Mourtos (Mainland Greece)
Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Sun 7 Sep 2008 00:26
Sunday 7th September
We had expected an early start as the flotilla crews headed for the airport,
but in the event they were not flying too early and so it was all very
relaxed.
We got under way at 11.30 and were barely out of the little harbour when we
spotted three dolphins playing in the bay. This is a little remarkable in
that most of the people we have met out in the Ionian claim to have rarely
if ever, seen them out here. They were shy enough to stay well away from us
as we motored out of the large bay. Another still and windless day (forecast
is for some wind on Tuesday!!) so we pottered the short way round to
Mourtos.
This is a little town that has changed out of all recognition since we first
came here in 1981. It is now quite a thriving tourist resort with a brand
new small port behind a stone and rubble breakwater. The pilot book gave
some warning about depth and other problems, so we opted to anchor in a
nearby bay offering good protection if the wind got up. We found a couple of
boats already there and as they had wisely dropped anchor and then taken
long lines ashore, we followed suit. The little bay was quite idyllic with
crystal clear water and a resident kingfisher flying to and fro!
Had a swim during which we met the couple off the boat nearest to us, who it
turned out were friends of Tim & Hilary who we had met further South and
they had been told to keep an eye out for us! (Not sure if that was to avoid
us or not!) Anyway Sarah invited them over for a drink in the evening and
they (Doug & Kay) were excellent company and had some fascinating tales,
including building their own ferro cement boat in the 70s!
In the afternoon we had rowed ashore to walk into the town, but had perhaps
not fully investigated the lie of the land first as we had to walk up a very
long and very steep hill first. Slightly nostalgic as this brought us to a
road that we used to walk down with our customers when we anchored our
flotilla in a wonderful deserted bay on the other side of the hill. (That
bay is now occupied by a very large and noisy hotel which has taken over the
bay for water sports etc.) The village we knew has grown hugely and houses
are springing up everywhere, but the real objective was a small art gallery
and jewellery shop that Sarah bought an oil painting in on our last visit!
It took us a while to locate the shop and I was very disappointed to find it
was still there. The good news was that the artist has become rather
commercial and lazy and the pictures were nothing like as good as before.
(Phew) In the course of all this we also met the couple off the third boat
in the bay which was American.
Walked back over the hill and had a swim before Doug & Kay came over for a
few pre dinner drinks.