Greece Summer 2006

The Summer of 2006 - Greek Cruising - Eastern Aegean

(Including the Dodecanese And The Eastern Sporades)

Updated Aug 20, 2006

General Cruising Area in the Eastern Aegean of Greece

Taken from Google Earth

Map ShowingTurkey and Greece to the Boot of Italy

Highlighted is the Greek Eastern Aegean area we cruised

Places We Visited:

As we headed North, we vacillated back and forth between Greece and Turkey. Below are our stops in Greece:

Symi

Agathonisi

Samos

Lesvos

Lemnos

Or click here for Our Summer in Turkey (2006)

Or click here to see the Western Aegean of Greece (2006)

Also See: Greece - Summer of 2004

Click Here to See Our Present Route

Symi

From Marmaris we went straight to Symi and stocked up on necessary food supplies (including boxed wine - Yes, we normally are snobs about drinking boxed wine, but while on Kastelorizo (Greece) last Fall, we tasted some white wine we like at a restaurant. We had purchased the house wine, and when we asked about it because we liked it, to our chagrin, we found out that it was Greek boxed wine. So we were converted and during our trip to Symi, we made a point of picking up some more.) Our goal was to catch up to Ken and Larry on Julia who were currently at D-Marin with plans to leave and head back to the USA. So we didn't dally at Symi, although tempted and we headed back to Turkey to catch up with Julia. We wound up getting a slip next to them at the Marina and then the party did begin. What fun!

Ken & Larry, S/Y Julia and Karen & Dan, Dakare

It had been about 9 months since we had last seen them and our paths had taken us in very different directions. They did a world wind tour of Europe including Paris, Amsterdam, London, Rome, etc... as well as a return trip back home to the States. So there were lots of stories to share. A month later we still haven't caught up with all that can be said.

We also ran into Debbie and Moshi on Pappa Joe at D-Marin. We hadn't seen them since we had left for Egypt on the Med Red rally. By the time we got back to Marmaris, they had already taken off. We discussed our mutual plans for the summer and it appears that our paths should cross again somewhere in the Northern Aegean.

Agathonisi

Chart of the Island / Harbor

Agathonisi's Harbor is well protected from all northerly direction and the Meltemis

Flowers & Fruits on Agathonisi

About Agathonisi

The Agathonisi Fisherman

A elderly Greek fisherman, one whose deep facial lines dramatizes a life time of hard work eking out an existence form the sea, heads home after another long night of fishing. He is walking up a very steep hill which the photo somewhat flattens out. Dan was huffing and puffing by the time he got to the top.

Agathonisi is a very small island with about 300 inhabitants. Most are either fishermen or farmers. There are about three different tavernas along the main harbor. We chose to eat our meals at the Seagull restaurant. We met the proprietors, Janis and Voula (AKA -> Friday) who shared with us how to prepare and cook octopus. We really enjoyed their Octopus Salad. Anyone ever coming here is strongly urged to give it a try. The last time we had Octopus Salad this good was in Croatia. The first day we arrived there were about 5 boats anchored in the harbor and with the Greek Coast Guard and the ferry boat coming in , we decided to anchor in an isolated anchorage nearby. Later in the day, at least ten other boats came into the harbor. Three of them squeezed onto the ferry boat quay and the rest anchored out. They were way to close to one another and out of necessity, had too little scope on the anchors. That night, around 2AM, the wind changed and grew stronger. We can only imagine the pandemonium in the harbor. Attesting to grief that must have been experienced that night, most boats left the next morning, including the ones that were tied up between the Coast Guard and the Ferry boat landing. What a boon for us. We had decided to stay in our quiet little anchorage, but when the wind changed direction (for the worse) and started moving the boat towards the rock ledge (The wind had been forecasted to stay our of the N -NW and had surprising switched to S-WSW) we had no choice to up anchor. When we came around the spit, we were surprised to see the key side tie docking spaces available for the taking at the quay. We took a position directly behind the Swedish boat that just beat us to the dock. That was no problem and we spent a pleasant evening at the quay and dined again at the Seagull Restaurant.

Dakare can be seen sitting at the quay from the Seagull Restaurant

Island Views

Samos

A view of Dakare's Position from Yotreps July 2, 2006

Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos:

Many civilizations have inhabited this small Aegean island, near Asia Minor, since the 3rd millennium B.C. The remains of Pythagoreion, an ancient fortified port with Greek and Roman monuments and a spectacular tunnel-aqueduct, as well as the Heraion, temple of the Samian Hera, can still be seen.

The Big Picture - Samos is the island in the upper left hand corner. Patmos, an island that we

visited in 2004 when we first came into the Aegean, can be seen in the lower left corner. Agathonisi

is in the center of the chart. We are heading North.

Samos Taken from Google Earth

Lesvos, Greece

The third largest Greek Island, it has more sunshine than any other Greek island. Held by the Ottoman empire for 450 years, the Turks called it the Golden Island for that reason.

Lesvos is the ancient home of Sappho, the Greek poetress, born in Eresos (Western end of the island) in 612 BC, noted for her love poems given to her female companions (Note: it is believed that the word Lesbian comes from Lesvos (aka. Lesbos) the home of Sappho. Lesvos is also the ancestral home of Michael Dukakas, ex-governor of Massachusetts - many of his distant relatives still live in Lesvos.

Lesvos has several thermal springs - we had a chance to check one of them out. The water was said to be 115 degrees F. Whatever it was, we can attest to the fact that it was plenty hot! It is also the home of the Petrified Forest, which the Greek government has turned into a national park (see pictures below.)

The Island of Lesvos is the home of Sappho, the ancient Greek poetress who is said to have memorialized Lesbianism in her poetry. Dakare spent her time in Mytilini Harbor (Square Red Rectangle on chart above - Also see below)

Location of Dakare Med Moored in Mytilini Harbor, Lesvos. We rented a car for several days and toured the island. One day (See below) was dedicated to a hike up Mount Olympus.

Enjoy Lunch at Petra, Lesvos

Various scenes from Lesvos


Octopus Drying at a Restaurant	Mytilini Street Scene

Chicken Little at the butcher shop	Boy hiding behind the sausage

The Church at St. Ignacius Monastery	The sign says it all!

Dan checking out the church	Inside it was intricate and ornate

The Monastery Complex from Afar	Detail of roofing at Monastery

The Pride of Lesvos, the Petrified Forest	Dan checking out a petrified tree

A Working Windmill on a Day Off	Flowers on the street in Agiasos

Street Scene in Agiasos	Mt. Olympus from Agiasos

The Big Mt. Olympia Trip


Our Challenge, Mt. Olympia	We Made it!

A View from the Summit	A Stone Trail Leads Partway Up

West Face Mt. Olympia	Half Way Up - South Face

Walking back Down in the shade of the trees on a path lined with stone walls	Returned to Agiasos, Mt. Olympia in Background

Some Additional Pics on Lesvos

Lemnos

This is where the ANZAC forces during WWI assembled and prepared for the allied invasion of Gallipoli, Turkey. Winston Churchill set his office up here to oversee the battle in 1915. We anchored in that main large bay on the island. It is sizeable and one can easily imagine the multitude of war and troop ships anchored in the bay.

Myrina Harbor, Lemnos

Lets talk about Contradictions!!!

If you have the time, follow the thread below to see how bureaucracies really work

and how some people's perceptions

can be way out of whack!

----

First step: Below is a Letter to the Editor written by Karen

It discusses an article that was posted in Cruising World discussing the legal hurdles, complexity and

the difficulty of checking into Turkey. Compared to Greece the authors maintained that Turkey was a paperwork nightmare.

The authors also commented that the $300 US that

they spent on an agent to check them in to Turkey was well worth it.

July 27, 2006

Cruising World

Letter to the Editor

In a recent Shoreline article under Ports of Entry June 2006 entitled And When in the Med by Len and Richard Freedberg, M/S Charlie

The authors appear to be trying to make the case that checking into & out of Greece is simple and conversely, checking into Turkey is not. First, the article states that Greek harbor police “takes care of everything.” This may be true perhaps at a specific island or location on the mainland, but in general, one is required to go to various offices to clear in & out as we have experienced.

Second, the authors make the point that clearing in and out of Turkey is so complex that one is best off to hire an agent. That is not necessary. To clear into Turkey (we have done it 3 times from Cyprus, Israel & Greece), all you need is a good pair of walking shoes, an idea where to go and a positive attitude. Yes, you do have to go to the harbor master (first to obtain your transit log & pay for the log), then to the health official (free), then to passport police to get your visa ($20 each for US citizens for 90 days), then to Customs, and back again to the harbor master to pay your lighthouse fees, which is Gross Tonnage dependent. All Turkish officials give you the appropriate stamps & receipts and provide helpful guidance on the next office to visit. This entire process normally takes me about 1 hour walking time.

Thirdly, the authors also neglected to mention the numerous harbor fees a non-EU yacht has to pay in Greece. One must obtain an arrival and a departure transit log stamp for every harbor that has a harbor master or port police. Each transaction is fee based. Whereas in Turkey, once you have cleared in, there is no further need to check in with the each harbor master or pay fees.

Turkey is a wonderful country and has great cruising. It is not necessary to spend $300 on an agent to clear into Turkey. I’d rather spend the money on sightseeing, eating out and the local markets!!

Come and enjoy …..Do the legwork yourself and meet the locals.

Karen Sehnal

S/mailbaY Dakare

Ayvalik, Turkey

July 27, 2006

By the way... the article above was written and submitted before the incident below!

Next Step: The Rub...

Lemos Port Police checked Dakare into the Island with no problem. They promplty stamped our transit log and we paid our immigration fees and got the appropriate receipts. After a 24 hour wait, our passports were finally stamped and ready to be picked up. All was fine... that is until we checked out...

When we went the evenng before our departure to pick up our transit log, the Port Police officer said that he believed that the last harbor we checked into and out of in Greece, Mytilini in Lesvos, must have made a mistake. He called his local customs officer to validate his claim. It turns out that dispite the oft received advice from various Greek officials (Specifically for us from Lesvos and Samos), that on checking out of Greece to go to Turkey, one must surrender the transit log permanently. It appears that not all Greek officials work according to the same set of rules because in Mytilini, Lesvos, we were handed back our transit log by the port officer. So we assumed that maybe the original advice we received in Lesvos and Samos was correct after all. Well, this was a different island - what can I say! The port officer informed us that we would need to purchase a new transit log (at a cost of $30 EU) and that our old one was no good. Ok, so we will by one. Well that is not so easy, you see, because the Customs Officer was not in and was not expected to be for a while. Maybe an hour and a half, maybe 3 hours, "Come back later." We can back twice and finally caught up with the customs officer who took about a half an hour to complete the transit log form after we filled it out. We had been in an out of Greece several times and never had we been questioned about our dive tanks and our dive compressor. The customs officer was all a tizzy over our dive compressor until the port police told her to chill out over it. She also got hypersensitive about other minor issues but we final made our way through that morass. We will say it was trying but at the same time all the jGreeks we encountered were very nice. The port police appeared to be very professional even though they gave us a hard time about the transit log.

The point of this little story is the coincidental timing of Karen writing her article contradicting the easiness with which Greek Customs entry is executed compared to the reality of it. Don't believe all you read. Atta girl Karen!

Humor comes in Many Forms...

This is the BEST example of a temporary mooring we have ever seen!!!

Explanation: The larger sailboat in the background, an Amel, had dropped its anchor in Myrina Harbor not far from us. They attached a

mooring buoy to the end of their anchor to mark the location of their anchor --> see the red buoy in the middle of the picture.

Along comes a stinkpotter who decided that wasn't it nice for the harbor master to place a mooring

buoy in the middle of the harbor for them to grab for their Sunday outing. Later a second runabout tied off to them. They must have figured

that they should all share and benefit from the new harbor mooring - I guess!?! Of course the Amel owners were not around for the fun.

...More on Lemnos Island...

The island is very barren and dry. The main town, Marina, is on the western side of the island.

Dakare's Route from Ayvalik, Turkey to Lemnos Greece with an anchorage at Sivrice Cove, Turkey - 80 Nautical Miles

Various Views of Lemnos and Boudhrou Harbor


Google Earth View of Lemnos	MaxSea View of Lemnos

Google Earth View of Moudhrou Harbor	Nobeltec Chart View of Moudrou Harbor

Konitas Bas where we met M/V Sachmo

We first anchored in what we call ANZAC Bay. The bay on the right above, in the small bay next to light called Moudrous Bay. There was a beach there beset with nice white umbrellas inhabited mostly by locals and some Greek tourists. We were somewhat disappointed to see how trashed the beach was - how "Un-Greek." We then went over to the narrow extended bay on the left, Konitas Bay where we had the fortune of running into Bill & Ellen on the M/V Satchmo. Although we were heading in different directions, it was a real pleasure to meet them and we had several divergent discussion, everything from common friends and places, to political discussions about the Lebanon / Israeli calamity, and to technology, particularly WiFi systems. A very interesting evening.

In Myrina, the capitol of Lemnos

Dan standing next to the only remnant (Washing Fountain) we could find of the Turkish Occupation.

Note the Script above Dan's head and the nature of the relief.

Myrna Harbor

Our anchorage at Myrina Bay on the west side of the island. Myrina is the capitol of Lemnos.


Josh exhausted after reading up on Greece	Dan Playing with his WiFi System

Dakare in Moudhrou Bay	The ANZAC Fleet in 1915 Staged Themselves in Moudhrou Bay in Preparation for the Attack on Gallipoli

Lighthouse Guarding Moudhrou Bay	Myrina Sunset and Mt. Athros in Background

Josh Always Finds a Comfortable Spot	Myrina Bay at Sunset

Dakare Anchored in Myrina Bay	The Byzantine Fortress in Myrina

Myrina and Bay View from Fortress	Inner Harbor

Fortress from the Harbor	Myrina Street

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