Winter is coming (& been) in Kalamata

There follows a historical precis of our winter in Kalamata.

On the boat front we had quite a busy and, needless to say, expensive winter. After suffering the Aegean sun last year we had a bimini and sun shade made. We remounted the solar panels on bespoke stainless steel spars, much more seaman like than hanging off the guardrails! I installed two new electric bilge pumps and replaced our broken manual one. We replaced the old stern gland with a new Penta dripless seal which meant a new propeller shaft. We replaced a broken engine mount We had a survey carried out for insurance purposes and replaced our two domestic batteries. We extended our forestay to get a better pre bend in the mast. Oh yes and we fitted (eventually affter a day to cut out the old ones ) two new stanchions destroyed by the French boat in Zakynthos. Louise did a great job of stripping and varnishing a lot of the woodwork damaged by the sun , all this in addition to the normal run of the mill maintenace and antifouling.

 

Bimini template initial fitting                       Stubborn stanchion removal

 

Louise sanding lokking like Miss Kizzie         Antifouling

It wasnt all work though Lorraine & Paul having gone home to the UK kindly lent us their bikes for the winter

 

Lorrane & Paul and their bikes

Anniversary night out in Kalamata town

Chistamas eve saw us going for lunch with Renate, Wolfgang, Bob and Andrea  – fellow over winterers – for lunch. It was a long lunch ending on Bob and Andreas boat until the early hours !

 

Before                                                                      …. and after !

Christmas day was spent on the beach followed by a cycle ride

Breakfast and prezzies which from memory totalled 8 euros from Jumbo ( a local shop)

  

There were a couple of BBQ’s arranged as well

  

One of the BBQ’s

Views from Louise’s morning run near the marina

Jan on board before he set off for Sicily in December !!

 

Roberto’s birthday surprise on C Pontoon.

We hired a car for three days to explore a bit of the countryside.

 

We visted Sparta but it was shut ……until we found the correct entrance

Not a lot remains but it was very peaceful

Followed by lunch at Githio

   

The next day we went to the caves at Diros and Cape Matapan the 2nd most Southerly cape in Europe

   

Drive down Mani peninsula

 

The entrance to the underworld where ancient Greeks bought their underwear

  

Windy walk out to the lighthouse we have rounded a couple of times

 

Porto Kaio from above. An anchorage we have used having rounded Cape Matapan.

On the last day of the car hire we went in the other direction towards Finnikounda & Koroni.

Finnikounda was the place we used to go on Neilson Surf Sail & Cycle holidays when we were doing our RYA dingy and windsurf training. They were great holidays. One year a hen party was there and each night the bride had a “penance”. One penance was to drink flaming sambucca from a man’s belly button and yes you’ve guessed it – In Yiannis bar Gordon obliged…….When we returned this year we met Yianni and he recognised and remembered Gordon !!!!!

 

The hotel we stayed in in the 1990 getting a refurb

 

Yianni and his bar – good memories from the past.

The drive back took us past Koroni where we stopped for a sandwich and a coffee down by the harbour

  

Koroni & the end of our car hire

Louise headed back to Scotland in April for 3 weeks or so to visit Diane & Harry and I stayed on the boat in Kalamata Marina

I wasn’t short of company though

Roberto & Michela on Camira for my birthday cake (and wine)

And this little fellow had adopted us. His name is Tiger and despite our attempts to rehome him we had no success and had to leave him in Kalamata. At one point we considered giving up sailing to enable us to keep him. We have left food and money with a kind Greek lady who looks after other cats in the hope she will feed him. Who knows we may take him yet when we return to Kalamata in the winter. It was heartbreaking to leave him

    

So that’s that for the winter.

We enjoyed Kalamata despite it being an unplanned overwintering location