Author: Gisela Wuerfel

In the evening in Finikunda we went after the smell of diesel, which was still slightly noticeable since refueling in Pylos. The shock: there was some diesel on the tank, but in the bilge under the engine there was really very much. As it turned out later, it was water, but we didn't know that yet. Therefore, we changed our plans: With water in the boat and diesel across the Aegean? In heavy winds? No, we shouldn‘t do that. The next marina (with the possibility of a winter berth on land) from Finikunda is Kalamata, at the north end of a bay in the Messinian Gulf, last year we lay there for a week.
After 6 hours, again without wind, again with engine, we moored in Kalamata. The water was pumped out - 120 liters! Checking in the marina office if there is a winter shore mooring and what it costs, checking how it looks with crane for a two-master with 16 tons - that turned out to be a medium disaster.
In order for the boat to fit into the travelift (which is outdated and too small), both forestays (which brace the mast forward and give it stability) had to be removed, which took several days with hard attempts, because the stages had not been moved in years. The adjusters - bronze on stainless steel - were simply tight. With three men using heavy tools and a lot of force, including heating, they finally were loose on the third day. Now nothing stands in the way of Aglya's shore leave. Only we have to wait one day passing with bad weather, because there is too much swell in the harbor. In the meantime we are very practiced in waiting.

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After two nights at anchor we could finally reach the harbor pier in Pylos to bunker water and diesel and to buy food. Dialog with the resolute blonde while unlocking the water supply: "Hello, are you the Water-Lady?" "No, I am not the Water-Lady. I am the Harbour-Master.

Thereby we could practice mooring alongside, because we had to shift three times until we had everything together. Pylos is very lively compared to our visit in summer 2020. Because of Corona many stores were closed last year.

With a weak wind we went around the southwest tip of the Peloponnes. We were able to admire the impressive Venetian-Ottoman fortress of Methoni. Here you can also anchor nicely, but we decided for Finikunda, a small place with a harbor a bit further east. The harbor guide says that you can moor there - if there is room - at a small pier. When we carefully put the bow into the small harbor, we found out that the harbor was full of small boats and anyway not suitable for a yacht of our length to moor. Sometimes it is astonishing what is written in the harbor guides. In it we found again and again data, which did not agree at all with our estimate.

So we anchored again. In such a beautiful bay with good anchoring ground this is an easy decision. A beautiful scenery, a wide view, great colors at sunset and a quiet night. What more could you want?

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Navarino is the largest protected anchorage in Greece, four to five nautical miles in size, surrounded by hills to the east and bizarre cliffs to the west. In the Peloponnesian War of 425 BC, the Athenian fleet defeated the Spartans. Not much is known about this battle, which may also have taken place in front of the bay. More important and still significant today is the second naval battle: On October 20, 1827, an Anglo-French-Russian fleet defeated the Turkish-Egyptian one. Thus, the Ottomans were finally expelled from Greece: the beginning of Greek independence.

On the 194th anniversary of this battle, we anchored in the middle of the bay and could enjoy the celebrations with music, laser show and fireworks.

After a grueling wait, interrupted only by our nice visit on board and ashore, the engine is running again, thanks to "our" professional excellent mechanic Dimitris from Patras. But before we could leave, we had to weather a storm (54 knots, equivalent to 10 wind forces!). It caused considerable damage to the fishermen's jetties and also in the marina.

On Sunday we set off, heading south. Meanwhile we are already more than 100 nautical miles further and approach the western southern tip of the Peloponnese, where we can hopefully turn east and sail around the capes Tenaro and Maleas into the Aegean Sea. Destination: The island of Leros off the Turkish coast, just northwest of Rhodes. There we have a winter berth on land.

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Florin (Gisela's nephew) and his girlfriend Michelle visited us on board, for 10 days. For this time they had a rental car, which was very convenient, because we could not sail, the engine is not ready yet.

So we made many nice shore excursions in the region, there are really enough interesting things to see.

Oiniades, the ancient city with huge city walls, theater, agora and - probably unique - an ancient shipyard, is now located several kilometers from the coast, the water level of the sea was more than 10m higher in ancient times. The city is located in the delta of the Acheloos River, which is partly responsible for the great fertility of this area: vegetables, fruit, olives, wine, cotton and much more is grown here. Just before the mouth in a fascinating water landscape small very poor fishing villages on the edge of the large Petala Bay, which is a popular and very sheltered place for sailors to anchor.

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Astakos is located on the Ionian Sea, an hour's drive from Messolonghi through a wild landscape. An idyllic little harbor from which ferries leave for Kefalonia and the Odysseus island of Ithaca. And a beautiful coastline with rocks and small fine pebble beaches, crystal clear turquoise water in the bays.

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Tourlida is the beach of Messolonghi, here we were more often, also in the evening for dinner, you have directly the Gulf of Patras in front of you, with sandy beach and beautiful view, inside you can visit the salt mining in the lagoon and the salt museum.

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Kryoneri, a small fishing village, is located at the foot of our local mountain, Varasova. Just before it the second river that makes the land so fertile: the Evinos. In Kryoneri, the Varasova with its enormous rock walls drops vertically into the sea, which is very shallow directly in front of it, a nice beach for swimming - if it is not stormy, as it was during our visit.

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We experienced a gigantic rock landscape on the Peloponnese, on the trip with a rack railroad from Diakopto, east of Patras, into the mountains. A narrow gauge railroad, steep gorges, partly through canyons, going down vertical rock faces on the left, right next to the tracks, and up vertical rock faces on the right, incredibly impressive. Up in Kalavryta, also impressive, but unfortunately quite different: Here the Nazis murdered all 511 male inhabitants of the village in December 1943, in partisan warfare. A plaque commemorates a total of 104 places in Greece where the Wehrmacht committed massacres. The church clock stands at half past two since that day when the massacre took place.

Today Kalavryta is the starting point for a ski resort a few kilometers away.

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And here is the video, we made from our trip with the rack railroad.

Not only our guests, we also got to know many beautiful old and new places and learned again a lot about this beautiful and interesting region. Now we are getting used again to live on our boat just the two of us.

Ancient Plevrona, also called Pleuron, was located on a hill a little northwest of Messolonghi, in the area of Aetolioarkania, a region that had great importance in ancient times. The name comes from Pleuron, the son of Aitolos, who gave his name to the region. In the Iliad it is mentioned that the city provided 40 ships for the Trojan War. (7th/8th century B.C., Mycenaean period). Plevrona also had a port down by the lagoon with its own fortifications.

The region of Aetolia-Arcania is not known to many, although it has a lot of important ancient sites, including the city of Oiniades with a huge city wall, an incredibly well preserved ancient shipyard and a beautiful theater.

Initiatives have been formed to promote these (and more recent) cultural treasures and local features to a wider audience and to promote them in an ecologically-sustainable way, for example "Messolonghi by locals" (www.messolonghibylocals.com) . They also provide guides who show the ancient sites with great competence, knowledge and broad horizons and organize tours.

Ancient Plevrona was destroyed and rebuilt on a hill north of it on a much larger scale in the third century BC, 10,000 people lived here - Mycenae, so famous today, was not much larger.

The city wall made of huge ashlar-shaped stones is 2km long and has 11 gates and 36 square towers. The city plan with theater, temples, agora, baths and stadium/gymnasion corresponds to the classical Greek system. Especially well preserved is the huge water supply system: There was no water inside the walls, it was piped in from a spring outside, distributed there into various pipes and kept ready in a huge reservoir (33x22m) built directly into the rock.

What you can also see and experience in an impressive way: the excavation and uncovering of the ancient walls and objects is a real Sisyphean task that lasts for years; archaeologists are at work to make more and more ancient treasures accessible to the visitors. And this is true for numerous ancient sites in Greece.  

Apart from the archaeologists at Plevrona, the only other creature we encountered on the huge site was a turtle.

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First the journey to the boat, delayed by almost three month because of Corona, then after a month the return trip to Heidelberg, so that Walter's heart could receive the necessary treatment, and now after the two-month intermezzo at home back on board. First again waiting for the longed for mechanic for our engine cooling. Now he was there and opened the cooling system. Corrosion! And not too scarce. And the turbo doesn't work anymore. Now he unscrewed all affected parts and took them to Patras. Yesterday we learned that not all parts can be repaired. So we also need new parts. But where to get them? Our Nanni Turbo Diesel is not often found in Greece and there is no representation or outfitter for Nanni. The parts have to be ordered - wherever. And that can take up to a month, the mechanic tells us. Apart from the strain on our wallets, we now have to finally give up our plan to be in Poros towards the end of September to take Michelle and Florin on board. We can only offer them a "houseboat" for the planned period. ?

Fortunately, we are here in Messolonghi in a nice, pleasant place. Here we know some people. In the meantime we are also mobile with our bicycles. And we always have beautiful views from our boat (in the photo, for example, the sunrise). 

So for us it means: wait, take care of the boat, take care of ourselves and stay confident, that we will still get to sail this year.