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We had already suspected that the high pressure over Central Europe, which was stable for several weeks, caused all lows to pass it and move into the Mediterranean area. Unstable, rather cool weather with lots of rain and thunderstorms - that is rather unusual in May and June in Greece. So we hadn't packed away our warm clothes yet.

And now we know it for sure: The Omega weather system has given us this bad weather phase: in Central Europe a steady high pressure system and in the West and East low pressure areas. Normally, the weather systems relevant for Greece move from northwest to southeast. The high over Central Europe blocked this movement. So we noticed that the temperatures at home in Germany were often higher than here in the Peloponnese and the Ionian Sea. And our friends at home already envied us for the rain, because it was much too dry at their place. Most recently, we spent three particularly uncomfortable days on Ithaca in Vathy: continuous rain with thunderstorms and strong winds. Most of the time we were guarding our boat.  

And why Omega? The flow field around the two lows and the high look like the Greek capital letter Ω on the weather map. 

Meanwhile, the weather map looks different. The omega has disappeared. We could sail to the mainland to Astakos with sun and great sailing wind. Now it is getting warmer every day, so we unpack our sun sail more and more often.

At some point you have to untie the ropes again, otherwise you get the Poros syndrome (see blog from May 24th). So we left the lonely marina of Argostoli on June 8th. And with what destination? Poros - not the Poros in the Saronic Gulf, after which we named the syndrome, but the small Poros on the east side of Kefalonia. There we were directed by Spiros, the energetic, fit, nice and humorous harbormaster directly to the new floating jetty, which is not yet marked in the harbor guides and in Navionics ("I want to see your beautiful money." means: pay harbor dues). Although the big ferry from Kyllini docks here several times a day, it is a nice, quiet place with an eternally long pebble beach.

But like Odysseus we wanted to go on, to Ithaca. We didn't have to wander around for ten years like him, who wanted to get back there from Troy. Just a little more than 20 nautical miles and we were there. We wanted to go to the bay of Vathy, the main town of the island. Surprise: rather light winds outside and on entering the bay winds gusting up to 40 knots. No good anchorage free, the pier full. So we fled, again some nautical miles back to the south into the beautiful and well protected anchorage Filiatro. There we could anchor well, enjoy the peace and the great scenery and swim extensively in the clear turquoise water.

But we could also see here that the high season has just begun. Had we seen so far only a few charter boats, they came now in ever greater numbers. In the harbor of Vathy, which we then approached two days later in calm weather, we felt finally catapulted into the high season. Like a string of pearls, the boats arrive here, many of them catamarans. The long piers are already full from the early afternoon. Anchoring is busy in the bay. After the rush hour for the free berths on the pier, we can admire catamarans with at least ten half-naked young men with suboptimal figure and bad taste in music. Well, they have a week's vacation, there must be something going on. We are retired and have time. But from the aesthetic point of view, we find some things to be an imposition. So: We arrived in the high season in the Ionian Islands. We have to get used to it.

Nevertheless: It is beautiful here. And there are always nice encounters with other sailors. And we will continue to find beautiful anchorages again and again.

Despite all this beauty that we are allowed to enjoy here every day, we are aware that obviously the Greek coast guard is probably one of the worst and most inhumane in the EU as far as refugees are concerned. We are horrified by the death of so many people in the boat accident south of the Peloponnese.

It was not easy for us to say goodbye to the Peloponnese. In the last three years we have developed something like a feeling of home. But we had no time to think about it when we left Kyllini on June 1st. For three quarters of an hour we were busy getting rid of the heavy anchor - probably of a fishing boat - in which our chain had got caught. But then: off to Zakynthos! This time we didn't moor in the main harbor, but in the very northeast, in the bay of Agios Nikolaos. When we entered the bay we thought about anchoring instead of going to the pier because of the swell. The decision was taken from us by Kosta, who rushed in with his dinghy and guided us to an anchor buoy. Good solution! The buoy cost nothing, but going to eat at Kosta's taverna, he was already expecting. Good deal!

The next day we went straight on, past the rugged north coast of Zakynthos with many caves, northwest to the next island - Kefalonia. In Argostoli, the main town, we moored in the abandoned marina. No water, no shore power, but peace and quiet with a beautiful view of the town, which we could reach via a long stone bridge (Bosset bridge, 750m long). There it was worthwhile to finally get the Farräder out again.

In the meantime we did a lot of things here: Bicycle trip to the sinkholes. Here seawater flows underground to the other side of the island. Bicycle trip around the lagoon, a biotope with a wonderful flora, birds and sea turtles.

And a special highlight: ride by local bus through the mountains and along the spectacular west coast to Fiskardo. Many sailors come to the harbor of Fiskardo. We don't want that, because the harbor is often full from noon on. Since the pier is laid out in a semicircle, anchor-salad with diver is pre-programmed. And we could see that it is noisy and bustling at the pier. One falls from the cockpit directly on the tables in the tavernas. We watched all this, that was enough. And we had a two-hour bus ride each way with beautiful and spectacular views. A land trip can also be very nice.

Yes, in Pylos you can also get the Poros-Syndrome. We stayed there for a few days. Had a visit on board from our friends Jürgen and Gisela, had a nice dinner together. We visited the Nestor Palace in rainy weather. Impressive, what was built there in Mycenaean times - the buildings, but also the social structures and the social life.

There was only one local bus to go there there. Back we got on the bus of a French tour group. We were just lucky again. To say goodbye we anchored again nicely in the bay and admired the magnificent starry sky.

Then we took aim at the bizarre rocks that border the bay to the west and sailed through the narrows. Under sail this was too risky for us. But that's what we have our Nannidiesel for in the basement. 

Next stop: Kiparissia. We already know the place and the harbour quite well from two previous visits. We could observe seven big sea turtles in the harbour basin. The climb to the castle ruins above the village was worth it - because of the great view and because of the bar, where we had so enjoyed sitting during our first visit in 2020. We discovered "The Old Watermill" in the hinterland. In the past, there were several water-powered mills in the fertile valley near Kiparissia. One is still in operation. Here grain is grounded and processed into delicious savory and sweet cakes, which we of course tried.

Then: Cast off and continue north along the west coast of the Peloponnese. Light wind sailing with half wind. An acquaintance of ours calls this "ladies sailing". With our 16-tonner we make only slow progress in such a light wind (max. 13 knots) despite all sail up. Next port: Katakolon. From here we took the small train to ancient Olympia in 2020. We did not plan to do that this time. That was a good decision. The harbour was packed, there was only a small gap left, but we could not get into it backwards with a crosswind. So anchor up again and out into the bay. But before that we had to do a little extra task and get rid of the anchor chain of another boat that we had fished up with our anchor. We have already gained some experience with this, especially last year in the Aegean. It was done quickly. Reward: a nice quiet night at anchor in the bay and no anchor mess the next morning, when we wanted to leave to sail further north. Destination: the port of Kyllini in the northwest.

Again beautiful light wind sailing between the Peloponnese, over which the thunderclouds piled up every day as in the last days, and the island of Zakynthos. And in Kyllini we find a gap at the pier. Here we take a rest day - no a work day: Boat washed, us washed, food supplies procured. And of course fish for Dinner bought. 

And where to go tomorrow? From Kylinni there are many options to sail to the Ionian Islands. We will ask our wind and weatherfrogs tonight, make a decision, knowing full well, what our friend Mats from Messolonghi advised us, "Don't trust an app." Let's see where the wind blows us.

Sometimes Walter has the Poros syndrome. Poros is an enchantingly beautiful island in the Saronic Gulf, almost a suburb of Athens, there are fast ferries, so of course it is very touristy there. But the island is beautiful and diverse: many small bays with turquoise clear water, forested hills, a small town almost like the Choras on the Aegean islands up the mountain, a beautiful monastery. We stayed there for a whole week three years ago, hiked a lot, swam, enjoyed the tavern life. 

And then Walter realized that we would have to leave at some point, otherwise we would never be able to get off this island. We were helped by the fact that one evening a new bar opened up directly opposite our boat, and there was hip-hop all night long at maximum volume. We were happy to be able to continue our journey without too much melancholy. 

But the Poros syndrome is stubborn, it comes again and again, when a port, an island, an anchorage is particularly beautiful.........

In Kalamata we stayed a few days. Three bags of laundry were perfectly washed and ironed for us by the Laundry Service, since the washing machine in the marina was broken. Kostas, the electrician of the marina, found out how to reprogram our depth gauge. From now on we can do that ourselves in case we accidentally jam it again. The rear bilge pump, which did‘t take water out anymore, got a new membrane, which was ordered in Athens. Well equipped for the onward journey, we cast off under somewhat difficult conditions, because there was very little space to maneuver and right next to us were murings of other boats going shallow into the water. It happened from time to time that boats got the muring of another boat in the propeller, told us the Palatines, who have their Reinke for years in Kalamata. But it worked out fine and without stress. We sailed southwest across the Messenian Gulf to Koroni. The harbor of Koroni is too shallow to moor at the pier. Therefore we wanted to anchor. But when we arrived, there was strong wind and swell into the harbor bay. So we anchored on the other side of the fortress in front of the beach. There we could wave to our friends Jürgen and Gisela, who are vacationing in an apartment there.

The next day we continued towards Methoni. There you can anchor in calm weather, with a view of the impressive fortress. We would have liked to do that, but the wind and swell would have made for us a restless night. It just doesn't sleep very well when you roll back and forth in your bunk.

So we added another seven nautical miles, around the southwest tip of the Peloponnese to Pylos. Here there was a lot of activity. The pier of the city port on one side with a small cruise ship occupied, on the other side with sailboats. In the marina also all full, quiet a lot of rotten permanent boats, but also guest boats, some alongside, some with bow anchor, all crisscross. Not inviting, but there was no more room for us anyway. So we anchored pleasantly and quietly in the beautiful Navarino Bay.

Since we wanted to have visitors on board in the next few days, we anchored at the pier in the city harbor the next day. The cruise ship was gone and there was space. A friendly harbormaster greeted us and the Port Authority meticulously checked all our papers. "TEPAI OK?" was their first question. The Greek cruising tax certainly contributes to economic growth. We had already paid it online in Germany.

Today there are elections in Greece. It will be exciting, because the previous president Mitsotakis will probably not get the absolute majority. And the question will be whether a coalition of the left (Syriza and Pasok) will manage a majority. We will witness that here in Pylos, because we will stay a few more days. Our friends Jürgen and Gisela come to visit. The weather is very unsettled with lots of rain and thunderstorms. We want to continue north. A schedule that forces us to go, we have fortunately not. 😊

At some point you have to leave even the most beautiful anchorage. The sails want to be hoisted and a new destination is needed. So we pull up the mainsail and the mizzen already before anchoring in the bay of Elafonisos and then slowly motor out of Ormos Sarakiniko with destination Porto Kagio. Now it goes over the Laconian Gulf. Laconic means "short tempered" or " briefly said" (King of Macedonia: "When I have defeated you, your houses will burn, your cities will be in flames and your wives will become widows." To which the Spartans replied, "If!"). For us today, in short, and fortunately not at all warlike, "Did we have a fair wind right away?" "No!" So patience in the search for the sailing wind is needed. But soon we can also roll out the genoa and sail as if on rails between anchored cargo ships with full sail towards the Mani peninsula. How beautiful!

In front of the bay of Porto Kagio we hoist the sails and anchor alone in front of the small village, where there are almost more motorhomes than sailors. Later some more boats come. Actually, we wanted to go ashore here, because our food supplies are gradually running out. But we are not sure if the anchor will hold with the gusts of wind from the mountains. So tomato sauce with rice. At night the wind turns to the east and there are heavy gusts. We get quite close to the shore with our stern, although the anchor holds. A small buoy knocking on our stern then wakes us up finally. Because of the narrowness in the bay and the neighbouring boats we could not pull out much chain, so we can't catch up any chain now. So to be on the safe side we place the anchor again. This works well in the dark. Then everything is OK and the next morning we can comfortably drink our coffee in the cockpit, look at the beautiful surrounding with Mani village, rock caves and mountains and then sail off again.

In front of the bay of Porto Kagio we can set the sails right away. Since we want to sail around Cape Tenaro and don't know how the wind will be behind it ("Don't trust an App!", quote from our friend Mats from Messolonghi) we only pull up the genoa and the mizzen. And the fact that we didn't pull up the mainsail turns out to be a good decision a little bit later. We sail around the cape, thinking that we can sail comfortably to the selected anchorage "Ormos Limeni". But shortly north of the village Gerolimenias at the steep rocks of Cape Lipoula the wind suddenly blows up strongly and it costs despite reefed genoa real strength to keep our windward-greedy boat on course. East wind whizzing down over the high mountains. Shortly before our chosen anchorage for the night we are in gusts of 40 knots, which continue to blow in the bay. We can't imagine a reasonably calm night here. Don't trust an app, how true! Such an app cannot predict regional conditions. It says that we will have a maximum of 23 knots of gusty wind overnight. We've spent the night here with that much wind before. OK. But 40 knots! That's not necessary. So we add another two hours, further north.

There we find a little paradise. Anchoring in the bay of Kardamili in front of the rocks and the beach of Kalamitsa. Calm, quiet, clear water, red rocks, green hillsides overgrown with cypresses. And after the second attempt to place the anchor so that it doesn't get stuck under a rock or the anchor chain gets wrapped around the rocks while swinging, we have found the right spot of sand and fall blissfully asleep after the last meal from our supplies.

And then again Kalamata. We are heading under sails to this place the next day. Here Aglaya spent the winter before last on land and the underwater hull got a refit. We moore in the marina for a few days, can take a really nice warm shower, wash clothes, clean the boat, meet old friends again, buy delicious things for cooking. And let's see: Maybe we will find someone to get our depth gauge going again. And of course we say hello to our mechanic from the winter before last, Mr. Vardakas, who is as old as we are and doesn't want to stop working because he just loves doing it. What a great „Saying hello“ again!