Frikes to Varthi - Ithaca

At 11:15 on the 16th June we reluctantly and lethargically started the engines readying ourselves to move on. Destination Vathi on Ithaka, same island, vastly different place. Moments before we cast off, we were stopped and presented with this gift from the townsfolk.

Odysseus. Google it... really cool, the perfect thoughtful gift and guardian for our boat.

We will return to Frikes at some time in the future. We felt so at home there and it is right up there in our top three places to stay.

Graeme and Kate's mates, Dave and Steve caught up with us in separate yachts in Frikes. These guys are sailing single handed and Steve is 70 years of age. Graeme and Kate were to sail on with them to other parts and Sal and I wanted to check out Vathi.

I'll start by quoting the Ithaka tourist guide...

"Vathi has been the capital and port of the island since the 16th century. It is the biggest settlement on the island, built like an amphitheater, natural horseshoe harbour in the depth of a closed bay, whence its name of Vathi, meaning 'deep'. Vathi is surrounded by mountains and hills, while the strange shape of the port forces ships to turn left twice in order to approach it. Due to its natural form, Vathi is considered to be the most picturesque of Mediterranean ports and the safest in Greece.

Well it is breathtaking! Still feeling bereft after leaving Frikes it was hard to appreciate or connect with Vathi. As I have said, travel and goodbyes go hand in hand, but we are pleased we did make the move to Vathi. Breathtaking in scale and natural beauty, this place has to be on the bucket list for Grecian stops. We arrived 2:30 in the afternoon, and having been here by car, we had sussed exactly where we wanted to moor and found the spot empty on arrival.

This photo does the place little justice. This is the entrance spoken about in the quote above and it lives up to the hype. Dramatic, picturesque and comfortingly protected.

Med Moored opposite the town square in the centre of the action. Before nightfall we were fully accompanied by new arrivals on either side of us.

Safely moored. Kids off on their bikes. Tummy announcing lunch time and a cold glass of Rose on the helm seat to kick it all off. Perfect.

We found this lovely spot for lunch right on the bay, but there was an eerie quiet about the place. As Sal put it, it was like a facade or movie set. When we inquired of the Taverna, the town is owned by foreigners who come in July and August but until then, all these houses around the harbour are boarded up.

The town explodes during that time and I'm not sure I'd like to be there then either. Suffice to say, it is a spectacular port, but hard to get under the skin.

And so we decided, that because we had panned to meet Beat, Deborah and Luca somewhere on Cephalonia we'd head for Fiskardo on the northern tip of the island.




At 12:10 on the 17th June, we weighed anchor. As usual it came up caked in mud and the normal way to solve this problem, and this is a major plus for the Catamaran, you simply leave it submerged and drag it along until clean. On a monohull the anchor would simply tear a hole in the bow.

However, on this occasion, just below the surface was as far as the anchor would rise. A solenoid on the windlass failed and she would not come up. Fortunately is was almost there and could be manually raised with effort, but now we, in effect, had no anchor....

This meant finding somewhere where we knew we could go along side. Somewhere where we knew we could get it fixed, somewhere other than Fiskardo..... Yep, you got it, we are back in Lefkas!!!

It is unlikely I will be blogging from here on this occasion, but you never know!