MAINLAND GREECE

The wind abated enough to allow us to get out of the Paros harbor after moving two boats that had rafted in front of us crossing our anchor chain with theirs.  Finally leaving the Aegean, our goal was the Sardonic area and mainland Greece.  The first stop would be a shallow cove giving limited shelter from the wind at Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon high on the hilltop.  The shelter was in name only as the wind was blowing harder inside the cove that in the open Aegean.  Two times we sat in the cockpit watching the boat slowly drag backwards in the high wind but found solid holding on the third try and put out a second anchor for insurance.  The temple has stood the high winds and earthquakes since 444BC and is one of the most magnificent in the entire region.  While at the temple I didn't make any sacrifices or bring any offerings to Poseidon but he must have sensed my weariness with the wind since it died that evening and was reasonable the rest of the trip.  Odysseus and Jason both sailed by this cape on their adventures long before the temple was built.

ATHENS

Greece's largest city, is so filled with history that it is impossible to keep it all straight.  Everywhere one looks there are ruins from one period or another.  The Parthenon is of course the most famous and is actually a complex of buildings covering the hilltop overlooking Athens.  The very large temple which we all see in the photos was actually constructed to house an immense statute of Athena,  the goddess of war and the towns' namesake which has since disappeared.  She was very popular and important to the daily lives of the people and the temple was also used as a bank or depository for the wealthy of the town who stored their valuables there.  The museum at the Parthenon and the Athens Museum contained most of the remaining treasures which were removed during restoration.  Foreign archeologists carted most of the good stuff off for their personal collections or museums.  The marina was in the town of Piraeus about 30min cab or subway ride from downtown Athens.  Commuting was easy except for the taxis and their drivers who make NYC cabbies look like Peter Pan.  Rip off artists is far too kind for some of them so we always established the price or meter rate before getting in.  In general the Athenians were hospitable people but the city is big with all the usual problems of pollution and congestion.  Its' history would take up several pages so I will leave it with a photo album of some of the sights.

CORINTH

Approximately 40 miles NW of Athens is the isthmus of Corinth which connects the northern mainland of Greece with the Peloponnisos .  Boats have been dragged across the isthmus to save the 150 additional sea miles for centuries.  Octavian moved his fleet in this manner in pursuit of Anthony and Cleopatra after their disastrous battle of Actium which established Rome as master of the seas and Octavian as Emperor of Rome.  Nero, in 67 AD. started to dig a canal with 6000 slaves but before long his attention was diverted by a war with the Gaul's' and the project abandoned.  The French finally finished the project in 1893.  It is the most expensive canal per mile in the world to traverse and is cut through solid limestone which towers 250 ft over the waters surface.  Traffic is one way at a time due to the narrowness of the canal and some of the larger ships have only inches to spare on either side.

The town of Corinth was extremely prosperous during the heyday of overland transit from the fees they extracted for the privilege.  With plentiful money and easy living the town became a bit like Pompeii with its' art and loose living.  St. Paul delivered a speech in the Corinth town square denouncing their lewd, hedonistic lifestyle and telling them to stop worshiping idols.  This speech is known in the bible as Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians.  The town didn't do much to reform itself until the money started to run out when larger ships could make the sea trip easier than the overland toll route.  The ancient town, high on the hill, is fairly well preserved and has a water reservoir system that is still in use by the modern town at sea level whose lifestyle is a bit more subdued.  The term "Corinthian" has been used to describe hard living sportsmen devoted to pugilism, horse racing and yachting.

NAVAPAXOS

Navapaxos is a small town on the north shore of the Gulf of Corinth west of the canal.  It is noteworthy for it's perfect fortified walled  Medieval harbor.  The harbor is very small and quite shallow so I was very cautious as we approached on a windy afternoon.  Poking the nose of the boat through the entrance I could see that spaces along the seawall were non existent and was afraid I could not even turn around once totally inside so we abandoned our approach and backed out through  the entrance.  We anchored outside for an afternoon of exploring and found a nice church with a large outdoor mosaic.  The town was almost deserted since it was Sunday and not very touristy at anytime.  Finding a restaurant took some doing as everything was closed but persistence paid off finally.  It was a large open place with a few ceiling fans for air conditioning and a very elderly mom and pop owners.  We were the only ones in there and we may have been the only ones that day.  No menus and no English but we managed and have a great, economical dinner with mom constantly hovering over us trying to be sure everything was OK. After a good nights' sleep, it was a very early morning start that would take us through the Gulf of Patras  to the Ionian Sea and the island of Ithaca.

ITHACA

Legionary home of Odysseus was a pleasant place with the town built around the horseshoe shaped harbor, despite the incredible heat. I was pleasantly surprised to find few tourists on this hilly, rocky but somewhat green island.  We had been following the travels of Odysseus and wanted to see some of the remaining sites on the island.  The Cave of the Nymphs where he hid some of his treasure before re taking his home from the many suitors was closed for renovations.  The well where he met Emaneras, his old swine herder, was still present and after a very long and hot walk we found it.  No signs or other tourists, just a small spring on a hillside that on this day was only just damp but the moss and lushness of the vegetation surrounding it indicated that it does produce water sometimes.   His home has never been definitively found and several other islands also claim to be his home but with little proof, so little Ithaca will remain the official homeland

CORFU

Corfu, green, romantic, historic, most Northerly of the Ionian Islands and the last stop in this years' travels.  It is the largest and possibly greenest of the Ionian Islands and a major tourist destination.  Despite the hoards of tourists it is a great place to visit.  Many nationalities have ruled over the centuries leaving their mark especially architecturally.  Many building have a distinct Venetian look which blend in with several other styles.  The old town has two castles, moats, and local markets mixed in with the numerous tourist shops and green parks, a most delightful place to spend an afternoon.  

The Achilleion Palace built by Empress Elizabeth of Austria in 1890 is full of neoclassical sculpture and has wonderful gardens.  It is a short drive out of town and coupled with a swim in the Canal d' Amour to insure lifelong love, is a pleasant morning adventure.  Corfu, unlike most Greek Islands, has an abundance of water, it rains in winter, all winter, so while the climate is mild, it is very wet.  The country side can be quite rural with an abundance of  goats, 4 million olive trees and green valleys, a great place to get away from the tourists.  I will be back next year to experience all the sights missed the first time.  Corfu photo page.