S/V Aphrodite

For the last year we have been planning a rendezvous with our former Moraga neighbors, Donna and Angelo, to meet in Santorini and sail to Rhodes. Despite the fact that meeting guests at a specific time and location with plans to deliver them to another place and time is a challenge most cruisers avoid, the weather gods were with us and we succeeded; they got a little taste of our life while seeing 7 different, off-the-beaten-track, Greek Islands. The weather was perfect and the winds favorable for sampling every kind of sailing, starting with a cold blustery rough water docking necessitating them to leap onto the boat, duffel bags slung over shoulders, finishing six days later with a gentle spinnaker run.

We started in Santorini, the picture-perfect cauldron-rimed island that everyone thinks of when the “Greek Islands” come to mind. We arrived a day early to secure an anchorage. Being a steep volcanic island, there is little to no beach on which to drop the anchor. We were delighted and relieved to find a half dozen mooring balls available and free (yeah for off season traveling!) on the north end of the island, giving us a little peace of mind while leaving Aphrodite unattended during the days. Donna and Angelo spent two nights perched high on the hillside in a tiny pristine blue and white hotel with a spectacular cauldron view. Each morning Michael, Brisa and I hiked that steep switchback to meet them, spent the day exploring the island and then returned to Aphrodite via the steep path.

I had been to Santorini 25 years ago when the main town of Fira was still a living, working village filled with local residents and donkeys, and ‘letting a room’ meant taking a room in the house where the proprietor and family lived. Now, sadly, the village has been given over to tourism; all of the residences have been converted to gift shops, cafes, restaurants and bars, giving the island an entirely different feel. Luckily, the stunning views are still there and other villages offer glimpses of authentic Greek living, with donkeys still hauling people and packs up the steep cliff switchbacks.

We departed Santorini on the 14th, as I mentioned, in rough sea conditions which probably  overwhelmed Donna and Angelo, leaving them wondering what the heck they were getting themselves into, sailed to the tiny island of Anafi where we dropped anchor and enjoyed our first night on the boat. Next, a charming butterfly shaped island, Astypalaia, and then Niseros, where we were able to tie up to the ferry dock, get off the boat and take a cab to see the smoldering volcanic crater and an old hilltop village. The next morning we had to leave the dock before the arrival of the 6:30 AM ferry, providing an early arrival at our next and perhaps favorite island, Tilos. The simple charm and warmth of the people made this island most memorable.

Michael sailed to Tilos 18 years ago and was excited to show us a Gothic monastery with its vaulted chambers, original fish-mosaic floor, and rampant bougainvillea perched high on a cliff overlooking the sea. We squeezed four of us and Brisa into a cab again and took a delightful tour of the island and the small monastery. Our cab driver was fluent in English which made the trip most interesting. We learned that a wedding was scheduled the next morning and she invited us to attend. Apparently everyone on the island is invited to weddings. Donna and I would have loved to see that, our own Big Fat Greek Wedding, but we had a schedule to keep and the island of Simi was our next port of call.

Simi attracts many tourists, for reasons which became immediately clear once we saw the freshly painted and renovated harbor. Thankfully we did not anchor in Pethi, the main harbor, but dinghied to it from a peaceful anchorage on the other side of the cliff. Pethi is a visual delight with muted blue, amber, cream and rose-colored houses built one on top of each other up the steep slopes, all surrounded or draped with flowering plants. But the crowds were enough to drive us back to our secluded anchorage, grateful to be there.

Rhodes was next. The island of Rhodes is the 4th largest Greek island and along with Crete and Sicily is one of the great islands of the Mediterranean. The history of Rhodes can be condensed into two periods: the story-book times of ancient Greece and the violent period of the Crusades and the Knights of St. John. As we approached our anchorage in Lindos, the first capital of Rhodes, the castle and the town were conspicuous. The acropolis within the medieval castle affords an all-around view of the town and ancient harbor. The old houses in the town, with black and white pebble mosaic courtyards and staircases, are a legacy from the prosperous middle ages. We rented a car and circumnavigated the island finding many castles strategically placed around the island, built to maximize the natural fortification provided by the steep impenetrable cliffs. When I think of castles, I think of a residence, an impressively large and perhaps opulent residence, but here a castle is a fortification, a place where all the residents can flee to for protection in times of attack or peril. All of the castles were built in the early 12th century by the Knights of St. John, an order of Hospitalers who organized to protect and care for Christian pilgrims. The Knights of St. John inherited immense wealth from the Knights of Templar, when that religious military order was outlawed by the pope, and used the money lavishly to fortify Rhodes. Rhodes City became the new capital. The medieval walled city of Rhodes City, with its ramparts, 11 surviving gates and narrow cobbled streets is so well preserved we half expected to round a corner and bump into a Crusader.

All in all, the week was spent doing simple things, finding entertainment and amusement in odd places at odd times, like listening to the tinkle of goat bells while gazing at the rocky hillsides trying to locate them, or hearing the humerous heehaw of the donkeys. One afternoon we spent several hours just watching boaters trying to complete the sometimes complicated Med-moor rafting style of securing a boat to a dock. Mind you, we offered some pretty good entertainment for others as we went through our own hupla. One inexperienced skipper backed his boat right across two other anchor chains which then fouled his boat, chain caught between the rudder and the keel. That required help from Michael and our dinghy to sort out. But the all time favorite occurred during the second day as we crossed those rough seas with cold wind in our faces; a school of dolphins were spotted. They must have spotted us at the same moment because within seconds they came careering alongside us and then to the bows to ride our wake. No matter how often we see them they are still amazing, leaping out of the water, plunging and spiraling, vanishing just to reappear ready for another leap, pure delight, freedom and ecstasy, swimming just for the fun of it. For the next hour no one noticed the rough sea conditions!

Angelo called this A Trip of a Lifeime for him.  I think it was for all of us.

We are currently in Kastellorizon, a quaint Greek island within eyesight of Turkey.  The town and quiet harbor is so charming we plan to spend several days before crossing the bay to Kas, Turkey.