The Peloponnese

29th May 2023 - Adamantas, Milos - Monemvasia, Mainland Greece (74.2 nautical miles)

Our time in Milos had come to an end. The island had provided us with safe shelter from strong northerly winds and a host of interesting sights and beautiful scenery to enjoy. But it was time to move on. We had more than 70nm to do to get across to the mainland of Greece so, at 3am, we weighed anchor, and made our way out of the bay. The wind was coming from the NNW so we were still getting some protection from the island. We took the opportunity to raise the main sail with one reef. This proved the right decision as we motored out of the bay into 20kn winds. It was almost a straight shot west to our destination so, with winds just forward of the beam, the engines were off, the jib unfurled, and we flew along at 7kn SOG. Always a bit disconcerting leaving an anchorage in the dark but as the sun rose three hours later, we had had already cleared 20nm. Unfortunately with the sun came lighter winds and by early morning we had shaken out the reef in the mainsail, furled the jib and unfurled the Code 0. This allowed us to maintain a speed of 6kn.

Our destination was the 6th century, walled city of Monemvasia. The city is on an island tied to the mainland by a 400m tombolo. Looks like a giant lollipop sticking out from the Peloponnese. The majority of the houses are situated on the slopes of a large plateau, 100m above sea level.

Our trusty app Navily had informed us of a guy called Mateo who could help us get a free spot at the harbour. We had messaged him the day before to ask whether a spot was available for us. He responded straightaway to say that he would try to find a solution for us and we should try and be there before 3pm. There was an anchorage just outside the marina but it was a bit exposed so we hoped he would find us that solution. By 12pm the wind had dropped completely so an engine was on and we motored our way towards land. Our path to the marina took us right past the city which was pretty spectacular from the water.

Shortly before 3pm we messaged Mateo to say we were approaching. This wasn’t really a marina, just a harbour behind a breakwater. There were spots to tie up alongside the breakwater or there were three sides to tie up stern to, Med moor style. Unfortunately the breakwater was full as we came into the harbour but we saw a guy waving towards us that was presumably Mateo. He gestured for us to head into the middle of the harbour, drop the anchor and move back towards the end of a section of the dock which was tiny. Not only that but there was a motor yacht positioned side on to where we were docking. Our usual technique is for Carl to concentrate on reversing the boat while I pay out the anchor chain at the front. Then when we get close to the dock he takes over the anchor control and I move to the back of the boat to throw the stern lines out. On this occasion it was complicated by me trying to fend off the motor yacht’s anchor from jabbing into the side of our boat. On the other side our boat stuck out at the end the dock. After much faffing and heaving, and thankfully the owner of the motor yacht moving his boat back a bit, we managed to squeeze our big bum into the slot. As there were boats Med moored on the opposite side of the small harbour to us we were fairly convinced we had crossed anchors with one or more but we would deal with that issue later.

Mateo, it turns out, had a restaurant near the harbour. He said we were under no obligation to eat there and that the harbour was free. It seemed that Mateo was just a guy helping out yachts coming in so that he could promote his business. There had been no guarantee that we would have got a spot there. As the afternoon wore on the harbour became full so we were glad we arrived when we did. That evening, after a walk up to the city and a sunset drink at a gorgeous little bar overlooking the water, we did indeed go and have dinner at Mateo’s place - a very tasty meal of calamari and red snapper. That night we were treated to some fireworks at the harbour. It appeared to be for someone’s birthday on a super yacht anchored on the other side of the breakwater.

We planned to spend a couple of days there in Monemvasia so that we could go and explore the city the following day. But before we could leave the boat that morning we needed to make sure we hadn’t crossed anchors with any of the boats across from us. Miraculously we seemed to have missed them all. However, with a fresh set of boats coming in that afternoon, there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t get stuck again that evening. The other side of the dock to us had a large Sunreef cat which had just left so we decided to raise our anchor and move round to tie side on. That way it would be an easy get away the following morning. With our mission accomplished we left the boat ready for a bit of a hike up to the plateau. On our way we saw some electric scooters to rent so thought it would be a bit of fun to head up to the entrance on them. The bit of fun cost us about €7 each. A taxi would have been cheaper but hey ho.   

We walked up through the narrow streets to climb the step up to the plateau. It was fairly steep and, as usual, we had left it until the heat of midday, but the views were spectacular. On the plateau were the remains of the citadel and the beautifully restored and preserved Holy Church of Hagia Sophia. Carl broke out the drone to take some great aerial shots of the area. Once we made our way back down to the city below we took a walk out to the lighthouse and then finished off the evening with a few drinks and dinner.

When we got back to our boat another had snuck in in front of us. An 86ft Riva superyacht called “Whatever”. Very swish.

31st May 2023 - Monemvasia - Agios Elena (29.5 nautical miles)

Thanks to our efforts the previous morning in moving the boat, it was a straight forward exit from the harbour. We only had 30nm to go so it wasn’t too early a start. Once clear of the marina we raised full main and jib. We had about 15kn on the beam so we were skipping along.

Having watched plenty of YouTube sailing channels tackle the Peloponnese, both west to east and east to west, the conditions can be pretty hairy as the wind whips round the three main fingers that make up the mainland. Looking at the forecast the wind seemed to be in our favour so maybe our luck had finally made an appearance. As we headed south to turn the corner we made use of full sails and then the code 0 when it got a bit light. By 1pm we gybed round with full main and the jib held out on a barber hauler. Our destination was the island of Elaphonisos, a beautiful sandy beach called Agios Elena. On the south eastern tip of the island were two beaches, separated by another lollipop of land, this time an unspoilt wilderness. We opted for the more southern one as we thought we would get better protection from the forecasted winds. It was due to pick up the following day so we would be hunkering down for a couple of days here. By 2:30pm we had dropped the hook in 5m of crystal clear water, with 50m of chain out as we were expecting a big blow and we had plenty of room. There were only two other boats in the anchorage. The next day we took the dinghy to shore to explore. It was a beautiful white sandy beach, the kind you don’t often find in Greece. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and it was blowing a hooley but beautiful all the same. Our first real taste of the Peloponnese and we were loving it. We’d seen on google maps that there was a beach bar and restaurant there so we figured an afternoon drink was appropriate. Unfortunately it was all closed up, I guess we were out of season. On the beach there were rows of packed up loungers, we grabbed a couple and sat out on the beach for a while, soaking up the sights. Whilst there I got a message via the Noforeignland app from another boat heading across from Crete. They had had a rough crossing with 50kn winds out there and wanted to know what the wind and swell was like in our anchorage. I was happy to report that whilst we were getting 20+kn winds the swell was minimal and there was plenty of room for them. I could feel the gratitude and relief from the message I got back. They came over later that evening to have a chat and say thanks for the info.

2nd June 2023 - Agios Elena - Ormos Vathi (29.6 nautical miles)

By the following day the wind had calmed sufficiently for us to move on. It was only another 30nm across from the eastern most finger to the middle one so we weighed anchor at 9:30am and set off, full main and jib with 11kn on our beam. It was a cloudy day but to cheer us up a pod of dolphins came to play in the bow waves. Always a great sight to see. As we neared the centre of the sea space between the two fingers we saw at least 7 tankers anchored in the middle, with a few rafted next to one another. Since this was a fairly remote area with no real ports to speak of we were curious as to why they were there. Weaving our way through we could see that there was some activity on deck between the rafted ships. This is obviously supposition but we were later told that these were Russian tankers transferring fuel in ‘international’ waters. No Russian vessels were officially allowed to be in European waters due to the war with Ukraine so I guess, without the world watching, the deals were still done.

Anyway, we popped out the other side without incident and found a peaceful bay to anchor in. It was a bit rainy but by the time we dropped the anchor in around 4m, the rain had stopped, the clouds cleared and we were treated to a beautiful sunset. There wasn’t much to this small bay, just a posh hotel on shore so we had dinner onboard that night. Just a pitstop on our way.

3rd June 2023 - Ormos Vathi - Krotonas (7.87 nautical miles)

After a peaceful nights sleep, we weighed anchor at 9am to head just 7nm down the coast to Krotonas. There was nothing too spectacular about the place but it did have a little town and it was a good anchorage. We were biding our time for another day as we wanted the conditions to be right to head to Porto Kagio. A couple of years before we had watched a YouTube channel called ‘Lets Dance’. They are an Australian couple sailing the Med in their Fontaine Pagot Lucia 40 catamaran. Apart from their videos having great music in them (no idea how they got round the copyright laws), they were a couple heading to all the places that we wanted to go and on a similar budget to us. In fact, we based our budget on what they had quoted in one of their episodes. Of course we should have taken into account Covid, the Ukraine war, the cost of living crisis and the fact that it had been two years ago but it was ballpark. Very.

Anyway, they had gone to a place called Porto Kagio and it looked beautiful. We said that if we ever sailed down this way we would make a stop. The reports of the anchorage on Navily though seemed to suggest that we really needed to wait for calm conditions and the holding wasn’t great and the swell could wrap around in there. Also there wasn’t too much space as it was deep in the centre of the bay. Hence Krotonas for a night.

4th June 2023 - Krotonas - Porto Kagio (11.8 nautical miles)

So at 8:20am we weighed anchor and made our way round to Porto Kagio. It was a beautiful still morning. Only 11nm so we arrived at 10:40am, hoping we had left enough time for people to have left. The better, sandier spot to drop the hook would have been just off the town but there were tourists boats on the dock, mooring bouys in the water and a yacht positioned in the only good spot really. We therefore headed over to the western side of the bay where there were a few other boats anchored. We picked a spot inbetween two monohulls and aimed to drop the hook in 5m of sand amongst the weed, with 35m of chain out. We seemed to be equidistant from our neighbours either side but it all depended on which way they would swing, the wind direction and how much chain they had out. It seemed close but after sitting there for a few hours and having a swim on the anchor we convinced ourselves that we were fine. The charm of this place was the restaurants that had set up tables on the beach along the shore. You could have your dinner with the water almost at your feet and the calm bay out in front of you. There was also a terraced bar on the hillside for some epic sundowners looking out over the bay. We did just that after taking a little walk out to the chapel at the point.

It had been exactly what we hoped for. Peaceful and beautiful. Unfortunately when we got back to the boat that night the boats had all swung the other way and we were quite close to our neighbour, Corleone. It seemed ok and they weren’t concerned but it made for a restless night. At least for me, anyway. And at 4am I gazed out of the cabin window to see them only a few metres away from us as they lifted their anchor. We couldn’t tell whether it was just that we were too close to them and they decided to move or it was their intention to leave anyway at that time. Anyway, they headed out of the bay. I tried to get some sleep.

5th June 2023 - Porto Kagio - Dirou (25.8 nautical miles)

The next morning we raised the anchor at 8:30am and headed out. All in all it had been a lovely nights stay there. Our next stop was around the middle finger and on to its western side. We started out with 13kn of wind but after 45mins we were left with nothing so it was a uneventful motor up the coast. Our friends from Kaş, Clare and Zach had told us of a great spot a bit further up called Limeni. We decided to break up the journey and had looked for a spot along the way. Navily had shown us a great anchorage in a fairly large bay at Dirou. Apparently there were some caves there too so at 1pm we dropped the hook in 5m of sand. The bay was quite exposed but it was calm enough. Just to our right we could see the visitors entrance to the caves. There also appeared to be a little dock there for us to tie the dinghy too so after half an hour or so of making sure the boat was staying put, we hopped in the dinghy and headed over to check out the caves. After some shenanigans in getting the tickets, involving walking back up a steep hill to get them (not everyone arrives by boat) we were led down some steps to the boats. Yes, the boats! The cave system was a 1.6 miles long, lit up and traversed by boat. As we were rowed along the caverns the guy steering the boat was giving a running commentary. Unfortunately for us it was all in Greek but as luck would have it, there was a Greek woman sat in the boat ahead of us translating for her Romanian friend in English. The photos don’t really do it justice but suffice it to say it was pretty cool. Especially as we didn’t expect it to be that extensive. Not bad for an impromptu stopover.

6th June 2023 - Dirou - Itilo Beach, nr Limeni (4.32 nautical miles)

It was a short hop up to Limeni from Dirou. Not worth bothering the sails. Clare and Zach had shown us where they had anchored in beautiful blue water, close to the waterside restaurants. As we approached the bay the lovely turquoise water was in a thin strip close to shore. Unfortunately for us it was a little too close to shore for my liking and for the length and width of our boat so we opted to head over to the much larger bay near Itilo beach. A tad more exposed but large, sandy and plenty of room to put out as much chain as we wanted. Clare had also told us of a lovely little town directly up the hill from Limeni which was worth visiting so, since we would be leaving the boat unattended for the day, the bigger bay was best. We had dropped the hook by 10:30am so by midday we were on our way up the hill to the town of Areopoli. It was only a 9 minute drive but sadly, an hour walk with an altitude gain of 250m. Not too bad but again, midday and hot! A couple driving past took pity on us and gave us a lift up to town. This time, not an ancient site but just a beautiful market town with cobbled streets, lovely cafe’s and rooftop restaurants looking out over the bay. Definitely worth a stop. We cheated and got a taxi back down the hill in time to find a nice waterside bar for a drink. We were treated to the appearance of a turtle in the shallows of the beautiful blue Greek water. Quite the novelty for us but according to the waiter, he was a regular.

It was around this time, sat at the bar, watching a turtle and a sunset, that we started to discuss maybe putting the boat in a marina for a few days to explore inland a bit. Our best thinking is done over a Mythos! Navily had informed us that we could tie up to the municipal harbour wall in Kalamata for a reasonably cheap rate. Others had left their boat there safely and ventured off for a few days. It was now June and we had been so concerned about how quickly we would need to traverse the Schengen Zone that we had not thought it prudent to invite friends and family for a visit. We had also not known how lumpy the Peloponnese would be but in hindsight, it would have been a perfect time for guests. My parents would be the only visitors to Rockhopper when we got to Malta in July so that was our only deadline. Having been concerned that time would be tight it turned out that we had more than a month to play with thanks to our friendly immigration guy in Mykonos who stamped the crew list rather than our passports. Our friends Mike and Jo (who joined us in Albania and Montenegro) had told us of an olive mill that was worth going to visit so…when in Kalamata…   

7th June 2023 - Itilo Beach - Glyfas (17 nautical miles)

Wanting to make the most of our dockside time we decided the journey from Itilo Beach to Kalamata was too much to do in one day so a small pit stop was required. 17nm up the western side of the middle finger was a tiny cove called Glyfas. Room only for one boat with lines ashore. One of the comments on Navily suggested that there was a small patch of sand in the middle with rocks everywhere else. The guy suggested having someone in the water with a mask on to direct the skipper where to drop the hook. Since it was a calm day we decided to give it a go. As we approached I tried to see from the deck if the sand patch was visible but there were sufficient ripples on the water to make it difficult to make out. So in I went. It’s a bit disconcerting being in the water with a great big catamaran motoring around you but in the end, it was the right way to go. You can see more clearly from the drone photo what I mean. Since I was already in the water Carl tossed me my water shoes and I swam to shore to tie off the lines to some rocks. It was a gorgeously secluded spot. That night we could hear the howling of some wild dogs or coyotes. Further down the shore there were a few people camping. I was happy to be on the water!

8th June 2023 - Glyfas - Kalamata Port (11 nautical miles)

The water stays pretty warm but still, having to jump in to untie the lines at 8:30am takes a moment or two to generate the will.

There was no wind today so we motored the 11nm up towards Kalamata. Kalamata Marina was right next door to the port. For the cost of one night at the marina we could stay for four days at the port. No power or water at the port but we didn’t need it. Just a safe place to leave her. On our approach we radioed the harbourmaster who told us there was room for us on the west quay. We found a spot just behind another cat called Smoky Jim. The concrete dock was pretty high sided with large black bumpers spaced every 20m or so. We had been pre-warned that the dock was used to much larger boats and that the bollards to tie onto were positioned quite far apart so long lines were required. Carl brought here in, between the two bumpers and I leapt off to tie her off. There was a fair bit of faffing trying to get us positioned right but by 10:30am we were all in.

Our first stop was the harbourmaster to pay the fee for our stay. €74 for four days wasn’t too bad at all. Our next stop was to the port authority. When you are issued with your Greek transit log there is a stipulation that you should report to a port officer at every entry and exit from every port you go to. Anchorages were ok, just ports. We had played this a bit loose and got the stamp when we left Mykonos, and then again in Milos, when we had time. We hadn’t bothered with Monemvasia but since the office was right opposite where we’d docked we thought we ought to here. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking going in to see the Greek authorities. There is never a smile and you always feel like you are bothering them or they are going to find some fault. Quite in contrast to every other Greek person you meet. The Kalamata office was no different. Anyway, once done it was time to go and find a hire car for our excursion the following day. Once that was sorted we had a little wander around Kalamata. Right next to the port and stretching back 10 blocks was the Municipal Railway Park which had an old diesel and several steam engines dotted about. The old station had been turned into a cafe. It was a nice town, not pretty per se, but nice. And a great place to stock up the boat as the supermarket was nearby.

When we got back to the boat that afternoon we met Peter and Tinni on Smoky Jim.  They had been there a few days and told us about a few places to visit. We had our minds set on Sparta but they also said that Mystras was a worthwhile stop and to take the old ‘no-toll’ road to it. As our excursions weren’t too far away we didn’t need to stay anywhere overnight, day trips from the boat were fine.

So at 9:30am the next day we had picked up our hire car, a slightly beat up little Hyundai i10, and we were off on the old road. And what a road it was. The scenery was stunning! And the tunnels through the rock were incredible.

Our first destination was Mystras, a UNESCO World Heritage site, situated on Mount Taygetus. Initially a Frankish fortress in 1250AD and later the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th century. It remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period as it was mistaken for the ancient site of Sparta. Up on the mountain and looking out over a green valley below are the remains of Byzantine churches and houses, some of which have been beautifully restored. The city was said to attract artists and architects and you could see why.

The only inhabitants today are a group of nuns who reside in the Pantanassa Monastery. The majority of the most important churches are still standing, including St. Demetrios, the Hagia Sophia, St. George, and the Monastery of Peribleptos. It was quite a hike up to the fortress on top but well worth the views.

A short drive away was the city of Sparta. We were looking forward to this but I have to say, we were a little disappointed. The city was really not much to speak of. The museum was very informative and had some lovely sculptures and the town did boast a statue of Leonidas but the actual ruins of the ancient city was sort of lost in the new one. We had a wander round but there wasn’t much to see apart from an amphitheatre in the process of restoration. Not much else had been restored. Still, a great day out and the boat was still where we left it when we got back.

Day 2 in the i10 was our trip up to Ben Olive Mill. It was a family run small business which offered a few tours of their grounds. The owner took us through the whole process of how extra virgin olive oil was made, what to look out for on the bottle and the health benefits of the stuff. We also learnt that in Europe, only olives grown in this region can be called ‘Kalamata olives’, a bit like only sparking wine from the Champagne region can be called Champagne. Once we’d seen the factory, he took us on a tour of the olive grove. Some of the trees had been around for a thousand years. He showed us the difference between olives grown for oil and those for fruit, and then explained how they harvested them, careful not to pick up any that had already fallen from the tree. Large mats were arranged below before the trees were shook. It was truly fascinating. Once back in the factory we all sat down to taste test three varieties of olive oil, sipping it like we were at a wine tasting. You could quite clearly taste the difference between the extra virgin, a blend and then just virgin olive oil. We also had a few nibbles with it which were really tasty. Having stocked up on a few bottles of the stuff and a ceramic pot to put it in, we waved our goodbyes and headed back down the road to Kalamata. Great recommendation, Mike and Jo! Looking back on it now I don’t understand why we didn’t take any photos. I guess we were just really engrossed in the tour.

11th June 2023 - Kalamata Port - Ormos Nemi (Koroni) (17.1 nautical miles)

That morning we took the opportunity to pressure wash the boat and, after going back to the port authority to ‘check out’ we slipped the lines at 10:45am. After passing by yet more tankers mysteriously anchored between the Pelopennese fingers, we raised the main and jib and sailed to our next destination, Koroni. This was just a pitstop on our way around the last finger. The town looked beautiful from the water and we dropped the hook in beautiful crystal clear water. Unfortunately we didn’t make it ashore this time, just enjoyed the gorgeous spot.

12th June 2023 - Ormos Nemi - Methoni (21.8 nautical miles)

Since we were well rested from the night before, we raised anchor at 7:30am. The sails were raised in anticipation of some decent sailing but before that we had to motor for an hour to get round the corner. Once clear we had full main and jib, tacking back and forth to our destination of Methoni. Yes, it would have been quicker just to motor straight there but we were having fun tacking upwind back and forth, and we had time!

The anchorage at Methoni is a large sandy bay, with the remains of a medieval castle, later rescued by the Venetians, situated out on the promontory. The prevailing winds bring in a north westerly swell into the bay so the closer you get into the north west corner of the bay and the protection from the promontory, the less rolly it is in the anchorage. As we approached we could see a fair few boats already there. One such boat was fairly familiar to us. Six years ago we chartered a monohull from Athens with our good friends Niki and Gav onboard. Making up our mini flotilla was our great sailing buddies, Carl and Lisa, and Kelly and Rob. On that occasion our boat was called Elisa and here she was! In Methoni, six years later.

In the end we opted for a bit more space around us so positioned ourselves a bit further out. There were larger sandy patches away from the castle too. The swell was fairly manageable. We dropped the hook at 12pm, and once settled, took the dinghy into town for a wander. It was a charming little town so we chose to stay a few days and tackle the castle and its grounds the following day. We were more than enamoured by the half litre carafes of wine for €4!

With ancient Greek, Roman, Venetian and Ottoman Empire influences, the walled city was fascinating to walk around, not only for its location on the promontory but for the bathhouses, the strange pyramid shaped building, and the citadel across the bridge. I was truly going to miss this once we crossed the pond.

14th June 2023 - Methoni - Pylos (8.05 nautical miles)

Our last stop on the Peloponnese was the ancient city of Pylos. Inhabited since Neolithic times but made famous in Homer’s Iliad, where the remains of the Palace of Nestor are situated. The bay of Navarino was also the scene of an infamous naval battle where, in 1827, allied forces from Britain, France and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces who were trying to suppress the Greeks. Definitely worth a stop before our tour of the Peloponnese ended.

We left Methoni at 08:30am, no sailing today as there was little wind and we were only going 8nm around the peninsula. Our pre-sailing routine was to put the radio on, tuned to the channel 16 before we start the engines and weigh anchor. Almost immediately we were struck by some unusual chatter on channel 16, a channel reserved for hailing and distress only. If you wanted to talk to another boat you called them on 16, then directed them to another channel to have your conversation. As we motored out of the bay it became apparent that a major disaster had happened. We listed to a mayday relay from the Greek coastguard, multiple persons overboard. With an unknown number of people overboard it could mean only one thing, a migrant boat had capsized. Unfortunately no longer a surprise, this was not a new occurrence in the Mediterranean but this one stood out for me. We were 37nm from where this large fishing boat had gone down, in 3000m of water. Our chart plotter picks up AIS (Automatic Identification System) targets from nearby ships, the larger the vessel, the further away we can see them as they have larger transmitters. I could see tankers being diverted on our chart plotter to where the vessel had gone down in a search and rescue pattern. All coordinated through the Greek coastguard, we were too far away and too slow to assist. We only turned on our radio at 08:30am but it had been going on for hours. Later on I would scan the media to see if I could get any details. Like a gut punch I read that there were up to 700 people onboard, 104 rescued with mainly woman and children perishing as they were down below as the vessel capsized. It was impossible to know how many were onboard but the reports stated that it was being towed by a Greek coastguard boat and that, at some point it had become unstable due to the number onboard and tipped. In the days that followed we heard on Channel 16 that the rescue attempt turned into a search for bodies. This went on for a week. Migrant boats were unfortunately a common occurrence in the Med due to the proximity of the European nations to Africa and Asia. Turkey had closed it’s borders to migrants so people were becoming more and more desperate and taking more risks by travelling longer distances in useless boats from Africa. The Schengen zone allowed people to travel the length of Europe towards Germany and the UK if you could just get to an outpost like a Greek or Italian island. This one got to me. Such a loss of life and so close to where we were. I felt angry, and desperately sad.

When we got to Pylos we had to do the port authority check in and it was clear that the coastguard had other things on their mind. Carl said that we had heard about the boat and how terrible the news was. The guy we spoke to just said, ‘yes it is a big problem’. The command centre for the search and rescue was out of Kalamata, the office that we had just been in. Later we would hear that there might have been some blame associated with the Greek authorities, towing the boat. That it was unsafe and had caused the capsize. They were at the forefront of this constant stream of unseaworthy boats from Africa. Nobody with lifejackets, not enough water, some unable to swim, all heavily overloaded. They showed us very little patience when we came by to stamp our transit log. I can only imagine how they were with refugees. But then I wasn’t dealing with it day in day out. As you can tell it got to me, we anchored at Pylos, checked in at the port, had a wander round town and the castle and had a quiet night.

Anyway, a sad ending to our tour of the Peloponnese but what an incredible journey it had been. The weather had been relatively kind to us. We hadn’t felt rushed, which was a big thing for us as we usually had somewhere to be. We had assumed we would be hunkered somewhere due to the weather so we had allowed ourselves a week or so for just that. Now we had the opportunity to head up to Zakynthos, maybe even Cephalonia for a few days before heading across to Sicily.     

OUR ROUTE: