Itea and the Sanctuary of Delphi

From Paralia we continued west through the Gulf of Corinth to Itea.  Once again the passage involved bashing into the waves and to add insult to injury, there was no wind so it was motoring all the way.  At Itea was yet another deserted marina (these half finished, deserted marinas are scattered through Greece – such a waste!).  Most of the pontoon spaces were occupied by local runabouts and the harbour floor was filled with old anchors, tyres and broken lazy lines.  There were a few sail boats but none were occupied.  We found a nice spot along side and moored up; the only occupied boat in the marina.

Songster moored in the abandoned marina of Itea

 

We stayed in the pleasant town of Itea for several days, doing laundry, provisioning and waiting out two days of rain.  Finally when we had clear skies, we caught a local bus to our prime objective, the archaeological site of Delphi.  The ride up the mountain was quite spectacular – steep cliff faces, acres of olive groves and quaint villages clinging to the hillsides.

Looking down the valley to Itea

According to legend, Zeus determined Delphi to be the centre of the mother earth (Gaia). It was the home of the oracle of Delphi, the Pythia.  The oracle, a 'an older woman of a blameless life', would get into a trance after inhaling vapors from a chasm in the rocks then babble prophesies, interpreted by high priest. 

We first went to the excellent museum.  There were some exquisite bronzes from the 8^th to 6^th Century BC, bone carvings and gold pieces, Kouroi twins from Argos, the Sphinx of Naxos and the Charioteer.  

Bronze figures

Bronze griffins from cauldron holders

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Carvings from bone

Gold jewelry

Kouroi of Argos

The Sphinx of Naxos

The charioteer

Then we went to the archaeological site.  The setting on the side of Mt Parnassos was spectacular and the ruins very impressive.

 

The Stoa and Agora - Con's veggie shop, Mrs Papandopolous's dress shop perhaps?

The treasury of Athens

The bronze column of the tripod of Plataeans

The Temple of Apollo

The amphitheatre and Temple of Apollo from above

The stadium - site of the Pythian Games, precursors to the Olympics

By mid-afternoon we caught the bus back to Itea, feeling quite replete from having been surrounded by such remarkable ancient and natural beauty.

 

  

Goodbye to the Aegean - Transiting the Corinth Canal

After Peter and Amy left Songster we stayed in Poros for a few days to catch up on laundry and get a few supplies from Spyros’s excellent chandlery.  Finally getting over our anchor lassitude we headed for the next island into the Saronic Gulf, Aigina, which has the Temple of Aphaia, reportedly an example of a perfect classical temple and we thought worth a visit.   

We did a quick motor (no wind) to the main port and managed to set the anchor in one of the small patches of sand amongst the weed on the southern side of the mole.  The port is a busy little place with ferries, large and small, coming every half hour or so.  The waterfront is lined with tavernas and café and has a lively pleasant feel, if a bit touristy.  We checked out where we could hire a scooter to go across the island to the Temple and planned to make an early start the next morning.  

Approaching the anchorage at the port of Aigina

 

Sadly we woke up to a horrible swell rolling through the anchorage making it quite untenable.  So we thought it best to skip the Temple and said an early goodbye to Aigina and moved on to our next destination of Korfos.  Korfos is a village west of Aigina on the Peloponnese peninsula.  We motor sailed the short distance and found a delightful, sleepy Greek holiday village.  We had an Ouzo Mezze on shore and then back to Songster for an early start in the morning.

Bob feeding the left over bread to the ducks and cats

Peaceful Korfos

  

We were up before dawn for our big day.  This was the day we were going to transit the Corinth Canal.  After three years sailing in the Aegean Sea we were about to take the big step and head west to other seas.

Underway before dawn

The Corinth Canal cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth and joins the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea with the Gulf of Corinth and the Ionian Sea.  This saves a 700 km journey around the Peloponnese peninsula.  The first proposals for the canal were made by the Ancient Greeks in the 7^th Century BC.  However they opted instead to build a stone road over the isthmus on which boats were towed.  Remnants of this can still be seen on the western end of the Canal.  Emperor Nero did start digging the canal in 67 CE, using 6000 Jewish prisoners of war.  They managed to dig through about 700 meters into the isthmus before the project was abandoned.  

Finally the Canal was completed in 1893, not without a fair amount of controversy, bankruptcies and construction difficulties.  The limestone rock in the area makes the Canal unstable and every Tuesday the Canal is closed for maintenance work to shore up its walls.  The Canal was dug to sea level so there are no locks and the transit is a straight run of 6.4 km.  The Canal is only 22 metres wide and 7 meters deep so today can only be used by small cargo vessels and pleasure craft.  Still 11,000 boats transit the Canal every year. 

We left the quiet bay of Korfos and the little wind that there was in the Gulf, was on the nose so we motored to the Canal entrance.  A mile out we radioed to the Canal control tower of our arrival.   There was plenty of room for us to dock alongside.  Patting the sleepy dogs that hung around the docks, we went to the office to do the paperwork and pay our fee.  By the time we returned to Songster we were being radioed clearance to enter the canal.  It was all very exciting and impressively beautiful.

Control tower at the eastern end of the Corinth Canal

Entering the Canal

 

The crumbling retaining walls

The rock walls rising 90 m above sea levl

  

 

Area where the walls have collapsed

A tourist boat was behind us.  Looks like Songster will be in lots of holiday snaps

Approaching the submersible bridge and the Gulf of Corinth

It only took about 30 minutes to transit the Canal.  With a 2 knot current against us we were pushing to maintain 6 knots.  A westerly swell greeted us as we entered the Gulf of Corinth and we proceeded to bash through the waves for the next few hours. 

Bashing through the waves

Finally we changed to a more northerly course into Saranti Bay and the waves eased. We even managed to turn off the motor and do a bit of sailing. We anchored at the head of the bay in lovely calm water.   

Calm waters of Paralia

  

The village of Paralia was a delight and we treated ourselves to a nice Greek meal after a long, exciting day.

Fish, Greek salad and Ouzo - Perfect!

Family on Songster

After waiting out the big blow, we returned to Porto Rafti to wait for the arrival of Peter and Amy.  Greece was their last stop on a whirlwind European tour.  We were very excited about having them on Songster.  

Finally the day arrived.  We had Pedros pick them up from the airport and meet us at a nice waterside tavern for lunch.  Peter and Amy had gotten engaged the night before in Rome.  Peter did the whole tradition of getting down on one knee and proposing with a gorgeous, very bling, ring.  So there was lots of congratulations and celebration over lunch.

Peter proposing in Rome

The happy betrothed

Then onto Songster to show them their home for the next 4 days.  Spritz for sundowners in the cockpit and a simple dinner.  Sadly Amy had a touch of mal de mare but was a real trooper about it and eventually got her sea legs.

The next day we headed off for Sounion.  The conditions were not too bad and we were able to sail for most of the passage.  Pete had a go at the helm but then we let Wandering Wally take over so we could relax and enjoy the scenery.

 

We anchored under the Temple of Poseidon and Pete and Amy were in the dinghy ready to go ashore as soon as it hit the water.  This was our third visit to the temple and we finally found Byron’s inscription from the 1820’s on one of the columns.

 

Byron's 'graffiti' is at the bottom of the second block (faint white highlight)

Pete and Amy relaxing in the cockpit

Another lovely lunch at Ο Ηιλιος with plenty of fresh seafood washed down with an ice cold Alpha beer.  Back on Songster to introduce Pete and Amy to Mexican Trains dominoes.

The next day we had a rather boring motor to Poros.  Sadly there was no wind.  It would have been nice to show Pete and Amy a bit more of real sailing but this is after all the Motorterranean. 

 

Poros was lovely.  We toured the town, ate more great Greek food and checked out the historic bell tower for fantastic sunset views.

 

 

The anchorage at Poros

The next day we took the ferry to Hydra.  We took Amy and Peter to see Leonard Cohen’s house.  Astonishingly they were not familiar with his music – tsk, the younger generation!  Then we went to the beach where Amy and Peter could finally swim in the Mediterranean.  Being mid-October the air and water can be a bit cool but they braved the water and it was great once they got in.  Although Bob and I brought swimmers, we were not quite as brave and stayed on the beach lounges.

The happy couple

Priests and donkeys on Hydra

Not a bad beach

The next day Peter and Amy were due to catch the Flying Dolphin to Athens in the mid-afternoon for the last three days of their month long European tour.  So after a morning of heart to heart parent to newly betrothed talks and sad goodbyes we saw them off.  It was so special for us to have family on Songster with us and to share a taste of our new lifestyle with them.  Thanks for coming Pete and Amy!