Saturday, June 6, 2015 - Paros to Irakleia
(a continuation of Ty's travel journal)
We retrieved anchor
around 11:30 and set sail.
We left the harbor
with anticipatory spirits and unbelief in how blessed we are to be here.
After about 2 hours we
anchored near a small island for a swim/snorkeling and lunch.
I jumped in quickly
and learned how chilly the Aegean Sea can be this time of year. Fortunately, after swimming around for 90
seconds, the “chill factor” dissipated and felt great!
There were a few
very colorful fish and several hermit crabs, and sea urchins and lots of clear
water. I climbed on the rocks and looked
at our boat in the water—it was even more beautiful when anchored! I swam back and learned that lunch was ready.
What a gourmet meal it
was! We ate huge shrimp, sautéed
zucchini, Arugula salad with dill and fresh grape leaf wraps and the most
amazing grape tomatoes any of us had ever had.
Scott and Everlie said
it was the best meal they had eaten during their entire trip! It was a king’s feast!
The meal was also
complete with white wine and wonderful honeydew melon for dessert. We realized after the meal that the trip
would be even more amazing than anticipated.
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| Bertrand demonstrating how to peel the prawns without using our fingers. |
After lunch we reeled
in the anchor and set sail. The sea was
a little choppy due to a strong wind. We
sailed to a speed of 7.5 knots (which is impressive for an old wooden boat that
no one thought would sail efficiently).
He allowed any of us who wanted to steer the ship with a manual
tiller.
As we were sailing,
we spotted 2 dolphins that swam along the side and front of the boat for a
short time. They seemed to be playing
with the boat. They stayed with us long
enough for us watch them but not long enough to pull out a camera!
After 2-3 hours of
sailing, we arrived on the island of Iraklia.
The population consists of 85 local Grecians. The island is very well “preserved” and not a
tourist attraction. We did have a run-in
with an American yacht from Connecticut.
They didn’t want us to anchor right beside them (even though our captain
has done this before and they almost left because we “parked” too close and
were not being “courteous”. With
frustration at the less experienced American crew our very experienced captain
anchored in the middle of the harbor instead.
After anchoring successfully we all got in his red lifeboat (he refers
to this as a dinghy) and rowed ashore.
We walked around the tiny village and I was amazed at how untouched this
island was. No supermarkets. No chain restaurants and really no
stores. There were several tavernas and
we ate at the one that Betrand said was the best. He has been sailing in the Aegean Sea for
many years and he has eaten at probably all of them. Again, his ability to man a 60 foot sailing
vessel by himself is incredible and to add his ability as a chef and a guide
makes him a superb captain!
We ate at a taverna
overlooking the main road. I ate
mousakka (traditional Greek food with meat, eggplant, potatoes and sauce with
cheese), and we shared other things like lamb, Greek salad (incredible) and
their form of lasagna (whose name escapes me at the moment). Needless to say this was a lovely peaceful
meal.
We walked down to
the beach and climbed into the dingy and went back to the “Morgkan”. We fell asleep quickly and had a wonderful
night’s sleep while rocking in the mild waves and listening to the waves hit
the beach. If this isn’t paradise then I
don’t know what is! God has made
incredible landscapes and living waters & mountains that have been amazing
travelers for thousands of years!
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| Bertrand likes to fly the flag of the homeland of his passengers. He happened to have a Texas flag. We need to send him an Alabama flag. |
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| The cushions on the top of the cabin were a great place to relax! |
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| Playing Spades |
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| Land Ho |
