Yesterday we left Mesolonghi early still without a decision on our final destination. Fortunately, it wasn’t a pressing matter, no matter which of our ports we ultimately choose, we start off by going down the channel and turning right.
The weather was much better, the wind that had brought the clouds, rain, thunderstorms and sand (what, no plague of locusts?) had reverted to a more normal strength and direction but was still quite cold. We motored into the wind for a while and decided that we would make it a short day and spend the afternoon and evening in Petallas, a remote bay on the mainland just south of Astokos.
This is a lovely shallow bay that is pretty sheltered and has a beautiful panorama of water, hills and mountains with almost no habitation in sight. Lori parked very smoothly and we settled down for a lazy day. Tomorrow we will sail the 20 miles due west to Vathi on Ithaca.
The night was windier than forecast but was otherwise uneventful. Given the short distance we had to go, we had a leisurely start and motored off in gentle winds westwards to Vathi. About halfway over, we decided that, even though the winds are light, it would be fun to sail (slowly) to our destination. We are a little rewarded by the winds picking up to about 7 knots and we “purposefully drift” at about 4 knots the rest of the way. Ever optimistic, we convince ourselves that the wind is less cold and the sun warmer than previously. Maybe the summer is arriving at last. The Greeks look like they will be glad to cast off their padded gilets and long pants. And so will we.
This is the second place on our journey called “Vathi” and there is a third one just a few miles north of here but on a different island. Apparently the name comes from the word meaning "deep". Certainly the places we know with this name resemble that remark. Today’s one is known as “Big Vathi” and is the capital of Ithaca. It is a large landlocked bay with the town on the hills around it.
Like many towns in this area it was very extensively damaged in the earthquake of 1953. It has been rebuilt with modern homes but retains a charm and an evident work ethic. We are tucked into the North East corner of the bay (which we have not done before) and want to see how sheltered this spot is from the afternoon winds which can blow into here with some force.
For those of you with any elements of a classical education in your past, you will recall that Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s Odyssey, is supposed to have lived in a palace on Ithaca. Although it is disputed one possible location is in a little town called Stavros just up on the hill above tomorrows planned stopover, Kioni.