Adventures of Thésée: Thesee's Cyclades Adventures

Thursday 16th May...

Linda - Moving on today, our intended destination was the island called Schinoussa. It's not a big island but we had decided upon a nice little anchorage that would suit us for a night.

We left Amorgos with no wind at all, expecting to motor the 3 hours journey. However, as we got out of the bay the forecast wind of 7 knots actually turned into unexpected 12 knots, so up went the sails. There's a lot of small islands around here between Amorgos and Naxos and we know to be aware of gusts coming in between the islands so we were being careful. After all... no wind today said the weather man!!

Well the wind started to build and so as we got in the lee of the first island Dean said he was going to put a reef in the main sail. As he was doing it he noticed something was wrong. Looking up at the sail he could see that the reefing line had come untied from the boom, and had come out of the pulley which reefs the sail down. It was a bit of a fraught moment, but fortunately he cleverly pulled the sail down to the second reef line. Two reefs in the genoa then all was well again. We were going pretty quick at 8 knots.

Not long after we had no wind, and then on turning around the south end of Schinoussa the wind was blowing a hoolie again. It's so annoying you just never know what's going to happen. Anyway we stuck our nose in the intended bay and it soon became aware that this wasn't the place to anchor let alone spend the night. After checking out Plan B & C, which were no good either due to the wind, we carried on 5 miles to the southern end of Naxos. This is an anchorage we know, and finally on arrival it was calm. We anchored for two hours and Dean threaded the troublesome reefing line back through the sail. It started to get a bit rough again here so we decided to go into the very small quay here, because after checking it out in the dinghy we could see there was plenty space for Thesee. Only two other sail boats in here.

Thesee inside the small quay

At last we could settle down and relax. The harbour man has a taverna just about a 10 minute walk away, so we went to eat tonight. We were the only ones there...along with a cat and a dog. Glad today is over with.

Nice sandy beach by the quay

Walking to the Taverna

Almost there in the middle of nowhere

Chickens in the orchard

The Taverna

OMG massive Greek salad

Friday 17th May...

Linda - We woke to the most calmest idyllic morning. There's nothing here, but I like it. Dean doesn't like it.

Morning views

Our two neighbouring sailboats left and we were almost alone in this tiny harbour, until a small boat came in. It was a 'Moody' boat, that's the make. Dean likes 'Moody's'. On it was a jolly Australian couple and we got chatting when Dean helped them moor up.

Yesterday when we came in our bow thruster was playing up. It would thrust right, but not left. Dean spent a good few hours underneath our bunk trying to find out what was wrong. He thinks that the relay could be faulty inside the control box. I think we shall have to buy a new control box, but it's not that easy to buy one here, and some suppliers won't ship anything abroad. So for now, we have a temperamental bow thruster that works when it feels like it.

This afternoon we thought we'd go for a walk along one of the hiking paths that we spotted. We'd only been walking up the hill track for ten minutes when we realised that there was about 100 goats following us. I said we should stop and stand aside to let them pass. So we stopped, and so did they, in a big shady patch. We were trapped, lol.

So we tried to detour and find another way down but there really wasn't any way out. In the end we scrambled under trees and in between big spiders webs and managed to pass the goats not too closely. We didn't think they would bother us, but you never know what to expect, which is why we were a bit wary.

Our new friends on the 'Moody' boat came over to Thesee for sundowners later on, then the four of us went to the 'Middle of nowhere Taverna' for dinner.

Here's some photos I took of Thesee today...

Thesee no mates 😂

Where are you Thesee?

Goats approaching

Trying to find an alternative route

Yay, we passed them

Saturday 18th May...

Linda - We were going to stay here another day and we had arranged to hire a car and drive to Naxos town for the day. But when the harbour master said the car hire was 70 EUROS, yes 70 EUROS, we declined the offer pretty quickly, and decided to leave. To be honest, we weren't that disappointed, and as the quay was empty and we had a lot of room to lift the anchor without causing a problem, it was an easy departure. Good job really as we took up most of the harbour lifting the anchor and turning to leave.

We thought we would sail up to Naxos town instead. We had been put off this before as not sure about the anchorages, and the marina is tiny and we've heard that there are never any spaces available because it's full of charter boat. So off we went.

Weather man... No wind.

Reality..... 18 knots on the nose.

We were motoring and in the end trying to find an anchorage to protect us from the wind. It funnels down the strait between Naxos and Paros, and we know this, but didn't expect it to be 18 knots. Anyway, we were just short of Naxos town when we managed to tuck into a small spot, followed by about 4 catamarans. We stopped and grabbed some lunch whilst pondering what to do. After about 2 hours it seemed to calm down a little. We took a chance to carry on up to Naxos town, it was a bit lumpy but we arrived at an anchorage north of the marina and there was plenty of space thankfully. Only two other boats here.

According to legend, on the way back from Crete after he slayed the Minotaur, this is the place where Theseus (Thésée) was talked our of his love for Ariadne and abandoned her...... Let's hope Mr C doesn't abandon Mrs C here tonight, fingers crossed.

The most widely recognized mythical love story associated with the Naxos is that of Ariadne and Dionysus and the site that the story took place: the islet Palatia, where today, since the 6th century BC, stand the remnants of the Temple of Apollo and its grand entryway, Portara (large door).

It is here that, according to myth, Ariadne and King Theseus stopped to rest. And where Dionysus fell in love with Ariadne, while she slept.

The temple of Apollo at our anchorage

Naxos town

Naxos old town streets

We had a brief look around town and stocked up with some shopping, checked in with the Port Police to get the Transit Log stamped, and went back to the boat. It's still blowing a little but we are safe and protected from the swell outside.

Statue of Protopapadakis....

Who????

Temple of Apollo

Statue of Ariadne

Thesee in the anchorage next to a Canadian catamaran

Big Blue Star Ferry

Temple of Apollo lit up at night

Sunday 19th May...

Linda - Tonight we are in Paros. It's Naxos's nextdoor neighbour. That's quite a tongue twister. Didn't sleep particularly well last night. But the good news is that Ariadne's fate hasn't been bestowed upon me, and I am still First Mate on Thesee.

A contrasting weather day to yesterday. We have kind of given up with the weather forecast and are just expecting whatever comes. We've move on to this next island Paros. Not been here before. We're in an anchorage at Aliki on the south side of the island. It's very nice. The water is fantastic, clear blue. On the way here we spotted dolphins too.

The coastline is very scenic and pleasant. It feels so much more relaxed than the busy Naxos town. More sort of our thing. There's still sahara sand in the air and at one point on our journey it was almost like fog!

Along the Paros coastline

Sahara sand visibility

We're pleased with our anchorage. Dean swam the anchor to check it was dug in OK, and it was. He described the water as 'refreshing'. Still a bit chilly then.

One, two, three.......

Go !

Checking Thesee's bottom too

We've had a little walk ashore and an ice-cream. There's an awful lot of people here, the restaurants were heaving. I felt it was a little disappointing, but the flowers are nice.

It's been pretty hot today. Dean has spent all afternoon washing the boat decks. During the last few days the decks have become covered with Sahara sand, and with the dew in the mornings the sand has turned muddy and it was getting to be a real mess. But now all nice and clean again thanks to my very industrious Captain (whilst I was having a snooze).

Monday 20th May...

Linda - Not exactly sure of a destination today we headed west from Paros via the southern end of Antiparos and Despotiko. There's a fabulous anchorage here but no time to stop today as we need to get some miles under our keel. Whilst we were in the calm lee of these islands Dean raised the mainsail to check that all was well after he had to re-thread the reefing line the other day. It also gave him the chance to make a few adjustments whilst it was calm (for a change) and the mainsail wasn't actually doing anything.

After leaving the islands behind we had to make a heading choice.... Sifnos or Serifos? The 12 knots beam reach wind was best for Sifnos, so that's where we headed.

My reflection in the blue water this morning

looking over the side of Thesee

We had a calm cracking sail at 6-7 knots across to Sifnos, and anchored in an empty bay which we know called Vathy. It's just beautiful here. Tonight we have about 10 neighbours but there's plenty of room. Our view ashore is of a lovely small 5 star resort at 265 euros per night.... Wow.

Rounding the rocks on the southern end of Antiparos

Looking up towards Despotiko anchorage

Calm enough to mess about with the mainsail

Now sailing en-route to Sifnos

The entrance to Vathy, Sifnos

The Saffy-o-meter only half drunk today

Vathy

The 5 star resort

Dean swam to check the anchor again, then had an al-fresco shave on the back of Thesee, because tonight we're eating out.

So we went ashore at 6pm after a lazy afternoon. They've got a proper garbage disposal area here. How exciting.

Good job we took our garbage ashore

Little Church on the quay

Looking out into the bay

All the boats and a bit of blue Thesee

Walking on the beach to the restaurant

Here it is

With a clear view of Thesee

Hungry cats and dogs here....as always

Tuesday 21st May...

Linda - Serifos, Serifos, Serifos !!! Tonight we are in Serifos.

But first, this morning in Sifnos the water was so still and gorgeous, just look at this photo.....

Water

We could see the anchor chain easily and our white markers on it, which signifies the 20 metre mark. I tried to take a photo but you can only just make out our white markers at the top right of this next photo. (3 white dots)

Anyway, at 9am we were on our way to Serifos, about 18 miles north of Sifnos. We had to motor because no wind to sail today. We've been to Serifos before, but not to this anchorage in the main town, Livadi. It's really very nice. We went ashore at noon to the Port Police for Transit Log stamping, got a few bits and bobs food wise, then stopped for a beer (before lunch i might add). We both warmed to this nice little port, lots of lovely little tavernas around the shoreline. And they even had a bakery, our first crusty loaf of our travels.

Dean worked on the outboard engine again today and it seems to be running lovely now. But today was all about ferries, and more ferries. This morning as we approached the inlet. two ferries were bearing down on us, one of them the very fast super duper catamaran ferry leaving a load of wake in its path. All throughout the day there has been numerous ferries coming and going. I've never seen so many on such a small island. Plus the port is absolutely packed with boats which arrived constantly all day, mainly charter boats. Well at least there's something to look at and entertain us.

Ferry number 1 as we journey towards Serifos

Super duper fast ferry number 2 arriving with us at Serifos,

and sending us rolly polly-ing

Ferry number 3 also arriving the same time as us

The Saffy-o-meter failed again today thanks to the super fast ferry

Lunchtime beer stop

Nice bars on the beach

Expensive shopping... .5 items 25 euros 😮

Ferry number 4

Dean was fixing the outboard engine in the water. He has a crafty plan to use an upside down umbrella. In case he drops anything, the umbrella will catch it. Clever clogs.

Ferry number 5

Ferry number 5 leaving.... Pollution!

Just how many ferries does an island need??

Wednesday 22nd May...

Linda - Day 2 in Serifos. It was a peaceful night and we slept well. This morning was overcast and perfect for taking a trip up to the Chora. It takes about an hour to walk up and it's steep. We thought we would pop around to the bus stop to see when the bus was due, and as we turned up.... so did the bus. Bingo! What a stroke of luck as they are only every hour.

At the Chora we hopped off the bus and saw a sign for the castle. So we followed the narrow footpath and coming the other way were two donkeys carrying a load for a workman. You never know what you will come across. Dean says he thinks they were mules because they were too big for donkeys.

After giving way to the mules, we made it to the castle (a few ruins), and a small chapel (closed). But it was a fantastic view looking down over the harbour and port..

Thesee anchored in the centre

Dean making a video

Close up of the port

Not a real sheep, I just found out!

The Chora

A plaque reading the year 1433

Heading back down again

Beautiful cats and well fed

Sleeping off their breakfast

Cafe

Back in the Chora square we were having a coffee when the workman with the mules turned up again. This time he left the mules outside the grocery store and went in to collect his shopping, which he subsequently loaded onto the mules and strapped it all in. A bit like us when we go shopping with the trolley and then strap it all in..... 😀

When we were done, we were going to walk down, but by the second coincidence of the day the bus was in so we hopped on it again.

At the port we had a bite to eat before going back to the boat and Dean starting work. He was going over his window trim with the iron to make sure it was sticking. As always, one thing leads to another and he subsequently took the blinds down and gave them a good clean. They had a few mouldy spots.... but not any more.