A few more lives done in !

Again I take this opportunity to update our blog whilst currently (6th September) being meltemi bound in a bay in the North of Paros, where it looks like we might be for a while yet!

Anyhow I am getting ahead of myself.

We had left Kalymnos on the Wednesday 4^th August our ultimate destination being Nisiros, of the volcano & James Bond fame. We spent the Thursday night anchored in Pserimos and headed off the next day for Nisiros.

The planned route to Nisiros

Nisiros is also a favourite last day stopping off point for the charter boats returning to Kos, so best avoided on Thurday’s / Friday’s. However 3 miles NW of Nisiros is a wide bay on the south coast of Nisos Yiali which offers some shelter from the meltemi. The holding is fantastic, the anchor completely disappears into the sandy bottom.

The island is scarred by extensive quarries but after 5 o clock all work shuts down and has (for me at least) some charm. It was here I met my chum from Pakistan who had floated out on his rubber ring after his work shift to say hello and “tap a fag”. We don’t smoke so unfortunately he had no joy there. Turns out he was from Rawalpindi, where I had stayed when I was 4. He has been working heavy excavation machinery, trucks and loaders for the last three years on Nyali. Don’t know if you can see the tiered levels in the pictures with the long drop offs below. Think you must need a steady nerve. After amiably passing 20 minutes or so chatting he set off paddling ashore again, presumably for his tea.

Nisos Yiali

Next day we chanced Nisiros harbour in the hope of a space and were quite lucky. The prices like everywhere in Greece have rocketed but we managed to secure a reasonable deal for 4 days. The plan being to clean ourselves & the boat. There are laundry & proper showering facilities here and Louise tends to get to a “Grubbiness threshold” after which it is dangerous to continue on passage.

It was also nice to allow Lily some time free ashore off the boat ………………

We visited Ellenis & Aphrodite tavernas as it was still too hot to cook.

I am always reticent about leaving Lily out after sundown but have recently been persuaded to do so as she seems to return to the boat and just wait for us. This was the case on the Saturday when we came back – she was on the boat, but seemed very quiet. The next day she wouldn’t let us near her so it was impossible to determine the cause of the discomfort – an injury / poison or just out of sorts? However she got no better so the plan was for Louise to take her on the ferry back to Kos to a vet & I would stay with the boat. The weather was wild however & it was not certain the ferry would run, so we decided to!!

A vet appointment was arranged for the Monday evening at 17:00. We just made it getting into Kos marina at 16:30 after a very lumpy and tortuous sail to windward in steady 30 knot winds gusting sometimes to 37. We were reefed down as far as we could be, and even with a scandalised main were getting a battering. It was no fun.

Anyhow the vet advised it was as well we had come, it turned out possibly a cat or small dog bite and it was infected. She knocked her out, drained the wound and gave her antibiotics. She slept it off that night and was confined to quarters on the boat for the next three, to recuperate

Wabbit! , sleeping it off

We visited a couple of our favourite eateries here and Louise took the opportunity to get her hair done (again!) …

The 2nd hairdo in as many weeks , Hrummmmph!

… before, after 4 days in Kos, we set of back to Nisiros via Nyali yet again, to use up our “credit” that the harbour master had very kindly extended for us .

Nisiros from the anchorage in Nyali

Lily eyeing Nisiros in the distance presumably planning revenge

No sooner had we tied up than Lily the wonder cat tries to jump onto the stern of the boat next to us and ends up in the drink! She was out the water in a flash though, straight away up the wall in seconds. She was then forced to have a fresh water shower on Camira.

Drookit & not a happy bunny!        Neither am I that’s my bed, lol.

That’s her now down to 5 lives left and my BP up another few notches.

While in Ellenis again the young waitress and waiter invited us out with the rest of the Greeks after closing for a drink which was lovely but we had to decline as it would be well past Louise’s normal bed time and an early start to boot.

OK so “cat astrophe” over the voyage is resumed.