TODAY'S LIFE ON THE BOAT

Itea to Patras and on to Ithyca

Well friends, as I write down my thoughts, I’m siting in the cockpit of the boat while berthed in Ithyca, the home of Odyseus. Let’s talk about “life on a boat.” Today we spent the morning in a courtyard café beside a power bar and sucking up internet. We charged the computer, phone, and bits of ipads. We updated apps, virus software, ipad software (attempted) and Sheila configured google accounts. We caught up on facebook, email, weather forecasts and marina bookings. And we ate food and drank coffee. Now it is around 1:30 pm and we’ve brought theo’s bed up for airing, washed (in a bucket) his sheets and some necessities. They are now hung up to dry. We had the generator on to charge the boat batteries – the fridge is killing us in this heat – and we’ve chatted with neighbours about life of sailing and anchorages nearby. It’s pretty universal to seek the story of someone who is living aboard as they are always a unique and interesting so we do casually meet a lot of people and some we keep in touch with.

What else is on my mind today? Perhaps we’ll get some water in the boat because the forward 240 litre tank is between ¼ and ½ full and it would be nice to have more. We are heading to marina where we’ll have to pay for it anyway so we could get away without it but we are using more (laundry in bucket and cool showers in the heat). I’m also putting out feelers for a mechanic in Lefkas for routine service and planning our route from Lefkas to Corfu. We are planning loosely about 2 weeks ahead as we go and getting a bit better at it. It seems for some places we need to book well in advance so we are starting to think about where we’ll be in Croatia already.

Life on a boat also has its stresses. Yesterday after a fun morning of jumping off the boat by swinging from a halyard (kind of like rope swings at the cottage at home) we set off and Theo became massively ill. He had a splitting headache, numbness in an arm, and an upset stomach – pretty much instantly. We had wasps nearby our spot (he is allergic) but he hadn’t been stung and we were stumped. We were at least 3.5 hours from anywhere (we had “anchored randomly” to use a Theo phrase which means we were anchored in a bay away from anything). We medded him up with what we had and watched….closely. Well he was sick to his stomach several times, fatigued, and generally miserable. Thankfully by the time we arrived in Ithica his head was feeling better. He was sick again so we kept a low profile, read and rested for some time. By evening he was starting to rebound and started to eat…and eat. We felt pretty vulnerable for a few hours being hours away from help. Today he is back to normal and eating lots.

Sheila was primary caregiver to Theo and that evening went out for a walk, food, and relax around Ithica while Theo and I made shadow puppets including one that was Darth Vader! So all that to say we thought airing his bed and cleaning his sheets would be good form.

So travels….We went to Itea frankly because we heard the marina was unfinished and therefore free (not entirely true but the reclusive person who works in the marina office for a few hours each day does not come to the boats to collect the fees – don’t know why). We didn’t pay. There is nothing in the marina of note beside secure berthing and a bus nearby to Delphi…so we took the bus. The site has a fabulous museum and located most of the way up the mountain, some commanding views with a temple of Appollo, a stadium, many treasuries (which held tributes from many nations), and a theatre among many other things. It was a tremendous site and well worth the bus ride up winding mountain roads. The cafes nearby where pearched on a cliff overlooking the valley. Wow.

From Itea we went to a small island, Trizonia (again free) where we were able to get laundry done for a reasonable fee and enjoy some tavernas overlooking a bay. It was a way point but well worth an overnight. There were liveaboards there who looked like they were there for many months. They had established a base of operations and the boats were of mixed vintage. I guess that is one of the places you can go to live very cheaply on a boat. To give a sense of it, there was a wreck inside the harbor/marina blocking access to many slips and that wreck had been there so long it was charted. There were permanently moored boats rusting and deteriorating away (some for sale if you want a big project). The dock had many holes where access had been made for power and water – there wasn’t any covering so you wouldn't want to walk on it the dark without a flashlight. Finally, the area dumpsters were near the docks and on the walk to the tavernas, the smell completely carried me back to my childhood and I felt like I was at the Orillia dump again with my Dad unloading construction scrap.

Patras was the next stop on the journey. We’d read about a cog train that went into the mountains and offered a scenic view and delightful destination. Patras is the third largest city in Greece and we loved it and really didn’t love it all at the same time. On net, it was worth the visit but there are many detractions.

On the plus side, it is a vibrant and active city with a nice downtown core. It has a cog railway which is pretty cool (OK it has nothing on Switzerland mountain trains but pretty cool for Greece). It has a giant cable span bridge which is the longest in the world. It has a cathedral to St Andrew which is stunning and also has the distinction of holding his skull as well as parts of his cross (he was crucified on an X, rather than t shaped cross). The marine shop nearby was a great source for mosquito nets, a lifejacket for an upcoming guest, and a few odds and sods.

On a big plus side, we had a “circus” boat next door which put on a big arial show. Fred, the master, had many young women who were doing silks from a hoisted spinnaker boom, two women at the top of the mast playing violin and accordion, and the colourfully painted boat had colourful sheets hanging down the sides. There were many challenges facing the show – a ballet show was practicing with loud sounds and vigour nearby so they delayed the start of the circus to avoid a conflict with the nearby attraction. They moved the boat into the harbor closer to the crowd and a local official came by to shut them down for not having a license. They then returned to their spot in the marina to perform the show. It was very late when it started so they ran lights from our boat and form theirs to light up the performers. We sat on the bow to watch the show and they used our boat as a bridge to the shore (they snuck theirs a bit into the harbor when the official left) so we were complicit in helping “the show go on”. Overall it was a lot of fun and special to help them in the background with odds and sods.

On the downside, there was a garbage strike so bins were full all over the city. As walking is our primary means of transport this is annoying because it forces you off sidewalks and into traffic to avoid piles of garbage everywhere. The marina was close to some septic related operations and had an unpleasant odour. We were going to stay another day but it worsened and convinced us to leave. We had an intruder on the boat which in the end was harmless but topped off a night of poor sleep since the bars go until around 5am and you can hear music pumping through the night when you would like to be sleeping.

So you get the idea. We left Patras to randomly anchor in a bay on the way to Ithica. The first place we intended to go had been taken over by fish farms so we moved on to a second location. It was theorectically sheltered but we were getting gusts over 20 knots regularly. Our anchor dragged once (it didn’t properly hold) so we reset and were fine after that. We used the anchor alarm and one of us dozed/slept on deck so we’d hear it if we moved. By morning it was peaceful and beautiful. We did lots of swims and managed to BBQ some chicken while the wind blew hard. Then on to Ithica.

So back here at Ithica I’m still in the cockpit of the boat. It is some time later. Theo has found yet another thing he must have (he is a hoarder) and is now having a real ham hamburger nearby. I’m thinking nap. Till next time….
Kevin