During our first year in the Cyclades, we tried to defy nature and sail north against the unforgiving north winds. Finally, after being beaten and battered over and over again, we came to our senses and vowed to never, ever do that again. So here we were two years later, in Santorini, the southernmost island in the Cyclades Island chain, when we received documents that required a US notarized signature. Where do you find a US notary in Greece, you ask? Good question.

With a little research, we found that while Greek notary and online options existed, only one thing would work for the necessary signatures: a US notary at a US Embassy. There are two US Embassies in Greece; one in Athens and one in Thessoloniki, both quite bit north of Santorini. While going north was not ideal, we thought that, with logic and caution, it was doable. So reluctantly, we began the trip some 150 miles north to Athens, hoping for south winds and calm seas.





Our first stop was Folegandros, a little island that we had not seen before. The path from Santorini to Folegandros had little wind and rolling northwest seas, not great for sailing, but not too bad considering the direction we were headed. Upon our arrival, we were surprised to see a number of other boats; it appeared our fellow cruisers were finally beginning to leave their winter berths.













Borrowing the favorite words of a good friend, the island of Folegandros was "charming," with just three villages and some 650 inhabitants. We walked over the hill to the Chora and explored the quiet little hamlet, perched on the side of a cliff, with their unique colorful balconies, and tried to ignore the northern passage looming ahead.





















Lunch of Cretan salad with darkos - soaked barley rusk topped with chopped tomatoes, a local cheese, olives, peppers, capers and herbs.

While we would have loved to linger in Folegandros a while, or even move a bit west to another unexplored island of Milos, the documents had a deadline and there were undesirable winds in the forecast, so off we went in search of protection. We landed in Serifos, an island we had visited last year, with a good harbor for the dreaded north winds.









We toyed with the idea of leaving after one night, but luckily the rain and swell brought with it intelligence, and we hunkered down for the three-day blow. As we watched all the charter boats come in with people rugged up in foul weather gear, we were pleased with our decision to stay. And between the 40-knot gusts, it was very entertaining to watch charter boat after charter boat race into the harbor trying to beat the others to the dock, with sometimes six boats lined up to back into the tiny marina.







Once the weather calmed, we made the final passage. With a sunrise start, little wind and flat seas, Berkeley East motored easily, just a little bit north to Pireaus, a town outside Athens. Our journey north was not nearly as challenging as our first year in the Cyclades, but as they say, with experience comes wisdom and now, we will take the peaceful, more civilized, path any day.