GREECE - FROM KAVALA TO PAROS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Rosogkremos

Alma's Log August 16, 2022:

Today we are at Aliki, Paros, central Ciclades. I just finish a delicious dinner cooked by Isabel, better than anything I have eaten in Greece. To be fair I should say that Aliki had the BEST fish shop in all Greece. That is strange but believe me, I know all the Greek coast and practically all the Greek Islands.

We bought some octopus (small and from the shore), a huge shrimp (the only one they had) and more than a kilo of fresh squid, not the variety they have further north with a thick skin, but the one that is similar to the ones that we can find in Portugal.

The big shrimp went as appetizer (it was a female, full of eggs), with a Greek white dry wine ( Greek cellars-nightingales) and then we had the squids stewed with vegetables and potatoes. 

                                                                                            Aliki, Paros island

With the stew we drank a much better, even if not considerably more expensive, red wine, a Nemea from 2018.

I love Nemea and I don’t understand why it has “normal” prices when other lesser quality Greek red wines are much more expensive, I mean normal prices if bought it at a Greek LIDL. The wine  comes from the south region of Corinth gulf. If you have passed there it is not far away from Trizonia, but on the other side of the gulf. I strongly recommend it.

                                                                                  Nea Iraklisa, near Kavala

The last post on Alma’s Chronicles was made a week ago, in Kavala, Greek Macedonia and since then we have been sailing hard, all day long, taking advantage of the good winds.

The best passage was from Limnos to Lesbos, more than 60 miles averaging 7.8 knots but all in all we have made good speed all the way from Kavala and practically did not use the engine (that slows us down because for saving fuel and the engine, I refuse to go over 2000 RPM and that means a speed between 4 and 5 knots).

 

First leg was a short one, with very weak winds, from Kavala to Thasos. We stayed in a very nice anchorage, Rosogkremos). The second was between Thasos and Limnos (we stayed on anchor in Myrina). The sailing was very nice, the sea was not bad and we sailed for a considerable amount of time over 8kt.

        Rosogkremos, Thassos

The third leg, from Limos to Lesbos, was even better, going over 9kt for a considerable period and we averaged 7.8kt. From Lesbos to Chios it was fast, but not that fast, and from Chios to Mykonos it was just good sailing.

Now, for sailing like this in the Med, not practically using the engine for 300nm, you have to choose the right time to do it, just before the wind gets too strong but still when there is enough wind to go fast and sailing all the time.

We also chose places were the wind was weak during the night, and it worked like a charm, in Thasos (Mylina), Lesbos (Chrousos beach, nice place) and in Chios (Paralia Mega Limnionas, not a very nice, but with a good holding).

                                                                                        Rosogkremos, Thassos

 In Mykonos we anchored in a nice place, Paralia Kalafati, no wind when we arrived and I didn’t understand why all the big motor boats where on anchor but tied to the rocks.

I thought that it should be a motorboat mania and anchored in the bay in a nice spot. Then came a guy from the ski motorsports and said that when the wind changed I would be blocking the motorboat channel.

Fair enough, I moved the boat towards the inner part of the bay. I had space but I stayed at about 20m from a line of shoals that are in the center of the bay. No problem, I thought, it is going to be a quite night, like the others. Wrong! At half past one in the morning strong katabatic winds (over 20kt) started blowing, pushing Alma in the shoal’s direction.

Chrousos beach, Lesbos

I had to be on anchor watch for most of the night. The anchor hold and we did not move an inch, but I didn’t know, on a dark night with the boat swinging from one side to the other and each gust seeming stronger that the previous one, and  knowing that if the anchor drags I would have only a few seconds to react.

All this fast sailing towards south (mad for Isabel, nice for me) had the objective of escaping strong winds on anchor, and  allowing us to enjoy some nice weather on the Ciclades, that normally, in this time of the year, are too windy.

                                                                         Paralia Mega Limnionas, Chios

That was not what happened in Mykonos (during the night), but we sailed to Paros south coast, to Alyki and it was just perfect, so perfect that Isabel demanded to stay one more day at anchor. We went to the fish market, to a nice supermarket near the beach and we stocked the boat with (good) provisions. We still have enough water. We took the opportunity to have lunch at a restaurant, for a change. Nice. I lost my panama hat, don’t know how, bad!

We made plans for the next days, taking into account the wind. It seems tomorrow we will be able to enjoy a nice beach in Sifnos, and then one or two days in Milos, before the strong Meltemi kicks in, and just before that we will be sailing to Monemvasia, in the Peloponese, with enough, but not too much wind.

Paralia Kalafati, Mykonos

Well, that’s the plan providing the meteo does not change, something that unfortunately is too common in these parts. But we are not worried; we are flexible and used to changing plans as fast as the weather forecast changes.

Some notes about the anchorages that are referred in the post, and that are shown in the photos;

The most beautiful, by far, is Rosogkremos in Thassos. It is much better than what looks in the map, with clear water and sandy bottom and you can anchor in 5 or 6 meters and almost till the rocky margin. There are no submerged rooks and at the margin the depths is more than 2.5 meters. The only minus is that you can experience some rolling, but not too much. If you want to stay for a considerable period of time you can tie the stern to the margin in an oblique kind of way. 

Paralia Kalafati, Mykonos

The most practical is the port of Kavala, a good one offering great shelter. Talk with the guys from the Club (the visitors' pontoon at the marina is the outside one and you pay something like 5 euros a day. Water and electricity are available and not expensive. 

If you want you can only moor the traditional way, with anchor, backing to one of the odd metallic structures (with a stair) that are protruding from the main quay. On top you will find water and electricity. Kavala is a great and inexpensive city where you can find everything, even a new stove for your boat, a living city with character with not many tourists (most of them are Greek) and very helpful and nice citizens. We love it!

                                                                        Nea Iraklisa, near Kavala

Optionally you can stay nearby in Nea Iraklitsa, in a kind of a secret anchorage (I have been there several times, being the only sailboat on anchor). You should anchor in 5 or 6 meters of clear sand near the beach, all starboard at about 50 meters of the lateral rock that will protect you from the dominant wind and you will stay well protected.

No rolling but sometimes some gusts, not too much.  You have, not far on the beach, a very nice restaurant (best house red wine I drank in Greece) and more to the middle of the beach, near by, a  good LIDL.

Almost as practical as Kavala  is the nice anchorage in the bay were the main port of Limnos (Myrina) is situated. The port is many times full, specially now that some big boats seem to have taken there permanent or semi-permanent mooring, at least for the summer. Myrina is a very nice place, with one of the best wines in Greece. Aristotles only drank wine from this Island. 

Myrina, Limnos

The local Masoutis supermarket, a big one, has a very good collection but if you rent a car I strongly recommend a visit to the island wineries where you will find very nice people, will taste different wines and buy them cheaper. 

I tell you it won't be like in Santorini (that has very good wine too) but where you pay the wine you taste and that the wine that I choose after tasting, cost 70 euros a bottle (I asked for a package of 6...before knowing the price). It is possible to anchor in 5 to 8 meters. The holding (sand and mud) is not bad but in places (with more soft mud) it can be tricky if there is a lot of wind). Near the beach the holding is better. There are no gusts and no rolling.

Myrina, Limnos

Aliky, in Paros, is another very good and interesting anchorage, with very clear waters and a small nice village with very good restaurants, an unexpectedly good supermarket and the best fish market (shop) I found in all Greece. It looked like I was in Portugal, and I can tell you I was missing looking at some very nice fish. They said to me that it was local fish, so don't miss it. If you want they can grill it for you (at no cost and you can eat it on the boat). It makes sense if the fish is big and I saw there some 3 kg nice ones.

                                                                                 Chrousos beach, Lesbos

The bottom is good sand and you can anchor between 10 and 5 meters but take car because the bottom rises sharply towards the beach. The only setback is the occasional swell created by the number of  small boats entering the port and some ships passing by. It creates some rolling during the day but practically ends at night.

Also with good sand bottoms, allowing to anchor in 5/6 meters are the other anchorages mentioned here, Chrousos beach in Lesbos and Paralia Mega Limnionas, Chios. Chrousos looks like a huge oasis in the mountains, beautiful landscape, good protection without gusts, but with a lot of rolling that did not end at night.

Rosogkremos, Thassos

There is a kind of savage big camping there and it looks you can buy food at a kind of improvised shack, but we have not tried it.

Mega Limnionas is a small bay in front of a beach, with Turkey just in front, offering some protection from north and good protection from west. The village over the beach is too ugly to take a photo, but there are plenty of restaurants and I bet you can eat well there at a moderate cost.

Paralia Kalafati, Mykonos

And finally Paralia Kalafati in Mykonos and about that one I have mixed feelings: it is certainly a nice place and it looks like a good shelter, and anchorage in 6m over a sandy bottom, but I arrived there without wind, the prevision of wind for the night was 10 kt or so and I ended up all night with 20kt gusts from different directions.

It seems like one of those places that make their own wind, katabatic wind, and that is why all boats where tied to the shore at the shelter of a high rocky shore. So, if you go there for the night, stay tied to the shore, but the boats are many, too close for my taste, and the view from the middle of the bay is just much more enjoyable. I guess that the right thing to do is to anchor way off, like this big and beautiful yacht, but smaller boats have problems doing that.