.Gulf of Patras (West of Corinth Canal)

Olympia and its history are really interesting but there are other places in Greece that are calling for our attention.  We set off early to avoid the prevailing NW winds on our way towards the Gulf of Patras and Corinth.  Our first visit was Messalonghi, which has to be reached via a long dredged canal between salt marshes. The houses along this canal are built on stilts, reminding one more of houses in Asia than Greek houses, as we know them – whitewashed houses with blue windows and doors.  The town itself was not very imposing, although we must admit we were so disappointed by the look of it that we did not even give it a chance but stayed on board without even bothering to dinghy in and explore!

 

Perhaps it was also because we were waiting with great anticipation a phone call from Malta.  Normally its only Mikey who calls from home, but today it was the rest of Vicki’s family who was in our thoughts.  And finally, in the early evening dusk the phone range we learnt that what we have in reality been waiting for since last year on 10th June 2001 in Medemblik, Ijsselmeer in Holland.  The contract of sale for a large piece of family property had finally been signed and Vicki was now economically ”comfortably off”.   We partied well into the night on Sunray’s aft-deck.  Maybe because destiny should have it that we were in the most boring part of the world just on that day when we had most wanted to go out and have fun, we made our own fun instead – the aft-deck was the dance floor, the music was full on, and while the stars and the moon had to do for disco lights, we still managed to celebrate until the early hours!

In good humour, but with some headaches, we now set our course onwards through the narrow seas that join the Gulf of Patras and the Gulf of Corinth. To Navpaktos or Lepanto as it used to be known in the ancient days.  The medieval harbour of Navpaktos is really very small and cramped, but so picturesque.  Here we moored right on the steps leading to the town centre.  This is where the Battle of Lepanto took place in 1571; where Christianity finally defeated the Turkish Empire, and where galleys were last used in sea battles.   Malta and Lepanto had also another thing in common, that the Knights of St. John both here in Greece and in Malta were very much involved in the battles that took place here more than 400 years ago. 

Next day we trudged up the top of the mountain to visit the old castle and the grounds there.   It was an overcast morning threatening rain but we set off anyway, armed with our plastic “ponchos” to protect us!  Rain, wind and thunder did not stop us and we had a really pleasant, but long, walk up and down through the forest. The view was worth every minute of it.

Our next stop was Trizonia, a small island east of Navpaktos in the Gulf of Corinth.  The locals say that Onassis tried to buy this island.  Trizonia lies just one mile away from the north coast of the Gulf.  It is all green, with small pathways over the whole island for fantastic walks through olive groves, down to the isolated little beaches.  There are no cars on the island either apart from Maria’s little tractor.  Maria is the old lady who runs the only shop on the island.  There is a water taxi that can ferry people over to the mainland, one hotel, 3 tavernas and a church.

Messalongi, Navpaktos and Trizonia were all these places recommended to us by Bjarne and Sherry on the new impressing boat “Danese” whom we had met up with in Corfu Town. 

Northwards bound to Delphi and Athens

Our focus is now on Athens where Vicki’s son Mike will be soon joining us. Our plan is to leave the boat in Itea and bus it to Athens where, after collecting Mike, we intend to spend a few days in a hotel in order to visit the Acropolis and all the other sights of this city.  So we sailed towards Galaxidi which is a very pretty town just south of Itea, also recommended to us by “Danese”.  “Beware of the drunken man,” they had warned us, but luckily we did not see him … ! (read on and find out why we were lucky!).   Unfortunately we did see, and meet, the Port Police, so after many weeks of avoiding paying for our Greek Cruising Permit, we finally had to cough up 104 Euros for the pleasure of being the proud owners of an A3 size paper on which we can collect rubber stamps from all the harbours we visit – lucky eh?   This, according to EU regulations is an illegal tax that Greece asks all cruising yachts to pay, and which amongst many others, the Danish Sailing Organisation is protesting about.

On arrival in Itea, an unfinished, but well protected harbour, we saw “Pause” the French catamaran we were moored next to in Navpaktos, so we tied up next to them, but we also noticed another Danish boat here, “Eos”.  We soon met up with the owners, Frank, Birthe and Balder their Alsatian dog.  We had a long chat with them on board “Eos” where we gained a lot of useful information about the area, the town, and travel details for Delphi and Athens. 

We also found out more about the “drunken man of Galaxidi”.  He is now sitting in prison, after having stabbed a Frenchman who was visiting the town in his yacht.   Phew, lucky it was not one of the members of Sunray that met with this crazy man!

You’ll hear more about  EOS later  ….

Delphi, the Navel of the Earth

Next morning we set off early to catch our bus that would take us up the mountains to the Sanctuary of Delphi, Apollo’s Temple and the famous Oracle of Delphi.   The bus drive up to Delphi itself is worth it, to see the acres upon acres of olive trees planted in the plains and valleys.  Now we can better understand the expression always used in the books of Greek Mythology that we read: “a carpet of green”, because when viewed from the top of the mountains that is exactly what the trees look like. The Sanctuary is built into the side of the mountains, below Mount Parnassus and is the largest religious “monument” in all Greece.  The first Oracle here was dedicated to Mother Earth. Also Poseidon, Themis and later Apollo were worshipped here.

But what really was the ”Oracle”?

First of all, there was not one, but many “oracles”, of which the most important was in Delphi.  Next, the Oracle was a person and not an object, and always a person of the weaker, but obviously wiser, sex.  

An “Oracle” would go into a form of trance so as to be able to look into the future.  At Delphi, the Oracle would drink from the holy stream of Castalian and chew laurel leaves, which were poisonous so as to go into such a trance.    However, her “wise” words about the future were not clear and exact but were mostly riddles and difficult to understand, and it was mostly up to the person who asked for an oracle who had to figure out what would happen in his future.  We took some examples of Oracles of Delphi from the stories we have read in Greek Mythology on this trip to explain better:

Hercules, son of Zeus and Alcmene was told by the Oracle of Delphi about the 12 tasks he had to foretake in order to receive pardon from the gods for killing his own 3 children.

The Trojan War, and Helen of Troy, the most beautiful queen in Greece, were both foretold by the Oracle.

Imagine if we could also have an Oracle, so that we could look into the future.  Our dream would be to see more places and meet more people while cruising on board Sunray. 

 

Delphi was not only a place of worship, but also a place for noble competitions: both in poetry and in games.  The Pan Hellenic Games which started here and which we had already learnt about in Olympia were a big event in those times. Originally the competitions were for music and poetry but later running, wrestling and horseracing were also included in the games.  The winners received an olive branch and the right to place a small statue of themselves in this holy place.