The original
plan for the day was to get an early start and make our way to Kalamata. However when R gets up early he consults
the weather forecasts and decides that there will be no wind today and it will
be hot and sunny. So he suggests
we stay here and go out into the bay and anchor. We can then swim and have a leisurely day. With that in mind we go back to sleep
and have a bit of a lie in. We
make our way to the town in the morning and find the fish shops open. We buy a lovely sea bream big enough
for two. It only cost 5 odd
euros. We cannot understand why
fresh fish in the restaurants is so expensive. We also make another very important purchase. We get one of
those solar showers, which are a black plastic bag that heats up water and then
you can use it to shower. It only
cost 9 euros, so it is worth trying to get over some of our hot water
problems. Richard takes it over to
the tap and fills it. It is very
heavy, but this time he remembers to take the trolley with him, so he can bring
it back full.
So late
morning we slip our mooring and set off into the bay. It is bright and sunny but there is soon a brisk breeze
blowing straight at us. We do
eventually anchor off a beach, but the wind has made it so cold we do not fancy
trying to swim. Also there is a
lot of rumbling noise. It is more
or less continuous. It sounds like
thunder and there are some very large cumulous clouds that look suspicious, but
no rain had been forecast. I find it difficult to believe that the
rumbling is thunder, particularly as it seems to stop at lunch time. I speculated that it may be
quarrying. But as the afternoon
goes on it is clear that it is thunder, particularly as we start to see
lightning. We are not happy to
stay out in the bay if thunderstorms are going to hit. The sound of the thunder comes closer
and closer, so we decide to take up the anchor and go back to the town.
We could have
returned to the marina and probably would have been able to get in to the space
we left, but we decide instead to try the town quay. When we get there we find two boats already tied up. As we approach luckily the skipper from
the catamaran behind comes out and helps with our lines. The quay is so high I cannot reach to
climb up it and therefore it would have been almost impossible for us to moor
without help.
Once tied up
(with four lines!) we decide to go for a walk. The problem is how to get me off the boat. R can just about manage by pushing
himself up to sit on the quay and then stand up. I try that, but to manage I have to push hard on the boat
and that sends it away for the quay, leaving a gap for me to fall in to. No, that won’t do. In the end the only way I can get off
is for R to put the fender board across the coach roof to the quay and for me
to ‘walk the plank’. It does work
and off we go.
We walk around
the sea front to where there is an old Frankish castle. We saw it as we came in and it looks
interesting. There is a large
converted church in the centre.
However, when we get to the place on the sea front where the castle
starts we can find no way in. So
we backtrack and try to find a way in from the land side, walking into the
centre of the village. There we
meet the man from the chandlery, who tells us the castle and church are closed
until the morning. So we give up.
It was so cold
out in the bay that we couldn’t contemplate swimming. However, now that we are in town, it is hot. So we put on
our swimsuits and go have a dip in the sea. It is fine, but a bit cool. We have found a beachfront shower, so we are able to rinse
off when we get out of the sea.
Back on the boat we try our solar shower. It has only made the water warm, not hot, but it is a
comfortable temperature. So we
both use it to wash our hair. It
is a little awkward because we haven’t yet found anywhere high enough to hang
it. This means we have to crouch
down, but it works. At worst it
will be useful for showering off on the swimming platform after going in the
sea. But it is not really a
solution to our hot water problems, as it can only really be used outdoors and
stripping down on the back of the boat won’t often be suitable!
As the evening
wears on the boat starts to rock a lot in a little swell coming in the harbour.
It is a really annoying motion that makes me feel unwell. The pilot book did warn us that the
quay can be uncomfortable. In the
end, I take a pill, just to make me happier. So far, still no
thunderstorm. We have our nice
fish aboard. We will retire early,
hoping the boat motion sends us to sleep for an early start tomorrow.
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