Reckless Poseidon

Our sailing adventures this year have been peppered with surprises – most good, a few bad. The worst was obviously the earthquake that hit Plomari and terrified the living daylights out of us. Our friend, Gerhard Euler, wrote to us just after the earthquake and the title of this blog is thanks to him:

"Wow, so reckless Poseidon has frightened you. It is not for nothing that he has the epithet of earth-shaker! But if you have survived such a terrifying event without damage, it is remembered as an adventure. 

Perhaps Henry should sacrifice regularly to Poseidon. However, a glass of wine is not enough! I believe the sailors of the ancient world sunk horses in the sea."

Unfortunately Henry did not sacrifice his horses, and a few days ago reckless Poseidon frightened us again, when we experienced the worst storm Northern Greece has experienced in 10 years – snow on Mount Olympus, gale force winds, thunder, lightning and fierce rain – all of this while “sheltering” in what at first glance was an idyllic harbour but turned into a nasty surprise. The swell inside got so bad that I could not even climb onto the boat and we were forced to check into a hotel. But we survived that as well and Pegasus emerged unscathed.  

We waited a few days for the sea to return to a manageable calm and then set off for the island of Samothraki, the north eastern most Greek island. The forecast promised fine winds – but it lied! Reckless Poseidon had struck again - the waves were vicious, high and frequent; only a couple of meters between each crest. Pegasus bashed and slammed her way into them, the wind howled and I cried. Henry is so sweet and comforting when I get like this (only once this year). It is hard for him to understand the shear terror that grips me when the conditions are like this, but he does try.

After 7 hours of horrific wind and waves, we rocked and rolled into Samothraki harbour feeling exhausted – asking us why on earth we had sailed so far to some far flung little island we had been told by more than a few was not worth the bother. And looking around us at the port, we agreed that this was probably a bad mistake.

Wrong! Samothraki is the biggest surprise of 2017. When we woke from our exhaustion induced siesta, we walked through the, to be frank, dreary little port town, and caught the bus to the Hora (village capital in the hills). On the way, we passed rolling, sometimes craggy, hills chequer boarded with neatly ploughed fields. Henry got quite emotional when he said to me – “My heart feels like bursting when I see this kind of beautiful agriculture”. 

We drove higher up, rounded a corner, and what a remarkable sight! A gigantic, sheer piece of rock with the remnants of castle walls clinging to it, loomed up in  a crevice between the mountains, protecting a tangle of red roofed houses.

Samothraki has a special energy. For thousands of years, pilgrims have journeyed to the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, the second most important spiritual site in all of ancient Greece, to be initiated into the mysteries of the cult. St Paul failed to convert the Samothracians to Christianity in the 1^st Century AD, and a kind of stubborn, proud other-worldliness still prevails. 

The cafes throng with New Age followers, tavernas and shops steadfastly refuse to advertise their wares in anything other than Greek – unlike Thassos where advertising boards in Bulgarian, Russian, English, Turkish  and German dominate the streets.

We loved wandering the narrow streets – and Henry got his drawing mojo back. Sitting in café To Stenaki (the narrows), gazing, drawing, musing or writing was heaven.

And then there was the sanctuary itself, which dates back to the earliest fertility goddesses of the Mediterranean and was the site of a mystery cult that attracted Egyptian Queens, Odysseus and, something that surprised us, Alexander the Great's parents met here - about 300 years BC. 

The statue, the Victory of Samothrace or Nike, was found here but sadly we would have to go to the Louvre to see it. The large sanctuary, built between two hills with a river bisecting it, evokes a feeling of serenity and majesty.

As we walked among the ruins we marvelled at the thousands of people through antiquity who had sailed so far to be initiated into the mysteries of the cult - and walked along the very same paths as we were on. 

The island is rich in natural wonders - high mountain ranges, fast flowing rivers, secret waterfalls, pine forests, sandy beaches – all a little wild and craggy, much like it’s inhabitants. We loved it.

And some other surprises…..

The wonderful expressionist art museum just outside Mytilini town in Lesvos with a remarkable collection of works by Matisse, Chagalle, Picasso and others. 

The ancient marble quarries on the island of Thassos are awe-inspiring. The pure white Thassian marble has been prized  since the 7th century BC. To imagine how gigantic pieces of marble were quarried, columns or huge statues were carved and then loaded onto ships alongside the quarry is mind boggling. 

And still on Thassos, exploring the ancient ruins of Limenas and marvelling at the thought of a whole fairy tale city built of the sparkling white marble in the 7^th century BC.

Following our favourite Greek travel writer, Matt Barrett, who always gives us the kind of advice we love, we tracked down To Stavro café up high up in the mountain village of Agiassos on Lesvos. Adorned with antique implements and artefacts it, made a feast for the eyes, not to mention the delicious meze that was served along with our cold beers.

The startling turquoise waters of Thassos which begged for unplanned lunch stops and lengthy swims.

Kavala on the mainland in Macedonia delighted us - the Roman aqueduct, beautiful old town and castle - and the superb deli’s! Cheeses, sausages, cured fish, olives..... As we were gazing into the window of one, a man sitting at a small table outside offered us some of his freshly steamed mussels to taste. When we came out laden with provisions for the boat, he handed us each a piece of bread dripping with a few oily anchovies – which sent us straight back inside to buy 4 tins.

And the latest not so good surprise – being woken up by that vengeful Poseidon - joined by Zeus this time - in Samothraki harbour a few nights ago by the boat rocking fiercely in an inexplicable swell - and seeing bubbles rising from the sea bed around the boat when we got up a few hours later. We only found out a bit later that there had been another earthquake, much further south near Bodrum and Kos, but with enough vengeance to affect us up here. There have been a few more of these strange swells in the harbour, releasing a sulphurous smell and the bubbles continue to rise. 

As much as this freaks us, we have not been able to drag ourselves away from this island and it’s charms.  It seems that sacrifices are indeed due.....