Alexandroupolis
Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Wed 22 Jun 2011 07:23
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40 50.6 N 25 52.6 E
18th - 22nd June
We left Samothraki early on Saturday a lovely clear
day with a slight breeze from the NE. We motor- sailed all the way to
Alexandropoulos saw little boat traffic but did have the company of
some
dolphins for a while. The on arrival we found the
outer arms of the port have been extended considerably and the outer harbour
provides plenty of room for taking down sails etc. We motored in towards the
inner
harbour past several laid up Seos ferries. We
entered the narrow inner harbour cautiously but there was always at least 3.5
meters however there didn't seem to be much room for us and then
a chap indicated we should go out to the mole on
the eastern side of the quay near the lifting area. We duly proceeded to this
point and were maneuvering to go along side when there was an almighty
crash
and the boat stopped - well we were almost
alongside and the engine was in fact in neutral. I thought we had hit the bottom
but we had clipped the lifting gantry of the large crane which was hanging over
the dock with the top of our mast!
I reversed off and the mast didn't fall down thank
goodness. However the Windex was bent. We were then directed to go back to the
inner harbour and a very friendly chap indicated where we should go. Lazy lines
were passed to us and
we were soon stern to on the harbour wall with a
blue double step conveniently positioned on our stern port quarter for getting
on and off so no need to rig the passarelle. There were several local boat
owners around all being very helpful but not able to speak much English. We
noticed that within a couple of hours of our arrival the crane arm had been
moved to be positioned over the land! It was so unfortunate as we had the bimini
up and neither of us had registered that we might hit the retched thing - we
were too busy watching the depth and getting alongside with no thoughts of
looking up to the mast head. Neither of us fancy going to the top of the mast to
see what damage has occurred but the arm of the Windex has definitely been bent
and seems to move with the wind so at some point we will need to
investigate!
The city here is very large with some lovely shops,
cafes, restaurants etc. The harbour front road is closed to traffic from June to
September every evening and the place comes alive with folk strolling along
stopping for ice creams and at the numerous bars and cafes that have seats and
umbrellas on the esplanade a lovely atmosphere.
The Port office were most helpful and we got all
the paperwork done on Saturday afternoon though we had to wait until Monday for
the passports to be stamped.
Rob found the Gas depot and we were relieved to get
two replacement cylinders (we had been down to our last bottle). later the chap
on the boat next to us a 4 meter pleasure craft with a cuddy kindly let us use
his power supply. There are power and water points on the quay but they are all
privately rented; the water points are all locked and the power has to be
switched on by the berth holders. Anyway we were delighted to have power and
soon had all the systems re-charging.
Jacky headed off to sort out the Greek
communications and came back with a 'Wind' dongle for internet and a new Greek
phone sim all for the sum of 50 Euros. The dongle will need topping up every
month for 15 Euros but there was no need to take a contract out which was a
relief as some of the providers require this and then you need a Greek address!
Both Rob and Jacky's expensive Omega watches have stopped working - we think the
batteries have failed so later we went in search of a cheap watch shop to buy
replacements until we can get them sorted out. We ended up with a Greek
equivalent of Casio - two water resistant watches for 50 Euros! We then went to
explore further and found the two supermarkets - both closed unfortunately
as it was Saturday evening. However on the way
back to the boat there was a great deal of police activity (we were concerned
there was a demonstration happening) but it turned out to be the Olympic Torch
being paraded through the main streets what a lovely surprise! We stood and
clapped with the others lining the road as the 30 odd runners past
by.
We tested the air conditioning unit the following
day as it was so hot - having the power supply was great until we managed to
trip- the fuse out by using the electric kettle while the air con was on! This
happened on Monday evening and the chap whose supply it was didn't return
to his boat before we left so no more power for us!
Our friends June and Steve arrived on Piper later
on Monday and were able to get a place on the quay just along from us. We
enjoyed being with them again and Jacky and June had several coffee stops over
the next two days. June discovered where Lidl shop was and on Tuesday we all
went by bus to get some essential supplies. June also found a laundry which was
quite near the eastern exit from the inner harbour so no distance to walk to.
She had a load washed and dried with a charge of 3 Euros per kilo. It was all
done within a few hours so a good place to use if we are ever there
again.
All in all we enjoyed our stay here very much
but we both felt the need to be somewhere quieter with possibly some water
for swimming! So we left early on Wednesday morning and are now heading west
along the coast towards Thasos probable destination a lagoon type of harbour
called Port Lagos!
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