Hike to a vulcano and cycling to a temple!

Our plan was to head east after Makronisos, because we need to sail out of Greece before 1th of October. But the weather was not good in that direction and we had lithium batteries to install. To do this we needed electricity and then we had to find a marina. My solution was going back to Lavrion. We knew the place and it was not far away. It was monday and we had some day in the marina before the charterboats arrived.

We stayed in Lavrion until Thursday, then the guy from the chartercompany asked us to leave. But we manage to go to the farmers market, and to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping before we left.

Because of the weather we had a lot of fenders on both sides. We also got both sails repared here so we had to leave the marina without sails (because of the wind we could not put them back on the mast)

I also manage to do one more laundry before we left. One tips for another laundry; why not put a treadmill there, or a massage chair, or something else. Yes it is wifi, but it is boring just waiting for the laundry… 🙂

We still had a plan to go east, but still the meltemi was blowing to much and we decided to sail west instead, to have some calm days. We sailed south to Sounio were we hoped it should be less wind so we could put the sails on, and I also had a plan to go to the Temple (have been there before). But it was still windy and a lot of waves… We anchored and tried to put the mainsail on. I am sorry no one was filming, that would be a funny youtube moment… When Astor tried to hoist the mainsail I had to lie on the sail because of the wind. Many gusts and I need to use all my weight and strength to keep the sail on deck…

But after a couple of hours we manage to put the mainsail on and we were ready to sail further on to Methana.

Vathy, Methana

Someone told us about Vathy, a small harbour on the west side of the peninsula. We thought that place would be perfect for the northerly wind. So we sailed there. Actually we had a stop at the island of Moni, west of Aegina through the night. Our plan was to anchor south on Aegina, but it was dark and it was a lot of boats everywhere. On Moni we had the bay for ourselves, but in the morning it was bumpy and windy and we hoisted the sail and sailed south to Vathy.

Only one boat was laying longside in the harbour when we arrived (you need to anchor and tie to shore, but this boat had some anchorproblem), but only after one hour one more boat arrived and that was a Norwegian boat, Sir Toby, from Bergen (our big brother town in Norway). We haven`t met any other Norwegian boats since May, so that was very nice!

In the afternoon it was time to have a walk. I try to walk every day, but it is hard. For example days like yesterday when you are sailing all day, it is not possible. And it is hard to use the walkingpad when we are sailing or if it is very bumpy in the anchorage.

Vathy is a really small place, have some restaurants and a minimarket. We walked to south along the seashore. It was idyllic.

Nice sunset on the way back to the boat.

The next day we had a plan to walk to the Methana Vulcano. We knew it was about 4,5 km to walk on asphalt to the start of the trail, so we knew it would be a long walk. It was a perfect day for a hike like this.

Vathi is beautiful with all the fishingboats.

We walked to the other side of the bay and took the stairs up to the main road.

It was not like a highway… but not needed as we didn`t met many cars.

It is not much to see along the road, but after 3,5 km we arrived in Kaimeni Chora.

And finally we found a shortcut between the serpentine roads.

The view is amazing from above!

Then we arrived at the beginning of the trail. Here was a parking place and a map and information about the area. It was very easy to see where to go.

It is many trails on Methana, but for most of them it is better to have a car.

Signs everywhere!

It was so nice, coming from the road and into the forrest. It is so relaxing.

Walking up the hill. From the start it was 100 height meters to the vulcano.

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Good marking everywhere.

Someone has done a good job with this trail!

But you had to watch out where you put your feet!

The view to the north.

Some places it gets steeper!

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A lot of stones.

A nice view almost everywhere.

The Methana peninsula contains 32 vulcanoes. The vulcanic activity began 1 million years ago and continued sporadically until 300 years ago.

Some places it was a bit of climbing, but we manage it.

But here… Yes you can see me thinking… where to go… and there is a mark and an arrow. But we realized there were no place to go next. Under the sign of vulcano it is a cave, but it is not possible to go through. So if you know more about this, let me know! (we turned here)

The cave.

The perfect place if you are interested in stones and vulcanoes!

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We had a short stop on what we think is the end of the trail and walked back to the road.

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Many different rockformations!

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Down again.

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We didn`t bring any lunch for this hike, because I read about a restaurant along the road which should be amazing. And that opened right before we came back, so it was perfect! Cozy restaurant and nice food! (I would have told you the name of the restaurant but I find only the Greek name… )

The restaurant is easy to find, it`s along the road from Vathi to the vulcano.

Do I look tired??

Here is the restaurant!

It was really nice to meet Jim and Gro in Sir Toby, we spend a couple of evenings together and Jim help us to hoist Astor up in the mast, and Astor helped Jim with installing battery monitor. Wish you all the best for your journey!

And of course they needed a photo of us!

After a couple of days in Vathy it was time to sail further on. It was still windy and when we sailed north to Aegina we had the wind right on the nose. So quiet inside the bay of Vathy, and so windy outside…

Perdika, Aegina

When we arrived in Perdika, we were one of the last boats getting space in the marina. I was so happy we made it. A lot of charter boats came from north and didn`t get any space. We have been in Perdika before and it is a lovely fishing village with many restaurants along the harbour.

A lot of wind and waves outside the harbour, but inside it was calm.

We took an evening walk around town. A cat was resting.

There is a beautiful church at the end of the peninsula, Church of Apostles Aquila and Priscilla.

We have been here once before and I remember all this great painting.

I am still wondering how they keep this so perfect.

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Absolutely worth a visit!

Specially before sunset it is so beautiful to have a walk around the peninsula.

Just sit down, relax and check out this stunning sunset!

The next day we rented e-bikes from Perdika E-bikes, close to the harbour. Only 20 EUR/bike, the cheapest one we have found so far!

We cycled north to the main town Aegina, because Astor was looking for a part to the boat, and there was a couple of shops. But he didn`t manage to find this part. So we cycled further on to the northern side. On the way we had a stop at The Holy Church of Nectarios of Aegina and the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity. A really impressive church and monestary.

We walked up the stairs to the monastery and that was amazing, so much nice flowers!

A couple of buses came at the same time as we so it was many people around.

Beautiful! We were not dressed properly so we just had a look inside the monastery.

Look at this gate!!

We have been to some monasteries on our journey and I think this is the most beautifully one!

So far so good!!

Our goal for the day was The Sanctuary of Aphaia on Aegina.

Temple of Aphaia is one of the ancient architectural wonders of ancient Greece. It was built in 480 BC and 25 of the original 32 Doric columns still stand due to the skill of the restorers.

It was not much to see, only the temple, so we stayed there only about 30 minutes. For 6 EUR each I am not sure it was worth it. From the temple we cycled north to Agia Marina on the north east coast.

It was steep hill from the temple to Agia Marina.

We cycled down to the beach.

We paid for sunbeds and had a nice break for 3 hours. It was a clean beach and long shallow. After the beach we had Pita Gyros for lunch in the village.

The guy at the ebike rental told us to cycle back the same way, but we didn`t want to listen to him. Because we wanted to see more of the island, and we wanted to cycle on a road with less traffic. So we cycled south from Agia Marina, about 10 km, before we headed up the hill. And if you are used to ebikes, you know that when the batteries gets empty the bike will be heavy to cycle. And that what was happening up the hill… And the hill is 250 masl, so OMG I was tired… When we came to the top I took Astors bike and he took mine, that was a relief!!

When we came down to Aegina we found a cafe to have an icecream and asked if we could charge the batteri. The batteries didn`t held more than about 40 km (he said 50), but they should hold more than that. Don`t go for a long ride if you rent a bike there.

Yep, I was tired!!

Back in Perdika we stayed one more night until the wind dropped and we could set sail east again.

So now we can continue our plan, to sail east! The next stop will be Folegandros, after 25 hours and 125 nm (including a short stop for grocery shopping), so stay with us next week!