It was July when we last blogged from Khalki, a little island off Rhodes (we we didn't get it posted until the other day, but, hey.) Even at that time, we were not just exploring "overwintering" marina options, but also debating whether Katherine should fly back to Florida to provide some post-stroke care management for her Auntie Jean. So we decided to make a quick trip to check out Leros, a Greek Dodecanese island north of Kos and very close to the coast of Turkey ... and our #1 choice for a winter contract. It also had an airport from which Katherine could depart. You can see Sangaris sailing right past the end of the runway on her way to the boatyard in the montage pic.

But along the way to Leros we anchored off pretty Tilos and enjoyed a few days walking ashore through the seaside town. At the suggestion of a local artist whose studio we visited, we joined the islanders for an evening of music and dancing at the old town's church square high atop the island's mountain peak. It was a great scene but we judiciously took our leave as the Metaxa began to flow and several Zorba wannabees were clearly headed for an overzealous evening - plus we had to catch the last bus.

Heading north a few miles, the fijord-like narrow bay at Vathi on Kalimnos island was a welcome stopover en route to Leros. Despite a crowded quayside with many anchor chain overlaps, we were happy to spend a couple nights and enjoy some good walking trails, great swims and the lovely new "Medusa" restaurant.

On to Leros' Lakki town we found the deep and very well protected bay that the Italian Navy used as their command post during WWII and many of the buildings are from that era - now housing Greek bureaucracy. We had a comfortable cooling breeze and good holding at anchor our first night but then took advantage of a free stern-to quay tie up when a Meltemi was due to blow up a Force 7 - some 30 knots.

Then, lo and behold, whilst sitting at a sidewalk café we saw the familiar faces of Diana & Japp, Dutch friends from our 2008 stay in Sicily and had a grand reunion ... sailing is a small world!

After the blow, we went to the north end of the island to check out the Partheni Boatyard next to the landing strip. Along the way we stopped at Agios Marina, a small town off Leros' east coast and enjoyed a shore side meal - it's the top right photo in the montage.

Arriving at the Boatyard the next day, we quickly decided their offer for an annual contract with 2 haulouts was the best deal for us. It made sense economically, the lifting and yard services seemed top notch and the logistics of an unplanned August haulout afforded Kath an opportunity to fly back to Florida and Craig to "dive in" to the engine room for some serious maintenance.

So, August 9-30th found Kath in Boca Raton caring for Auntie Jean following her July stroke and supporting her through rehab, a brief 2nd hospital visit and getting settled in a skilled nursing unit within her retirement community. Craig had a similarly productive time, but was "on the hard" and up to his elbows in heavy mechanical maintenance of the ship's transmission and propeller drive.

Kath left for Athens via the Leros airstrip which was just a ten minute walk from the boatyard and happily stepped off the little commuter flight at the month's end to see Sangaris "splashed" and swinging in the breeze on a nearby mooring and welcome a big hug from her sorely missed captain.

We had planned a week or so of do-nothing, rest a few sore muscles and jet-lag re-coop but it was short-lived as we were quickly energized and thrilled to get an email from dear friends Jens and Tino from Munich, Germany who were on a land holiday on nearby Kos island. Perfect timing for another reunion as we'd not seen these pals since serendipitous visit in Mallorca in 2007! We anchored off Kamares harbor on Kos' SW end and spent four fun filled days hanging about ashore in Kefali and Kamares where they rented a lovely little studio (the same one for the last 15 yrs!) and had one sailing trip and night's outing aboard Sangaris to nearby Viali.

But soon it was time to move on to Turkey where we sailed into the harbor of Turgutreis to accomplish our country check-ins for boat and crew. Fortunately, the customs dock was an OK place to leave the boat for the afternoon and we had a chance to walk the town and browse the bazaar as it was market day! We were prepared with knapsacks for provisioning from the colorful and abundant veg, fruit and spice stalls but forgot the camera and didn't capture any first day impressions of the colorful market, street scenes nor the mosque ... but there will be plenty more in the next 4-6 weeks!

Cruiser's Notes: We checked into Turkey at Turgutreis D-Marin. Tie to the customs or fuel quay, go to the marina office where they have an on-site agent who types up your Transit Log - we paid 161Turkish Lire ($1=1.77TL at the time), which included the Log and agent's fee. Then you walk back to the Custom's quay and get your new Log stamped by four departments, and your passport stamped with a 15€ visa (Euros only, please and the ATM's dispense TL or € - there's one just outside the Marina office). The Log is good for 1 year and can be renewed to 5 years. The Visa is for 90 days.