At Limnia (Chios) we had to walk 2 kms up to the pretty hilltop village
of Volissos to get provisions before leaving in the morning, and fill up
our fresh water tank using jerry cans. We were feeling very hot by
the time we left but the wind was good for sailing so we had a fast trip
down the coast rather than a leisurely exploration of the various
interesting-looking bays. We stopped at a well-sheltered anchorage
on the southwest, called Ormos Salagona, where we'd been last year when
we first landed on Chios. We stayed a further day, anchored off a
lovely and almost deserted beach, enjoying cooling swims at regular
intervals.
Volissos:
From Chios we decided to head for the Turkish coast as strong northerly
winds were forecast and we weren't sure how good the shelter would be
after a longish trip south to Samos, the next Greek island to the
south. The winds were generally Force 6 and we had a rewardingly
fast sail east to a deep inlet on the Turkish coast where the shelter is
reported to be good. We saw a few other yachts beating to windward
up the coast (rather them than us!) and found two yachts (one German, the
other South African) in the anchorage, Kirkdilim Limani, where the
shelter was good but with strong downdrafts off the mountains.
Although our anchor was well dug in, it's always unsettling when the boat
is being buffeted intermittently so we were glad to be off again in the
morning, sailing again in Force 6, with F7 gusts, southeast to
Kusadasi.
Arriving at Kusadasi marina we experienced the usual sensation of moving
into another world, where everything is easy, and after quite a lot of
passage-making we were ready for some pampering (showers, laundry,
etc). Our first concern was to sort out our Turkish
documentation. A month ago we left Turkish waters without getting
any exit stamps, and our cruising log expired over a week before.
The marina staff warned us that we may have a problem with the
authorities, so the next day we went to do the rounds of passport
control, customs, harbour-master and customs once more seeking the
necessary stamps so we could officially leave Turkey.
Kusadasi is a busy port with large cruise ships visiting daily and
the area around the harbour could be anywhere in the world, with malls
filled with jewellery shops, oriental carpet shops, Starbucks, Body Shop
and Burger King. When it comes to selling, the Turks are very
persistent, and we had to run the gauntlet of the harbour shopping centre
four times before we had everything sorted. As luck would have it
no one noticed that our cruising log had expired and we were given
permission to leave for Greece.
Kusadasi town is not attractive, though there is an old part, crammed
with shops, bars and restaurants. It must be popular with Irish
visitors as there are numerous Irish bars and places selling Irish
breakfast rather than English breakfast. This is the first place in
Turkey we've come across where pork products are available, though at a
price. The town is a very incongruous mix of traditional Turkey and
package tourism. On Friday we found the fruit and vegetable market
and made the most of the opportunity as Greece just can't compete on
fresh produce.
The marina is also very good, with a swimming pool and tennis courts
among the facilities. We've been making use of the free internet
access to book ferries and flights home for the end of July. The
book exchange is another boon, but the problem is that the crew get lazy
in such an environment so we have to move on as soon as possible.
Yesterday we sailed west again, towards Samos, sailing much of the way,
although the wind was quite variable and the seas increasingly lumpy as
we approached the very narrow strait between Samos and the Turkish
mainland.
We anchored last night in a small bay called Poseidoni, on the southeast
tip of Samos:
Today we motored just a short distance west to a new marina at
Pythagoria. It's been in the process of being built for the last
few years and we were not sure what to expect but it seems nearly ready
to open and we're told it will be fully functional in 10 days. For
us it's a convenient place to leave the boat to spend a day touring Samos
as the town quay at Pythagoria is very full.
