Sailing and Biking Day 1

Oct 10

 

We woke to a beautiful sunrise and smooth seas. Life is looking better!

The boat set sail at 7:30 am for a crossing to Sivota, a small town on the mainland, where we would begin our first ride.

Mainland Greece

While sailing, we had breakfast family-style at two long, narrow tables in the galley/bar/lounge. There were dishes of hard-boiled eggs, bread, fruit, yoghurt, cereal, cheese, cold cuts, plus tea, coffee, juice. 

The four of us sat with two couples from Michigan. The other table was mostly a group of ten from Seattle whose connections go way back, and were called together by one of them putting out the suggestion to take this trip. People on these kinds of trips tend to be friendly, cheerful, and caring. It’s part of the pleasure.

The crew unloaded the bikes from the top deck of the boat — after a season of this, they are a finely tuned machine. I’ll capture the action at a later date. Our bikes are labelled for us (they ask our height ahead of time so that bikes will fit), which will come in handy for learning people’s names. One of the Michigan people is also Anne-with-an-e, but she’s about my size, so which bike we took didn’t matter. I leave my phone holder on the bike so I can identify mine for the next rides. We took a quick spin at the harbour to check for seat height, etc. 

Boatload of bikes

Due to weather, our itinerary has changed, and I can’t say what it will be, because it will continue to change, depending on the weather and the sea. No one wants to ride in the rain and no one wants the ship to sink, simple as that. The captain will be making the decisions. 

So, instead of a 28 km ride today, we did 15 km, which probably isn’t a bad thing for people — and there are some — who don’t have their bike legs. Do I have my bike legs? Probably not! The ride was on winding hill roads, rough in places, but with little traffic, not unlike what Carol and I have been driving these last weeks. It all seemed familiar. We cruised up a hill, then down the hill, and arrived in Arillas, a little beach town, where the Panagiota was waiting for us. 

 

Two Canadians and an honorary not-Robyn

 

All of us

Some people took a swim off the boat in crystal turquoise water, so buoyant, they could just lie there. I’m not a water person, and wasn’t tempted, but if we get some warm days, I will have to dip in, just to say I did.

We had a lunch that started with an array of appetizers (leafy salad!), followed by stuffed peppers or tomatoes, our choice. It was light and delicious. Last night’s dinner was similar, with moussaka as the main course. I abandon my usual dietary preferences when I travel, because choice is usually limited. The other Anne is vegetarian, and was given a chickpea meal which she said was “okay.” That seems to be the way on these boat trips: people’s particular dietary needs are met, but their meals aren’t the best.

While we ate, we sailed to Paxos. This was meant to be the last stop on the tour, but because of impending storms and the especially protective harbour at Gaios, the main town on Paxos, this was the captain’s choice. 

Pulling into Gaios

After lunch, the Canadian/Scots team wandered into the little town, stopping in shops full of summer clothing, even after most of the tourists had left. I found a bakery and devoured a baklava, the first and probably the last I will have this trip. It was wonderful; though soaked in honey, it somehow didn’t seem too sweet. Maybe I’m fooling myself?

The Panagiota, in Gaios

Gaios Town

I'm quite sure this is the same woman who was fishing off the pier in Nafpaktos

We stopped at a harbour-side restaurant for drinks. They didn’t have 0% alcohol beer, my choice for afternoons, nor did they have radlers (both were on the menu), so I drank water while the others tucked into the first Aperol Spritz of the season, in remembrance of Croatia, where this was the drink of choice.

Finally dinner time, we settled on a recommended restaurant where we had one of the best meals we’ve had yet in Greece — three of us had sea bass grilled and served in a lemon broth with potatoes, Gill had an amazing looking souvlaki platter, and Matthieu had a pasta dish he said was very good. Right — Matthieu is the one person on the cruise who’s travelling alone. He was passing by as we sat down, and we invited him to join us. Poor guy, listening to us old biddies talking about grandkids and nappies!

Dinner party

Anyhow, Matthieu works for the Boat and Bike company in headquarters in Amsterdam, working on the 2000+ the company keeps going for all its tours. He gets a bonus of one trip a year, and this is the one he chose this time. He is originally from Eritrea. He hasn’t seen his family since 2022. I asked how things are in Eritrea, and he said that young people can’t get out anymore. I asked how he got out, and he very briefly listed the countries he’d passed through to end up in Amsterdam. I’m sure there is lots more to his story, and I hope to hear more as the week goes on.

We strolled home by the lights of many boats on the harbour.