42!!! I’ve found it!!

Ros will understand… won’t you!?!? It’s here, taking it all in in the Med. Watching the world slowly slide along. 42. In more ways than one.

Neither one of us slept particularly well last night. It was a bit blowy and we were a little close to our neighbours for good comfort. I probably woke once every few hours and glanced through the hatch to see where their anchor light was. This is certainly one good thing about sailboats…you don’t have to sit up far to see that anchor light…and if you do…well…at least you know they are a fair distance away.

We became conscious finally somewhere around 6:30 am and decided to get underway at about 8 am. Unfortunately…so did our neighbours. We were on the outside, so really, they should have just hung on a few seconds to wait for us but instead they started pulling up inside of us. And, along with their anchor, up came an anchor line for the quay. But they had no one up front and had no idea that they had just lifted (and were attached to) a (semi) permanent anchoring system until we started bellowing at them. Eventually they figured it out and ran someone to the bow to take stock of the anchor.

We had intended to bring the outboard aboard in the harbour but after all that we motored out a bit and waited until they were safely on their way before we maneuvered the motor back on board.

Then we head for Antipaxos. There are no safe overnight anchorages on Antipaxos so we decide we will visit Emerald Bay, a bay we were told to visit four years ago when we were here last. It is supposed to have the most amazing coloured waters. It is only about 10 miles across and we make it there before 11 am…after dodging a ferry and investigating what turns out to be a mutilated surfboard en route. Every time we see something standing out in the water we get nervous that it could be a fishing net so we tend to err on the cautious side.

A large ferry is in the distance heading our way. We keep thinking it will pass astern but then it keeps changing course and continues to head towards us. This feels disconcertingly familiar! We speed up and eventually it’s bearing on us decreases.

Back on track. We arrive at Emerald Bay and have it all to ourselves. Seriously, this is THE most amazing coloured water we have ever see. The water is 5 metres deep below us and we can see every grain of sand. The clarity is astounding!

A few minutes after we anchor another vessel approaches. They seem to value privacy as much as we do and anchor off the small bay to the North of us. They fly a German flag and a small American flag. Interesting combination. And they only stay for about ten minutes before moving on. We are alone in paradise……for the moment. Kirk dives in and quickly swims back to the ladder. I stick my toes in but can’t quite bring myself to dive….not exactly “bath water” as he claims….

We jump in the dinghy and putt about to investigate. We check out the shallow bay to the North, are chastised by the nesting gulls, and watch another boat head in. We cross back over and enter a small sea cave. The area seems almost like an ocean theatre complete with seaside stage and amphitheatre.

As we exit the cave we see a double masted boat heading in….looks big….looks full….Captain Hook has arrived (seriously…that’s the name of the boat…no joke….). It is a day tripper vessel from the mainland that visits Paxos, Antipaxos and the sea caves. They anchor just off us and several people dive in. Looks to be about 40 people on board. Paradise has been shattered.

Kirk says we should prepare to leave. I decide I really must swim here or forever be regretful. More toe dipping ensues…….

Another sailboat arrives and anchors off us. The captain immediately enters the water…..I am further shamed….

Finally, I draw a deep breath and lean forward. F%$!!@! it!!! Just GO! At some point inertia takes over and I reach the point of no return. I dive! I surface and one word exits my mouth…..BRISK!!! It would have been something else…. but there were other people close by.

Kirk says… “Here they come!!” I climb the ladder to see what he is referring to and see no less than 15-20 boats headed our way. It turns out that this is the massive flotilla we encountered at Sivota. We recognize a few people. We feel like we are being invaded. No…really. They boats don’t come in a line….they spread out…in some strange offensive maneuver and seem to turn as one…heading in towards us in an ever tightening circle! It’s like locusts descending on the last plant in a field. Like sharks circling a wounded prey. We can’t get the anchor up fast enough…and as we do…they seem to vie for our spot, the best in the bay…dead centre…we are SO out of here!

Halfway to Paxos we realize we left so fast we did not even lift the swim ladder!

Deep breaths……. we are heading in the opposite direction that the masses again…although we are heading North again.

We pass Gaios where we will head tomorrow, and head for the North tip of Paxos and Lakkas Bay where we intend to anchor. The guide says that one could moor at the quay…but the depths seem a bit less than what we are comfortable with. When we arrive there are only about four boats in ahead of us, all at anchor, and one at the quay. The bay shallows to just over 2.5 metres and then drops to about 5 metres. We anchor in about four metres at the edge and draw back to sit off another sailboat’s bow.

What a stunning little bay. The colour of the water is beyond believe. We jump in the dinghy and head ashore for a visit. It’s a really cool little town complete with taverna that promises Strangbow! Yes, I want a Strongbow for my birthday. Alas…it hasn’t arrive yet from Athens. We settle for an Irish cider that is good…but not as good…..and a darn sight more expensive. Oh well. We ask about internet service. I managed to pick up a wifi signal from the boat but it is locked. The woman points to the end of the quay. When we stop in however, there are two internet dedicated computers int he corner and the fellow says he knows he has wifi ability, but he has lost the password to unlock it and doesn’t understand how it works so can’t offer it to us. This is familiar, we encountered something similar on Seriphos when we were in the Cyclades. 7.5 Euros per hour is criminal and we decline. Perhaps we will find a signal in Gaois later tomorrow.

We visit the market, pick up a ton of tomatoes and some other fruits and veggies. We are turning into vegetarians here since meat is so expensive. Four small sausages for almost 5 Euros. We need wine….found a new one…two-eighty-five. It sounds like we are being cheap… but the reality is that the best wine here is the stuff that the locals drink. They call it barrel wine. And we are looking for the good stuff.

We buy our provisions and head back to the boat. The evenings entertainment is just beginning. The flotilla has arrived. It doesn’t matter where one goes….the dock and the anchorage are always choice places for entertainment.

We, and all the other boats at anchor are watching the dock and the goings on with berthing. I’m sure that we will be part of the entertainment eventually, but tonight we are safely anchored. Another vessel comes in and drops anchor just off our bow. Part of us grumbles about how close they have just dropped hook. But then we think about Canada vs other parts of the world. We are spoiled by the amount of natural space we have available to us. We really have such a small population and such a large landmass that I think we have all become jealous of personal “space” and that we feel accustomed to it in Canada. When we travel (or perhaps I should say when I travel) we like to have lots of space. Not everyone is accustomed to so much personal space as we are. So when I think “why must they come so close…” Maybe I should realize that it doesn’t seem close to everyone.

Kirk points out something I did not notice. In the Cyclades, every town was dominated by a chapel. Here it is not. While we did hear the church bells ringing out in Sivota in the morning and in teh evening. We haven’t heard them since.

Kirk offers a birthday dinner out…but we have leftover spaghetti and I love spaghetti when it has had a day or two to meld flavours. So that and a Greek salad round out a yummy meal. The wine we bought is actually very good. Hopefully they will have several bottles so we can stock up tomorrow.

The light level drops, the birds go quiet and human laughter fills the bay.

Tomorrow we move on to Gaois.