6000 men died the night of October 21st, 1827, right where we are aboard Halekai in the Bay of Navarino on the southwest corner of Greece. The semi-circle of 89 Turkish and Egyptian naval ships must have felt smug and invulnerable when the British fleet of 26 boats entered the harbor, their flags flying and bands playing on deck. Outnumbered and surrounded, there was no need for the Turks to worry.

Little did they know that below decks, British sailors were secretly aiming their cannons. In a surprise attack that night, the British Navy managed to sink 53 ships, shooting at close range with not one loss of their own, winning the battle that soon led to Greek independence.

Together with Manfred and Gini, we hiked up to the 16th century walled castle in Pylos for a better view of the bay. Standing on the ramparts on a sunny, windless day, we watched as a sailboat motored out of the harbor. it was hard to imagine the famous battle which must have turned the water red, or another battle fought here centuries earlier, between the Athenians and Spartans.

When the heat started to take its toll on our energy, we visited the blissfully air-conditioned little castle museum with its relics of the past brought up from the bottom by teams of scuba divers led by archeologists. Then it was time for lunch at our favorite beachfront taverna. Grilled octopus is right up there among our favorites, tying with lobster for first place (it's also much cheaper; we haven't had lobster in ages). Cold beer hit the spot.

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