After a great sail down to Messalonghi, at the start of the Gulf of Patras, we anchored overnight. Great excitement on Max today, Ian caught his first fish in Greece - a Mahi Mahi, a brightly coloured fish that changes colour under stress, so went from iridescent blue to yellow and colours in between as he first tired the fish out and then landed it. It was 62cm long and weighed 1.4kilos so plenty for four and Ann and David joined us for supper.
After a quick look around the town in the morning we set sail for Patras where Jolli Jumper was already waiting for us. Another great sail, there is more usable wind down here in this corner of Greece. We moored Max in the marina for two nights as we had a day trip planned for Friday the 13th!
Catching the 06.50am bus was a challenge for the Skipper, liking his lie-ins as he does and he took much ribbing from the others as we set off for Dhiakofto where the rack and pinion railway to Kalavryta started. We had heard much about the scenic mountainous route this railway takes and indeed it was beautiful. It was built between 1889 and 1896 to bring minerals to the coast and travels through the Vouraikos Gorge at gradients up to 1in 7 with tunnels, bridges and precipitous overhangs. The journey took about 45minutes and there was much to look at both sides of the carriage and many photos were taken- thank goodness for digital!
The town of Kalavryta was picturesque from the railway station to the pretty streets and the al fresco cafes. The church was impressive for a relatively small town and we had a quick look inside but a priest pointed out our shorts and strappy tops so we beat a respectful retreat! (And that was just the men!) We spent an enjoyable half an hour tasting various local liqueurs and honeys, before purchasing a pomegranate liqueur that was most delicious, hope it travels...
But Kalavryta has a more sombre history alongside all the touristic honey traps; in December 1943 the Germans rounded up all the inhabitants and took them to the school house. Here they were segregated with all the men and boys over 13 being taken outside and the women and children locked in the school house. The men were subsequently marched a km outside of the village where they were all shot and the schoolhouse, and the rest of the village, was set on fire. Over 340 men and teenage boys were killed, five or six survived the massacre, under the other bodies but most of the women and children managed to escape from the fire. When they discovered the bodies of their menfolk the ground was too frozen to bury them well and they had little or no shelter and food to survive the winter. This sombre tale is very well documented in a museum housed in the old schoolhouse and a memorial on the hillside marks where the men were slain. It was a very thought provoking museum and well worth a visit.
To brighten our mood somewhat we made for a bar with ice cold, draught Mythos and a seat in the sunshine before it was time to return to the station. The train journey back was a delight, Sue took the opportunity to do a little painting and we took a lot more photos. We missed some rain down on the coast and caught the return bus, after a quick snack for a late lunch, at about 14.30hrs, returning to Patras in time to provision up ready to move on in the morning. A great day out, highly recommended and it lived up to those recommendations!