Sabbaticus Travel Log: Athens & Poros Island

The 'toys locker'

We all enjoyed taking in the crowded city sights from Zea Marina in Piraeus. Piraeus Port is the major port of Athens and is the largest passenger port in Europe and third largest in the world. While in Zea Marina we strolled along the quay to view the luxury yachts of the very rich that lined the marina - some were effectively small (and not so small) ships. Whilst we admired the superyachts,and the associated toys,we did not feel envious of the paid crew and were happy to return to our comparatively smalil 49ft home. Our stopover had also been planned for some spares to be delivered from Spain and the UK - however despite best laid log plans they failed to arrive even with one month's lead time. The challenges of cruising with no fixed address!

The highlight of our Athens stopover was visiting the Acropolis and and the Parthenon. Athens is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning 3,400 years, and is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization. The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a massive rocky hill that dominates the cityscape. We were surprised at the size of the Acropolis and learned it covered a surface area of approx 3 hectares. The day we visited was incredibly hot and and crowded which curbed our enthusiasm and energy for spending another day to visit other tourist sites. We later learned we had unfortunately arrived on a 'free day' hence the crowds were even larger than usual.

Enjoying the view

Departing Athens we enjoyed four hours sailing in near perfect conditions to Aigina Island which (initially) was an excellent introduction to sailing for Maree and Colin who were able to sit out the back of the boat and enjoy the sun. Unfortunately the wind increased as we approached the island and we bypassed the town quay and headed to an anchorage. As we are learning the forecasts are rarely accurate and we had an uncomfortable night at anchor as the wind changed direction. It was an early departure around the island to get some rest before sailing across to Poros Island.

Local fishing boats at the town quay

Poros Island was delightful, with our first night spent in a peaceful anchorage before moving to the town quay which has the benefits of being berthed close to the centre of the town to enjoy the local ambiance. While there we hired bikes and completed a circumnavigation of the hilly island (about 10kms), spent time walking through town through the back alley's and buying some supplies in the local chandlery. The town quay's are social places to meet other yachties, share stories about different anchorages and swap weather information - this seems to be a form of male bonding. Watching other yachts berth is a constant source of entertainment and opportunity to learn (often) from other's mistakes.

After several days on Poros Is we departed to start cruising around the Cyclades area. Below are some photos from Poros Is.