There was an established social group at the marina when we arrived. A Dutch guy with a catamaran next to us, Valdemar so you’ve guessed it I nicknamed him Harry Potter. Mark & Sonya, a Swiss couple new to sailing. Matti & Ron also Dutch on a Southern Cross and Stephan the German who works at the marina and Nicolas.

They had had numerous BBQs in the past and had one planned for the night after our lunch at the taverna. We said we would come along just for a drink as we were stuffed. Louise did make humus & guacamole and of course we took some wine.

A good night & when I had returned to the boat to replenish wine stocks Mrs M decided after that we had better hit the hay as she could tell I was getting a taste for it. The sooner she starts drinking again the better, lol.

Nicolas stayed on and I would be surprised if he did leave the next morning as planned.

But in the end he did, good man – see you after, somewhere.

 

Nicolas had discovered an authentic Greek taverna up the hill about an hour’s climb away in Marathocampos that he wanted to visit with us before he set off.

It was a fair climb but worth it for the views, the village and the taverna.

Some pictures of the day

Setting off from Ormos

Romeo & Juliet of the cat world

Still in the village “typical Greek sights”

On our way

Part way up Nicolas wanted to transplant his cactus to see if he can revive it  – presumably to be revisited at the end of this season

View over to Samiopoulo island & a resevoir

Finally into the village

and the taverna

and the descent

Saturday morning saw loads of tables being assembled outside the pizzeria. It turned out it was for a Greek wedding reception that night – they expected 400 or so official guests plus the local villagers.

Louise was keen to see the proceedings and the bride of course so we headed around to the bar adjacent to the wedding tables. It was a cold night and one guy only serving about 50 or so arrivals – impossible. We moved to another spot in the sun to await the bride.

Well we were blue and yet still no show so we eventually gave up and went back to the boat. She must’ve turned up because the wedding reception did go on until 06:00 the next morning.

Not much sleep that night.

No bride pics but we do have the tables. lol

As planned we hired a car & picked up the cat tracker left with Sara & Brian at Samos marina. Unfortunately Mark wasn’t on his boat but we left word & thanks. We stocked up in Lidl and did visit Zen – it’s now getting busier and there are some proper tourists in Samos town, not just us semi-residents.

The next day having been cogitating on a strange intermittent noise when starting the engine I woke up with a eureka moment that it probably was the starter motor. So I whipped it out for a quick inspection and clean up by the electrician in the boat yard over at Karlovassi – also owned by Aris.

At the same time the domestic water accumulator tank (part of the plumbing system) had decided to give up the ghost so I was also in the process of removing it.

During all this Mark and his pals arrived for a visit. Now being sailors they realised being entertained on the boat at that point was not ideal so off they went to the (now only open) taverna for a meal. Louise & I quickly got everything ship shape and whatsapped them to ask if they would like a glass of wine after their meal on Camira. Well after the good glass bottles had been “dun in” we started on the plastic ones!

A fun afternoon with very interesting guys – ex army – very pukka – very patriotic to the point of cutting short their holiday to be back for the coronation of Charles. One guy had headed up military protection & Police liaison for the royals & other visiting dignitaries. One like me was an accountant, but wanted to be a lion tamer.

Now what with the additional maintenance we thought it sensible to keep an appointment I had provisionally made with an Opthamologist in Karlovassi for the 3^rd of May so we were here for a wee bit longer. Ah well

It’s now Saturday and Corrina & Ton are coming to Camira. We had planned to visit a taverna but it’s still too early and only the Pizzeria is open here and nothing either up the hill in Marathocampos, so Louise is trusting to old faithful lasangne and Greek salad. Have to say it’s normally great anyway.

It was a nice afternoon & allowed them to see the boat. They loved it but I don’t think they can really believe we actually live in such a small space!

We have arranged to stay again next year in their house which takes the pressure off looking for somewhere for the winter and we can just enjoy the summer. They are delighted we take it as it means there is someone in it and they know we look after it – so a real win win.

The lasagne was indeed, as expected – great !

Today the plan is to head west to Ormos Marina, Marathocampos were we will meet up again with Nicolas. He has been there a while now and has settled into the social life and BBQ’s that seem a plenty. Its a windy spot with savage katabatic winds but a new Greek owner  Aris has bought part of the harbour , kicked out the fishing boats and installed good facilities – so should be OK – we will see what the prices are now – before it was free.

21 or so miles to the western end of Samos

Spying on the locals

Passage between the small island of Samiopoula and the mainland with Marathocampos in the distance up the hill & Ormos marina on the shore below. You can see why it’s windy with that big lump of mountain behind it !

We have also arranged for Ton & Corrina (the owners of “Another Day in Paradise” ) to visit us tomorrow which we are looking forward to being able to meet up this year.

Berthed at Ormos Marina

We plan to stay here until the 25^th April to allow us to pick up a replacement cat tracker being brought out from the UK by one of our friends Mark whose boat is in Samos Marina. We will hire a car to go back to the marina and stock up at Lidl. Who knows we may even visit Zen in Samos town for lunch.

Thereafter the plan is wait for some southerlies to push us up north to Xios.

The last days in “Another Day in Paradise” are always busy ones. Louise being Louise insists on a deep clean while I am busy shuttling back & forwards to the marina loading the boat. I got back from one of my shuttle trips to find Louise performing acrobatics in the bathroom! lol.

Nice to see the young ones enjoying themselves AND I had to make my own coffee.

This year, as last, we couldn’t stay in the marina due to the pack of unsupervised stray dogs that roam there and chase the cats. It’s a pity because it would make the start of the season a bit less frenetic for us & the cat. That said we decided just to stay in the house later that night, which allowed us to have our tea & watch the final of Masterchef into the bargain. We finally decamped onto the boat at around 10:30 that night in preparation of the usual morning getaway.

After a quick skoot around to Pythagorio for torch & batteries that we had forgotten, we left the hire car at the marina for Yiannis or Fotis to pick up, and off we went on the massive passage of 7 miles to Posidonio.

Leaving Samos Marina

On passage

It was a nice day with us sailing all but 15 minutes at the start and the end. It’s always good to get everything tried & tested and we did have a shiny new windlass and anchor chain to try out. We also tried the Bluetooth earpieces that Louise “suggested “we should use for my deafness to cut down on the Blue language – surprisingly not bad in operation, just a wee bit of a lag , however we will need to remember not to shout as well!!! lol

Since leaving the yard in Samos town we have had 10 full days kitting out the boat and the paraphernalia of what is a full flitting from the house. We both found it a bit more exhausting this year and so were looking forward to a relaxing day at anchor, but I ended up footering with one thing after another and eventually settled down at 15:00

Initially we had the bay to ourselves but later on an Italian boat arrived around to join us.

Posidonio, Samos. It’s a lovely spot but will be bunged in July & August

Nothing was open yet ashore so just a quiet night aboard – which was the plan in any event to get Lily to recognise the boat as home again after 5 months in cat disneyworld.

Next morning Louise had her 1^st dip and foolishly I tried it too – brass monkeys doesn’t cover it!

The cat sensibly did what cats do – catnapped.

Season 2023 now officially underway…………….

Just a few pictorial snaps of Camira ready for her upcoming sailing season 2023-2024.

        

bye for now ………….

End of blog 2022-2023

Marco, the cafe owner at the marina, kindly invited us to Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday lunch where he put on two spit roasts – lamb & goat, oven roasted potatoes and all the trimmings as well as copious amounts of wine.

It was by invitation only so we felt very honoured.

It was a lovely gesture and a lovely day. Kalo Pasqua

Sunday saw 3 boats lauching from Samosmar – Nicolas was 2nd & we were 3rd . Nicolas WAS heading for Marathocampos but encountered charging problems and diverted to Pythagorio for a few days. We had a 3 hour trip around to Samos Marina to stay for 10 days until we had to vacate the house. 

Nicolas’ boat

Waiting for our turn

My wee pals I used to feed over the winter

Camira in at last

Kleanthis & Gregory Tsparikos