One if By Land Two If By Sea

Category: Travel 2023

  • TE in the Ionian 2023

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    From Epidauros we headed for the Corinthian canal arriving about 10 am to process our paperwork and pay the fee. Within the hour we were underway for a passage thru this amazing cut traveling with a couple of other boats.

    The Gulf of Corinth is not very interesting so we decided to take advantage of the calm seas and push the 120 miles out to Missolonghi so we would be positioned to make the run to the island of Zakinthos were we planned to meet Luke and Veronica. Missolonghi turned out to look more like the intercoastal than Greece with its long docks and fishing shacks.

    With Luke and Veronica on board had a chance to catch up on their activities since we last saw them in Oslo. Next stop was Ithaca with some great swimming along the way. From there we headed to Lefkada where Luke and Veronica left us and headed to Paris. With about a week before we were scheduled to meet the Nobles in Lefkada, we decided to head back down to the Island of Kefalonia.

    Our first stop was Agia Effimia with its crystal clear waters. We then moved the boat down to Sami then rented a car to tour the island. Lots of mountain roads, goats, terraced hillsides, beaches and quaint seaside villages. Moving up north again, we stopped in Syvota on the south end of Lefkada where once again we were in a majority sailboat harbor. Back to the marina at Lefkada where we joined up with Charles and Melorie Noble.

    After an overnight at Preveza on the mainland, we head up to Paxos, about a forty mile run. Paxos turned out to be one of our favorite islands where we spend three days in three different harbors. The north side of the island is very steep rock cliffs with many caves at water level. Dan managed to back the boat all the way into one of the caves. Leaving Paxos we head for Corfu with a last swim stop along the way for the Nobles.

    At Corfu we stayed in the marina at the Fortress. From the marina one is required to pass thru this enormous fortress to get to the charming town of Corfu. With our last guest departing and having arrived at True East’s winter home, we still had ten days before our departure from Greece. We moved the boat over to Gouvia Marina, then rented a car to tour the island of Corfu for a couple of days.

    Returning to Gouvia, we met with our Greek friend Costis and Ilias who will oversee the works on the boat over the winter. Having gone over the list, we decided to give Ilias time to get some of his team together to ponder our requests. So it was off again, this time to visit the northern and western most Greek Islands. Both we small and primarily owned by Americans of Greek decent. A great many Greeks migrated to America after WWII . Back at the marina, we met again with Ilias and team and put the boat to bed for the winter.

    TE Ionian Islands 2023

  • Greek Pelopennese 2023

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    We returned to Athens and headed over to Glyfada where True East has be on the hard for five weeks. Back on the water we were joined by our friends from Coconut Grove, Wes and Alexis.

    After a forty mile run, we arrived at Poros that would be our base for the next week or so. We explored the island by land and by water and found it to be one of our favorite islands. Nearby is the island of Hyda where no motorized vehicles are allowed and the harbor is a zoo. Taking the ferry over turned out to be the right way to go. With Wes and Alexis we had a memorable cliffside lunch.

    From Poros we went around to Porto Cheli that has a ferry connection to Athens. Wes and Alexis left us here, a few days later Carla and Jane joined us. From Port Help we headed to Ermioni with a stop at Spetses Island. It was then back to Poros where Carla and Jane departed back to Athens. From Poros, the four of us took a road trip around the Pelopennese with an overnight in Nafpilion with its fantastic fortress. From there we visited the ruins at Mycenae and then to the Corinthian Canal for a view of our future passage thru this wonder.

    Back to Poros where Kristi and Gigi joined us for what turned out to be an adventure. Given the winds we were experiencing, Dan decided it would be better to go around the Pelopenneses rather than going back up north thru the canal. The plan was to head across the Argolic Gulf with a following sea and run 100 miles down to the south eastern tip at Neapolis. Well it was a following sea; however, it built to 6-8 footers that we were running at 25 knots…an unpleasant couple of hours. Rounding the tip, Dan anticipated we were be in the lee and out of the wind; instead the wind can roaring down the side of the mountain with 40-50 mile and hour gusts blowing out our sun shade.

    We did find shelter in Egina and took the ferry over to the delightful island of Kythira and the special stop of Aviemonas. It turns out there were no airports on the Pelopennese; however, there was one on Kythira so Gigi and Kristi left us there. Having decided that going around the Pelopennese was a bad idea, Dan plotted a course back up north to Epidavros, 150 miles away. Off we went on a calm day making a fuel stop at Poros and arriving mid afternoon. This would be our jumping off point for passage thru the Corinthian Canal.

    TE Peloponis 2023

  • Scotland 2023

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    In order to escape the heat and madness of the Med during July and August, our plan was to head to Scotland for a three week road trip around the country. On route we thought it would be nice to visit Per and Cherri in their new home outside of Nice in France, then to see Graham and Beatrix at their home on the Isle of Man.

    Consistent with the rest of the summer, as we tried to board our flight from Athens to Nice, we were informed that France would not accept Dan’s temporary passport…scratch that visit and head to Barcelona. We stayed for a few days there and had dinner with the Barcelona Boys who will be returning again for New Years.

    Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea. In the winter it gets 50 hours of sunshine per MONTH, but it’s a great tax haven. It is about one quarter the size of Rhode Island. The Boltons have a lovely home there with a wonderful group of friends. We were fortunate enough to be included in one of their dinner parties and spent our days touring the island.

    Starting in Edinburgh we walked the city from end to end and found a wonderful bar on Rose Street. The Queens Gallery, Holyrood Palace, the Museum of Edinburgh, St Giles, the National Museum with it’s wonderful ‘Little Black Dress’ exhibit, and finally Royal Yacht Britannia. It was then on to some castles, Down and Sterling, and The National Wallace Monument.

    Headed north, we stopped at St Andrews for lunch on the golf course and on to Dundee, this is clearly golf country. There is a new Victoria and Albert branch museum in Dundee featuring a great exhibit on Tartan. More Castles and fishing ports as we continued up to Aberdeen. The towns up here are really hurting with dismal main streets, then one finds a place like Pennan that had once been a wealthy resort. Crathes Castle was a real standout with magnificent wood works and hand lettered beams. We are now in distillery country. And of course Loch Ness, pretty boring lake.

    At Inverness we discovered that there is a lake and canal system, the Caledonian Canal, that cuts across Scotland, this was the northern end. Getting a little tired of fish and chips and mushy peas…also the needs and tattoos. We did love the ‘non residents welcome’, the ‘haste ye back’ and the ‘we beasties’. Amazingly we did not encounter the midges. Dan got very good at the single lane roads with their ‘maybes’. We will not miss the ‘cattery’, yes that’s for cats, and the ‘holiday parks’, yes that for parking RV’s. Did I mention sheep?

    Headed further north on the single lane roads we decided to pass on the Orkney Islands and instead headed over to Tonge where we spent a couple of days exploring the countryside and found the amazing Durness Beach…very Caribbean with cold water. Moving down the south west coast we stumbled across the Russian Arctic Convoy Museum. Another part of WWII we knew nothing about. In Kodiak we learned about the war in the Aleutians, in Narvik we learned about the was on the northern front. There were 78 convoys with a total of over 1,200 merchant ships taking supplies to Russia. The assembly point for these convoys was Loch Ewe in Scotland, a very large and easily protected bay.

    We kept seeing lobster traps, fishing boats and transport trucks, but no lobsters…everything is exported. We saw lots of fish farms, but no salmon on the menus. Our favorite garden is Achnasheen in Poolewe, it was built in a microclimate with all imported soil. More castles, beautiful moors and wonderful bays all along the coast. We decided to pass on Isle of Skye due to the crowds and instead went to Isle of Mull and on to Iona Island, not much to see here but interesting ferry rides.

    On our way to the next stop, now headed east we stopped at Inverary Castle, one of the gems in Scotland. It was then on to Glascow, a city Dan visited 25 years ago and had no interest in returning. After encouragement from Marcia, we found a rejuvenated Glascow. The city Chambers, the Cathedral, the museums and the Art School along with fine restaurants and shopping. A special treat was the Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre.

    This was certainly an escape from the heat of the Med, our high was 75 degrees and a low of 45. We covered the north pretty well enjoying hills and vales, sheep and the Scottish people.

    Scotland 2023

  • TE in Greek Aegean Islands 2023

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    The process of clearing out of Turkey was easy, entering Greece was another matter. A cruising permit is required for foreign boats in Greece, Dan had registered on line and paid the 1,500 euros by bank transfer; however, he got locked out of the website when trying to get the completed document. He explained this to his ‘agent’ and provided copies of the application and the bank transfer. Greek customs refused the documents because there was no date on the copy of the bank transfer despite the fact that the application was dated and the numbers all matched. Finally it was resolved.

    We rented a car on Lesvos and enjoyed an island tour for a couple of day. Lesvos is known for it’s olives and has a very nice Olive museum. We visited a family run olive oil processing plant, their specialty is an oil where they mix whole lemons into the olive paste. On returning to the boat, we discovered an engine problem. Amazingly, within hours we had a mechanic on board and at 6:30pm he removed a turbo and had it on a boat to Athens the next morning. Instead of hanging around, we took a ferry to Chios and again rented a car. We managed to track down Judge Jasons ancestral home and the house they are renovation. Chios is known as the ‘tears of Mastic’ as Mastic is the main crop on the island as we learned in the wonderful Mastic Museum. There are several wonderful cities on the island, one medical and another covered with amazing patterns. In the ten days we waited for the boat repair, we visited several more islands and came to rate them by the gear we used most on each island.

    Back underway again, we headed south with a stops in Chios and Ikaria. Then on to Samos where we again toured the island before we were joined by the Jennifer and Mark Evans. Typical of this summer, they were originally scheduled to join us in Kos but we never got that far south in Greece; however, we did get to have dinner with the Boltons who were passing thru on the sailing ship Sea Cloud II. With the Evans, we returned to Ikaria and again drove over the mountain to our first port of call there.

    Taking advantage of break in the Meltemi winds, we did a hundred mile run to Antiparos. Here we would greeted by Costis Hadjioannou, a Greek national who happen to own the only other Sabre yacht in Europe. He became our ‘Greek God’ who had boundless resources to aid us, including the only space of the dock in Antiparos. Next stop was Naxos, where we spent four days. The remote control for raising and lower the tender was not working, so we were forced to use of the boats next to us to get on and off the dock. We dropped off the Evans, who were visiting friends on the island, then we got the boat ready for our next guests. As there are no facilities for recreation boats on Santorini, the ferry was the best option for visiting this beautiful but crowded tourist island. On Santorini we met up with Cheryl, Mike and Ed Kisielnicki and spent the night.

    We all took the ferry back to Naxos only to discover that the passarelle on the boat we were using to get on and off our boat was broken. A few hours later we had a welder show up to fix the break….it was that kind of summer. From Naxos we headed up to Kythnos, one of the lesser-known and least explored of the Cyclades isles. In many ways it reminded us of Chefchaouen, the blue city, in Morocco. From there is was into Athens, with a last swim along the way, where we left the boat from mid July to late August. We did this to avoid the extreme heat and crowds in ports as every charter boat in Europe is out cruising. We were also ready to be out of the winds in this part of the Aegean.

    We booked a hotel in Athens near the Acropolis and did all of the normal site seeing things. The new Acropolis Museum is terrific and should be visited prior to going to the actual ruins.

    TE Greek E Aegean 2023

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  • TE on Turkish Coast 2023

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    True East finally arrived in Marmaris on May 31. We met with our agent to handle the required paperwork with Customs and Immigration, Dan was now missing his passport. Turkiye has strictest rules and the best set up for handling ‘black water’ on boats. You are issued a ‘Blue Card’ to record your pump out of ‘black water’. Every municipality, fuel dock and marina has a pump out station and the number of people on board, date, time, location and volume of pump out is centrally recorded. Based on these details they can estimate your production of black water and your discharges….it’s unlike anything we have seen in the world.

    There was a long list of works for the boat in the Netherlands; unfortunately they performance of the mechanical team was dismal. While the boat was operational, lot’s of stuff either did not work or needed adjustments. Dan changed his role from Captain to chief engineer. By the time our Miami friends Tiffany and Steve join us in early June the boat is provisioned and ready to go.

    Our first night is at anchor in Datca about 60 miles from Marmaris. The water is clear and warm enough to enjoy a swim. The gezpacho, lamb and Turkish wines were all wonderful.

    The next day is was on to Bodrum, about another 60 miles. Bodrum is the center of Turkiye’s gold coast and yacht charter central. The marinas are huge and have some of the best facilities we have ever encountered. The castle at Bodrum is spectacular and in great condition.

    A short run the next day took us up to Yalikavak Marina…wow. This is another marina owned by Setur and here we found the most amazing shopping center in the marina to go with the mega yachts.

    Our next stop was Kusadasi, just a dozen miles from Ephesus. Dan and Marcia had visited on our road trip, but it was a new experience for Tiffany and Steve. Dan was notified his temporary passport had arrive in Marmaris, so he rented and drove down to pick it up so that we could move on to Greece. The Turkish government has done a wonderful job in the restorations and archeological works at Ephesus.

    Continuing north against the prevailing north winds, we traveled about 70 miles up to Cesme, one of gems on the Turkish coast. The Castle there is amazing. After a day wandering the city and most great meals, we had to say goodby to Tiffany and Steve who we think enjoyed their first cruising experience.

    We continued on up the coast to Ayvalik that would be our last stop in Turkiye before we headed the 10 miles over to the island of Lesvos. The architecture and street life in Ayvalik feels much more Greek. Until the 1920’s, it was part of Greece.

    While we had to fight the winds on this leg of the journey, we certainly enjoyed every part of the Turkish experience and would recommend it to all.

    TE Turkish Coast May 2023

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  • Turkish Roadtrip 2023

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    The original delivery window for our boat in Marmaris was between 10 and 31 May, by the time we reached Cappadocia, it was clear it would be the later part of the month. With a couple of week available, we decided on take a road trip that ended up over a 1,000 miles through this wonderful and diverse country.

    At dinner with the owner the Taskonakilar Hotel in  Cappadocia, Togla gave us a list of his favorite boutique hotels. What a gift this turned out to be. On our way to Konya we stopped at the best preserved Sultanhani, a stopover on the Silk Road….three days of shelter and food for travelers of old, but difficult to find lunch.

    Konya, sixth largest city, turned out to be a surprise in many ways after the touristic Cappadocia. This is a heartland industrial city, religiously conservative and a strong supporter of Erdogan….also hard to get any alcohol. We were there for the first election, with Erdogan in the lead, the city was in celebration. This is the home of whirling dervishes and founder Rumi.

    From Konya is was up in the mountains to Ormona. After being lead to a back street in this small mountain village, we finally found the restaurant and lodge with another Togla as our host. He returned to his family village after a successful career in Istanbul to open this facility. The architecture of this town is unique in its combination of wood and stone, called button houses. With the art of building these building almost gone, we organized a set of internships for carpenters, mason and ironworkers and the village is being restored and rebuilt a building a time….charming.

    Before we descended the mountains down to the coast, we stopped at a cave system filled with water recommended by Togla. In  Anatalya, a city of 2.5 million, we stayed at another small family run boutique hotel in the city. Much wandering around the city with its thousands of small shops and restaurants…always spotless and always feeling very safe. Dan realized he lost his passport somewhere. The owner of our hotel was kind enough to work with him to get an official police report of the loss…interesting ordeal. Wonderful waterfront with aquarium and Hadrian’s Gate.

    Up into the mountains again, and little did we know that at the end of the dirt road would be this small lodge run by one of Turkiye’s best know chefs. I think we were the only guests who did not come for the food. As with all of our proprietors, there was fear Erdogan would be reelected in the final round. Great meal with a couple of young lawyers who fretted about staying or leaving Turkiye.

    Down the mountains to the coast at Kas where the road along the shore reminds one of the Pacific Highway along Big Sur. Arriving at our hotel, we realized our poor choice and decided to move on, what a good move as we ended up in Turvana in another family boutique hotel overlooking the harbor. For 100 lira, $5 we took the ferry into town and wondered this delightful little town. 

    Once again, we headed up into the mountains and when over the hill, we stopped at Fethiye for lunch and then on to Marmaris where the boat would be delivered. This is a major boating capital with dozens of chandleries, systems dealers and mechanics. We stayed on the waterfront in the old town with its many restaurants, gullets and day boats galore. We visited with Charlie One, our customs agent and arranged for his services. Checked into the marina to arrange dockage, etc. Dan took an all day round trip to Ismir to arrange for a new passport at the US Counsulate.

    We still had time before the boat arrived, so we went up to the ancient city of Herakles with its magnificent roman amphitheater and the thermal baths of Pamukkale, amazing sight. After a night there, we went on to Kusadasi for the night and stayed at the charming Rusis Hotel. The next day was a visit to the ancient city of Ephesus, well worth the visit. At Kusadasi we visited the marina we planned to stay at on True East as we moved north up the coast. It was another of Setur’s very high quality facilities. 

    Finally back to Marmaris to meed FW Space and True East.

    Turkish Road Trip 2023

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  • Istanbul and Kapadokya

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    Istanbul is where east meets west across the Bosphorus Straight. Before coming we watched the Netflix series “Rise of the Empire”set in 1453, highly recommended. Also recommended is the book “Ataturk” by Andrew Mango, Ataturk, Mustafa Kemal, was the founder of the modern Turkiye after WWI.

    We stayed in the old city, east side, in the Hilton Hagia Sophia Mansion up against the wall of Topkapi. The big three sites in Istanbul are Sofia Hagia built in 537, the Blue Mosque 1609, and Topkapi Palace from the 1460s. All are astonishing and reflect the history and power of this country. We had a wonderful guide Gamze Atrtaman for two days.

    A special visit is required to the recently renovated Basilica Cistern dating from the time of Justinian in 532. This is one of many built during the Roman period of sustain the city in times of drought or siege. As usual we visited many parts of the city by trail, subway, taxi, and ferry.

    Back to the airport for a couple of hour flight to Kapadocya (Cappadocia) where we stayed at the wonderful Taskonaklar Hotel. This is a very ancient area where people built their shelter from what was available, stone soft enough to create elaborate dwellings and cities in the mountainous environment. Ali Coskuner was our guide to the wonders of this area, after we took the early morning ballon ride.

    The underground city that housed 3,000 people of weeks in times of danger and for much of the winter, monasteries carved into the rocks, fairy towers of stone pillars with hats. Please look at the pictures.

    We were privileged to be here during the first round of the elections where the current president, Recep Tayyio Erdogon, (for 20 years) is being challenged for the first time. We were also fortune to have dinner with the owner of our hotel in Kapadocya Tolga Asarcali. We learned his story about returning to his native village and converting a family property into a small family owned high end resort. On his recommendation, we stayed at a number of similar facilities in our Turkish travels.

    As a footnote, Dan visited these Turkey on business 20 years ago and had a several hour meeting with Recep Erdogon. Erdogon was new to office and held great promise for the country. Returning to the same locations, the natural magnificence has not changed. The country is clearly less secular, not surprising given that it is 90% muslim. It is clearly more expensive with much improved infrastructure. One striking example is the how sparkling clean the mosques are, particularly compared to the cathedrals in Europe.

    Istanbul and Kapadokya

    Click on the photo to see the album of this trip