deva in paradise

Mainland Greece is the dividing landmass between the Aegean and the Ionian Seas, with two beautiful archipelagos of islands on either side... The Peloponnese Peninsula that extends 135 miles Southward from the mainland is cut through with a canal at its narrowest part, the Isthmus of Corinth. We chose to transit this canal to save ourselves a long transit around the peninsula, and because the canal itself is unique and interesting.

Crossing a Gulf

Leaving the Cyclades behind we crossed the Saronic Gulf. Our first port of call was the beautiful island of Hydra, which is clustered next to the Peloponnese Peninsula.. The long narrow island lies parallel to the Peloponnese, its appearance is dry and devoid of vegetation. There are no cars on the island. Donkeys wait along the harbors edge to collect their loads and are seen throughout the town with everything from building supplies to the family groceries. The town is fashionable and it is said that many rich and famous people holiday here. The harbor, however is teeny tiny. Boats tied to the quay are often blocked in by arriving boats rafted two to three deep. The result being total mayhem around 6:00 each evening. Our neighbors were a charming Russian family with teenage children who chartered a boat from Athens. On the other side, a group of 4 Norwegian men who we became friends with and upon leaving gave us a highly treasured bottle of Aquavit they had brought with them. We enjoyed 3 days here eating in nice restaurants and hiking along the footpath which lines the waterfront.

Next we sailed to Poros which lies close to the coast of the Peloponnese, separated from it by a narrow and in places shallow channel. Unlike Hydra this island is extensively wooded with pine and olive groves. Our main reason for coming here was that we could have our mail sent to us, so once it was collected and a few groceries picked up we were on our way again. We found a perfect little hidey hole a few miles away and anchored for the day. The water was crystal clear for swimming and we had a peaceful nights rest.

Our last port in the Saronic was the mainland village of Epidhavros, where the main attraction is the ancient theater. Built of marble and granite in the late 4th century BC, this theater is accepted as the best preserved of all Greek theaters and one of the finest pieces of classical architecture in existence. The acoustics are considered perfect and a coin dropped at center stage can be clearly heard from any one of the 14,000 seats. The site was renowned in ancient times not for its theater, but as a sanctuary of the Askeplion: a religious center for curing the sick. Ancient Epidhavros was the healing center of the classical world. Extensive temples, hospitals, sanatoriums and the bath houses covered the site at one time, but little remains of the buildings today. It was the wealth from the healing center that allowed the ancient Greeks to build the theater. It is interesting to note how important the Theater arts were at the time in ancient Greece, as the venues we have seen are bigger than many sports stadiums today.

The Corinth Canal

The Corinth canal offers a shortcut through a narrow isthmus in the Peloponnese peninsula. Before its construction,the ancients used to drag ships across the isthmus on a paved road called the Dholkos. A canal was started by the Emperor Nero circa. 55AD, using 6000 Jewish slaves, captured in the Jewish-Roman War. The present canal was continued by a French company and finished by the Greeks in 1893. Four bridges cross above it, and two more are lowered into the water to allow the passage of ships. We tied up along side the quay, paid our canal dues and waited for 2 hours for our turn to pass through this one-way 3.2 mile stretch. We watched as huge freighters were pulled through by tug boats. When it was our turn, we saw the bridges ahead with cars and trucks passing over them, stop traffic and lower into the water just before we got to them.

Hounded by Canines

A funny thing happened when we started to leave the canal entrance. Debby was on the bow trying to let go of the lines when 2 big dogs ran over and grabbed the line in their jaws playing tug-o-war. They were too strong for Deb and it took the canal manager to chase them off before we could get underway.

Ancient Corinth

After transiting the Canal we couldn't resist a visit to the ancient city of Corinth. In the 5th century BC, Corinth rivaled Athens as a center of the Greek empire. Beautiful marble columned buildings lined wide promenades. Greece was at that time the world's foremost nation in terms of trade, technology, art and science. To fully understand this, consider modern astronomy as having most of its early development in Greece. Also consider the advances in mathematics of Pythagoras and the engineering genius of Archimedes, which are the basis of modern methods and technology all over the world. Philosophers Socrates and Plato, and mathematician Ptolemy, were all from ancient Greece. Democracy is said to have originated as a form of government in ancient Greece. Philosophy and Poetry were respected and elevated art forms in the ancient culture of Greece, which spread later to the rest of the world.

Unfortunately in Corinth as in other places in this part of the world, much of the infrastructure was destroyed or defaced during many wars. The Romans invaded in 140 BC, later the Goths and the Crusades also looted and defaced many of the ancient buildings. It was telling to see a row of marble statues of the ancient gods, all beheaded by these invaders in the name of their respective religions. Early Romans didn't like the Greek gods, later the Christians claimed Polytheism a heresy, and later yet the Islamic Ottomans toppled any monuments or statues that idolized earlier deities .

Scientists were especially despised by the rulers of invading empires and tribes, and many were killed, imprisoned or taken as slaves because they were perceived as threats to the power of emperors.

Galaxidhi and Delphi

The town of Galaxidhi on the Gulf of Corinth was charming with it's pine-studded hills and wonderful walkway that ran along it's shore. We found several restaurants which provided unique meals unlike the local Tavernas which we are getting tired of. The town of Galaxidhi is known for it's maritime history........In the 19th century it was a shipbuilding center of the merchant ships of that period. Many wooden barks and clippers were built here, before the age of steam and steel moved shipbuilding to other areas.

The basin of water and mountains that encloses the Gulf of Corinth causes a meteorological phenomenon which we observed from Galaxhidi. An atmospheric inversion which results in hot stagnant air at sea level, while just a few miles away are snow capped mountains...During early May the daytime temperatures were in the high 90s F. In the afternoons a hot wind from the West developed and resulted in a green cloud of olive tree pollen everywhere. Mike discovered he was allergic to the pollen and suffered sneezing and itchy eyes for several days.

A visit to Delphi

While in Galaxidhi we rented a car and drove up the flank of Mount Parnassus to ancient Delphi which is considered one of the most spectacular classical sites in Greece. Mostly constructed around 500 BC, It was also once regarded by the ancients as nothing less than the center of the world, where the Oracle was located (complete with the navel rock which was thrown from the sky by Zeus and landed here) It takes its name from Apollo Delphinios when the god was worshiped in the shape of a dolphin. Other gods were also associated with Delphi, notably Dionysus and Athena. The Delphic Oracle became famous throughout the civilized world. The Oracle was a guiding voice from the center of the earth, interpreted by priestesses who inhaled gases emanating from fissures in the rocks. Interpretations of the words from the oracle were vague and often obscene, but had the reputation of being more truthful than elsewhere. Important people came to the Oracle to get advice on important decisions. Its fame and importance diminished during Roman times when Greek polytheism was considered heretical..

Sailing West, our last port in the Gulf of Corinth was the walled city of Navpaktos. Now a relatively small port surrounded by medieval stone walls, it was once one of the main naval ports guarding access to the Corinth Gulf. It was the scene of the 1577 sea battle of Lepanto in which the Ottomans were defeated by the allies of Spain, Italy and France. We tied up in the tiny harbor bordered by old plane trees and under the shadow of a Venetian castle. Navpaktos is a picture perfect castle, with walls 20 feet thick surrounding a small city that was built up the side of a mountain. We hiked part way up the path to the Venetian fortress, passing several times through thick wood and iron gates that centuries ago guarded against invaders.


The following day we entered the Gulf of Patras under hazy skies. We waited in the port of Mesolonghi for two days for favorable winds to make our passage into the Southern Ionian and the island of Cephalonia.