We spent 4 days in Monemvasia, enjoying it there but also waiting for the proper weather to sail around Cape Malea.
Around Cape Malea
Cape Malea is famous for being the most "difficult" cape in Greece, with strong winds and confused swells when sailing between the Ionian and the Aegean.
On top of that, while in Monemvasia, we met some friends with a Catamaran who just lost their mast because of a crazy unexpected gust there!!! ... we had enough reasons to want to be cautious.
Finally we left Monemvasia with calm weather and we had a very pleasant long day down to Kythira Island. Calm sea, no big swell, only a lot of traffic with a lot of cargo ships between Elafonisos and Kythira.
We made it to the Ionian!!
Kythira island: first of the Ionian Islands
We didn't know much about this island, but everybody visiting it was in love with it. Also, our greek friend Nicole recommended it, so we had to go!
We arrive at Avlemonas at sunset time.
Again, we didn't know anything about this beautiful spot, so we didn't expect much: the surprise was huge.
Avlemonas is a tiny town that used to be the capital of the island many years ago but today has been completely rebuilt into a charming, lovely holiday corner.
Even if we could see that all the buildings were hotels and apartments, having lost the authenticity and nature of the place, it's so nicely built that it is an anchorage that we really loved.
And it has been the best place for snorkelling we have had this season so far! Such clear water, so many fishes and different creatures!
We stayed for a couple of days, relaxing and enjoying ourselves. And working from one of the nice cafes onshore, with views of the boat.
We wanted to visit Kapsali and Kythira Chora at the south part of the island too, as we were told we couldn't miss the old town and its colourful doors and small streets. We had only 1 day before the weather changed, but we decided to go anyway.
We sailed south from Avlemonas and anchored on the bay in front of Kapsali and soon we went out to explore the area. Some winds were expected in the evening - we wanted to be back aboard before sunset - so after lunch, we took the dinghy to the beach expecting to get a taxi to get us to the old town. It's not far but it's steep, and we didn't want to hike uphill at almost 40 degrees.
... you know what happened, right? Summer in Greece... no taxis at siesta time! So we ended up hiking in the heat. It was steep and hot but we survived. And we struggled to find a bar open at the top to get a cold drink! (Siesta time...)
After recovering we visited the small but lovely town and its castle, made hundreds of pictures of the colourful doors and hiked back to the beach.
We still had time to chill in a bar at the beach for an early dinner and icrecream and walk to the lighthouse before returning to the boat.
It was a short visit, but it was worth it!
On the next morning we returned again to Avlemonas for another 2 nights, as strong winds were expected and we thought we would be better there. It was a good decision, we were well protected, with 2 anchors and shore lines we had no problems with almost 30 knots of side winds.
Unfortunately, time and weather window didn't allow us more time to explore more of the island before continuing sailing west. Kythira is for sure one of our top Greek islands visited!
Elafonisos. That colour...
As the weather was good enough, we sailed to Elafonisos island before continuing our way towards Kalamata.
A must-stop around Peloponnese, to enjoy the turquoise waters and the thin sand.
Even if it's not our favourite kind of place to visit, it was worth a stop on our trip. Just to see those colours 💙. A paddle to the beach, a swim, a walk to the hill...
It can get rolly seas though... and it was definitely our worse night at anchor ever. Moving so much that the boat bell kept ringing the whole night. Another anchorage, another adventure!
We anyway loved the place, but we would recommend anchoring there only if no swell is present.
Leaving early, almost a night sail
We have never done a night passage onboard Ambrym, but we want to start practising.
As the weather forecast for the sailing day from Elafonisos to Porto Kaigo said calm morning and very windy evening (as almost every day in this part of the trip), we decided to start in the dark, get some night sailing, see the sunrise and get to our destination before the winds went up.
Seeing the colours change around you and the sun rise slowly is just magical. The peace of those moments is special.
We had a very nice sail, we made good enough speed in a calm sea, we kept learning and collecting moments.
Porto Kaio: a perfect pirate bay
Having left Elafonisos before sunrise, we arrived in Porto Kagio just after lunch, as planned, before the wind started blowing hard again.
Another stop that surprised us. We loved the protected bay and the tiny town, as well as the castles and monasteries up the hills, the walk to the church, the restaurants on the beach and the van coming once a day selling fruit. Even if we almost didn't leave the boat!
It took a couple of tries for the anchor to catch, but once set, we could perfectly hold with around 30 knots of wind and we enjoyed our stay there.
Another thing we enjoyed a lot was all the interesting unusual boats we were at the same time at the bay! Ferroconcrete, wood, classic... it was nice chatting with some of them, there or some days later in Kalamata, helping each other to anchor... we even got freshly caught tuna from a couple that came just to give it to us because it was too much for them!!
Loving this sailing life, the places we are discovering and the people we are meeting
Last stop: Koroni
Koroni was our last stop before heading to Kalamata for a long break.
We anchored in front of the town, enjoying the beautiful views of it and the castle, and luckily we didn't catch with the anchor any of the big rocks on the bottom that we didn't know about!
After a swim a relaxing for a bit, we took the dinghy out and we went exploring. It was still hot, so we took it easy, eating ice cream and walking on the shaded streets before heading to the castle.
Both the town and the castle are so worth a visit. We found the town quite nice, with many touristic shops and restaurants but also alive, with the fishermen cleaning the nets and many people just doing their normal life. Visiting so many touristic spots as we do, sometimes is easy to forget and lose contact with the real world.
The castle is much bigger than we expected, with so much history inside, as well as houses where people still live, churches and a monastery, tree orchards, and of course, impressive walls and gates... It's also quite impressive seeing the partially collapsed walls from outside, it gives a better perspective of the size!
We made it back to the boat right for sunset, perfect timing for a barbecue and a dinner enjoying the views.
Kalamata: the small city in the Peloponnese
We weren't looking forward to getting to Kalamata, because we knew it was going to mean a one month break on the adventure. Ana had to leave for 1 month for work, while Lloyd would stay onboard.
We were told that the town didn't have anything special and it wasn't worth stopping by, unless you have any reason to get to the Marina, the only proper Marina in this part of the Peloponnese. And all of this might be treu, but we found here a much more welcoming place than expected.
The marina is nice, the prices are not expensive if you stay for a month, and the town offers everything you might need: chandlers, big supermarkets, a huge farmer market, restaurants both in town and in the main harbour, hospitals, dentists, bike shop/service,... and a great connection with Athens.
On top of it, from the Marina, there are great views of the surrounding mountains. It is a busy marina that, being outside the typical touristic routes, welcomes many sailors and liveaboards that always have awesome stories to tell.
J'ai réussi à traduire ...!,
Merveilleux , vous êtes formidable tous les deux et quand je lis que vous encaissez du vent fort au mouillage , je vous dis bravo , vous êtes plus courageux que nous .
J'ai souvent fait des mouillages forains avec du vent fort mais sans amarrer vers la rive et avec les ancres affourchées . Kalamata me plait vraiment .
Alain
I managed to translate...!
Wonderful, you are great both of you and when I read that you take strong wind at anchor, I say bravo, you are more courageous than us.
I have often done anchorages with strong wind but without mooring to the shore and with the anchors bent. I really like Kalamata.