Ay Eufimia, Sami and Kioni

We don't have time to take photos when the wind gets up so here's a pic of us cruising goosewing in a gentle breeze.

The wind that was forecast while we were in Vathi never showed up & to be honest I’m struggling to find a weather source that is accurate.  We’ve had one or two scares where the wind way exceeded our expectations so we are sailing cautiously at the moment.

After two nights in Vathi waiting for the storm that never came, we sailed to kefalonia and made landfall at Ay Eufimia where we decide to anchor rather than tie up stern-to as the motion of the boat is more comfortable.  The next day we hired a car and headed off to explore the island.

We started with the underground lake at Mellisani Cave which Rod Heikell compares with enter the gates of Hades.  Our boatman took us into the vast cavern whilst whistling and singing to demonstrate the unusual acoustics.

Once back above ground we drove to Sami to continue our search for a bigger anchor.  No joy on the anchor front but it is a lovely little town with a well protected harbour.  Next we visited the Drogarati caves before driving up over the hills past all the goats scattered across the road to arrive in Argostoli about half an hour later. 

We did a quick lap of the town looking for a decent chandlery but were disappointed so we headed off for the main attraction; Myrtos Beach.  This beach was made famous by the film of Captain Correlis Mandolin.  The beach was breathtaking but the water was too cold to swim.

 
After returning our hire car we set off for a sheltered anchorage just around the corner to anchor for the night.  As we got underway the wind and waves picked up and blew in the opposite direction to all my forecasts.  The conditions became a bit too sketchy so we bailed at the last moment and retreated to Sami.  This was a stroke of luck as we wanted to explore the town a bit more and ended up staying for two nights.  We also came to the decision that we are not yet ready to leave the shelter of the inland Ionian Sea so will not be heading for Athens and on to the Cyclades.  Instead we will make the most of the gentle sailing around here before leaving Greece and heading West.

In the harbour at Sami we got the boson’s chair out and I hoisted Julia up the mast to investigate why our steaming light is not working.  It looked like fun so I went up next with  a few tools and a new bulb but still no illumination –I’ll need to go back up with a multimeter and check the contacts.

We are currently in the tiny port of Kioni which we like so much we’ve decided to stay a second night.  We spent last night on anchor and our gps track in the morning showed just how much the boat moves around during the night.  Luckily we took the dinghy over to inspect the anchor when we arrived, we could see it just lying on it’s side so we powered up again and re-set it.  We had supper in the town and carried out a bit of Ouzo tasting.

Bumblebee anchored in Kioni

We hiked up and over the hill this morning to discover a stunning bay with a huge gin palace anchored just beyond.  On the way back down we had a fantastic view of Bumblebee anchored in the middle of the bay.  As the day has progressed lots of boats have arrived and started squeezing into the tiny bay with crossed anchors and shouting to keep all the onlookers entertained.