Last of the Dodecanese Islands Tuesday, 9th June

We are making slow progress north. Up a bit, wait a bit for strong NW winds and lumpy seas to subside, then up a bit more. Dinners afloat and ashore with friends old (Silent Wings treated to a Myrica barbecue) and new (with S/Y Ethel in Nicholas's taverna). Nicholas's father carved, painted and floated lovely miniature boats in a little cordoned-off area of the harbour on Arki. And Nicholas himself let me have the last loaf of bread in his bag on a Sunday, before we set off. He assured me he had some more coming on the next ferry. Islands include, Leros (again and like it more and more, a strenuous cycle and then climb to a castle at Pandeli), Posh Patmos, Lipso, Arki and Fournoi, three little isles in a Nature Conservation archipelago, where life has not changed and one suspects things are much as they have been for decades, if not longer. Apart from the more intrepid tourist, this is the real deal. Past Ikaria (where the pilot book suggests Icarus's wings were blown off by the strong winds rather than melted too close to the sun - think we agree) to Chios.


Chios is where we are now, technically out of the Dodecanese and into the northeastern Aegean. It is the birthplace of Homer, home to the native lentisk that produces mastic and the Mastichoria villages (a fascinating island with a tragic more recent past (see link from previous visit http://www.offexploring.com/rawatsea/blog/greece/chios/2013-09-25+07%3A00%3A04 ).

The sailing has been challenging, only in the sense of not being able to predict the weather (despite having access to all manner of forecasts). There is either too much in the wrong direction or too little in the right direction. Isn't that normal, I hear our sailing friends ask…

We are heading for Lesvos, home of Sappho and an apparently beautiful island. It is new to us. Apart from wanting to explore the island in detail, we think we want to use it as a springboard for a mega-excursion. There is a good marina there, not expensive, where we could safely abandon the boat for a week. We aim to take a ferry to Turkey (already have the Visa), then a bus (about a 9 hour trip) or somehow get ourselves to Istanbul for a few days. We have never been there and don't really want to take the boat up there - long and potentially difficult up through the Sea of Marmaris and towards the Bosphorus. We are using this little breathing space on Chios for a bit of research on where and how to go. And do we stop at Troy and Gallipoli on the way? TBD. But the Sophia Aghia, the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Bosphurus cruise all await.

For now, it is all craggy landscapes, feral kittens, gliding shearwaters, dolphins, pretty little fishing boats and clear, clear water. Still no whales, though!