After our visitors had gone home we continue eastwards along the Gulf of Corinth to an Island where we had been told there was an abandoned marina. On the way the GPS crossed straight over an island! I am not sure if it was magnitic interference or the maps of that area where not well alined but it is back to working well again. The marina on the Island of Trizoni wasn't exactly abandoned, it was full! So we ancored in the bay next to it for the night. The next day, with the wind behind us we sailed east and as we approached the bridge at Rion we had to call on the VHF for permission to sail under it. It was very busy with ferries going from side to side so we folded the sails and motored under it. It was lucky because as soon as we got to the other side of the bridge the wind turned and blew in completely the oposite direction! Just when I begin to think I understand wind this happens. What happens to the wind when it meets? We sailed on to Missalonghi, this time against the wind, arrived quite late so just anchored outside the marina. The next day we went into the marina to do the washing. There was quite a queue for the machines, there are not many laundrettes in greece. We stayed a few days as high winds were forcast. Roger had left his shoes on the quay and the marina's dog took a liking to them, or they were hungry!
On the 18th July we sailed around and anchored behind the island of Petalis, we had stopped there on our way down in May, a very peaceful spot. From there we worked our way up the mainland coast and stopped at a couple of places we had not been to before, Astakos and Mitaka before meeting up with some freinds that we had met in Tunisia, at Palairos. I think the whole of the port was nearly all Italian yachts! It was so full we had to anchor outside. We almost lost the dingy that somehow got loose and floated away. Roger swam after it and Brenno who had also seen it escape, intercepted it. We went out to dinner with the Italian crowd, there was so much to eat, a lot was taken home in doggy bags, even the wine and we finished it off with a bbq the next evening.
We had been in contact with Cleopatra Marina where we had left the boat last winter and had booked the boat to be lifted on the 27th July so it was time to move north. We stopped at Nidri, Lefkas and Vonitsa and now we are on the hard stuff again, busy preparing the boat to leave it for another 8 months.