After our 3 days touring Galaxidhi and surrounds, we motored our way out of the bay and once again headed north-west, our eventual goal the islands of the Ionian Sea. As I chatted to my sister Karen, aka the unofficial queen of dolphin spotting, back home in Perth, 2 dolphins appeared on our starboard side and escorted us out. It seems my sister's powers are unlimited.
There was little wind, but were determined to move along without the iron sail. And of course when we caught up to another yacht trying to do the same thing, an unofficial very slow race began. As this much newer yacht, sailing under an Australian flag was called 'Helios', which is our grandson's middle name, we had to ask if they would would swap boats - they declined. However, I think we won, so no bad feelings. (You can check out Helios on the Youtube channel Sailing Helios). Our next 2 nights' anchorage was below the fort walls of Nafpaktos. This is a very pretty medieval town hugging the bay and tiny port, with defensive walls rising from the town all the way up the hill to the remnants of a Venetian castle. Spectacular at night, captivating in the day. We're getting a little wiser about the heat, so we taxied up to the top, wandered around the impressive grounds, appreciating the view over the Gulf of Corinth, then enjoyed the walk beside the walls back down into the town. The castle has/had 5 walls - 2 running down to the sea, and 3 more in-between at different levels, providing efficient protection to the local populace. Although recognised as Venetian, the castle is referred to as early as 450BC, and experienced it's own share of invaders, earthquakes and sea battles which helped form modern Greece.
"In the Middle Ages, it fell to the Venetians, who equipped it until the Turks got it in the fifteenth century. The entrance to the Gulf of Nafpaktos was where a grand sea fight took place in 1571, the battle of Lepanto as it is known, where the Ottoman Empire's naval power was almost totally damaged by the combined papal, Spanish, Habsburg and Venetian forces. After the end of the Revolution War, the castle and the town of Nafpaktos became part of the Greek state. Today, it is a famous archaeological site visited by many tourists every year." (Greeka website).
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| Looking up at the Nafpaktos Castle walls |
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| "Racing" SV Helios |
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| Our night-time view of Nafpaktos |
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| Statue of Anemogiannis, a hero of the Greek War of Independence, who died in 1821 after trying to burn down the Turkish fleet moored in Nafpaktos harbour |
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| Trying to look a little less wind-swept and adventurous in Nafpaktos |
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| Entrance to the port |
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| View from Nafpaktos Castle of the Rio-Antirrio Bridge
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We eagerly departed Nafpaktos and turned our bow towards our next milestone, sailing under the Patras Bridge, aka the Rio-Antirrio Bridge, aka the Cherilaos Trikoupis Bridge. (!?!) A stunning engineering feat, the bridge is, to quote Wikipedia, one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges, and longest of the fully suspended types. Opened in 2004 a day before the Athens Olympics, the bridge crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking Rio on the Pelopnnese Peninsular to Antirrio on the Greek mainland.
For us, it was just an opportunity to do something we had never done before, sail under an impressive bridge and enter a new expanse of water. To avoid an possible mishaps, all vessels are required to radio ahead to authorities providing information about the boat and requesting permission to go under the bridge, and are given strict instructions as to which section of the bridge to pass under/in-between. It added a little tension to the situation as did dodging the ferries passing both ways, but it was a fun overall, and all too quickly we were on the other side, waving Goodbye Gulf of Corinth, and Hello to the Gulf of Patras, our last gulf before entering the Ionian Sea. Woo-hoo!
But first, a diversion. Dodgy weather and storms were predicted, so we reluctantly decided to delay heading for our first Ionian island til the next day, and headed to Messolonghi Marina to stockup on water. The "sea" on the north-east side of the bridge is very shallow, and we could have put our anchor down anywhere if we'd been so inclined. The approach to Messolonghi is quite unusual - we slowly made our way along a narrow shallow channel lined with eucalypts and mostly deserted shacks on one side, while on the other side a thin causway led to holiday bungalows, boats and jettys. As Mike said, Vietnam on the starboard, Lakes Entrance on the portside. It was a unique landscape we didn't see any where else on our travels.
As we motored slowly and carefully up the channel, pondering the common sight of eucalypts in Turkey and Greece, I decided I needed to make sure I wasn't going mad, I mean gum trees ARE Australian, right?? Correct - it turns out that a leading Greek botanist, Theodoros G. Orphanides, was on a quest in the 19th-century to find foreign fauna that could benefit Greece. He introduced the Eucalypt as it is resilient, fast-growing and adaptable; but the main benefit is it's ability to thrive in swampy areas and help combat malaria, a serious problem at that time. The trees helped drain the swamps, reducing the mosquito population. Good for you Theo! Although, I couldn't help but wonder whether the tree's excellent flammability qualities were also mentioned to him...
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| Australia? |
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| Or Vietnam? |
As for Messolonghi Marina, well let's say it is interesting. It felt a little isolated and deserted, but also there were many boats awaiting the return of owners, a live-aboard community and a restaurant right on the pier. So far up the channel away from open waters, we had an interesting evening watching the clouds fight the moon for attention, no sign of any storm near us. And, thanks to the good ole Aussie gum trees, no mosquitoes.
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| Dinner in the moonlight at Messolonghi Marina |
