Tranquil Trizonia

We left the deserted marina of Itea late morning intending to go just a few miles southwest to what looked like a pleasant little bay where we could stay a day or two.  But the winds were so good we decided to go all the to the island of Trizonia.  We flew there in record time.  With a reefed genoa we were doing 6 – 7 knots surfing down big following seas.

The view from our pontoon

We got to Trizonia late afternoon to find a gem of a little island with yet another abandoned marina.  However unlike Itea, this marina was still populated by sailing boats and not filled with local runabout fishing boats.  There were quite a few boats occupied by liveaboards who have found a free, safe and quiet place to winter.  But also there were many abandoned boats left to die, including a large sailboat sunk off one of the pontoons.  We moored alongside between a large ketch with a German couple and their two dogs and a small sloop with a lone young Spanish man.

The mast of a sunken ketch poking out of the water

Songster moored alongside

The abandoned marina

The next morning we woke up to hundreds of small jellyfish in the harbour.  These were the first jellyfish we have seen in the Mediterranean.  

Hundreds of small jellyfish about the size of squash balls

In the afternoon we took a long walk around the little island enjoying the scenery and late autumn flowers, plus an odd tortoise or two.  There was also some evidence of wild pigs but we didn’t see any.

View east

Delicate autumn flowers were everywhere

A tortoise not yet hibernating

An amazing looking blue-black bee

The resident goose

We spent the next couple of days waiting for a good weather window to continue our way westward.  This gave us a bit more time to take long walks around the island and explore the nearby mainland towns.  The clocks had turned back to winter time and the days were closing earlier and a most of the taverans on the island had closed down.  There was only one café and one taverna open for the winter.  The island did not have a grocery store either.  However a 5 minute ferry ride took us over to the mainland towns of Chania and Glyfada where we could get provisions.

Ferry boat to the mainland

The ferry boat harbour at Glyfada looking out to Trizonia

Trizonia was quite a delightful place.  Although Bob is too social to tolerate the solitude for long, I could see myself happily spending a winter here.

 

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!