Mamma Mia was calling and so were the Sporade Islands. It was in these beautiful northern Greek Islands that the movie was filmed. We’d seen it one wet and miserable day in Colchester in the UK and decided we just had to visit.
Northern Greece was a real surprise. We only went as it seemed a sensible place to head after Gallipoli and then work our way south with the wind behind us. We didn’t expect to fall in love with the uncrowded anchorages and remote islands quite so much and wished we’d had more time. As it was we lingered far longer than the few weeks we had initially set aside.
Our first stop in northern Greece was Samothraki – a beautiful island with an intriguing history thanks to its pre Greek inhabitants, the Kabeiri. They built an astonishing temple/city on the north coast and we biked there one hot day and enjoyed exploring the ruins. One of the statues taken from this historic site was the Winged Victory of Samothrace which is now on show at the Louvre.
From Samothraki we headed to Thasos, another equally remote and non touristy island. We particularly enjoyed the trip we took by ancient bus into a remote mountain village and had a delicious lunch of goat on a spit. The beaches on Samothraki were wonderful- crushed marble – but it was still too cold to swim being only early May! But we made up for the lack of swimming by biking miles each day and exploring.
The Halkidiki is a three pronged peninsula that just down from mainland Greece. The easternmost prong is Akti, commonly known as Mt Athos – with no road access from the mainland it is essentially a water access men only “island”. Home to dozens of monasteries precariously perched on seemingly inaccessible hillsides…it’s an astonishing place.
Women are not allowed anywhere near the island – until recently even female animals weren’t allowed (until they realised it was the female of the species that produces goods like eggs, milk etc!!!). Boats with women on are meant to stay several miles offshore but we figured we weren’t going to get shot at! Anchoring is impossible due to weather so we just sailed on by and headed for the much more welcoming Sinthonian Peninsula.
As we pulled in to the harbour we were met by a local who took our mooring lines and told us we could stay as long as we liked for free. “We welcome visitors,” he said. And stay we did, enjoying this place immensely.
From there it was a lovely downhill run to the Sporades – Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnisos, Peristeri, Pelagos and Skiros. We absolutely loved the beautiful Sporades.
We spent most time on beautiful Alonnisos….a very non touristy island. It was here that David’s first grandchild Harry was born arriving at a very sociable hour for us…..4pm Greek time. We wet Harry’s head in fine style starting with ouzo, moving to beer and red wine and finishing with a bottle of bubbly. Then we rowed back to Bandit across a busy harbour in the dark….hmmmm! Responsible grandparents we think not.
The best thing about the Sporades is they miss the Meltemi – it doesn’t seem to get this far west. Winds are generally light and temperatures warm. Not many cruising boats get up this far so it is very uncrowded and there are some beautiful anchorages. We reluctantly left in mid July as we had friends coming to the Cyclades.
Gallipoli was always on Bandit’s Mediterranean itinerary and both our bucket lists. We certainly weren’t going to let a little Greek Meltemi wind get in our way, were we? Well…that was the theory until one particularly nasty uphill bash when we took a greenie onboard and into the cockpit and galley. As we anchored in a sheltered bay that night we reconsidered….but decided we were too close to give up, so on we battled.
Everyone had told us if we headed north early we’d miss the Meltemi and that’s why we left Marmaris in early May, but it didn’t quite work that way. Never mind - the lure of Gallipoli and its history was too strong and the long trip north was very worthwhile.
As a journalist I’d covered dozens of Anzac Day ceremonies and been lucky enough to interview a handful of veterans. Nonetheless nothing quite prepared us for the emotion we felt on the beautifully calm day we arrived, allowing us to anchor right in Anzac Cove.
We stopped first at the Turkish Memorial on the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula, in the Dardanelles. This astonishing monument towers over the landscape and Bandit looked tiny anchored in the bay beneath. From there we motored around to Anzac Cove, passing the flattish ground of Kabatepi, where the Anzac troops were meant to land, to the inhospitable land further north, now called Anzac Cove.
Rowing ashore and landing at the memorial was a humbling experience and few words were spoken as we wandered through the haunting graveyards. Feeling quite emotionally drained we returned to Kabatepi and left Bandit in the marina there for a further land based expedition to Lone Pine and Chanuk Bair.
We managed to find an English speaking taxi driver who spent several hours taking us around this astonishing site. He was interesting and informative and well worth the $20 he charged us.
We felt exhausted when we got back to Bandit as the sun was setting. The Kabatepi harbour was not a pretty spot and as we were thinking about preparing dinner we heard voices at our stern. The Turkish neighbours on a charter diving boat were standing there with a huge platter of stuffed mussels. They didn’t speak much English but had recognised our New Zealand flag and wanted to offer hospitality. The mussels were absolutely delicious and we polished off the entire dish……a very nice way to end our time on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Next morning we headed away and had a fantastic sail to the Greek Island of Samothraki, accompanied by dolphins for much of the way.
The funniest thing we ever saw in the gorgeous Aegean island of Lesbos was a poster advertising a local school play – Benjamin the Lesbian. Took us a while to realise that, it wasn’t a play about gays……but that if you come from Lesbos, then you are a Lesbian. Just like if you come from Marlborough you are a Marlburian.
Lesbos attracts homosexual lesbians for a completely different reason. Sappho the poet once lived on the island and apparently left her husband to run off with a woman. She gained a following amongst the homosexual world who now flock here. Locals, by the way, deny she was gay – but readily admit she was a Lesbian (from Lesbos!). Apparently that is where the word lesbian comes from. 
Our arrival in the port town of Plomari didn’t go that well. In most Greek ports you tie up to the town dock (often for free) and check in with port police which we did. Next morning a policeman arrived at Bandit bristling with authority and asked to speak to the skipper. He announced that there was a problem with our paperwork. “I need to see your passports immediately – I understand you have been to Turkey”. Our mouths went dry. We had been back and forwards to Turkey and hadn’t bothered to clear in and out each time.
Next thing, the policeman burst into laughter and said “ha – I play a joke on you – I am a Kiwi too”. Turns out he was born in Wellington and went to school there before returning to Lesbos with his Greek parents who had fled to New Zealand after the war. He’d seen our paperwork the night before and figured that, like every other cruiser, we’d probably been to Turkey without clearing in and out – hence his “trick”. Kaldis turned out to be a charming chap and later that day brought his ageing father along to meet us.
He explained the problem with Turkey. Every night up to 100 illegal immigrants – mostly from countries further afield such as Iran and even Pakistan – crossed into Lesbos from Turkey. Keeping an eye on all boats including cruising yachts, was a matter of course.
We loved Lesbos. We hired a car for 16 euro ($32) and the chap gave us a rough roadmap and off we went. We took an anti clockwise route around the island and when we got to the top we looked at the map to see if we could take a short cut back to Bandit through the middle – we could, so we did.
Big mistake! The road was like a New Zealand forestry road – rough, potholed and metal - and it turned out to be a very slow (but scenically spectacular) route. When we dropped the car off the man was most unhappy to see it covered with dust! We didn’t tell him about the puncture we got either.
From Plomari we headed around to Molyvos – an equally gorgeous port on the west side of the island. We couldn’t believe so few tourists come here- they don’t know what they are missing out on.
On the way to Lesbos we stopped at a number of islands that are well off the beaten track. Most we’d never heard of – such as Agathonisi or Lipsi – and everytime we thought we’d found our favourite Greek Island. Then we’d go on and find the next one even more beautiful!
Lipsi is so isolated it doesn’t have any medical facilities so once a year a team of doctors and nurses visits by boat for a round of clinics. Islanders celebrate by dressing up to meet the fleet. School children dress in costume, bands play, wine flows and the spit roasts are fired up. It was an amazing celebration that seemed to go all night – how on earth the doctors were fit enough to hold clinics the next day I don’t know!
Kalymnos was memorable for all the wrong reasons. We came in seeking shelter as there was a screaming Meltemi blowing. We figured the port would be sheltered but it wasn’t. In Greece you go stern to the dock and while Bandit goes well backwards, she doesn’t co-operate in 30 knots of wind. The space was narrow and it took us several attempts to get in. We were very relieved when someone appeared to take our mooring lines – I didn’t fancy having to leap from the stern to the dock on top of all the stress we’d already had!
We loved these rugged Aegean Islands and ended up visiting some of them several times – on our way up to northern Greece and again on our way back down.
At the end of each summer sailing season we like to do a bit of inland travel before heading to the UK for a long winter working. Travelling by boat is fantastic but you often are restricted to seeing the coast and coastal towns unless you make an effort and venture inland.
After a fantastic few months sailing in southern Turkey in 2008, we opted to leave Bandit in Marmaris, which presented opportunities for exploring inland. We’d heard lots about the Cappadocia region and decided it would be a good place to head. People had spoken about the amazing landscape, strange rock formations and cave houses…..but nothing quite prepared us for this spectacular place.
The only bus from Marmaris to the town of Goreme in Cappadocia was an overnight one but the service was said to be luxurious. We’re always dubious but were pleasantly surprised to find a huge air conditioned bus with reclining seats, television screens and waiter service. It would have been fine if the locals hadn’t chatted the entire trip or watched the movie with the volume turned high. With all that happening as well as several toilet stops and the waiter parading up and down the aisle with apple tea – we didn’t get much sleep.
We arrived in Goreme at 5.30am – just as the sky was lightening. Our hotel wasn’t expecting us until 9am so we sat at a cafe sipping apple tea weighing up our options. Didn’t take long for us to be spotted by an eagle eyed hot air balloon tout who offered us a dirt cheap dawn ride. Seemed as good a way as any to start the day!
He whisked us off to a paddock on the outskirts of town where the very first balloons from the pre-dawn flight were landing. They made a spectacular sight as they glided over the landscape before gently coming to earth. Before we had a chance to change our minds (or check safety issues) we were being ushered into the big cane basket.
Hot air ballooning is huge in Cappadocia – the balloons are a magnificent sight as they fly at dawn and dusk weather permitting. It’s an almost ethereal experience to drift above the amazing lunar landscape. We got pretty high in our balloon which gave a panoramic view but it was more fun when we dropped low and glided between the phallic like limestone towers that dot the area.
After the hour long ride we landed smoothly in a paddock and were served a champagne breakfast. What a fantastic start to our magical week in Cappadocia.
We’d booked our cave hotel on the internet and got a pretty good deal and were stunned to find our room luxuriously appointed and the rate ($40) included a huge breakfast of fresh fruit, nuts, cheeses, meats and breads as well as plenty of hot options. There were some great areas to just chill and enjoy the wonderful views.
Cappadocia presents many hiking opportunities and, armed with a good map, we set off on several long walks through amazing gorges and lush valleys. On one walk we stumbled across a Turk in the middle of nowhere brewing up apple tea over an open fire and selling it for $1 a cup. Enterprising but he was hardly doing a roaring trade!
One day we hired a motorbike so we could explore further afield. We discovered a town where fruit grown throughout Turkey is stored in huge underground caves. Because the fruit is stored in a natural environment with even temperatures it lasts for ages which probably explains why we can buy delicious stone fruit all season.
The country we rode through was astonishing – amazing sculpted rocks shaped and weathered by thousands of years of volcanoes, rain, sun and wind. Everywhere you would see holes in the rocks where people had carved out caves. Many of these cave refuges were used by villagers as cold storage or wine cellars. In some areas hiding places were carved into the tops of towering rocks and it is said the religious people hid here to avoid persecution from invaders.
Some rock formations looked as if they had been created for a movie set and in fact one of the first Star Wars was filmed here.
Another day we took an organised tour to an area of extensive underground villages. These were built so the residents could hide when there was a threat of invasion. The underground villages were amazingly complex with kitchens, sleeping areas, areas for animals and all accessed through narrow, winding tunnels and steps.
We also visited a vineyard – the hot and dry climate of Cappadocia is perfect for growing grapes. Cultivation was mostly done by hand and not many of the grapes we saw were trellised.
We absolutely loved our time in Cappadocia and one of the highlights was eating out and sampling the regional foods. A specialty of Cappadocia is food slow cooked in a clay pot over hot coals. The pot is brought to the table and broken open. Other times we’d go for mezze which was always a magnificent selection of beautifully prepared and presented vegetables such as marinated eggplant, olives, fried peppers, stuffed tomatoes and vine leaves.
What surprised us was just how basic life in Cappadocia is. We often saw women gathering firewood, picking fruit or vegetables and men tending small flocks of sheep or goats. Few had cars – most seemed to use horse and cart, ancient tractors or just hoist things on their shoulders. In fact the only people who appeared to be affluent were the dozens of carpet sellers who ran fairly slick operations.
From Goreme we flew to Istanbul where we enjoyed a few days wandering the Grand Bazaar, visiting the Blue Mosque and soaking up the sights in this east meets west city. Highlight was visiting the magnificent underground Basilica Cistern – a complex water storage tank right underneath the streets of Istanbul. Built from marble in the 6th century, during the prosperous east Roman Empire rule, it was used to store water carted in from a spring 80 km away.
We did get a bit sick of being hassled…mainly by those aforementioned slick carpet sellers! But, when the price was too good we refuse, we couldn’t resist picking up a few pieces to add to the collection rapidly filling Bandit’s storage lockers.
Then it was onto London for another winter house and animal sitting.
