13th August 2010
We have decided to stay another day at anchor. We started the day with a long swim and then got down to some household tasks (defrosting the fridge). There was a great deal of unusual activity at the taverna: tables were being brought out together with chairs and there were so many that we were convinced there was going to be a wedding party. We did not dare go ashore to investigate but decided to wait and see what transpired. It was another sultry day so we also decided to try and sleep on deck where we hoped it might be a bit cooler. As evening wore on people started arriving but nothing seemed to be happening until around 22h00. Then there was Greek music and singing But we could see no wedding party. Caryn was lulled to sleep by the music so Svein took the dinghy and went ashore to investigate. It transpired that there was a concert in progress with 6 professional musicians who also sang together with a group of dancers performing traditional dances. Svein filmed quite a bit of the concert and has put it out on Youtube. We had a rather restless night sleeping on deck despite the fact that we had the stars for company – probably not an experience we will try again.
14th August 2010
We must now move on and reach the harbour of Plomari so that we are installed when our friends Lisa and Ronny from ‘Sweden arrive. We hoisted the anchor and made our way out of the bay. After a 3 hour journey we arrived at the harbour. A big surprise awaited us as we found that there was one other boat there but the visitors pontoon no longer existed. We moored up on the town quay and hoped our anchor had taken. We treated ourselves to a late lunch at the taverna next to us and then proceeded to wait for the temperature to drop before we ventured out to explore the town. We had to wait until quite late as the temperature is still in the upper 30s around 21h00. There are many quiet back streets, not many tourists and overall the town is very pleasant. It was a eventful night as the wind blew up and our anchor started to drag. Svein solved the problem temporarily by putting out another anchor but we will have to re anchor tomorrow morning.
15th August 2010
Having discovered that there is no laundry in the town we had to set to and do some serious washing that we had been holding back on – the sheets and towels. We put them into soak and then carried on with washing the boat in and out in preparation for the visitors. Once the washing was hanging out and the wind had dropped it was time to re anchor. We duly pulled in both anchors but then got stuck on the flimsy anchor rope that a small motor boat had put out right across the harbour. Svein dived to release it from both the rudder and the keel and we were able to anchor again but this time using the two anchors one behind the other to give us more stability. As it was very hot work we did not have the courage to cook a meal so ate out again and went to bed with the knowledge that all was ready.
16th August 2010
We waited most of the day quietly on the boat and Lisa and Ronny arrived at 16h00. We sat on the boat catching up on the news as we had not seen them since 2006. We then went ashore and had a quiet dinner in our local taverna.
17th August 2010
Temperatures are still very high and there is not much air in the harbour. Instead of hanging around in town we took the dinghy and went and joined Lisa and Ronny at their hotel on the beach. We spent a very lazy day sunning ourselves and generally relaxing with plenty of swimming. We also enjoyed a Greek music evening in the local taverna.
20th August 2010
Visiting the beach has been the procedure for the last couple of days with plenty of swimming to cool down and tomorrow we will prepare the boat for our departure on Saturday. We did however spend the evening with Ronny and Lisa and ate dinner at their hotel where there was a Greek orchestra. Svein managed to distinguish himself again. We have not decided where we are making for yet but will probably be going South.