Aktio-Vonitsa

After a day of getting the boat "ship-shape", Sam and I decided to hire a scooter to explore inland and to the less sheltered west coast of Corfu. On Helen and Steve's last night we had eaten at a restaurant serving the most delicious olive oil and with a bit of research we discovered that not only was it multi award-winning but it was produced 40 minutes from Corfu Town! Unfortunately our moped was limited to 50 km/h so 40 minutes become over an hour and we were swiftly reminded just how uncomfortable a moped can be! Thankfully the road hugged the coast most of the way so we were treated to some gorgeous views to make it all worthwhile. On arriving at the olive farm we were treated to a private tour (a perk of being a little too keen and arriving just after opening!) of the museum and modern olive mill, followed by a tasting led by the son (and current generation of a long line of olive millers). After a morning of "education" we decided to treat our inner children at the local waterpark.

The following day we headed northwest towards Palaiokastritsa, where I tricked Sam into visiting not one but two "old things" in a day, a Byzantine castle and a monastery. Luckily I got away with it as the castle had beautiful views and we found a lovely lunch stop between the two. That evening we headed back to the sailing club for a delicious dinner (including tuna tartar with the most delicious mango vinaigrette!) accompanied by live jazz, perfect!

With mosquito season in full swing and having disturbed enough of Sam (and my own) nights last year with 3am Spanish inquisition style mozzie hunts with a headtorch, I decided to up the prevention level another notch and fitted a mosquito net in the aft cabin with the hope that this, plus the existing screens at the windows and doors would keep them at bay. Time will tell.

We set off from Corfu Town back across to the mainland and Syvota but chose to anchor nearer the town there rather than back in the Blue Lagoon this time. Even though the anchorage itself wasn't quite as picturesque, it was angled to capture the sunset perfectly and we watched as the sky turned the most glorious shades of red and gold!

The following day we sailed further south down the Greek mainland, beyond Parga to a beautiful anchorage called Two Rocks Bay, with clear turquoise water, plenty of space and a clifftop bar with stunning views. We liked it so much we decided to stay an extra night to give ourselves a chance to explore and get a few jobs done that we couldn't do in the marina. Although Elia's team had done a great job with the seacocks we had been a little concerned to watch them attach our new anodes to the propeller shaft as the boat was put in the slings to be lowered back in the water. Rightly so it turns out, having noticed an odd rattling noise that then mysteriously stopped we dived down to spot that both anodes had come loose and were no longer there. Anodes are much easier to attach when the boat is out of the water but we didn't want to risk not having them that long so we had to get creative. Without dive gear on board we fashioned a makeshift system with a tube extension to a snorkel. Not a perfect solution but enough for Sam to get the new anode in place.

We also decided to revarnish the toe-and rub-rails as they were looking rather tired and we had run out of Semco. We swiftly remembered what a mammoth task it is and why we had decided against using varnish last year. It's horrible goopy stuff and needs to be thinned to different consistencies, sanded between coats and then this process repeated between 7 and 9 coats with 24 hours between layers. In true bodge-job fashion, we decided that 2 coats would probably be OK and went off to explore the bay and rocks on the paddle board.

After two nights in Two Rocks Bay and with a nice wind forecast for the day we hauled anchor and travelled down to Preveza Marina. Preveza has now taken the title of our new favourite marina, with friendly, helpful marineros and a great selection of shops and restaurants in walking distance. Also, having experienced showers in rusty portacabins with no locks, showers with only ice-cold water, showers in the same room as the only public toilet on a pontoon of around 50 boats, we now appreciate a good shower block when we come across one and Preveza is now officially top of the leaderboard, it was like a spa!Read more