Epidavros or Bust
Trip Start
Apr 14, 2005
1
15
20
Trip End
Oct 17, 2009
Epidavros, Peloponnese, Greece
Saturday, July 12, 2008
That said, we have spent some time playing with the beach toys; following the earlier inaugural blast in the RS800 it was back to our very favourite boat, the single trapeze Laser 4000, and a happy hour or so screaming around on Saturday afternoon. Sunday was quite windy and gusty, and with the guests also out in the bay a non-trapeze boat seemed more prudent; as well as more fun as less time should be spent swimming and more sailing. We had a whale of a time whizzing back and forth, naturally keeping a sharp lookout and making particularly sure to stay well clear of the beginners on their first afternoon out. And then the wind suddenly REALLY picked up while our spinnaker was up; satisfyingly while Lasers toppled like dominoes all around us we shot forward as if catapulted, proving even the solidly built 400 has a fair bit of acceleration. Apparently the sudden speed increase was also noted from the beach, result! As we returned to the beach Andy nearly fell out the side, fortunately managing to hang on by his toes and prevent loss of face by an embarrassing capsize in the shallows.
On Monday we took the 'Katerina Star' ferry to Spetses for a day on the beach, a blistering 20 minute walk from the town interrupted only by a cooling dip at a secluded cove with crystal clear water that we stumbled into en route; we would have stayed there only there was no shade, so it was on to Agia Marina and hang the expense for E4 for an umbrella and sunbed. Books out, MP3 players on, regular dips in the sea (removing the MP3 players first of course) and that was another hard day, before returning on the last ferry back to the Peloponnese. No Greek adventure is complete without a near navigational foul up, of course, and we did nearly end up on the bus to Ermioni before someone overheard us mention Porto Heli and got us running to flag down the bus labelled 'Athens'.
Tuesday was pretty mellow; we got the best of the wind out in Lasers at lunchtime and then collapsed; now we know why our guests don't sail all day, it's hard work! And then it was down to the car hire office to do a deal on a purple Hyundai Getz for the adventure of the week; after three years, Epidavros or bust! The ancient theatre of Epidavros is about 50km from Porto Heli, but takes nearly an hour and a half due to the twisty hilly road. I've done most of the trip many times on the transfer, but it is a different matter driving yourself in a small rental car rather than with the protection of a big bus and a local driver who knows the road very well. Still, we made it and pulled into the huge car park among the cruise ship tour buses. I was surprised to find that the site is more than the theatre - there are a huge amount of other ruins as it was a temple of healing. The theatre is definitely the highlight though; it was a bit smaller than I thought on first sight but got bigger as we climbed up, and the famed acoustics definitely work. Someone burst into snatches of opera from the stage, producing applause from all round, and we also had fun playing with the scenery from an upcoming play; fibreglass rocks!
Ruined out, we headed off for a local top tip; the monastery of Agios Dimitrios, 7km off the main road down a slightly iffy track. We've driven worse roads in far worse cars, but it was still a little nerveracking; but entirely worth it, the monastery is built into a pink cliff like Petra in Jordan (one day..) and has been partly restored with smart windows, handrails and stairs. There is a stunning valley view and above the Didymon wind turbines turn gently in the breeze. Staggering.Back down the bumpy road and into Didyma village to give the locals a giggle as we went up a dead end, and then parked up for an excellent meal of baked fish and fried aubergines. Refreshed, it was on to the Didyma cave, which is a huge hole visible from the main road and always causes intrigue. Close up it is actually less impressive as you can't see the mountain above it, but our limited geological knowledge makes us think it is a collapsed limestone cave with earth movement, rather than a meterorite impact as local legend has it.
Our final stop was the 'cave of Franchithi' which turned out to be on the coast near Koladia - and I got no further as it was straight into the sea to cool off! All that was left was to load up at Lidl in Kranidi with enough long life provisions to last a considerable chunk of the rest of the season, squeeze in Andy's favourite DiaBrau lager and home to collapse. A grand day out!
The theme of varieties of transport continued with the round Battleship Rock race in a Laser 4000; the first time we've sailed the race together. We finished in second place (due to conditions, honest...) but more importantly had a really good sail. And to round things off, we went for our first yacht sail of the season on Friday afternoon on 'Marina' - out to the Spetses channel for a few runs up and down and then anchored in Hinitsa bay for a swim while the locals rocked at a powerboat party. They were visited by the port police launch, initially it appeared to ask them to turn the music down but after a while the police were joining in! The channel was full of high speed boats for the Porto Heli festival of the sea; we decided against racing with the ex-King of Greece, this time. (Don't want to put him off) The week was capped by a tryout in Hobie Catsys, cute teeny-weeny catamarans for one followed by beachside tea and cake.In short – does it get better?
