40:06.46N 23:47.03E Nea Marmaras
Friday 29th June, 2018.
Beautiful day of sunshine and we had breakfast and got ready for our journey up to Nea Marmaras. As we sailed out of the entrance we noticed black heads in the water and to our surprise we spotted three monk seals. We were busy observing until a little motor boat came along going fast and they dived down. That was a first for us all and how wonderful it was to share this with Frank and Sue.
Sue hears us talk about how we saw so many dolphins and each time she comes we don’t sight any but as well as monk seals we also saw 7 dolphins which came and jumped for a few seconds with the bow.
We were having fun sailing so the boys decided we would sail on to Nikitas. A smallish harbour with a difficult entrance and a sand bar. Due to a source of water which runs out of the mountains the water around the entrance was nearly white and worried us about the depth. We got in there but the tide in this small harbour didn’t help Ariel to get into one small space so we had to leave.
What now? We will go back to Nea Marmaras where there may be a space. We had lunch on the way. Nea Marmaras is very green with lots of trees and it strikes you as you enter the harbour. The big sardine boats are on the wall working all day mending their nets, hanging out their washing and generally keeping themselves busy. Come 6.30 p.m. the first one pulls out of the harbour. On a separate quay the big trip boats are moored. Luckily there was two spaces free so we backed on to the wall. On our pontoon quite a few daily charter yachts are tied up. As the day boats don’t want to pay for mooring here the water and electric has been turned off until they agree to pay a set amount each week/month. Therefore, even for visitors there is no water or electricity. We had sailed 40.75 miles.
There are wall to wall restaurants, ice cream and shops selling everything possible from flip flops to plastic toys. We found the most wonderful ice cream shop and had quite a few meals here. Dare I mention we watched England play one of the games in the world cup.