Samos

There were more strong winds coming through so off we headed to Samos to hide until they’d blown through.  Samos has a wine museum which included some wine tasting, so no guessing where we headed to.

The huge wooden vats were made from black pines growing in the forests of Samos and could hold up to 80 tonnes.  Samos wine is mainly sweet.

There tends to be a lot of wind in the Aegan at this time of year so we had a window to make a dash to the next island to again hide from more strong winds.  This time it was Leros.  You’ll notice so many of the islands end in “os”!  As we don’t need much depth we managed to get a spot at the end of the harbour wall.  With the wind came so much dust and the boat had a black film over it by the time we left here.

We took a walk to the other side of the island where there was a nice beach with restaurants lined along side. 

Our next stop was Symi.  We went to the bay where the Panormitis Monastery is. We’d been here a couple of years before.  We were on anchor which was a nice change as we’d spent so much time on harbour walls this season.  As boats approach the monastery it chimes the bells in welcome.

Our next leg was 69 nm from Symi over to Rhodes.  Some of you are aware I’m one of the Canvey Crafters.  We knit and crochet for various charities in the Canvey and surrounding areas. This includes blankets, hats, scarves, shawls, twiddle muffs (dementia), baby clothes, poppies and anything else we get asked for where someone is in need.  The group was initially set up by a lady called Frances during the pandemic.  So, who do we meet up with in Rhodes none other than Frances and her husband Greg.  We had a lovely afternoon with them. 

Our last Greek island before heading back to Turkey was Kastellorizo.   Kastellorizo is just two kilometres off the Turkish coast and is the smallest of the Dodecanese islands and in the 2021 census recorded a population of just 594 people..  It is very picturesque with colourful houses along the harbour. 

There is a blue cave here that can only be reached by a small boat and in calm weather.  We took a trip boat with “Tony” who on arrival at the entrance to the cave told us to lie in the bottom of the boat, yes the entrance was that low, so we didn’t hit our heads as in we went.  It was spectacular. 

This was the end of our sailing season for 2022 as our next stop was Finike, Cuffysark’s home for the winter. 

February 2023