After spending six days in the cozy port of Agia Eufemia (Kefallonia island) - first at anchor and then at the pier - we headed north.
We already knew the neighboring island, Ithaca, the island of Odysseus, but not yet the north coast. So, with the weather still very changeable, we sailed into Avales Bay, a beautiful bay open to the north at the northern tip of Ithaca. We anchored here and lay calm and safe - until the storm came. With stormy gusts and downpours. Of course, we had once again forgotten the tarpaulin that seals our slightly leaky hatch above the sleeping berth. What to do in the downpour? Walter undressed stark naked and ran on deck, put the tarpaulin over the hatch and weighed it down. Better than having a wet bed.
In the meantime, the weather became a little more stable and calmer, not so many thunderstorm cells, not so many dense clouds. So we weighed anchor and sailed a few miles to the north, sometimes with a good wind, into the deep bay of Sivota in the south of the island of Lefkas. We were already familiar with Iannis' pontoon, where you moor at the jetty of the Taverna Delfinia and get electricity and water if you eat there - a real win-win situation. There is still a lot of building activity in Sivota, with vacation apartments and villas being built on the steep slopes. There are wonderful views of the islands of Arkoudi, Atokos, Meganisi, Draghonera and Ochia to the south, and of course the high mountains on the mainland. The scenery is like a huge inland sea with lots of mountain peaks on the horizon.
Iannis had space for us for two nights, then the next flotillas arrived. Enough time for a big wash and a short hike. Then we continued northeast, past the islands of Kastos and Kalamos into the large, wide bay of Mytikas. The weather remained calm, so we were able to anchor quietly and safely next to the (always crowded and too hectic) harbor.
The next day: Kastos, a tiny village on the island of the same name, which is highly praised for its idyllic setting and its windmill converted into a bar - but that's precisely why: The small harbor filled to capacity with sailboats, the semicircular beach in front of the village packed tightly with boats tied up with shore lines, not a place we like.
So we anchored free in front of the small beach next to the harbor, a nice spot, but in front of a rock face, and the wind was supposed to shift. In the meantime, there were about 10 boats moored next to us that hadn't found a place either. Bathing and swimming among countless small fish - wonderful.
The anchor held, the wind shifted at two in the morning and brought a swell that made it hard for us to sleep peacefully because of all the rocking, we rolled back and forth in bed.
Then we weighed anchor and sailed halfway around the island in a north-easterly direction. Our destination was the island of Meganisi, where we found a small bay, Karnagio. The bays on Meganisi are all narrow, deeply cut, like fjords, you anchor close to the shore with a bow anchor and shore line, but we weren't comfortable with that. Karnagio is a restaurant that has built a long catwalk on the shore. There, as in Sivota, you have electricity, water, showers - and you can eat.
Karnagio is a pure idyll with a small shady beach in front of the restaurant, crystal-clear water, trees directly behind the jetty - you get the impression you're in the forest.
What's more, the village of Vathy is just a short walk away - it's beautiful here.
So we stayed for two days and enjoyed swimming, walking, eating and the scenery.
