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17th Mar 2011 - 26th Apr 2011
Island Hopping from Tunisia to Turkey
Just three days before we left Bright Ayes in Tunisia in December to return to the U.S. for the holidays, the shot that was heard around the world, especially the Arab world, was fired. A young Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, set fire to himself in frustration after a police woman humiliated him and once again confiscated the goods that he sold to eke out a living. That action is credited with being the trigger that caused citizens of first Tunisia, then Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, etc. to rise up against their strong-arm governments in a true “people’s revolution.” As you can imagine, for a few days in early January from the comfort of our home in New Jersey, we kept our eyes on internet news reports of the situation in Tunisia.
OK, so maybe I was clueless when I made the following statements regarding Tunisia in the previous chapter of the blog, written before we left Tunisia last December:
- “It has one of the most stable, secular and Westernized cultures in all of Africa…”
- “Tunisia has a liberal, tolerant society whose government is a strong supporter of women’s rights…”
- “Tunisians are proud of the achievements of their government and of their hospitable people…”
But at least I did note this: - “We were continually surprised by and curious about the ubiquitous presence of police and National Guard throughout the country.”
Luckily, we had befriended an American couple, Sharon and John, who were spending the winter on their boat in a marina in the town of Monastir, the same marina where Bright Ayes rested “on the hard.” From them we received regular reports of the revolution’s effect on Monastir: January 11: “We knew nothing about the revolution until tonight, when the upholstery man told us. It is quiet and no one we know around us knew anything of the matter either. Monastir is the same place you left. We’re off to England for a holiday on Thursday. We will update you should anything change.” January 12: “I didn't go into town today but a good friend said it's like a ghost town. Businesses are closed, even the two large grocery stores. I am anxious to see what tomorrow brings. Will keep you posted.” January 14: “Things have progressed quite rapidly as I am sure you have heard in the news. 60 people are dead. Yesterday they burned the cafe outside the Monoprix grocery store in town and trashed the Monoprix itself. We were very concerned yesterday. All curfews were strictly enforced here. Last night John visited the police at 9 PM. We were told the airport would reopen at 5 this morning. We were successful in getting out. The only disconcerting thing was the thousands of armed police everywhere. Other than that, we had no problems. It wasn't until we landed in England that we learned the riots had begun again. We are safe and comfortable in the south of England and we will not return until we are comfortable with the situation.” January 15: “We are in total shock as to what's happened. They have burned down the Monoprix grocery store to the ground. They also entered the marina last night. There was gunfire but no one was shot. There is a tank in the center of town and armed police on every corner. Monastir is blanketed with fires and last night they released 1000 people from a prison, 12 of whom were killed. We just learned 42 in Monastir have died. This statistic came from the BBC, not our friends still at the marina. It's all very bad. Six boats have left our marina and more to follow. We are told that the police in the marina have been instructed to dress in plain clothes and have gated up the entrance, although obviously a hoard of protesters can still enter. We have just seen Monastir on the BBC news where they have shown the destruction. It's really unbelievable. There are no people on the streets and no businesses are open. Our friends at the marina tell us it's impossible to even get food. We are so happy we're not there. Now we are hearing that the ousting of the President, the Prime Minister and his party are resulting in a simmering of the crowds. But we have to take it day by day. We have no intentions of leaving England until we are totally comfortable with going back.”
January 20: “Things are much better in Monastir. Of course the rumblings are still occurring in the capital but this is expected as the people struggle with what they need and want as they battle with the corruption that has plagued them for so long. They are suspicious and disgusted but they are also smart people and it is important for them to get it right this time. Meanwhile, we have rebooked to return to Monastir on Monday, January 24th because of the report today from a friend on their boat at the marina:
‘I tried the dentist today and it was open, I was their first customer at 10.30 and they were very pleased and surprised to see me. In my fractured French, I explained that I'd paid for the teeth and I was not going anywhere without them!! They seemed to find it quite funny (I expect you had to be there...). After that, I cycled into town to see what I could get provision-wise...and the reaction from the Tunisians was fantastic. They were SOOO pleased to see me. Huge grins from people and people clapped me on the back a couple of times. Mind you there were no other westerners around that I could see. It was quite heartwarming. There were lots of shops open today, business as usual. Got the skin nipped on my heels as I took part in the bread scrum. I thought I haven't a chance, and then our wee bread man saw me and handed 2 loaves to me over everybody's head. Bless him! All in all, the town felt good, people were smiling and at no time did it feel unsafe.’ "
January 29: “Things are very, very calm and peaceful here. People are uplifted by their accomplishments and having ousted their corrupt rulers. New groups are forming for the same purposes of demanding their rights. For instance, today I was in town and there was a large group of middle aged women dressed in traditional Muslim costume. They were demonstrating with large signs chanting and walking around the whole town. Our inside source tells us they were from a particular factory and are fighting for pay increases. We are told that the Tunisians are feeling so powerful that they are all feeling that this is the time for their demands to be heard. It feels as though history is taking place before our eyes. We are not at all scared. If anything, people are no longer somber and the mood has shifted dramatically. So we are very optimistic.”
February 14: “Yesterday we visited with our Tunisian friends in Sousse. They told us many stories about the revolt. The name Jasmine Revolution has not gone over well here. They say it sounds like a pretty picture. They want to refer to it as the People's Revolution, which seems far more appropriate. They said that tourism will not recover for some time. All of the hotels, high end, mid-range and budget, are empty. The good news is there seems to be few despondent people. They feel they got rid of the real problem, Ben Ali and his regime. Although there are many who feel the people don't know what they want, Our friends told us they have a group of very smart "wise men" as they call them working on creating what will be. He is very confident that these men will be successful in their work. So the optimism feels good. People in general are so thrilled with their power and accomplishments that the feeling is this will carry them during the transition. We feel very hopeful for them and are pleased to be here since we have lived through the tough spots and of course, were not forced to flee! By the way, Bright Ayes thrives.”
Thanks to Sharon’s email messages, we felt comfortable using the other half of our airline tickets to return to Tunisia in March, prepare the boat for departure and resume our Mediterranean wandering. To the casual observer, the town of Monastir seemed just as we had left it, except that the large billboard-sized posters of former President Ben Ali, which appeared everywhere before we left, were nowhere to be found. Also, any evidence of the color purple, Ben Ali’s favorite, had been painted over!
We spent a very busy week of beautiful sunny weather provisioning and preparing the boat for launching and for sailing away. We reconnected with Sharon and John and also enjoyed getting to know a wonderful Dutch couple, Albert and Ineke. One week after our return to Monastir, our two crew members arrived and we left Tunisia the following day.
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Diary Photos
| 17th Mar 2011 Our crew: Lindsey and Allison |
| First, a word about our crew for the four overnight sails required to reach Greece from Tunisia. Last November, as we wandered through the exotic, vibrant, yet intimidating medina in Fez, Morocco, studying our Lonely Planet guide book as we walked, a breath of fresh air came our way when we heard a distinctly American voice say, “Hello, may I help you?” Thus began a wonderful opportunity for us to enlist two bright, thoughtful and engaging young Fulbright scholars, Lindsey and Allison, as crew. They both had sailing experience in the states, and both were spending a year doing research projects in Morocco. Our need for crew in March became their opportunity for a sailing adventure to Greece. It was a perfect fit leading to one of the most enjoyable passages in memory. |
| 18th Mar 2011 Our Route: Plan A or Plan B |
| Our original plan upon leaving Tunisia was to sail east, stopping in Lampedusa, an Italian island east of Tunisia, on our way to Malta. After a few days in Malta, we would proceed on to Greece. However, although Tunisia was by this time noticeably absent from the news (good news), Lampedusa and Malta were suddenly prominently in the news (bad news), coupled with the latest and messiest Middle East issue – Libya. Lampedusa was being flooded with Libyan refugees and Malta was being mentioned as the staging ground for a possible NATO action to implement a no-fly zone over Libya. Yikes! Plan B was only slightly out of the way – we would sail north to Sicily instead of east, then to Greece from Sicily. |
| 19th Mar 2011 Island-hopping across Greece |
| The plan was then to island-hop across Greece in time to join the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally (EMYR) in Ayvalik, Turkey, at the end of April. The EMYR is an annual event that involves about 70 boats traveling for two-months south from the northwest coast of Turkey to Egypt. But I’m getting ahead of myself – that will be the subject of the next chapter of the blog! Let’s return to Monastir, Tunisia. |
| 20th Mar 2011 Last minute shopping at the market in Monastir |
| Prices in Tunisia for fresh produce and meat were very reasonable, far less than comparable foods in Europe. Lindsey photographed Allison and I shopping for provisions. Much like us, neither of “the girls” were finicky eaters – always a plus for crew on Bright Ayes. |
| 21st Mar 2011 Learning the ropes |
| Lindsey owned a small sailboat of her own, left behind in the U.S. Allison’s sailing experience derived from a boat that a friend bought on Craig’s List for a few dollars. While Bright Ayes seemed luxurious to them both in comparison, I think they hungered some of the excitement of small boat sailing - hanking on the sails, gadget-free navigation, and occasionally tipping the boat over and manually righting it.
On the first day at sea, both were quick to learn how to use our electronics, a skill essential to standing a night watch. With two extra people on board, each of us needed to stand watch only three hours per night, giving everyone the opportunity for a full night’s sleep. The girls chose to stand their watches together, with one six-hour watch from 7 pm to 1 am. Then Wayne’s shift was from 1 am to 4 am, and I took over from 4 am – 7 am. Wayne encouraged them to wake him up if they had any problems or questions, and the first night began with calm seas, light wind, and no traffic. Somewhere during their first six-hour night watch, I heard Allison’s soft voice at our cabin door, “Wayne, there is a giant glowing rock in the water, and we can’t figure out what it is…. Uhhh… oh, sorry, Lindsey says it’s just the moon coming up.” |
| 22nd Mar 2011 Homework at sea |
| Both girls need to work on a rough draft of a paper documenting their year of research in Morocco. The paper was due near the end of their passage with us, and the long hours at sea in calm water gave them the time away from their work to prepare their papers. We felt a bit like parents and they sensed it, calling us Mom and Dad occasionally. So it was perfectly fitting that we be proud when they both completed and emailed their drafts on time.
Lindsey, an architect, is researching the ancient city of Fez and its attempts to modernize its vibrant old medina, the most complete and authentic old walled city in the Arab world. The challenge for Fez is to modernize without destroying its historic value and the way of life for its several hundred thousand residents. Lindsey is working with some local tile artisans to learn their craft and interviewing residents of Fez to enhance her research. Since we had spent a couple of days in Fez last fall, we could fully identify with her work and were fascinated by her findings.
Allison’s project is an assessment of the participative development that is taking placed in Morocco. Participative development is apparently the “buzz word” in today’s efforts to encourage economic growth and a higher standard of living in underdeveloped countries. It leverages minimal involvement from resources outside the country to involve many more residents of the country itself to enhance economic opportunity, stimulate smart modernization and reduce poverty. She lives in a small village with a Moroccan family, working within the community to assess the successes and failures of the process. She also teaches two classes in English to interested people in the village, her way of “giving back, ” as she says.
We were proud to have them representing the United States in Morocco. They were the best kind of ambassadors. |
| 23rd Mar 2011 Allison and Lindsey pose in Syracuse, Sicily, after two days at sea |
| We all enjoyed the streets of Syracuse with its Roman and Greek ruins and its wonderful markets of cheeses, prosciutto, fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. We hoped for a traditional Sicilian dinner in one of the tiny restaurants on the narrow streets, but Wayne and I were too tired after early rising several days at sea to wait until the restaurant’s 8 pm opening time. Instead, we opted for a waterfront tourist restaurant. After two nights at anchor in Sicily, we headed east towards Greece. It was fascinating and a bit alarming to hear U.S. Naval Warship chatter on the VHF radio as we left the harbor. And according to Google news, only 50 miles to the west of Syracuse lay the town of Mineo, where housing built in the 1990’s by the U.S. military to house soldiers’ families was now packed with refugees from the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. |
| 24th Mar 2011 Two days a half days later, we drank in the sight of Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula. |
| Again, the seas were calm and the breeze was light, but we did manage a bit of sailing during this passage. When we can turn off the engine and move silently through the water, it is a welcome change for all, including our budget. Fuel in Greece is between eight and ten dollars a gallon! By the end of the overnight passages, Allison and Lindsey were much closer to “going it alone” for three hours each rather than sharing a six-hour watch. |
| 25th Mar 2011 Landfall in Methoni, Greece in the shelter of this 15th Century Venetian Fortress |
| The Peloponnese is three-forked peninsula and we made landfall on the end of the furthest western fork. History is big here in Greece, and one can’t help but stumble upon it. Methoni is a pretty seaside village today, but was one of the seven cities supposedly offered to Achilles by Agamemnon in the days of the Greek gods. Homer called it “rich in vines” around 700-800 BC. We called it solid ground and spent a couple of rainy days here among its friendly people and historic sights. |
| 26th Mar 2011 When the sun came out, we traveled east to the 2nd fork of the Peloponnese, in search of Diros Caves |
| I had read that Diros Caves were “extraordinary” and “not to be missed” in a couple of Greek guide books. But we weren’t sure exactly where they were. We anchored in Lemini, a charming village in a beautiful bay, which we thought was north of the caves. From there we used our non-existent Greek to ask Lemini’s citizens how to find the caves. One man pointed and said (we thought) “Three kilometers.” He was either pointing to the road that went up a steep hill along the coast, or out of the bay and back into the Mediterranean Sea. |
| 27th Mar 2011 Eager for a hike, we set off with a picnic up the steep hill, leaving the boat below. |
| After several kilometers, we were atop the hill in another charming small village called Areopoli. Here, one of Areopoli’s citizens responded to our non-existent Greek by saying “11 kilometers” and pointed further along the road. Luckily, there was a map in the Areopoli town center which showed the location of the caves, in the next bay south at sea level. By then, we realized that it would be helpful if we knew some Greek. We hiked back down the steep hill to the boat, picnic lunch still in Wayne’s backpack.
After a picnic on the boat, we motored to the next bay south, to find the Diros Caves. Luckily, we had all enjoyed the hike and the beautiful scenery it afforded, since the caves appeared to be an overcrowded, overpriced tourist trap. None of us had any interest in paying 10 euro each to visit it after watching crowds of people standing in line cattle car style, then being led along a trail to the caves. We had all seen impressive caves before, and it was more fun to watch the action from the comfort of the boat. |
| 28th Mar 2011 Oh, to be young and full of energy again! |
| We enjoyed many thought-provoking conversations with both Lindsey and Allison, and were amazed by the depth and insight of their ideas. Both girls spoke French and Arabic; in fact, Allison was learning three dialects of Arabic to help with her research. But it was their contagious youthful enthusiasm about various aspects of our cruising life that tickled us most – a beautiful sunrise, the dolphins that occasionally bounded from a distanced to entertain them at the bow of the boat, or stray puppies on shore in Lemini. After a long walk exploring a Greek island, we returned to the boat. A few minutes later, both girls emerged from their stateroom in bathing suits, bounded up the companionway stairs, and jumped off the back of the boat into the crystal clear but very cold water. Wayne gave me a startled look and rolled his eyes – definitely youthful enthusiasm that we haven’t seen aboard Bright Ayes for a long time! |
| 29th Mar 2011 Monemvasia - Greece’s answer to the Rock of Gibraltar and France’s Mount St. Michel |
| The perfect fortress of Monemvasia is just around the corner of the third fork of the Peloponnesus, on the east coast of the peninsula. It is an island of imposing sheer cliffs rising from the sea, separated from the mainland by a single causeway. Enclosed within its walls is a magical medieval village, now shops and restaurants. As early as the 6th century, barbarian incursions forced residents of the mainland to seek refuge in this natural rock fortress. From there, the medieval village grew. |
| 30th Mar 2011 View from above |
| After hiking to the tunnel–like entrance to the village, we strolled through then climbed up almost to the top of “the rock.” |
| 1st Apr 2011 This mosque, modeled after Istanbul’s Aya Sofya, sits atop the rock that is Monemvasia. |
| While Greece today is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian, its history (and this mosque) point out that at one time it was ruled by Ottoman Turks, and Islam was the religion of the rulers. |
| 2nd Apr 2011 Island hopping - the waterfront at Poros |
| Lindsey and Allison had a flight from Athens on April 7, so we headed north toward Athens, stopping at the island of Poros, from which a ferry transported them to Athens. Poros, because of its close proximity to Athens, is certainly very crowded and quite expensive in summer. But in early April, it was laid back and sparsely populated. We spent several days tied to a new floating dock in the heart of town, at no cost. In fact, many marinas in Greece were free to us – either they had not yet opened for the season or they had not yet been completed but were available for our use. Either way, we didn’t complain. |
| 3rd Apr 2011 Farewell happy hour hosted by our crew |
| We missed these two young women the minute we put them on the ferry to Athens. The two weeks we spent with them were a truly a memorable chapter in our great adventure. |
| 4th Apr 2011 The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion Bay |
| Remember what I said about stumbling upon history in Greece? As we headed east, we passed by this temple, built in 444 BC to honor the Greek god of the sea. There is an anchorage at the base of this hill, and they say seeing a sunset or a full moon through its pillars is a sight to behold. The wind was from the wrong direction for us to spend the night here – maybe later in the summer when we pass through Greece again heading west. |
| 5th Apr 2011 Island hopping - a cemetery and church on the island of Kea |
| Here we had our first authentic Greek gyros from the shop just across the street from where we were docked (another free night). It is my theory, completely unsubstantiated, that our “hero” sandwiches in the U.S. are named for the Greek gyro, pronounced “ghero” in Greek. |
| 6th Apr 2011 Island hopping - Kythera |
| Here we enjoyed a Greek salad (topped with lots of feta cheese and kalamata olives) to accompany our pickled octopus entree. As always, we love seeking out and sampling the local food. In Greece, the large thin crispy rings of bread covered with sesame seeds were a favorite, as were the dried figs stuffed with sesame and almonds and the crisp sesame spiced cookies and sesame brittle candy. Do you sense a sesame theme here? I asked at a bakery if sesame flowers were grown in Greece and was surprised to hear that they weren’t. If true, the Greeks must have found a good supplier. |
| 7th Apr 2011 Island hopping: Syros |
| As you can imagine in a country with so many populated islands, the ferry is king. Every island we visited was also visited by a ferry at least daily. And often our chart plotter would alert us to the approach of a fast-moving boat approaching from our stern. |
| 8th Apr 2011 Ano Syros is a medieval Catholic settlement lying on a hill above Syros. |
| Ano Syros is the peak of white houses to the right of the bird in this photo, and is a fascinating place to wander around. We took the bus up and walked down, definitely a better idea than the opposite. |
| 9th Apr 2011 The steep narrow alleyways and white-washed houses of Ano Syros |
| This would be the perfect place for a game of hide and seek, but it was eerily quiet in this town where most residents seemed to be older than we are and apparently very fit! |
| 10th Apr 2011 Island hopping - Mykonos |
| Mykonos is said to be one of the most photographed and the glitziest island in Greece. Jackie Kennedy Onassis supposedly loved it here (when she wasn’t on Aristotle’s private island in western Greece). I first thought it best to avoid it, being that we are definitely the opposite of glitzy, but in mid-April the crowds were minimal and the upscale shops were not yet open for business. We had to admit that it is a beautiful tangle of dazzling white alleys and cube-shaped houses. Apparently, it was built as a maze of narrow lanes to defy the wind and pirate raids. The windmills in the distance are the first thing we saw as we approached the harbor. Primarily built by the Venetians in the 16th century, they were used to grind wheat. |
| 11th Apr 2011 Island hopping - Ikaria |
| Ikaria is named after Icarus, who according to Greek legend famously tried to escape from prison on wings of wax, but flew too close to the sun, melted his wings, and crashed into the sea. Ikaria was supposedly created where he crashed, and it is a rocky reminder of the dangers of foolhardy ambition. It is also the birthplace of Dionysus, god of wine. These two factors together make for the laid back capital city of Agios Kirykos, in whose harbor we found shelter. I deemed Agios Kirykos to be unworthy of a photograph; however, we discovered a shoreline walk with beautiful views, such as the one, thanks to an unexpected opportunity.
The Greek islands seem full of people born in Greece, who earned a living in the U.S. and returned to Greece to retire. We’ve met them on every island – they seem to spot us easily and know instantly that we are American. Ikaria was no exception. I roamed the town looking for an internet café so we could get a good weather forecast, and one of these friendly Greco-Americans sat outside a taverna and engaged me in conversation. He had spent 35 years in New Jersey (most of these folks seem to have lived in New Jersey) and now owned and operated a bakery on Ikaria. We chatted and he offered to drive us to his bakery in the neighboring town where he had internet access. After meeting his wife and daughter, checking the weather and our email in his little bakery, and buying some of his bread and pastry, we walked along the beautiful trail that he showed us, back to Agios Krykos. Thus we found the vista above.
We enjoyed getting to know a Dutch couple whose boat was tied next to ours, both here and in Mykonos. They seemed to be headed our way. In fact, they had been on their way to join the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally in Turkey, as we were. However, they had very recently decided that the unrest in the eastern Med, particularly the situation in Syria, was potentially too dangerous, and they cancelled. Hmmm. |
| 12th Apr 2011 Island hopping to Chios - hanging out with the big guys |
| From Ikaria we sailed north to the island of Chios. Its main harbor city of Chios Town was busy and bustling. Here we planned to stay for a few days to explore the island’s rich history and wait for a break from the northerly winds before hopping north to the Greek island of Lesvos, very near the coast of Turkey. |
| 13th Apr 2011 Mesta, a mastic village |
| In the Middle Ages, Chios was one of the richest islands in the Med, thanks to the highly profitable trade in gum mastic. There were 20 small villages in southern Chios constructed of stone in a unique manner. The outer perimeter of houses doubled as an impenetrable fortress wall, and most buildings were the same height to allow escape from intruders by running across the rooftops. The streets followed an intricate grid plan designed to confuse strangers (like us!) These villages were built away from the coast, nestled in the valleys of mountains as to be invisible from marauding pirates. The public bus took us to Mesta and past other mastic villages. |
| 14th Apr 2011 In search of mastic in Mesta, Chios |
| Being farmers at heart, we both wanted to find some mastic, secreted from the bark of a tree-like bush and used as a basis for paints, cosmetics, and medicine. Today, petroleum-based products have replace mastic, but it is still used in some chewing gum, liqueur, and toothpaste. While we waited for the bus to take us back to Chios Town, we roamed the outskirts of Mesta, checking the bark of any vegetation that we knew to be neither olive trees, citrus trees, nor wildflowers. Wayne took this task very seriously and located what he proclaimed was a mastic tree, which had a gum-like substance on its bark. I documented the find in this photo. The tree also had some nut-like pods on its branches. When we returned to town, we entered a shop dedicated to “mastic culture” in order to have our find certified. Wayne was disappointed to learn that he had discovered an almond tree, not a mastic bush. As I waited at the bus stop and chatted with a young Greek soldier on liberty with his girlfriend, Wayne continued his search for the mastic bush and returned victorious with some samples from a “real” mastic bush that he found out of town in the other direction. |
| 15th Apr 2011 Island Hopping – Inousses |
| To escape some strong northerly winds, we left Chios and motored into the wind to this placid and idyllic set of tiny islands just a few miles to the north. There we found a wonderfully protected natural harbor and the ancestral home to Greece’s shipping barons of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Their wealthy descendents return here each summer, but in April there would have been few visitors if not for the fact that it was Easter weekend, and Easter is a major holiday in Greece. There is a two-week school vacation each year for Easter, and the atmosphere in the Inousses was festive. On the secular-side firecrackers and homemade rockets were exploding off and on for several days and nights leading up to the holiday.
On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the religious celebrations increased with the sounds of priests chanting amplified by a loud speaker and bells ringing in a slow doleful cadence from the pale blue church which emerges above other buildings in this photo. It was reminiscent of the muezzin’s voice projecting from the mosques in Muslim North Africa. Particularly eerie was the melancholy bells intermingled with the popping of firecrackers. We walked up to the church on Good Friday and were surprised to see two young boys about five or six years old setting off firecrackers right outside the church during mass.
After dark on Good Friday, a procession started at the church and continued down the hill through the streets of town, ending at the ferry dock with a few loud blasts from the ferry that remains in this harbor each night. Beginning at midnight on Easter Sunday the celebration of Christ’s resurrection began in earnest with louder and louder fireworks. We were told that in Chios Town, there is a traditional all-night battle between opposite sides of town involving thousands of homemade rockets. The contest is to see which side can be first to fire the rocket that hits the bell in the church tower on the opposing side. And the day after Easter is the Feast Day of St. George where lambs are cooked on spits and the whole town gathers to enjoy the feast. |
| 17th Apr 2011 Enjoying a picnic during a hike in Inousses |
| As we waited for the north winds to subside (and to escape the popping sound of the firecrackers), we took several long hikes up into the hills around the village. The views along the narrow winding roads were spectacular, as we walked among wild-flower filled hillsides sloping down to the crystal-clear Mediterranean Sea. It was hard to imagine a more idyllic spot for a picnic. |
| 18th Apr 2011 Island hopping- Lesvos |
| Not many foreign tourists visit Lesvos, a large island just off the coast of Turkey. We were here because Lesvos is the closest Greek island to the Ayvalik, Turkey, where we would meet the EMYR. We also had been told that its landscape was the most breathtaking and varied of the Greek islands. |
| 19th Apr 2011 Lesvos Road Trip |
| With limited time to explore, we decided to rent a car for a day to see what one guidebook called “The Garden of the Aegean.” The island lived up to its reputation, with wonderfully pastoral tableaus of wild-flowered pastures full of grazing sheep. This flock of shaggy fellows bounded across the road in front of us, each with a clanging bell around its neck, to enjoy their lunch on the other side. One look told us that it must be too early in the season for sheering. We also joked that there must be more sheep than people on Lesvos, at least there were before the Feast of St. George. |
| 21st Apr 2011 Moni Ypsilou |
| The western side of Lesbos hosts a series of massive, primeval volcanic eruptions and volcanic cones that never did actually erupt with molten lava. This amazing monastery was built in the 8th century atop one such cone several hundred feet above the terrain below. How did they manage to do this so many years ago? And more of interest, since it never did actually erupt, does that mean it is due for an eruption any minute??? |
| 22nd Apr 2011 Moni Ypsilou |
| Looking out of a door on the monastery’s lower level, I could see the terrain below, which reminded us of a more rugged version of the Scottish Highlands. |
| 24th Apr 2011 Moni Ypsilou |
| Instead of molten lava erupting from the volcanic cone, shards of rock from below the surface erupted atop the cone instead, forming rock “columns” as shown in this photo. Only a few kilometers away from the monastery is a petrified forest, wood encased in lava from volcanic activity 20 million years ago, then partially uncovered by 20 million years of subsequent erosion. Lesvos is a main stop in the migration routes for European birds coming from Africa. In fact 279 different species of birds have been sighted there. That fact explains the most common tourists we saw in this part of Lesvos – vans filled with telescope toting bird watchers. |
| 25th Apr 2011 A young fisherman in Skala Sikamia |
| This adorable fishing harbor, complete with its own tiny church, was too small to host Bright Ayes. But it was way too adorable for us to miss. In addition to sheep, it’s also likely that there are more churches and monasteries (of all sizes) than people in Greece. |
| 26th Apr 2011 Wildflowers everywhere |
| One advantage of exploring Greece in April is the massive display of wildflowers. Every island boasted more than its share, peeking out of rock walls and massed in the open fields. Spring was definitely busting out all over. When we return to Greece in July, it will be a different place, we fear. Summer tourism will be at its peak and the temperature will likely be much, much warmer. However, since our first few days in Greece were on the mainland coast (the Peloponnesus Peninsula), we have explored only ten Greek islands thus far, and there are over 2, 000 islands to choose from, 100 of which are inhabited. From what we have seen thus far, each one has a unique and interesting history and culture. We have so many more to look forward to visiting this summer as we work our way back from the eastern to the western Mediterranean. But now it is time to join the EMYR and spend the next two months traveling with 65 other boats from all over the world, experiencing the countries of Turkey, North Cyprus, Syria (or maybe not), Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt. Wow, is this really happening to us?? |
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