morag

After a wonderful week of relaxation, we returned to the boatyard for a gruelling day of work on the boat! Fortunately we were rescued and whisked back up the mountain to Panagula where we celebrated Kevin's Birthday at Marianthi's - again! We had a feast of Souvlaki, the hugest and most delicious, fresh garden salad and chips. And a few carafe's of wine too! The next day Lynne and I trudged up the hill to collect manure from Alexi's (the local shepherd) goat manure heap, so that we could fertilize her veggie garden. We learnt that goat manure is far better to use than sheep manure, because goats pick leaves off branches and therefore there are no weed seeds in their droppings. Whereas sheep eat grass and weeds and so produce weed-ridden droppings. I wonder how ... read more

Well, we had a fabulous time with the Oxies..! We visited Kastos, Kioni and Fiscardo. George's (Karnagio at little Vathi on Meganisi) and Mitikas. We stopped for swims in bays and swam in caves. We chilled in cafes and and titilated our tastebuds with gastronomic delights... Fiscardo is one of the most picturesque towns you Can imagine. I call it the Riviera of the Ionian! A real gem. It is, I believe, the only town on Cephallonia that was not destroyed/damaged by the earthquake in 1953. And it is a wonderful example of the Venetian architecture and colouring for which the Ionians are renowned! While we were in Fiscardo an Israeli boat full of men moored up beside us. There was much activity with a chopping board and various veggies.... We were intrigued and so enquired ... read more

We got to Kioni in good time and so found a great spot on the town quay, with a fair bit of space for more boats. Kioni is a quaint little town with a lovely harbour. But, there is only space on the quay for about 25 boats - at a push! Well, by the end of the afternoon a whole load of boats had come in and 3 flotillas to boot! There were about 65 boats tucked in, or should I say SQUEEZED into every nook and cranny! The flotilla leaders were top n tailing some of their boats and there were loads rafted up together with lines to the rocks on the other side of the harbour. In the late afternoon we decided to have Fredo Cuppacinos at the cafe across the harbour. As ... read more

Thought some of you might be curious to see what we call 'home' for a few months every year. Not much bigger than some of your cupboards. But we love it..... An old yachting tradition is to have a painting in the saloon of your yacht - usually of a boat - but we chose to have a painting which reminded us of home! So we have a lovely painting (rather chocolate boxish) of the mountains. As I am sure some of you are aware, many European yachties are lucky enough to be able to sail with their animals on board. (They bring them with them from Europe or UK, usually by car or on the boat). We were rather envious of this and so adopted a pair of cats. Their names are Ari and Jacquie ... read more

Well, after a wonderful couple of weeks of warm weather and no wind the gods have had a change of heart! We heard the weather was coming in so we decided to head for our favourite spot - George's (Karnagio) - on Meganisi. We had a force 5 wind (about 20 knots) on the nose down to the bridge at Levkas (about an hour and a half's sail) and then more wind down to Meganisi. We had to resort to weather gear as waves (spray) were coming over the boat and it was pretty chilly. But oh, was it so lovely when we got to George's! So calm and welcoming. 😄 We had rain in the afternoon and through the night, and more wind is forecast. So we have decided to stay.... It's probably about 18 ... read more