David's Diary: Tuesday, June 10, 2003

Exploring Livadi, Serifos, Greece

The wind blew all night at over twenty knots. Karalee did not sleep well and she spent part of the night in the cockpit worried that Dragonsinger would drag anchor. She went back to bed to catch up on her sleep, while Jocelyn and I went ashore to explore.

Towering above Livadi is Hora, the capital of Serifos. The bright white buildings appear to cling to the side of the hill. Jocelyn and I started the long walk up the stairs that lead to Hora.

Views of the bay

When we got into the village we were rewarded with views of the bay we were anchored in. Jocelyn and I continued upwards, passing dogs sleeping in the street and horses tethered to the side of houses. We had forgotten to bring water, so while walking along a narrow street we spotted a restaurant and stopped. We entered the cool interior where we were the only patrons. The owners didn't speak English, but we made our needs known and Jocelyn and I sat down to share a large bottle of water.

Jocelyn in the Bell Tower

We continued climbing to the top of Hora where a church is located. The church was closed, but we peered inside through the glass doors. We then started making our way back down the hillside, trying to choose different streets than the ones we had climbed to get to the top. Just as we were about to leave Hora, Jocelyn spotted a bell tower next to a church. The stairs leading up to the bell were open and before I knew it Jocelyn was waving to me from the top of the tower.

We followed the stairs back down to the beach and stopped off at an Internet Cafe to catch up on email. The wind was still blowing as we rode the dinghy back out to Dragonsinger, but we decided to stay for one more night despite the wind.