Freya & Us

Although we were very close to the end of our sailing adventures this year we weren't ready to stop yet. The winds still wouldn't allow us to visit Agonothinisia and so we decided on a circumnavigation of Samos. We motored around the east of the island in zero wind where Greece and Turkey are only 1 mile apart. Fantastic scenery and a big turtle popped up to say hello on the way. We anchored in a bay (Asprochori) on the north coast which looked very sheltered as there was no wind and the forecast only had southerlies. As we entered it started blowing about 20 knots! We dropped the anchor as it was a beautiful place to stop - but it kept howling from the steep hills surrounding us. In the end we got fed up with the constant wind and headed for our next stop - Vathi, the capital of Samos. The wind disappeared as we left the bay. Vathi is a huge harbour and is renowned for not being sheltered but it was so calm when we went in and tied up it felt perfect. We were right in town and the people watching was great as we had dinner on the boat. During the night the southerly wind picked up a bit, not much, but created a chop across the harbour from the hills. It became really noisy on the wall and rocky! All we wanted to do was leave by morning - exploring would have to wait for another time! A visit to the supermarket and we were off again. Our circumnavigation was looking as if it would be very quick!

Next stop Karlovassi. We stopped here on our way north 2 years ago and weren't very impressed as it appeared to be just a ferry port and a line of tavernas. We thought it deserved another look and it is reported to be sheltered in all conditions! It was very calm - phew, third time lucky! We were helped on arrival by a taverna owner. As usual, he caused more hassle than help but he tried, bless him! We ate in his taverna that night which was lovely. The next day we discovered there was much more to Karlovassi than we thought. We climbed to the old town above the harbour which was lovely and had great views over the new towns and coast below. The old town was still very lived in and not touristyfied at all making it very interesting - not even a coffee shop open on a Sunday. We walked back to the harbour for coffee and then along the coast to the cities we'd seen from above. First was Mezio Karlovassi which had a huge church but seemed mostly residential and so we kept going to Neo Karlovassi which turned out to be a very nice town and is home to part of the University of the Aegean. The centre was really lively even on a Sunday and full of bars and cafes where we had lunch. Shops looked interesting too but not on a Sunday. It turned out to be a very long walk and we were exhausted when we got back up to the boat.

This is now turning into a familiar story - the wind turned north over night which was forecast but allegedly this should have been fine in the harbour. It wasn't and again we were rocking around and had the noise of the chop on the wall as well. Paul spoke to a local fisherman who offered us one of his lazy lines which was very nice of him but we thought it would still be very uncomfortable and so we set off again - back to the south of the island. It was a passage of several parts. We left in rough seas and little wind making it an uncomfortable few miles to the west of the island. Dolphins came to play for a while and the scenery was amazing - mountainous and green - which helped. When we turned the corner we had a lovely downwind sail for a few miles south and then turning the corner to go west again the wind disappeared and we motored in a flat sea. We passed a pretty bay (Limonias) that looked very calm and so we dropped the anchor for a late breakfast and stayed the night....

A couple of years ago we visited Marathakambos, a small, pretty, sleepy fishing village where they were working on improvements to the harbour for visiting yachts. There was room for us in a sheltered spot and so we moored side to and we went into the village for a very nice lunch in a harbour side taverna. Marathakambos town is actually 250 metres up in the hills from the harbour and so we took a taxi. It was much bigger than we thought from below and we spent some time wandering it's narrow, windy streets. It wasn't at all set up for visitors but was charming and pretty in a lived in way. The views were a little disappointing as we were a bit too far above the coast and a bit hazy but quite impressive nonetheless. We were planning on walking down but needed to find a route off of the 'main' road. Leaving the village was easy as we just headed down but then it wasn't clear which path would actually go somewhere or just to a remote cottage! We had to pick one and so off we went. It was quite clearly not quite going in the right direction very soon as we walked along the mountain rather than down but it was such a lovely walk through olive groves and with stunning views that we decided it didn't really matter where we came out! We gradually descended but were still going the wrong way and so decided a little detour through an olive grove to take us nearer the coast would help. We were a bit worried as we got closer to a house and could hear voices but didn't see anyone and didn't even have to climb over a wall to get out! We were now in a beach resort which was mostly closed but we found a bakery open for lunch and then had to walk about 2 miles along the coast back to Marathakambos. A bit longer than planned but a lovely walk.

We decided to stay another day and so walked along the coast in the other direction. There was a rough road going along the pebble beach for a while but eventually disappeared. We headed inland and were excited to find some ruins. It was the remains of a line of arches in a field - we have no idea what it was or how old but interesting to surmise. We then found ourselves on the beach and walked as far as we could until we reached cliffs. It was then a steep, winding climb up a rough road for great views and to the main road back to town. Another lovely walk and a swim on the way back.

We thought we had a couple of options to stop on the way back to Pythagorio as we tried to delay our arrival in the marina. The first was a bay on a small island of Samiopoula, but we found it way too deep to anchor for anything other than a lunch stop and the swell made it uncomfortable, so we kept going. Next was off of Iraion which has the ruins of a temple but it was too shallow for us to get behind the breakwater and out of the swell and so we ended up anchored outside Pythagorio. It was lovely but not quite how we wanted our last day of sailing to be.