Opps! We are already at the end of September and have realised that we have not updated the blog during the whole month. it is true that we have not sailed much but quite a few things have happened.

Firstly we made our way back to Kardamena to solve the fridge problem and ended up putting back the old compressor with new gas and new valve. This however took quite some time as parts had to be ordered from Athens and took the slow route to reach us. Eventually everything was reinstalled but whilst we waited we were at the beach every day and Caryn managed to get a Thai massage there every day and in the evening worked on the new sweater for Svein (knitted in Alpaca and coming from a friend’s website in Norway).

Time came to leave so to recover from the hustle and bustle of the town we anchored for two days on a bay on the island of Yiali. This island lies between Kos and Nisyros and pumice stone is extracted from it. It is a peaceful place and virtually deserted. We even managed to barbecue on the beach and were so disgusted by what people had left that we managed to fill three rubbish sacks with plastic and general rubbish. We also discovered that the fridge was not living up to expectations as far as life at anchorage was concerned. It was still using too much power.

After two days of peace and quiet we made our way to the harbour of Pali (Nisyros) where we were expected. We moored in our usual spot (in front of Aphrodite restaurant). It was lucky that we got in early as very soon it was packed to the gills with boats. Fortunately there is now a harbour master (one of the changes since the new mayor took office on 2nd September) who squeezed everybody in although some of the moorings looked fairly inventive.

We also had time to enjoy the beach (every day) and a few saintly celebrations. The first was in St. Stavros church. This was reached by driving up the mountain road, down and across the equator and then up a dirt track on the other side. We were taken there by bus but it did not help that our neighbour was constantly making the sign of the cross during the whole journey! As usual there was free food (Greek salad followed by goat) and the drinks were paid for.

Then it was time to celebrate Mike’s 60th birthday (Eagle’s Nest). The party was held in the village of Emborio and a fun evening was held by all.

The most recent celebration was held in a small monastery which clings to the volcano and here we celebrated with a group of Norwegians who were in the harbour in their sailboat. Svein got very excited when he met them as it turned out to be Peder Lunde Jr. and his wife (Aud) with friends. He is a famous Norwegian legend having participated in 4 Olympics and sailed a Whitbread whilst his wife is a famous alpine skier. We left the party earlier than usual as there was bitter wind blowing that night.

Although we have been partying at night Svein has been busy solving the fridge problem. The final solution was to remove the old system by taking out the compressor and the cooling element (50 kgs) and installing a 12v fridge that Mike kindly gave us. This is now in place and in addition our other 12v fridge has been installed under the saloon seat (in the place of the compressor). The latter one we can use as a freezer if necessary. Hey presto our consumption problem has been solved. He has also been helping Mike and Dimitri (the harbour master) to park boats and unravel crossed anchors. Our dinghy has been a godsend to them. He has also rewired the aft navigation light and reinforced the floor in the galley so all in all our time here has not been wasted.

We have also managed to catch up with friends who have passed through and met new ones.

We should be moving on soon but we must first wait out the strong blast that is forecast. The first sign of its arrival was the rain that came last night and again during the day today. It was cold enough that we had to get out our new sweaters. However we were treated to a fantastic rainbow over the harbour.

Our next destination is not yet decided but we should be sailing round the islands until we move to our winter place in Kos marina on 1st November.