9th September 2010
We prepared to leave and by midday we were heading out of the harbour for Tilos. Unfortunately we did not have much wind but choppy seas and as it was a short distance we anchored in the bay round 16h00. We were anxious to visit the town and see the changes that had taken place since our first visit in 1994 on our first charter in Greece. Many changes had taken place and to start with the harbour had been improved with laid moorings but it is still very small, However the taverna on the quay that had given us water, showers and a memorable meal no longer existed. The building was there but it had become holiday flats. The town was also full of expatriates and holiday makers mainly from the UK but some also from Germany. We were a little disappointed but I suppose it is only to be expected.
We had intended to leave the next day but on wandering down to the harbour again we discovered that the Cruising Association flotilla en route for Crete was coming in and as “Rosa di Venti” who we had wintered with in Messolonghi was participating we decided to wait until their arrival to greet them. In the end they were faster than us and they came out to the boat in their dinghy. We caught up with each other’s news but unfortunately did not see them before our departure as they were not on board when we called on them later in the evening.
11th September 2010
It is time to move on and we are heading for Chalki. This is also an island we visited in 1994 and expect to find many changes there also. We had a good sail and managed to find a spot on the jetty on our second attempt. There was a side wind and on the first attempt Svein had forgotten to check the depth and we had dropped our anchor in 20 m so needless it did not take on the first try!
We shall be here for a few days as there is a strong meltemi forecast for Monday. We were invited for coffee aboard “Cadenza” before they left. They will be wintering in Crete together with “Rosa di Venti”. We changed our mooring the next morning when the two other sail boats had left the quay as we wanted to be on the right side for the expected wind. Once we were settled in we started to explore the town on foot. Very narrow streets that hug the hillside and many houses being restored for the tourists although quite a few are still abandoned. During our stay we have covered the whole town and taken many photos. One of the things that has struck us is the clarity of the water even at 20m! The people are friendly but it is obvious that the holiday season is over for the town although there are still a few holiday makers scattered. We have been very impressed by the ferries that are entering the harbour. They are getting bigger and bigger and they manoeuvre with such facility in such tight spaces. We will probably be moving on tomorrow for Rhodes but all will depend on the weather.
With a nasty weather forecast we decided to stay another day in Chalki. Svein did some odd jobs on the boat and we met an English couple on board “Miranda” who winter in Marmaris Yacht harbour and only had good things to say about it.