S/V Aphrodite

Aphrodite is currently in the body of water which separates Mainland Greece and the Northern Peloponnesus and, via the Corinth Canal, now connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea.  In nautical terms it is the Gulf of Patras, the western portion to the Corinth Canal, and the Gulf of Corinth being the eastern portion.   We approached and transited the Corinth Canal last Sunday, 7/10/08 and have been in a living museum ever since.  The history of these gulfs, the isthmus separating the land masses and the surrounding cities is fascinating.

In antiquity, vessels were transported across the isthmus on rollers via a road called the Diolkos.  Octavian, before becoming Caesar, rolled his vessels over the isthmus this way while he was in pursuit of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, around 66 B.C.  The city of Corinth controlled this passage and grew fat on the income from the diolkos.  In 522 and 551 A.D. earthquakes destroyed the city and it never regained its former prosperity.  The control of the passage continued to be highly valuable and consequently passed through the hands of many successive invaders.  It finally and permanently became a part of Greece at the beginning of Greece’s War of Independence, after WWI.

Prior to reaching the Corinth Canal we anchored in the tiny port of Epidauros in order to attend a Greek comedy at the Theater at Epidauros located in The Sanctuary of Asklepios.  According to mythology, Epidauros is the birth place of Asclepius, the god of healing and the son of Apollo.  The site became one of the most important centers for healing in the ancient world and by the 4th century BC the sick were traveling from far and wide to seek medical and mystical cures at the sanctuary.  The center offered both scientific healing, in the form of exercise, baths, healing springs, touch and diet as well as mystical healing.  To find just the right cure for their ailments, patients spent a night in the enkomitiria, a big sleeping hall.  In their dreams, Asklepios would appear and advise them as to what they needed to do to regain their health.   The prosperity of the sanctuary allowed the building of the largest surviving open air theater in Greece today.  It was designed and built around 330 BC and can hold 14,000 people.  It is one of the best preserved structures from Classical Greece, having lain hidden and protected beneath layers of earth for centuries.

The theater is most valued for its exceptional acoustics.  The comedy we attended offered us perfect intelligibility, without the aid of amplification.  Apparently the rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as crowd murmuring, while amplifying high-frequency sounds from the stage.  Whatever, it was truly amazing and memorable.  If only we understood Greek!  We had to go to the internet and find an English translation the next day in order to understand what we had witness the night before.  And even with that it was a bit hard to reconstruct and make sense of.  But, alas, we met some fun people from Athens and had a great night out.

Our first anchorage after transiting the canal was in the quiet harbor town of Galaxidi.  Strong winds prevented us from leaving for several days but the town is so lovely it was a pleasure to be there and be afforded safe harbor.  The city, built 2 centuries before the Trojan War, was originally built 130 meter above sea level near the beautiful church I have pictured.  In the 18TH and early 19th centuries it was a prosperous port, mostly due to the shipbuilding which took place there.   The invention of steamships brought an end to its prosperity, but the gentle harbor town has managed to retain itself and is now classified as a historical monument.   Several original sea captains’ homes with classic masonry are intact while others are undergoing renovation and restoration.

For the past 2 days we have been anchored right outside of the minuscule medieval harbor of Nafpaktos.  I say we anchored outside specifically because Michael tried with all of our combined effort as well as that of 7 or 8 kids and a few adults who happened to be on the quay at the time to tie up inside the tiny harbor, but the seas where rough and winds strong creating too much surge into the harbor. Commonsense and preservation of property finally prevailed and we left the little harbor with Brisa swimming behind us and all of the kids disappointed that they were not going to be coming onboard after all.  After a few hours everything settled down leaving us with a perfectly comfortable anchorage.

This amazing gem is one of best examples of medieval architecture we have seen yet, and it is just sitting there, unobstructed by tourism or decay.  Truly amazing.  It is built on the side of a hill with miles of heavy duty walls surrounding and protecting it.  The old town is situated within the walls and has succeeded in keeping its original style and old face.  We spent the morning meandering through the labrynth of narrow streets and climbing up the steep slopes to the Venetian Castle at the top.  The castle has been converted into a park, but unfortunately and for unknown reasons, it is currently closed so when I reached the top all I could glean were the outstanding views.

The city is best remember for the battle of Lepanto, the first navel victory by the allied European powers over the undefeated Turks in 1571.  During ancient times the city was used to house the ousted the Messenians who were expelled from their home city by Sparta.  From 1407 to 1499 and again from 1687 to 1700 Nafpaktos was a Venetian naval base which along with two other cities controlled the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth.  And, so here we are, back at the beginning with who controls the Corinth Canal region.  And my time is up because we have just arrived at our destination, the Ionian Island of Ithaca, where Homer’s Odessey becomes the main event.

This morning, enroute, we sheered Brisa.  We had to stop the boat so all 3 of us could swim just to get the hair off us.  She looks a bit sheepish, but oh so cool!