Scorpios, Vliho bay, Meganisi, back to Lefkas
05 August 2012 | Lefkas
guess who
Good morning my little Olympic champions! I've not seen anything of the Olympics, apart from a minute or two on Greek tv, but not glimpsed any Brits winning all these medals! I've been following the live text on BBC Sport page, but its not quite the same ...
Just after I posted the last blog, husband Tim was struck down with a nasty tummy bug thing, which laid him low for a day or two. Probably the gruesome water in Lefkas harbour. If you handle ropes, anchor, chain etc, it is vital to wash your hands straight away afterwards.
Anyway he's right as rain now (rain .... now, what's that?) which is good news.
We took the boat from tranquil bay to Scorpios island for lunch and a swim. The place where Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onasis, and where she was once photographed in the nude on the beach. He is buried there, alongside his daughter Christina. The island is now owned by his grand-daughter Athina, who has only visited the island twice, once when she was eight, and once on the tenth anniversary of her mother's death. It is regularly reported that she is going to sell the island, for something like 100 million euro ...
You cannot land on the island, and have to keep your distance when anchoring. They wont let you swim to the shore either. The beach is regularly patrolled by guards, although everyone is fascinated by the island and wants to get as close as they can.
It is covered with dense trees, apparently Onasis imported over 200 species of trees. He also imported the sand to make the beach. On the other side of the island to the beach there is the private harbour, where he presumably docked his mega yacht, also called Christina, after his daughter. You can only catch a glimpse of the pink villa, which allegedly is now abandoned and in a state of disrepair. There are obviously a large number of staff who still work on the island, we saw several cars and vans, and some garden work going on. Imagine owning your own island worth 100 million euro and never going there!
On our return from Scorpios we moored in Vliho bay and met up with some Dutch friends that we first met on the canals in France before Christmas, who were also taking their boat to Greece. A good time was had by all in the local taverna that evening. We also visited the Vliho Yacht Club, which sounds posh, but is actually only a taverna offering facilities for boaters, such as showers, laundry, wifi, you can also collect post there, swap your books, look at the weather, they are a mine of information. You dont need to join or be a member, they offer a very good service and also have a useful website.
Our engine part which was sent out from the UK by FedEx has now arrived, so we returned to Lefkas yesterday and picked it up. We are moored on the town quay this time, so no need to use dinghy to get ashore, although it is a little noisy but very convenient. So for the next few days, Tim will be sweating in the engine room, trying to get the bolts off the water pump which is in what looks like a horribly inaccessible place on the engine, while I may escape and go to the pool of a local hotel who lets the public use the facilities. Or I may feel terribly guilty and stay on board and pass the spanners and make the coffee .....