Gulf of Hydra

Busy Hydra Harbour On the 16th June we turned the corner around the southern tip of the “thumb” into the Gulf of Hydra (Kolpos Idhras) which is bounded by the south coast of the Peleponese and the long thin island of Hydra running almost parallel about 4 miles further south with Nisos Dhokos at the western end. Once round the corner and into the Gulf of Hydra we anchored in a narrow bay behind the island of Soupia well sheltered from NE winds but unfortunately a SE swell developed which caused us to roll, a motion that Tan finds very stressful and consequently so do I! We were the only boat there until after sunset when two small fishing boats arrived, anchored close in to the shore ready for the morning.

Local transport We left next morning and went to Ermioni via Limin Idhras on the island of Hydra. Hydra town is very pretty built around steep slopes but the harbour is tiny and chaotic with charter boats stacked bow to stern like sardines and the frenetic coming and goings of many tourist boats and ferries. In contrast Ermioni is peaceful and relatively untouched by tourism and well appointed for provisions, including an excellent laundry and a butcher which sold good quality frozen fish. We got fuel and water here. We also took the expensive high speed ferry to Hydra for the day and had a great time being tourists. Hydra is a town devoted to tourism, there are no cars or motorbikes, most things are transported by mule or horse or in hand-barrows.

We visited the Lazaros Koundouriotis Mansion then had an excellent lunch at a taverna hidden in the backstreets and recommended by the Lonely Planet. Back in Ermioni our Swedish neighbours Rolf, Ingrid and Eva invited us to celebrate mid-summer day on the morrow. It’s a big celebration in Sweden and they had prepared an excellent meal of herrings, potatoes, and very good quality Aquavit most of it hand carried from Sweden by Eva. Great food and great company, it was an excellent evening.

Hydra Town It was here that we met three charming young Greek men, they were moored near us and had rented a sail-boat for a month and were waiting for the weather to go to the Cyclades. They were proud to be Greek, very courteous and spoke very good English. Just before they left one of them asked to borrow the bike, 10 minutes later he re-appeared with a 1.5 litre bottle of home pressed olive oil as a gift for us. His grandmother has lived her whole life here and every summer he comes to visit.

On the Sunday we took our leave and went to Ormos Kranidhiou, a pretty bay with a nicely landscaped villa and several small gazebos.

Gulf of Argolikos

High speed ferry 22nd June we passed through the 2 mile channel between Nisos Spetsia and the Peleponese into the Gulf of Argolikos. We passed several spectacular villas en route including one with a 120ft motor cruiser in it’s own private mini-harbour. We anchored in Ormos Zoyioryia at the northern tip of the island of Spetsia.

Tan cleaning dinghy The bay is very pretty with a taverna at the head and gently wooded slopes. Around 17:00 there was a mad rush of incoming boats jostling for space. The forecast was for strong SW winds and they duly arrived causing some boats to drag anchor, quite entertaining – reality sailing! Next night it was very calm with only two boats in the bay. Little did we know at the time it but we were to become quite familiar with this bay.

The forecast was for SW force 6 to near gale force 7 so we decided to go to the much better sheltered bay of Koliadhia, and were inspected by three dolphins en route. Koliadhia is a working and fishing village with a large resident fleet here. The village is a little run-down with a number of out of business shops but still has a reasonable vegetable shop and good butcher.

Ormos Zoyioryia Koliadhia is famous for the Franchthi caves on the east side of the anchorage where excavations revealed a history of continuous occupation from around 25,000 to 3,000 BC providing a history of the transfer from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist. Sheltering the entrance to the bay is the private Island of Koliadhia where according to Greek mythology there is the cave of Cyclops, you can get there by ferry (5 minutes) we didn’t! There are also turtles in the bay but they are very shy.

The fish hook that cought Tans hand On the 2nd night just before midnight Tan was putting the cockpit cushions on the forward bunk when she slipped and her hand went into the fishing box and embedded a large three pronged fishhook in her palm. I couldn’t get it out because of the barb and couldn’t push it through because of the other two prongs so intended to cut off the embedded prong and then feed it through but when I finally managed to cut it, it promptly disappeared into the muscle under her thumb. We bandaged it and decided to leave very early next morning for Porto Kheli where we hoped there would be medical facilities but the nearest were at Kranidi 7 km away so we hired a car and set off.

after the operation They took X-rays at the health centre in Kranidi but after consultation decided that the hook was in too deep and too close to nerves so we had to go to the main hospital at Nafplio another 77 km over winding mountainous roads. The scenery was magnificent but Tan couldn’t enjoy it! On the way we were held up by the largest herd of goats I have ever seen (well over 200) being shepherded across the road by an old lady.

They were excellent at the hospital, Tan said they reminded her of the MASH team, the doctor who first examined her resembled BJ. More x-rays were taken and examined by the orthopaedic surgeon who was a combination of Hawkeye Pierce and George Clooney – wow! He decided that it may be possible to remove the hook under local anaesthetic and after 20 minutes probing decided it could only be done in the theatre which was duly scheduled for 18:00 but meant that she would have to stay in overnight. So she was admitted. After an E.C.G and a chest x-ray and a referral to the cardiologist BJ took her to her room and then Hoolahan arrived, put her on two drips, nil by mouth, gave her a tetanus injection and Tan changed into navy blue disposable (j-cloth) pyjamas size XXX which engulfed her! Late that night I drove back to the boat and returned to the hospital next morning. She was released after further x-rays and examination by her two physicians and in her own words “she had the very best care and attention from all the nursing staff”.

Korakonisis It was going to take a week to ten days before the stitches could be removed so we decided to stay in the gulf because we knew the medical facilities here and we could get a bus from Porto Kheli to the health centre at Kranidi. After 3 nights on the quay at Porto Kheli we crossed the narrow straight and anchored in Ormos Zoyioryia again where we sampled the taverna and were sorely disappointed. Two nights at anchor then back to Porto Kheli and bus to Kranidi to get the wound inspected and the dressing changed. Good news the stitches can come out on the 6th.

Koliadhia So on the 2nd July we sailed north up the gulf of Argolikos and into the large almost landlocked Ormos Dhepanov where we spent three nights at anchor off the village of Vivari which we had driven through on the way to the hospital. The village has a medium sized fishing fleet but has adapted to small scale tourism with several tavernas and a few hotels framed by a beautiful mountainous backdrop. Tan nicknamed the bay Sugar Loaf bay due to the shape of one of the hills.

From Ormos Dhepanov we headed back south and anchored in the bay behind Nisis Korakonisis. Tan wrote in the log ‘Lovely spot, large classy property, private jetty with small power boats, fabulous grounds’ and that just about describes it. Next day back to Porto Kheli ready to get the stitches removed on the Monday which went well. We went out to dinner to celebrate but soon after we ordered there was a loud bang and we were plunged into darkness as one of the power transformers had exploded. Emergency lighting and candles did the job but nothing much could be prepared. I enjoyed my sucking pig but Tan didn’t enjoy her meal.