Wild Flowers and Lily
05 May 2019 | Moudrou, Limnos - 7,847 NM
Lorraine Chapman | Very Windy
We had a few lovely days in Skala Loutra with Dee and Kevin. We walked up the steep path through the spring flowers and olive trees to the pretty little church perched on the hill above the bay for wonderful views of the green hills and the bay as well as the boats on the quay. We could also see some of the ruined buildings with chimneys which are dotted all over Limnos, so on our return tried to find out more. We were told by a local that the one in the village made petrol(!) and another which was renovated to holiday accommodation appeared to be an olive oil plant - not sure that fully answered the mystery. The day finished with dinner and games on Kestrel.
The village of Loutra is about a 30 minute walk from Skala Loutra and so the next day we headed that way, uphill, along pretty lanes to the village nestled in the hills. It’s a very pretty village with all the shops you could need and a church with views but not touristy at all, lovely. Dee and Kevin were heading south and so were leaving in the morning as the wind changed northerly and we spent our last evening together eating and playing rummicub on Freya. Early the next morning we waved goodbye before doing chores - we patched the dinghy which seemed to be deflating rather quickly, whipped mooring lines damaged on the quay in Chios and went for another beautiful walk along the coast to the next bay.
Lorraine needed to return to the UK and so we took Freya around to Mytilini marina. It was a very lumpy motor sail (mainly to dry the sail after all the rain as it wasn’t really helping) but thankfully it was only 2.5 hours. The marina was very welcoming and has finger pontoons - just like home! Gordon and Louise, who we wintered with in Kalamata last year, were there with their new adopted crew member - Lily the cat who definitely liked Freya more than us! We had a very nice few days exploring Mytilini, shopping (including an interesting hour in a lingerie shop!) and socialising, finishing with a lovely, long Sunday lunch by the sea before Lorraine flew home early on the Monday.
Paul spent the week discovering all the back street hardware shops with lots of hidden, dusty treasures, ticking off lots of chores and enjoying lots of drinking with the neighbours! One of the chores was to investigate a fresh water leak which turned out to be coming from under the tank in a completely inaccessible place without dismantling Freya’s saloon - a job that needs some planning..........
Louise and Gordon left to go cruising, just one day before Lorraine got back and so Paul wasn’t alone for long! We celebrated my return with dinner on the harbour where we were entertained by the soldiers marching with their band - part of the Easter celebrations presumably. We decided on one more day in Mytilini before we too went cruising and headed for the Archeology Museum - which was closed - and so we went on a lovely walk around the castle buying pastries on route before climbing the steep hill to the ancient theatre. This was closed too but we climbed through the fence to find there wasn’t a lot left. The shape of the amphitheatre was clear but no seats remained, just the stage at the bottom. It was worth the climb though for the spectacular views of the castle, Mytilini and Turkey across the Aegean as we sat and enjoyed our lunch.