We went into the marina at Messolonghi on the morning of the 17th August to pick up our first and only Guests of this season. We met Paul and Anna Higgins on our tour to Turkey for the 99th Gallipoli Commemoration last year and hit it off with them. They were finishing their latest trip in Greece and said that they would love to catch up so we invited them to spend some time with us on "Split Enz".
Paul and Anna were arriving from Athens by bus so this gave us time to give Split Enz a tidy up and load up with water etc. They duly arrived and unpacked then Steve went through all the safety and head (toilet) procedure with them and then it was "Pivo time" soon to become Paul's favorite time of day.
The following day we headed off stopping at Ormos Oxia for lunch then on to Vathi on Ithica to anchor for the night. The next morning we went ashore so that Anna and Paul could have an explore and also shopped for provisions for the rest of the week. That afternoon we headed for Ormos Marathia to anchor for the night but just as we arrived we were hit by Katabatic winds gusting at about 40 knots and were unable to get the anchor to set so we headed further down the coast to Astokos and anchored for the night.
Day 3 saw us set sail for Tranquil Bay on the island of Levkas the home of the Onassis family, Steve took Anna ashore for her shop exploring fix we arranged to meet her for a drink and further exploring then it was back to the boat for dinner and planning for the next day.
Day 4 saw us planning to head for the Island of Paxoi but the wind had other ideas. After going through the Levkas canal we started motoring in the general direction of Paxois the wind kept increasing and at one stage we were sailing in 32 knots of breeze, Steve decided that it was safer to head for the closest bay on the mainland, we anchored at Valtou/Pargas and settled for the night at least to be in good shelter.
Day 5 we were up early as we wanted to take Anna and Paul to the Island of Paxoi it was very busy and we were only stopping for 2 hrs as we had to head for Corfu . We motored into the port of Gaios on the island and Anna and I went on a quick explore of the town, we were both very sad that it was so quick as it was a beautiful place the boys stayed on the boat, but soon got the message from the port police that we needed to move to make room for the day tripper boats so TXT Anna and I that we had to get back to Split Enz as soon as possible, our next and penultimate stop Gouvia bay. Much to Paul's delight I Did a roast Lamb with roast potatoes and salad and celebrated our last night on the boat together, this resulted in plans for next year 👏👏👏👍👍👍😀😀😀.
Day6, we headed into Gouvia Marina after quick showers we headed into old Corfu town for lunch and explore , unfortunately it was Sunday so not a lot was open. That night we walked into the village near the Marina for our final dinner. How lovely it was to have met these people for such a short time on our trip last year and to have been able to have such a good time together after such a short acquaintance, I would like to think we have made life long friends.
Day7, after completed get a few jobs saw us waving goodbye to Anna and Paul and motoring out of the Marina, it was sad to leave them behind but the end of a very good week. The only negative being chased out of the marina by the marinara saying we had to go back and pay for a half day as we were 2hrs late leaving, needless to say Steve let him know that he had two shows of that happening and he gave up. That night after a lovely swim we sat on deck and made a toast to our departed guests as their plane flew overhead. A great week 🍷to you both Anna and Paul.