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Published: June 20th 2023
Out With the Old Dinghy at Rhodes Marina
it definitely served us (and previous owners) wellNow that the new dinghy was delivered in the afternoon the day we planned to leave, we could get started again in our travels to our final destination for this season, Cartagena, Spain. It was delivered later in the day than we had hoped, so did not have time to give it a "test drive" or even get it set up in the harness for hooking it into the davits on the stern of the boat so we loaded it on the deck of Tsamaya and will deal with getting it moved to the stern sometime on our travels The important thing was getting the new one and having the old one removed so we didn't have to deal with it. That done, we were going to be on our way again.
May 23 - First day started out nicely, but then the wind decided to differ from the forecast and had winds coming from the bow Left at 6:35 AM – good thing as got ahead of a thunderstorm that was crossing behind us – got a few sprinkles and a wind shift from it – then another storm ahead of us – missed that as well – not
the day we anticipated - 9-hour passage, originally planned as a 7-hour passage. We did spend a pleasant night at anchor near the other end of the island of Rhodes. It was quiet with no one else in the anchorage.
May 24 - Day 2 – left at 6AM – sailed to the south end of the island of Rhodes and crossed over to the island of Karpathos – weather read the forecast and cooperated - lovely sail – got to anchorage 2:45 – had thought we might skip it and move ahead as it was such a nice day – went a little further and not soon after the wind shifted which would make the next turn we would need to make miserable so we turned around and went back to our original planned anchorage on the island of Karpathos. It turned out to be a nice quiet bay – anchored in 10 feet of water on sand – a lovely quiet night with no surge! Also had a lovely view of a small traditional looking white church with a blue roof. A nice setting for the anchorage.
May 25 - Day 3 – short day from
Karpathos to the island of Kasos to the village of Fry (pronounced Free) The name means eyebrow in Greek due to the shape of the village – but to us it really means free – it ended up being free for the dock, free water and best of all excellent free wi-fi right from the boat – this is what we have been looking for – pretty much a dream stop! It started off right with a very friendly port policeman stopping by the boat to let us know that the person that normally collects the daily fee for docking was away so it would be free. We then went over to his office to get checked in as in Greece you get paperwork when you first check into the country which needs to be stamped in and out of each port that you stop at. That is fine as long as you can find someone in the office, but we are quickly learning that it can be the first day you arrive but it also is fine if you don’t make it to the next day (very laid back here) With the weather forecast we could leave the next
day, but we decided that even though we are on a timetable to get to Cartagena, Spain within 90 days of entering Greece, we still wanted to see a few things on the way. After the “big city” feel and crowds in Rhodes, we were looking for a small place like Fry to be able to take an extra day to enjoy it. We bought a few things at the store and then stopped at a restaurant that the port police recommended for lunch. We got there shortly after they opened at 1 with only a couple of people there but by 2pm the place really filled up – always a good sign. We were informed that there is a cheese that is made only on the island of Kasos called “sitika” that we “had” to try, so of course we did. It seems that they use it quite often on pasta so it makes it like a macaroni and cheese dish with caramelized onions on top and some delicious seasoning. That is not something Bob typically likes but we both loved it – a wonderful taste indeed. They also said we should try their hot cheese spread for the
bread, again with a variety of local cheeses. We had ordered Greek meatballs (they have such wonderful seasoning) and a Greek salad. When it all came, we found that they also served French fries with the meatballs so our meal was definitely high on carbs, but most importantly delicious! The tip to eat at this restaurant was a great one.
In reading about this island over lunch we found that they have over 100 churches and 5 main villages. With deciding to take an extra day we wanted to check into renting a car. We found the place for the rentals but even though there were keys in the lock (on the outside of the door) we didn’t see anyone around. Fortunately, another shopkeeper nearby saw us and asked what we wanted. He just hollered to someone and a woman came out on to the balcony upstairs and we made arrangements by talking to her from the street up to the balcony – definitely a laid-back method of doing business She said she had cars available for 40 euro a day and that we could pick it up at 9AM the next day. Our plan was now set.
We still had time left in the day so took a walk and wandered over to a church that is somewhat unusual. According to legend the churches were built to conjure six fairies that were present once in the area. A small church was built for each one with each dedicated to a different saint, therefore there are six standing side by side with a more traditional sized church nearby. We had been provided with a map at the port police office that showed all the hiking trails over the island – they have it set up wonderfully with great trail markers and the map provided shows the topography of the island. Anyone interested in a hiking vacation should check this island out (as long as you are into quite a bit of change of elevation on your hikes).
Day 6 - 5/26/23 – We were to pick up the rental car at 9AM so walked up to the building where we talked to her from her balcony. Again, saw keys in the door, but nobody around. The other shopkeeper that helped yesterday wasn’t around so Bob stayed there and I wandered around to see if I could find
her. Didn’t see her but did find a woman working at a nearby café. I asked her and sure enough she knew that the woman had an errand to do in the next village, but that she would be back soon and she would even call her to let her know we were waiting. Love the laid-back feel here. Definitely a great small-town community where everyone knows everyone else – just what we wanted!
We did the paperwork for the car -she only wanted to see Bob’s license, filled out a form, signed it and paid 40 euro flat – no extra charges. Bob asked her if we could have her phone number in case there is a problem and she said “there isn’t a problem” - sometimes things get lost in translation but then asked for her business card so that had her number, she told us where to buy gas & what time they are open and that was it. We were off trying to find our way around the mountain switchback roads. Sometimes easy, other times the signs were in Greek without the English words that were on our map so made it interesting. Many churches
Always Scan the Hilltops for Ruins & You'll Find Some
and villages tucked away in pockets beneath the hills were locked up but fortunately we were able to enter a few. Some of the churches were on the mountain tops so not only amazing to see, but to think about how they were built years ago in those locations.
We thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the mountain villages and checking out the various churches we came across. Many of them are very small, but all have the feeling of serenity and had beautiful wooden and silver artwork, with many also having stone mosaic flooring. When we got back to the village of Fry in the afternoon, we thought that maybe we would try to buy some of the traditional sitika cheese that you cannot buy anywhere else. We thought we could do so at the grocery stores, but found after checking two places that was not possible. We were directed to a small local market and were told the same, they couldn’t help and directed us to another building. It was near the café where the woman had helped us earlier in the day. We asked her and said that there is only one place to buy it and the place was closed as the people were out of
town. All of a sudden one of the customers heard our plight and said he would call the people that make the cheese to see if we could get some. After many attempts, we found that they were not coming back in town until the next morning and we would be gone before they arrive. Oh well, it was worth a try and again it showed the friendliness of the people and the extent that they were willing to help. Another customer informed us that the cheese is made by stirring for a total of 8 hours over a wood fire and it must be wood!
Even though we have thoroughly enjoyed the Greek cuisine, we were wanting a change and heard about a pizza place in town. We went there for dinner and it was one of the best pizzas we have had in a long time as the crust was wonderful (and of course the toppings too)
As I have good wi-fi right now I will cut this blog with only covering a few days so I can get it posted. Will work on further postings as soon as I can to try to bring you
Views from Our First Anchorage at Plimmyri
no one else anchored with us so a quiet night up to date on our travels.
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