marina tucked in on the right

The view as we walked (tottered) along the marina wall towards the Old Fortress and the Old Town of Corfu

Looking back over the moat bridge

The moat - with massive, unscaleable bastion walls, the city of the right hand side

The Church of Saint George inside the fortress complex

The old town section of Corfu is a joy to explore. Wide promenades, meandering laneways and staircases, beautiful buildings more like Italy than Greece (in our limited experience). I saw somewhere Corfu town described as an open air musuem, and it is, with the addition of many cafes and shops to savour as well. So naturally, I spent valuable  tourist time finding a phone shop to unglitch Mike's phone. Such is the life of a cruiser, that while on land, you have to deal with real life as well. Ce la vie. But we also had time to enjoy some lovely food, swim off the walls of the marina, contemplate our journey so far and prepare for our next adventure.

Corfu was the last stop of the Greek part of our Odyssey. Up to this point we had sailed, or 'MED' sailed, 1237 nms since leaving North Cyprus. We revisited favorite spots in Turkey, had a hiatus while I returned to Perth for a month, then crossed the  short distance over to Greece, travelling onwards through the Agean, the Saronic Gulf, Corinth Canal and Gulf of Patras and finally the Ioanian. 

Now it was time to leave. We had booked Kirrikie into a marina for winter  in Montenegro, a non-Schengen country, where we could leave her and spend time with family in Australia. To get there we needed to travel via Albania - less than 30nms away, but almost another world away from Greece. The adventure continues....

Our journey through Turkey and Greece in 2024:

And a little extra info:

The Nine Muses each guided and inspired a specific creative or intellectual field:

Calliope: The Muse of epic poetry and eloquence. She is considered the chief of the Muses and is said to have inspired Homer in writing The Iliad and The Odyssey. She is often depicted with a writing tablet, scroll, and pen.

Clio: The Muse of history. She is responsible for preserving memory and the knowledge that comes from discoveries and investigations of the past. Clio is often depicted with a scroll or a book. She is also credited with introducing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece.

Erato: The Muse of lyric or erotic poetry. Her name means “lovely,” and she is said to make those who were guided by her desirable and worthy of love. Erato is often depicted with a lyre, hymns, and a wreath of roses.

Euterpe: The Muse of music, specifically lyric poetry and flute playing. Her name means “giver of pleasure”. She is credited with developing various musical instruments, including the aulos (a double flute). Euterpe is particularly associated with wind instruments. She is often depicted with a flute.

Melpomene: The Muse of tragedy. She is often depicted with a tragic mask, leather boots, and a knife or stick in her hand.

Polyhymnia: The Muse of sacred poetry, hymns, and religious ceremonies. She is also associated with geometry, meditation, and agriculture. Polymnia is often depicted wearing a tunic and veil, appearing thoughtful and serious. She is credited with explaining the origin of the name of the month of May.

Terpsichore: The Muse of dance and choral song. She is often depicted with a lyre.

Thalia: The Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. Her name means “rich festivity” or “blooming”. She is often depicted with a comic mask and an ivy crown.

Urania: The Muse of astronomy and astrology. She is often depicted dressed in blue, holding a globe and compass, and wearing a star diadem or having stars on her dress. In some accounts, she is identified as the eldest of the Muses.