You know you’re relaxed when…

Ionian Islands, Greece

Have you ever been so chilled on a vacation that you think your departure is a day later than it really is? That’s what happened to Tim and Teresa while visiting us on Berkeley East.

When we first heard from brother Tim that they wanted to join us in Greece, he gave us their dates and asked where to meet up. We said we didn’t know. We weren’t trying to be difficult, we just never know exactly where the wind, or lack of wind, will take us. First we thought Crete. Or maybe we could pick them up in Santorini. Then, probably, somewhere on the Peloponnesus. They were prepared for all options and finally climbed aboard BE in Kalamata.

With two girls in college, this was their first big trip since Tim retired, and Teresa was about to do the same. We wanted their time with us to be fun, but we also wanted them to experience the cruising life. So we asked when they had to leave, “Wednesday, July 14th” was the response, and we made a plan. We gave them about an hour to get acclimated to the boat and off we went on a whirlwind trip from Kalamata through the Ionian Islands to Preveza, with fourteen stops in eleven days.

Larry and Tim grew up sailing after their father, Big Lar, took a Red Cross sailing course and bought part ownership in “Rainbow” a Coronado 25. Stories of the family sailing trips are very entertaining, with the parents and four young children traveling about on a 25-foot boat. Berkeley East is 54 feet long and often feels too small for the two of us. We all enjoyed Big Lar’s second boat, the “Irish Rover,” so to be back together sailing again was great.

Our first stop was Koroni, a small town on the Peloponnesus. Here, we introduced Tim and Teresa to something we seem to do in every port, fort exploration, with a Byzantine fortress built in the 6th and 7th centuries AD.

Next was Methoni, where we found a bigger and better fort, and celebrated the Fourth of July with hot dogs and corn on the cob.

On to Porto, a tiny bay with just enough room for Berkeley East. No fort, but a nice little monastery.

At this point we talked again about when they had to leave, “Wednesday, the 14th of July,” and where we might drop them off. With everyone up for a long day, we were off to Zakynthos in the Ionian Islands (where they could catch a flight to Athens) to begin our search for caves, beaches and photo ops.

The island of Zakynthos is perhaps best known for its turtles, caves and famous Navagio Beach, or Shipwreck Beach. More than a beach, it is an actually an exposed cove sometimes referred to as “Smugglers Cove,” and has been so named since 1983, when the alleged smuggler ship Panagiotis was wrecked on the beach while transporting cigarettes. The area is defined by its sheer limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, and clear blue water, which attract thousands of tourists yearly. This strip of beach can only be accessed by boat. We snapped pics from land above Shipwreck and later took Berkeley East in to anchor off and see the ship up close and personal. We spent two days exploring the island by dinghy, boat and car.

We could have taken more time to tour, but the wind was up so we decided we should go sailing. It was only 20 miles to the island of Kefalonia and it had an airport for Tim and Teresa’s departure on “Wednesday, July 14th.” Perfect!

Kefalonia was another island to be seen from both land and sea, which we did. From the subterranean Melissani cave-lake, to the gorgeous Myrtou Bay, to the Agios Gerasimos monastery, decorated with intricate Byzantine style murals. Nature and history led us to wine tasting at the local cooperative, and a small family-run winery where even the dog got into the tour. It was a well-rounded island visit, but we were ready to move on.

With just three days left, where could we go? They could get a bus or taxi out of Lefkada, or a shuttle from Preveza. “How far to Corfu?” asked Tim. “No, we cannot get to Corfu by Wednesday, July 14th” was the Captain’s reply.

So Preveza was the decision and a shuttle to the Athens airport was booked. And off we went again, this time north along the coast of Lefkada to admire the beautiful beaches before heading south to anchor in Agios Nikolas on Ithaka for some snorkeling.

We were all comfortable that we finally had a plan for Tim and Teresa’s “Wednesday, July 14th” departure. So we relaxed and sailed west to the island of Missolonghi, only to find that it was packed with charter boats. It was now prime charter season and we were in prime charter boat territory.

Plan “B” took us to our favorite Ionian Island, Skorpios. But we were very sad to find that this little haven is now off limits. Since our last visit to Skorpios three years ago, the granddaughter of Aristotle Onassis sold the island to the daughter of a Russian billionaire who has surrounded the island with buoys, no anchoring signs and large guards ready to chase off anyone who gets too close. Plan “C” was the “not-so-tranquil” anchorage of Tranquil Bay and a hike to the waterfalls on Lefkada. It was a busy day with lots of changes in plan, but we were still on the right path to the final destination of Preveza.

For our last afternoon and evening out, we found a nice shallow anchorage at Varkos Bay where we could relax and swim. It had been a very busy, very fun 11 days. During our second pitcher of Cava Sangria, Tim got a text message from their driver confirming their pickup the next day. We all looked at each other, a little annoyed that the driver had the wrong day, they were not due to be picked up until the following day. For some reason, before writing back to inform the driver of his mistake, Tim checked the calendar and discovered that the driver was right, while their departure was on July 14th, July 14th was Tuesday, not Wednesday. Luckily, we were only 30 miles from their pickup point, so after lunch and a quick swim, we raised the anchor and off we went down the Lefkada channel, through the bridge, to the marina where they were able to make their 6:00 am pickup.

We were happy that Tim and Teresa enjoyed their time so much that they didn’t even know what day they were leaving. But all future guests to Berkeley East will be required to show us their official travel itinerary upon boarding!