We arrived in Leros on the ferry from Samos in the evening and went to the Blanco Boutique Hotel. It was an excellent choice as it had been newly refurbished and at €58 per night was a bargain. The rooms were big, well appointed and best of all had a big bath, (a luxury we dream of living on a boat).

We liked Leros better than Samos and although smaller it has a bigger population and it seemed busier in Lakki than Pythagorion. The town has it roads on a 5x5 grid pattern so not that big.

Evros Marina, which we had come to visit is on the far side at the top of the bay from Lakki. It took us about 20 minutes to walk to the marina along the road, which is ok during the day but would not be wise at night. So if staying here for any longer than a few days it would be necessary to rent a car which is not expensive.

We met Harry in Evros Marina who had provided us with a quote for next winter in and out of the water and provided a great map of Lakki and an information booklet on the marina and town. This is what every marina should do when they receive an enquiry and when new visitors come in. The marina is fenced for security and has a year round manned security gate. The shower facilities were very good and much newer than in Samos marina and there were many more self-service laundry and drying machines but at €8 a pop were rather expensive. I think you could probably find cheaper services in Lakki. Harry showed us around and we found the pontoons to be in good conditions with good strong cleats and clutter free. However most yachts (about 200)were on the hard and there were only 2 live aboards this winter. Evros has a chandlery open most of the year and is only closed for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year. The marina does all the annual maintenance work on the yachts but you can do the work yourself too. There were some fine racing yachts, large catamarans and even a Malo on the hard. We don't see many of Njord's sisters in the Med, or have not done so far on our travels.

I prepared a spreadsheet to collate our observations and opinions on the Marina and if you want more information drop us a comment and I'll come back to you. We would definitely like to sail in the Dodecanese but it is too quiet for us over winter.

Photo: Looking from the pontoons to the entrance to Evros Marina, Leros