We stayed in Lakki for a Theodorakis concert, part of the three moons festival, on the evening of Wednesday 13th August. Kai was very resistant to going, he thought he would be bored stupid and wanted to stay to play with his friends, but we took a taxi to Crithoni Paradise, where he swam in the pool, then walked round to Agia Marina,
where we had dinner. The concert started at 9 and Kai was soon entranced. His final judgement was that it was awesome, and it was.
The setting was magnificent, in the primary school yard with the castle behind.
The music was great, the musicians brilliant and the audience, mostly locals, enthusiastic.
By 12.45 Lin was close to collapse with exhaustion, but Kai wanted to stay to the end. He finally agreed to leave and we walked up to Platanos, where we had to wait fifteen minutes for a taxi home, by which time the concert had finished. (Kai adamantly refused to hitch).
On Thursday 14th we left early for the 40 mile sail to Nissiros with quite a good following wind. Kai slept for the first three hours but woke up in time to do the anchor when we went on to the quay - to the last remaining comfortable place, though it was only midday. An Italian man from a neighbouring beautiful schooner took our lines and commended Kai's anchoring - 'perfect'. His wife came over soon after to invite Kai to play with their girls, Galia, fifteen, Viola, twelve, and Lea, seven. Sergio explained that he wanted a man aboard to give him some company. We have been with Sergio and family ever since!
That evening Sergio invited Kai to go with them to Mandraki for the festival of Panagia. They were going to go by motorbike. Kai had no hesitation. He got a helmet
and off he went.
The next day, Friday 15 August, Sergio invited Kai to go with them, again by motorbike,
to the volcano. As soon as Kai went down to the crater he felt faint from the bad egg fumes, and had to go back up.
He said it was much worse than the last time we had been there, three years ago.
They came back as night fell.
On Saturday 16th August we and Sergio sailed from Nissiros to Livadhi, Tilos, where we managed to get in to the tiny harbour. Gaia asked Kai to help her with her English homework, As You Like It, explaining English words that she did not know. He managed to do so with the help of Google Translate. On Saturday night Kai had Gaia and Viola for a sleepover, explaining to us that a sleepover did not involve sleeping. Next morning we gave them all bacon and eggs for breakfast, which they loved. Then it was down to homework again.
In the evening as we were walking home we saw a man putting out food for the local cats.
On Sunday Sergio invited us all to join them and their friends for dinner at Eristos, on the other side of the island, where their friends were staying. Ka went with them in the afternoon, to swim in the hotel pool, and Lin and Simon followed on the bus in the evening. Eristos is a beautiful bay, very quiet, with just one quiet and cheap, but comfortable hotel. We had an excellent dinner with us and 21 hospitable Italians before being driven back to Livadhi by the waiter (we had missed the bus and there are no taxis on the island).
Monday 18th had been forecast to be very windy and it was, though not as bad as had been forecast. Yachts crammed into the harbour for shelter, but we were well sheltered and very secure.
On Thursday 21st August we motorsailed in a dying wind up to Symi, where we anchored in Pethi, a bay with a small village just over the hill to the East of the main town of Symi.
Lin and Simon had lunch ashore, leaving Kai in charge of the boat. As we finished lunch, Sergio arrived and anchored just behind us, to Kai's and the girls' delight.
In the evening the wind got up and we found ourselves very close to Sergio. We were not sure whether the anchor had dragged, or it had just pulled back to the full length of the chain. We thought it was the latter, but we did not want to take any risks, so we reanchored, putting out our full 60 metres of chain.
On Friday we all took the bus into Symi town to go shopping. We had never been here in the summer season before - the town was heaving with crowds of day trippers from Rhodes, Datca, Marmaris and other places far and wide. We were glad to get back for lunch and a swim.
where we had dinner. The concert started at 9 and Kai was soon entranced. His final judgement was that it was awesome, and it was.
The setting was magnificent, in the primary school yard with the castle behind.
The music was great, the musicians brilliant and the audience, mostly locals, enthusiastic.
By 12.45 Lin was close to collapse with exhaustion, but Kai wanted to stay to the end. He finally agreed to leave and we walked up to Platanos, where we had to wait fifteen minutes for a taxi home, by which time the concert had finished. (Kai adamantly refused to hitch).
On Thursday 14th we left early for the 40 mile sail to Nissiros with quite a good following wind. Kai slept for the first three hours but woke up in time to do the anchor when we went on to the quay - to the last remaining comfortable place, though it was only midday. An Italian man from a neighbouring beautiful schooner took our lines and commended Kai's anchoring - 'perfect'. His wife came over soon after to invite Kai to play with their girls, Galia, fifteen, Viola, twelve, and Lea, seven. Sergio explained that he wanted a man aboard to give him some company. We have been with Sergio and family ever since!
That evening Sergio invited Kai to go with them to Mandraki for the festival of Panagia. They were going to go by motorbike. Kai had no hesitation. He got a helmet
and off he went.
The next day, Friday 15 August, Sergio invited Kai to go with them, again by motorbike,
He said it was much worse than the last time we had been there, three years ago.
They came back as night fell.
On Saturday 16th August we and Sergio sailed from Nissiros to Livadhi, Tilos, where we managed to get in to the tiny harbour. Gaia asked Kai to help her with her English homework, As You Like It, explaining English words that she did not know. He managed to do so with the help of Google Translate. On Saturday night Kai had Gaia and Viola for a sleepover, explaining to us that a sleepover did not involve sleeping. Next morning we gave them all bacon and eggs for breakfast, which they loved. Then it was down to homework again.
In the evening as we were walking home we saw a man putting out food for the local cats.
On Sunday Sergio invited us all to join them and their friends for dinner at Eristos, on the other side of the island, where their friends were staying. Ka went with them in the afternoon, to swim in the hotel pool, and Lin and Simon followed on the bus in the evening. Eristos is a beautiful bay, very quiet, with just one quiet and cheap, but comfortable hotel. We had an excellent dinner with us and 21 hospitable Italians before being driven back to Livadhi by the waiter (we had missed the bus and there are no taxis on the island).
Monday 18th had been forecast to be very windy and it was, though not as bad as had been forecast. Yachts crammed into the harbour for shelter, but we were well sheltered and very secure.
On Tuesday 19 August we left Tilos for Khalki, which we had never visited before. We moored to a pontoon, but did not much like Khalki. It is very picturesque, with all its restored villas,
but has the feel, and prices, of a resort for the rich. So next morning we left to anchor in the bay of the uninhabited island of Alimia, between Khalki and Rhodes. We anchored in the bay and, soon after, Sergio arrived and picked up a mooring. When we went swimming we discovered that we had anchored just clear of a substantial wreck - if we had caught the anchor on it we would have had trouble retrieving it. In fact, as we swung with the wind, the anchor chain did coil around the wreck, which stopped us swinging onto Sergei's boat, which was close alongside us.
Kai spent most of the day with Sergei and the girls.
Although there were a few other yachts in the bay it was wonderfully peaceful
and the night sky was astonishing.
Alimia has the remains of a barracks for German soldiers, left from the war,
with wall paintings left by the soldiers on the walls otherwise smothered in modern graffiti.
In the evening the wind got up and we found ourselves very close to Sergio. We were not sure whether the anchor had dragged, or it had just pulled back to the full length of the chain. We thought it was the latter, but we did not want to take any risks, so we reanchored, putting out our full 60 metres of chain.
On Friday we all took the bus into Symi town to go shopping. We had never been here in the summer season before - the town was heaving with crowds of day trippers from Rhodes, Datca, Marmaris and other places far and wide. We were glad to get back for lunch and a swim.
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