Freya & Us

We decided on another day in Lipsoi and planned to walk the length of the island. This may sound a long way and indeed did to us when planning it! We took a taxi to Porto Mosxato on the north coast. It was a very pretty bay with lots of colourful fishing boats. The first stage was a steep uphill walk and down the other side to the stunning bay of Platis Gialos with its turquoise clear sea. Perfect stop for a swim - but not lunch as we'd thought, as we were immediately approached by a flock of quacking ducks demanding lunch with menaces and followed by 2 goats with the same objective and weren't above helping themselves with their heads in our bag. Once dry we thought it sensible to find another picnic spot which we did a short way along the coast. We followed the coast road then headed inland to cross the island up another steep climb with stunning all round views and then down the other side to follow the coast road back into town. It was a lovely walk but it was still only 2.30 pm, what we really hadn't considered was quite how small the island was and we'd only walked about 4 miles!

Time to move on. In the morning we stocked up in the supermarket, went out for a very nice breakfast and then left for the 8 mile journey to Marathi. It was a fantastic sail although mostly in the wrong direction but given it wasn't far we didn't mind a few tacks. Freya managed about 7.5 knots with toe rails in the water - great fun. The island of Marathi is really tiny with just a taverna, a few holiday homes and a lot of goats. We picked up a buoy belonging to the restaurant which they laid on the understanding if you use them you eat there. It was still a bit windy when we went ashore making the paddle interesting. We told the restaurant we would eat after going for a walk - they looked at us as if we were going mad - where? They asked! But we climbed the hill to the little church at the top and found it surrounded by an old stone deserted village which included a old cistern which was now a goat shelter with an impressive vaulted ceiling. There were spectacular views in all directions but there wasn't far to go and we were back in the restaurant in half an hour. The rest of the evening was spent lying on the boat star gazing and spotting shooting stars. Perfect!

An even shorter 1 mile journey in the morning to the slightly bigger island of Arki. We were intending to go on the quay but as we approached it looked quite crowded and so headed to the next bay and picked up another restaurant buoy. Guess where we were eating that night! The water was so clear the first job was definitely a swim. We walked over to the tiny but pretty village and out the other side where we disappointingly found the island rubbish dump. The recycling was in a fenced off area but the rest of the rubbish was simply dumped over the cliff including its plastic sacks! Very nice dinner in the taverna by Freya and a very still and peaceful night.

We were hoping to visit Agothonisi next but the forecast was suggesting strong winds and so we headed to Pythagoria on Samos where we thought we'd get most shelter. We had a great sail there and it was very peaceful when we arrived and thanks to the covid regulations the bars had to shut earlier than usual and so it stayed that way. Anthony, the harbour master said there was going to be gale force 9 in the area and so to put extra lines on and pull ourselves off the quay! During the night the slop in the harbour picked up making lots of splashing noises under our beds and so not a lot of sleep was had! In the morning the wind picked up as did the slop in the harbour and so we followed Anthony's advice adding extra lines and pulling ourselves another metre off the quay. We now couldn't get off the boat even if we wanted to! The wind and rain didn't reach forecast levels but the GF 9 probably happened somewhere close by as the waves were huge breaking over the harbour wall and the swell inside bounced us around all day. It wasn't too unpleasant onboard though as we passed the day reading, watching films and playing games with occasional rounds of the deck to make sure all was ok. The tourists walking around the harbour looked at all the boaties as if we'd gone mad! Why would we do this? By the evening it had calmed down a bit although we were still rocking and rolling but we were able to have dinner outside. That night was still a bit rolly but by morning it was calmer and we were able to pull ourselves close enough to the quay to go ashore. Terra firma felt very good! We spent the morning exploring the shops and enjoying the pretty and historic town and later we walked around to the marina where Freya would be spending the winter which all looked very good.

When we left on our walk in the morning we thought we were visiting the castle we'd visited before, which we did, and again, it was interesting. But on walking around the other side we could see more ruins behind the beach below us. This turned out to be ancient Thermi. We couldn't go in but could see lots of piles of stones through the fence and more outside the fences as we approached the beach. On walking back to town we also passed the ancient agora. There was very little left but we realised the ancient city must have been huge when you add together the theatre (which we haven't seen yet) near the marina on the other side of town, the ruins around the museum in town and the additions today. A very interesting walk. We finished the day with a dinner in a harbour side taverna which was very nice.