AEGEAN MAGIC

From Chios to Lesvos, on to Limnos and then the deserted island Agio Panagia in the Sporades, on to Alonissos, Skopelos and now Skyros – we have sailed many miles, met many wonderful people, eaten fabulous (and sometimes not so fabulous) food, sailed in perfect winds, been bashed in two howling gales and a few near gales, and explored beautiful islands and villages.

Here are some of our stories.

SALLY – ROCKING AND ROLLING
We set sail from Mytilini town, Lesvos, where our friend Bridget joined us, aiming for

Molyvos in the far north of the island. It was Bridge’s first sail ever and we were a bit worried how she would handle it, but the weather was perfect – the sea flat and the wind a steady 12 knots on the beam. 

Until we rounded the last cape on the north of the island into the gulf between Turkey and Lesvos - and the wind picked up and turbulent, disturbed waves crashed into Pegasus from all directions. I hung on with knuckles turning white, determined not to be a woes in-front of Bridge who was looking as calm and collected as when we set off. After 30 or so minutes I yelled at Henry to reef the sails – this was now far above my comfort zone and I stopped caring what Bridge thought of me.  We sailed on a bit, but sailing into a head wind with the waves getting worse and the engine on full throttle was awful. To make it worse, we had tried that morning to fill up with fuel in Mytilini (a story best left untold) but after waiting many hours, Henry decided it would be ok to leave as the weather prediction was good, we would be sailing all the way and, for the little motoring we might need, we had enough emergency fuel to get to Molyvos. 

Hah! 

There was a tense moment when Henry suggested we look for a safe place for us to shelter. I knew there was nothing further on and I shrilly told him so. But I calmed down enough to look at the chart on the ipad – a feat in itself as the boat was heeling so much – and found a secluded little village 5 nautical miles back. What joy to sail into this small bay with azure water like glass!

We swam off the back of the boat, watched the sunset and moonrise with a G&T, braaied pork chops and aubergine and congratulated ourselves. And then, on the stroke of midnight, the wind changed direction and a rolling swell swept in to our lovely little bay, turning our night into a nauseating, continuous roller coaster ride. At 5 in the morning unable to bear it any longer, we got Bridge up and announced that her second sail ever would be a sunrise sail. And what a glorious sail it was. The sea in the gulf had calmed down, once more we had a steady 12 knots on our beam and we sailed into Molyvos a few hours later a very happy trio!

HENRY - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
To be fair, that should be the Excellent, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Politics in Greece is a hotly contested subject and it is often expressed through the medium of graffiti. We have noticed the appearance of current sentiment on the walls of Greek towns since we started our sailing trips. The beginning of our adventure 6 years ago coincided, more or less, with the beginning of the ‘crisis’.

Six years ago Angela Merkel took the blame for Greece’s predicament, in the popular view. Cartoons of her in a Nazi helmet appeared with the graphic message that the Germans may have lost the last war but now they are winning the modern version of it played out economically. Crude sentiment as well as simplistic and ignoring the part played by successive Greek governments in the disaster.

Last year new hope was born with the election of the Tsipras government with finance minister Varoufakis who seemed to have a way out. The referendum in July last year on ‘the continuation of austerity measures’ was covered in our blog at the time. We, and most Greeks, believed that something would be done to change the future of Greece after the vote was overwhelmingly “Oxi! (No!) to austerity. Since the referendum Varoufakis resigned and the austerity has continued with a vengeance; pensioners suffering further reductions to their allowances, increases in taxes etc.

The extremes of the political spectrum have, predictably, grown during a period of further disillusionment with the political system. The right wing particularly, which is worryingly said to be strongly represented in the police force, has grown rapidly.

Now there is the refugee crisis and Greece is reeling from successive waves of disastrous events.

We have been collecting photographs of graffiti that we have seen, mostly in Mytilini on Lesvos, that express some of the political and social sentiment. The meaning of some of the pictures is obvious. Some are obscure. I asked Greek people to tell me about them but they were not always able to give a clear explanation so I am as much in the dark as anyone else. Perhaps someone reading this will be able to? I have included some because I think they are beautiful and others because they are funny. Others send stark messages of discontent.

The ‘V’ shown in one of the photos dates back to the Second World War; a ‘V’ for Victory that was carved out of the stone of the cliff face in 1943. What makes it interesting is that every year the victory is celebrated by the school children who light fires at the base of the cliff and are taught about the victory over fascism and its meaning for the world then as now.

Enigmatic pictures. A pregnant young woman makes us think, perhaps misguidedly, of Turkey’s Erdogan exhorting women to stay at home and have babies? Some symbols have universal meanings; time, locks, clocks and keys. Alice’s white rabbit is here in Greece just like Pooh Bear, Poirot and Holmes. We live in a world where our cultures have merged a little but not to the extent that the Greeks have lost their essential Greekness…

The White Rabbit, the clock, Poirot and Homes were all painted on the walls of an arcade - all with the theme of time

SALLY - A TOUCH OF MAGIC

Limnos is an island that, at first glance, does not necessarily grab you. Sailing into the port of Myrina, the buildings look a bit drab, the castle recedes a bit much into the mountain, the harbour is a bit ordinary. But slowly the port weaves a very special magic and you are seduced. 

The castle lights up at night and is breathtaking, the old Turkish harbour comes alive with the comings and goings of the fishing boats; the long and winding “market street” shaded by heavy green vines is full of exciting treasures,

Mount Athos at sunset is an awesome sight, rearing up proud and regal to the west and the Lymniots are so extraordinarily friendly we are bowled over. Many are returned Greek South Africans who greet us with warmth and nostalgia. Nicky from the little blue harbour restaurant breaks into a smile from ear to ear when she sees us – and serves us Ouzo for E1.50 with a plate each of mouth-watering meze for 50 cents to make sure we don’t get drunk – octopus, tender fried squid, mussels and limpets for Henry and juicy meatballs with ripe red tomatoes and crunchy cucumber for me – so much that we have to cancel supper plans. 

Our new good friends Inez and Rainer who are moored next to us in their amazing wooden schooner, sweep us off to their local café where we wait for their crazy, wild and colourful fisherman friend, Paniotis, who chugs into the harbour at 10pm and gets the café to cook his catch of small fish for us all – all the time peppering his sentences with f**ck – and then telling us he wishes there was a pill he could take to stop saying the word! 

With Paniotis on his fishing boat

We were moored with the castle as a backdrop, next to the beautiful wooden schooner - took this photo as we sailed away

And then, to be sitting in a small café catching up with life on our computers, and to be tapped on the shoulder by two strange women – “are you Sally and Henry? We recognise you from the photo Aki and Gary sent us. We have just dropped off a box of veges from our garden onto your boat for you!” Our friend Gary Oberholzer from Radio 702 had read our blog that morning, saw we were heading for Limnos, knew that Aki Anastasia’s daughter Julia was visiting her grandparents in Limnos – and said to Aki – “lets weave some magic from the other side of the world “– and they sent a message for Julia and Vicky and Lucky to go and find Sally and Henry on the yacht Pegasus moored somewhere in the harbour……..

All this magic meant we stayed at Myrina on Limnos for 12 days – not because we were caught in bad weather, but because we could not drag ourselves away.

SALLY - LEARNING TO PAINT

Last year I vowed that I would learn to paint. Although I enjoy sitting with Henry while he sketches, I would like to create something as well, so when we got back last year, I started art classes. One of my greatest delights this year has been playing with painting, sometimes from the back of the boat, sometimes in a fishing harbour or in a cafe. I know I have a long way to go, but it has been fun trying!