Limni, Evia
In August last year catastrophic fires engulfed this part of Evia. Residents and tourists alike had to be rescued from the beaches and many who lived here lost property and livelihoods. So it was good to see Limni looking smart and clean and preparing for the summer.

The view from the castle - a wonderful place to be in sunshine.
Back in Karystos...
We spent a week here in September 2017 when Nev and Daph had joined us for a weeks sailing - and we never left the quay. Well deja vu! We're only here for 5 nights this time, and the first two days give us chance to revisit the best of Karystos - bike rides round the bay and up to the castle, and evening visits to the canteen taverna - but then the sun goes, a chill wind blows in and it rains red dust!

The Neorion shipyard - established in 1861 and still a major employer in the town.

A very satisfying day! Fantastic walk up beyond Ermuopoli's two vast churches (symbolising how the island continues to be centres for both Catholic and Orthodox Christians) followed by coffee in the square and lunch on the boat. in the afternoon we visit the excellent little industrial museum and that's followed by a tour round the shipyard. The day is complete with a trip to Lidl - where we stock up on enough museli to keep us going for the rest of the year!

Syros

It's two weeks since we arrived back in Leros, and most of that time has been spent sitting in Lakki marina - one of my favourite places - even if it has been stripped of it's facilities in one of Leros's tribal wars! There was one night when strong southerlies came in and we abandoned ship for a night in a hotel bed, but otherwise it was usual mix of boat preparation, socialising and where possible enjoying the warmth of the sun.
But we came here to sail - and we have to get to somewhere near Athens to meet a sailmaker before Easter.
We did a long day to Ikaria and spent 2 nights in the free marina there before a very long day to Syros.

Our phones alert us to the danger

I have just popped over to the ladies in the marina's ablution block when the ground shakes! It's the nightmare scenario of being caught with your pants down! There's enough movement, that I decide I'd better get out of the building pretty quick. Once outside I can see that others are coming out of the government building next door. None of this impresses the skipper - who, sitting on his boat and unaware of any movement, thinks I've gone mad. That's until our phones start shouting at us - an emergency warning in Greek and English, telling us there's been an earthquake and we're at possible risk of a tsunami and should leave the coastal area. Within a couple of minutes, we can see reports of an earthquake in Samos - about 40 mls north of us. The port police come round and say we should leave our boats until it's clear there is no danger. We stand on the quay and watch as the water level in the harbour slowly sinks - by about 18 inches - and returns and repeats the process several more times.

We have just got ourselves settled in the marina when Stellios comes round to say that there's a boat coming in with Covid on board! Boats are being moved around so that they can be accommodated on the outer pontoon - behind ticker tape - with no other yachts nearby. Apparently the Finnish owner of the boat has been out here since March working on his boat - and went down to Kos to pick up some young crew who had come out to help him - but one of them tested positive on arrival - so now they all 4 have to quarantine on a small boat only allowed off onto the pontoon for daily exercise!

The main has a tear in it - which will require a repair, and the clocks are going back - a sure sign that's time to get back to Lakki. We return via Despotika, Skinoussa and Lavithia (where we follow white blobs on the rocks by torchlight to the farm for a meal).

We've been wanting to get to Milos and head in that direction - but only get as far as Sifnos before 'weather' comes in. We take refuge in the harbour at Platis Gialos - and stay 4 nights. Fantastic walks.