Corfu to Ithaca.

The next morning dawned bright and clear and after a brief pause to do some admin using the Blue Cafe WiFi, Stephanos (Steve) and I set off for Paxos. The previous evening we had succeeded in getting Greek SIM cards for both my mobile and mobile broadband dongle however Vodafone Greece does not allow VOIP telephone calls over their network unless you pay by the highest level of monthly subscription! Even to get a data SIM at a sensible price I had to enter into a three month contract. Nothing in Greece is simple.

Corfu from seaward

Motoring south along the coast of Corfu we decided that we were making such good progress that we would head direct to Paxos and, as we would arrive at dusk, we chose the well sheltered bay Mongonisi for our overnight anchorage. On arrival we discovered that eighteen Sunsail charter yachts had made the same choice! Fortunately we heard little of them!

Paxos waterfront

Next morning we set off early to do battle with the Greek authorities and to get myself and Kurukulla officially into Greece. I had been recommended to do this in Paxos as all of the functions are performed by the same small waterfront office. We entered the delightful village of Paxos via the north entrance (it is sheltered between a small island and the island of Paxos itself) and found a berth in which to med-moor, very near the Port Police office. Full of confidence and with my Greek speaking friend in attendance I set off to do battle! The battle lasted 30 seconds; they were unable to log me in to Greece as they did not have the new version of the necessary form! I would have to go to Levkas.

Thus it was that after a brief tour of the waterfront and a coffee in a bar we set off for Levkas. Leaving via the southern entrance (slightly heart in mouth as it is charted at 2m but seemed to be being used by yachts of the same size as Kurukulla and was in fact 2.4m min.) we set course for the entrance of the Levkas canal. Normally difficult to see from seaward we were assisted in identifying it by the sight of the British registered yacht “Gatto Pardo” being hauled off the sandbank on the far side of the entrance by a local powerboat. With 30 minutes to wait for the floating swing-bridge to open we stemmed the wind and current and finally entered the canal at 1800. From here it was a short leg to Levkas town and a berth, med-moored, on the town quay.

Levkas canal

An hour later we set off to explore the town and find a local restaurant. The town was almost completely destroyed in the 1953 earthquake; it has been rebuilt but in a rather temporary fashion, the buildings are mostly of wooden frame construction with metal cladding of one sort or other. Only the churches seem to have been rebuilt as original! After enduring a torrential downpour, lasting 30 minutes, we finally arrived at a restaurant called “Seven Islands” where we were greeted warmly and given a conducted tour of the kitchen so that we might choose our food based on first hand experience. Armed with a half litre of their best house red we sat down to platefuls of good traditional Greek food; just what was needed!

Next morning we set off again to do battle with the authorities and get me legally into Greece. We had been warned by other yachtsmen not to admit to having been in any other Greek port previously and so Levkas was Kuruklla's first “official” port of call. The process took nearly two hours and involved a mile long walk in the middle to pay the entry tax that has to be paid at the local tax office which, of course, is not co-located. Taxes paid, cruising permit issued, we were in. All we have to do now is get it stamped at every port we enter! The Greek philosophy seems to be that “if you make the simple things difficult then you will never have time to deal with difficult things and your life is therefore made simpler!” When departing I was told by a sympathetic Port Police woman that one stamp a month is the bare minimum!

Sunsail flotilla

That achieved it was off to complete the canal transit and head south to Meganisi. We anchored in one of the northern bays for an afternoon swim and then moved to a more sheltered spot, in an adjacent bay, for the night. Who should be there, Sunsail, having their beach BBQ night! Fortunately we were far enough away not hear much of the singing!

Evening drinks at Sivota

After breakfast and a swim we transited the Meganisi Channel and headed for the anchorage at Sivota, on Levkas, for another leisurely afternoon swim and dinner in a taverna. Sivota is a change over port for Sailing Holidays and so it was again crowded with charter yachts, all berthed in neat rows around the harbour, but none the less pleasant for that. Dinner was fresh seafood in the Spiridoula taverna and very good it was too.

Sunday morning dawned sunny and windless and so we motored round to the anchorage at Ammousa on the south coast of Levkas. Not a great anchorage but a pretty enough small beach which shelved steeply into the sea, resulting in care needing to be taken not to anchor too close whilst having enough scope out for the anchor to hold. A delicate balance with no consistent wind to hold the boat in a given direction. After lunch and a spell on the beach we set off for Atokos on a brisk beam reach and doing 6.5 knots. Two hours later and we were anchored in Cliff Bay, not an ideal anchorage but pleasant for an early evening swim.

One house bay

On completion we moved round to One House Bay for the night. An almost deserted bay as the name suggests. We anchored near the beach in 6m of water and set about cooking supper!

Monday dawned cloudy with a slight easterly wind, hence we made an early departure from One House, reached across to Ithaca and anchored for a lazy day in Ornos Skhoinos, a beautiful anchorage near Vathi. Tonight we head to Vathi itself for a night in town.