Saturday saw the arrival of Gary and Deb. Which was odd really as their flights were booked for the Sunday!! Another cock up on the travel front!
Saturday saw some tremendous thunderstorms and rain. This confirmed one of the things on a boat that is a real pain...we had a leak. Water outside boat "GOOD", water inside boat "BAD" is the simple addage. Looking at the problem , it originally looked like we might have to strip panels and all sorts of unpleasantness, however on closer inspection, a bit of silicone may just have done the trick. The aft shower too was showing signs of not wanting to play....so...head down hole...and filter located....cleaned...working again. I have heard a phrase out here 'bilge rat' which broadly means someone who spends rather too much time with his head...I am turning into that person..
Sunday, crew were allowed a day at leisure in old rhodes town. Baklava and beer were taken (though not at the same time). 2 beers and 2 waters in rhodes town 16 euros (ouch). Gary bought a hat making him look very dapper. 14 euros...here in symi at the shop at the end of the boat 8 euros. rhodes town bit expensive. We enjoyed a meal in the evening in the lea of the old town walls in a lovely restaurant.
Monday, we set off for Symi which is where i write this..2/3 hours on the engine was followed by a very pleasant sail indeed. At one point, we sailed through a school of dolphins which we assumed were checking out the local fish stocks as they appeared to be swimming around the same spot as we sailed off into the distance..at one point , a couple of what looked to me, large dolphin, swam right under the boat, amazingly powerfull swimmers.
Arriving at Symi town is quite an eye opener, it is simply beautiful. Differently painted house tumble down the hillsides of this quaint little bay. The steepness of the hills and the proximity of the houses looks like they are all piled on top of each other, it gives quite an effect. We are moored right on the town quay, which in Greece is not unusual. It does give you a ringside seat to the local life.
Symi town is quite a tourist trap and midway through the day , a small armada of tripper boats turn up from Rhodes and the like, depositing a few hundred day trippers. These all then leave around 4/5 leaving a very much quieter Symi town.
I may have mentioned previously that each time we have to moor where we have a large expectant audience, the wind whips up , generally , on the beam, making it jolly difficult to keep control of the boat. Yesterday proved no different. They have chaps here who help you onto the quay whilst trying to stop everyones anchor chains getting tangled. Well, lets put it this way, i dont think i will be making the christmas card list of our particular "santas little helper", he whistled and shouted as i tried to get Aurora somewhere neer Symi quay. Finally getting attached, I thought about what the chap was trying to tell me....and I now realise, he was giving me a "top tip" which i will take forward with me to the next debacle. Every day is a school day as they say.
Watching other boats mooring up in this tight spot, I realised i was not the only one having problems. The boat moored next to us was noteable for one reason in as much as the guy on anchor duties, who was not a young man, had a very tight pair of budgie smugglers about his person, causing consternation amongst our female crew members, he was a bit of a character as he tarzaned from one charter boat to another.
A lovely meal was taken in Symi town just back from the main quay, just delightful.
Tuesday morning , we woke to grey skies. This did not deter me from checking out just how steep those steps in Symi town were....and i can report back that they are flipping steep, probably accounting for the fact that noboby lives to a ripe old age here...those steps are mighty steep and there are lots of them.....BUT...the views from the top...oh my word.
We headed off south hoping to pick out a bay in Symi (of which there are plenty) for a swim stop, sadly, the weather was awful, not being able to see far due to the torrential rain. We headed straight to Panormitis which is an enclosed lagoon sporting its very own monastery. We anchored in a downpour and headed down below for lunch. Hardly had we finished lunch when the sun came out and we had a loveley afternoon and evening around the boat. We visited the monastery, where Deb got a bit if a ticking off from a lady who looked about 102. Deb was offered a skirt to wear as her legs did not pass muster, which i thought was a bit harsh. We walked to the headland where a windmill stands ...and the view was just sensational. Dorothy and Deb decided to swm back to the boat, so off they went, whilst Gary and i retrieved the dinghy from the monastry, which, i might add has the most amazing bakery supplying all sorts of goodies, sweet and savoury. Tomorrow off back to Rhodes