Cruising progress 2019 (Click to enlarge)
31st July 2019
Our original intention for this year was to leave Greece at the beginning of August and head back to Italy, possibly wintering in the Calabrian region or continuing on to Sardinia. However, after much discussion we've decided to change our plans and remain here for at least another season. With this in mind, after a couple of weeks sailing around revisiting Vlycho and Mitikas, we returned to Preveza yet again to check out the various yards and have now finalised everything for our winter storage. Now with everything settled, we're free to sail for the remainder of the season. July and August are the busiest months and we try to find quiet anchorages, though this is sometimes very difficult.
We returned to the Gulf of Amvrakikos, the inland sea and had an excellent sail up to Menidi at the head of the gulf, where we stayed for several days. The gulf is the biggest wetland area in Greece, some 400 km2, home to bottlenose dolphins, rare birds (neither of which we saw) and loggerhead turtles (which we did). We also saw something which looked very like a seal, but think this would be unlikely.
The only downside of anchoring near wetlands is the sheer number of bugs which seem to think the boat is their second home. After a night of torrential rain the boat was covered in them and as we motored back down to Vonitsa, we spent the entire journey killing them with the tennis racket zapper. They were everywhere, on the deck, in the cockpit, on the stern, inside and outside the dinghy, but luckily not inside the cabin. We looked like a fly cemetery by the time we'd finished and I had to scrub the cockpit sole to get rid of the corpses and throw buckets of water everywhere to wash them away. Eventually we got rid of them all, but it's not an experience we hope to repeat in the near future.
For a change we turned right when we left Preveza and headed north towards Corfu. Our first stop was Plateria, a small village of about 700 inhabitants, at the head of a lovely long sheltered bay. We anchored off the harbour along with a couple of other boats for a few days. The harbour is a base for one of the charter companies and once their boats leave there are other flotillas arriving each evening, but luckily they all go into the harbour.
We then spent a couple of nights in Igoumenitsa, a busy ferry port on the mainland. It's not particularly picturesque, but is a good place to replenish supplies and the anchorage is usually deserted. Next we had a lovely gentle sail to Igoumenitsa Creek, a mile or so inland and anchored in a beautiful bay with a few other boats. There's nothing here to attract the charter boats, so it's nice and quiet.
