David's Diary: Monday, May 19, 2003

Spartohori, Meganisi, Greece

We left Levkas yesterday and traveled the short distance to Meganisi. When we arrived we were waved into a small dock with traditional Mediterranean style mooring lines. We have seen few of these in Greece so we took advantage and tied up. The dock is run by a local family who run the restaurant, store, and laundry facilities. They offer free moorage in the hope that we will use some of their services.

Main Street into Spartohori

The crew of Nowornot ate onboard last night, but Kevin, Allen, Karalee, and I ate out at the family restaurant. Jocelyn wanted to stay onboard and have an evening to herself so we let her. It is a challenge for all of us to have private time onboard our sailboat. To choose dinner, we were each taken into the restaurant where we were shown a wide variety of dishes. We got to pick which ones we want, even choosing the specific piece of lamb that was freshly grilled for us.

Lamb grazing next to the road

This morning I left the boat and climbed up the steep hill to Spartohori, the village that looks down on the bay we are moored in. After taking in the spectacular views, I wandered through the village. As I followed the road that left the village I was soon into rural scenes. Lamb grazed next to the road and olive trees grow between the fields.

Roadside Shrine to Jesus

I walked for a few kilometres along paved roads. There were many roadside shrines to Jesus. Each of these was a simple metal box, with glass inserts, and a cross on top. Inside was a picture of Jesus and in most someone had left an offering of candles or flowers. I had heard that the Greeks were religious, but this was a sign that they really did practice Christanity.

Nowornot and Dragonsinger at anchor in Port Atheni

Late in the afternoon Dragonsinger and Nowornot dropped their lines and moved out around Meganisi. We wanted to find a new anchorage and after an hour or two we made our way into Port Atheni. It took us a few tries, but we did find a nice spot where the two boats could anchor for the night.

More Tubing

After we got settled, I went for a swim to cool down, then swam over to Norornot. We agreed to have the kids onboard Nowornot tonight, while Deb and Steve join Karalee and I onboard Dragonsinger. I make dinner, while Karalee organizes the kids, then we eat outside in the cockpit. The wind is still and we all look forward to a nice calm anchorage here in the middle of the Ionian Greek Islands.