We left Kilada after taking on 213 litres of fresh water and made our way to Porto Khelli where Tassos the diver would come out and scrub Stilettos bum.

We anchored in the first small bay as the water was clear and it was very sheltered thus making it easy for him.

He came, it took him 45 minutes with a very large metal scraper and the fish went berserk over all that he scraped off.

That was 200 euros very well spent. She positively flew around to Erminoni where we anchored in the bay for two days sitting out some very strong winds. When it had all calmed down, we moved onto the quay. We always prefer to be at anchor but we wanted to plug into the electricity and water. We had a mass charging session; phones, tablet, torch, toothbrushes and gave Stiletto a much needed hose down.

Vasso and Theo had planned on taking a few days holiday. They have been absolutely flat out for months. When a problem arises with a boat of any kind the owner always wants it fixed yesterday. The result for them is that they were now running on empty and were desperate for a break.

We met up with them for afternoon coffee, we had supper at a fabulous taverna/beach club on the beach at Doroufi and then returned for a day of swimming , drinking and eating.

They, and their daughter Apostolia, are becoming very good friends and we so enjoy their company.
They then invited us to spend 2 days with them on the island of Dhokos and of course we said yes.
They have a small power boat which is perfect for weekend trips. First Vasso picked me up and we drove to the local AB Supermarket where we bought supplies. After dropping me off at the quay, we got Stiletto ready to leave. Apoststolia asked if she could come with us. We explained mum and dad would get to Dhokos in about 15 minutes but it would take us about an hour. She was cool with that.

So we left the quay with a full tank of water, everything charged and the fridge full arriving in a small bay on Dhokos where Vasso and Theo were waiting.

It was here that we had our first experience of “taking a line ashore". In small bays where swinging room is limited, the norm is to drop your anchor and then take a line ashore which involves swimming to the shore and tying it onto a rock. This means the boat does not swing around but remains static. We have never needed to do this so it was a bit nerve racking. I dropped the anchor and Andreas reversed Stiletto close to the shore and Theo swam out, collected our line and tied it off. Job done. We were side by side.

Whilst the bay was quite sheltered it was a bit choppy and their was talk of possibly moving to another bay in the morning.

That night, I made a big mistake by not washing up before I went to bed. At 3am I was woken by some peculiar noises. A sort of rustling. I got up to find the paper bag containing half a loaf of bread ripped to shreds and a pork chop bone in the middle of the worktop. Oh bloody hell. A rat. But how did it get aboard? It could have got aboard from the quay in Erminoni but we hadn't eaten on board for the time we were there so there was nothing to tempt vermin. The most likely way it got aboard was by walking the rope that was tied ashore having detected the delicious aroma of cooked pork chops !!! As incredible as this sounds, we have heard many stories of this happening to other cruisers. So, I woke Andreas, we did the washing up and then we set 2 rat traps. Within about 10 minutes of getting back into bed one of them went off and sure enough Ratty was caught. By now it was 4am so we put a bucket over it and would dispose of him ashore in the morning then returned again to bed.

Next morning, Andreas swam ashore with Ratty in the bucket and disposed of it in a clump of bushes.
This is the second time we have had a rat aboard and this occasion was identical to the last one!!! Thankfully both were caught very quickly before any serious damage was done!!

We all made the decision to move around to another bay which was absolutely lovely. Vasso and Theo were waiting for us and took our line ashore. Once again we were side by side. The water as clear as gin with very large shoals of fish.

Theo, a keen fisherman laid nets around both our boats and later that day, Vasso presented me with a bag full of Mareethés (Whitebait) – our absolute favourite. I cooked them, dipped in seasoned flour, fried and served with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Yumbo!!

Sadly, the next day (Sunday), they left mid afternoon as their break was over and they needed to start work again on Monday. We stayed that night, had the place virtually to ourselves and next morning after swimming to the rocks to release our lines we left for Kilada as Andreas had another appointment with Christos.

The plan, on our way back, was two explore an anchorage at the Amazone Beach Resort where we had previously seen quite a few superyachts at anchor. To say this resort is exclusive is an understatement. It is accessible by road but mainly by helicopter, or boat, and at €3500 per night ( yes, you have read that right) attracts only the rich and famous. We actually anchored a little further along from the resort in a beautiful spot that we had all to ourselves. There were just two properties. One a few metres from the beach which was quite old and very traditional . The other, set back from the beach, surrounded by beautiful gardens and some serious planting with its own dock where 3 yachts were tied up. Small medium and large – one for every occasion. The smell of money oooozed from this place !!!

We had a very peaceful night and next morning motored along the coast to Doroufi Beach with the intention of going ashore for a beer and mezze. This was the beach where we had previously spent time with Vasso and Theo and we discovered that a rib would come out to your boat and take you ashore at no charge as you would be eating at the taverna. So we hailed Stomatis who arrived and whizzed us ashore at twice the speed of sound and we enjoyed the buzz of the very busy taverna over ice cold beers and nibblies.

Next morning, after a very windy night with little sleep, we motored round to the quay at Kilada, found the perfect slot and tied up.

This whole area is very deceiving. The wealth is mind blowing but does not show itself directly. Very large villas set in beautiful secluded gardens with lots of privacy. Usually with a selection of “toys" on a quay. The Princess of Holland has a villa here as do other members of the Dutch royal family. Super yachts and mega yachts anchor along the coastline. Daniel Craig, Brad Pitt and Leonardo have all been here very recently and apparently Jason Stratham has just arrived . The amount of helicopter traffic to and from the exclusive boutique hotels is bringing in who knows who !!!!

My thought for this post: Financial crisis? There is absolutely no sign of it here!!!!