14th May - Richard's birthday in Tranquility Bay, Nydri

First, welcome to the world grandson no. 2, born 7th May, congrats Marcus and Claire, he looks a charmer already. Arrived before today's due date and as yet unnamed….

We have spent the week getting used to being back on board. Calm and sunny, we went further into the inland gulf Amvrakikos Kolpos to Vonitsa, first at anchor in a little bay for the first opportunity for swimming and a barbecue, and then on to Vonitsa town quay to explore the village. A nice little spot, there seemed to be a very small fraternity of British liveaboards there. We climbed up to a 17th Venetian castle overlooking the town and sea - although undergoing restoration, was still pretty overgrown.

An advantage of being here at this time of year (apart from warm days, but thankfully cool, sleepable nights) is the abundance of wildflowers and huge butterflies. The range and colour of both is large. It was here also that we saw first - cows on the beach - then sheep in the field and down on the beach. And lastly, with bells tinkling, we watched the progress of nimble goats on the escarpments and craggy hillsides as they too made their way down for a promenade up and down the beach.

Out then into the Ionian, down through the narrow Levkas channel to Levkas town - very touristy but great chandleries and everything you could wish for for the boat. We are into experimenting with planks (or more elegantly, passerelles) (here passerelles cost about €800-2,000!) for when one goes stern to the quay and need a means of getting off. As I disappeared off to do a bit of last minute birthday shopping for himself, Richard got his bike out and returned an hour or so later with a plank of wood - he had found a proper wood yard and got them to cut it to size for €15 - 2m long (should be longer, but too difficult to stow). Drilled holes either end for bits of string and played about with it. Bit like tightrope walking but at least the water is warm if you wobble too much!

We needed to get out into the open again and sailed south, doing a circumnavigation of Scorpios (Onassis family island) and stopping off their beach for lunch and a swim. Into Tranquil Bay, just off Nidri where we have spent the last couple of nights. Nidri has a great fishmonger and the best Aladdin's Caves in terms of new and second-hand boaty bits we have seen for some time. We bought a replacement bracket for the Avon dinghy for €15 - they are normally about £100 in UK. Our had cracked only the day before and although R had done a fibreglass repair, other bits were threatening to give up the ghost. So fortuitous. And we bought miles of string (exaggeration, 30 metres) of 14mm genoa sheet as our old ones have been fraying for a year or so now and are beginning to shed blue fluff all over the boat. What with new blue sheets and very dark blue antifouling, we are looking very swish. Well, as swish as a caravan on water can. You swear you will NEVER let your boat look so cluttered as other long-term cruising boats do. Yes, well. We can still just about look sleek if we put absolutely everything away!

Had a zoomabout Vliho Bay (where the devastating tornado last Sept wiped out so many boats) and visited the Vliho yacht club run by a couple Ruairi and Vicki - useful facilities as well as a huge library. And back to Tranquil Bay. Today is Richard's birthday. And today is our first cloudy day, threatened windy and rain. Well the rain did come, although the morning started ok. Breakfast in the cockpit with presents. Local Sea Bass tonight from Nidri's aforementioned fishmonger.

Meganisi beckons tomorrow. And then Sappho's Leap. And then… and so it goes on. Happy Birthday R. Love to all.

ps. Tues. No it doesn't - Lightning storm last night lasting several hours, dancing round anchor in F7 and dodging rain! C'est la vie!