In the meantime, we have travelled a long way north from Agia Marina on the island of Aegina. On the Cycladic island of Kea, we anchored nicely in the bay of Voukari and, after Walter had screwed something new to our anchor block, we were able to enjoy the beautiful landscape around us and remember the sleeping lion up on the mountain, that we had visited three years ago.
A very strong southerly wind was forecast. We wanted to be somewhere safe. So we headed north to the south side of the island of Eböa. We were safely moored in Karistos harbour, but the storm from the south was so strong, that we spent a day guarding our boat at the pier, just like the other sailors, who had taken refuge in the harbour. Big breakers came over the breakwater and the wind brought a lot of Sahara dust with it. A bit of doomsday atmosphere.
Pure sunshine again the next day. So we set off northwards again in the Gulf of Euboea between the mainland and the island, unfortunately under motor at first. But then the wind picked up and we made good progress until just before Bufalo Bay. The small, well-protected bay was already full of anchoring boats, but we still found a spot right in front of the tavernas behind the sandbank. Another quiet night in the middle of an idyllic setting.
Stay another day or sail on? Gisela couldn't decide at first, but then we set off for the strait in Chalkis. We actually wanted to go to the marina south of the bridge, but we were told there was no room. So we decided to cross the bridge to the north the next night. The registration by e-mail worked well. This meant we didn't have to moor at the very high pier and pay at the harbour office, as we did on our first passage. Last time we had to wait until half past two until the water was still and the bridge opened. This time we were able to go through at half past eleven. With the current, it went quite quickly, but it wasn't easy to steer. We were then able to sleep peacefully at anchor in the large bay north of the town.
We are now moored in the fishing harbour of Nea Artaki (three nautical miles north of Chalkis) for the third day - to rest, but also to remove the Sahara dust from our boat and give it a thorough clean below deck. And: we discovered a problem with the power supply from land. The cause was quickly found with the help of a very nice electrician: The heating rod in the hot water boiler was almost completely clogged with limescale. When we switched on the boiler, the main fuse blew, as did the fuse in the power column on land. We were lucky again: the electrician specialised in the type of boiler we had and had the right heating element in the car. Problem solved, and immediately afterwards we washed our hair with warm water. It had been overdue for a while.
The village of Nea Artaki, not far from the highest mountain in Euboea, was founded in 1923 by Greek refugees, the Pontos Greeks. They had been expelled when Atatürk (who himself came from Thessaloniki!) came to power and the state of Turkey was formed. The 19th of May is a public holiday for the Pontos Greeks. We were able to observe how many people gathered at the small church at the harbour of Nea Artaki in the evening and a mass was celebrated. The idea of establishing an ‘ethnically pure’ state is so cruel and absurd! But as we know, these terrible attempts, which cause so much suffering, have happened time and again in history and are still happening today.
