We woke up to thunder and rain in Makrinitsa so we left earlier than we’d planned to get to Volos a little earlier. I was able to get hold of our taxi driver to pick us up earlier which worked out quite well. It was a four hour drive and he took us all the way to the Alimos Marina where we were to meet our boat for a week’s sailing cruise from Athens to the Ionian Islands.
We had chartered a cabin with Thanos and Alicia of Anko Yachting on their 56′ Ocean Star sailing yacht. It is a beautiful boat with a 17′ beam and lots of space inside and in the cockpit. A cabin charter comes with the captain and a hostess, breakfast and lunch and you only are responsible for paying for your cabin. You can help as little or as much as you want with the sailing except for doing the med mooring each night! You can’t help with the preparation, serving or cleanup of the breakfast and lunches, at least not on Alicia’s boat. And no hassles with provisioning, cooking, cleaning, taking out the trash, refueling, watching water tanks, figuring out where to go etc. It was the perfect trip. Thanos and Alicia are excellent sailors and they created an itinerary that was a mix of swimming in secluded bays, mooring in fabulous little villages, visits to Greek antiquities and lots of good sailing when the wind cooperated.
Our crew included Thanos and Alicia, Bill and Maria, Julie and her daughter Kat and a lovely Kiwi couple Mike and Diane. We all were on Velos. A second boat traveled with us all week, Alexandros, captained by Antonis and his hostess Anna. Our itinerary was one way, starting in Athens area, sailing through the Corinth Canal, stopping in Galixidi with an excursion to Delphi, a night on the island of Trizonia, then sailing out of the Gulf of Corinth under the Rio bridge into the Ionian sea. We had four nights to explore the lovely Ionian islands with one stop in Ithaca, two nights on Kefallonia and one on Meganissi before disembarking on Lefkada.
We left from the Marina in Piraeus, South of Athens at 4pm and anchored just outside the Corinth Canal. We had a lovely dinner on board and went to sleep early while it rained. The next morning the sun was out and we learned that the canal was going to be closed for the day for unexpected maintenance. Thanos was able to get us through before the work cranes arrived and they closed the canal. What a great experience to sail through this canal. The pictures don’t do it justice.
We motored for a few hours and then the wind filled in and we had some great sailing, time for naps and the first of Alicia’s gourmet lunches while underway. We arrived in the afternoon at the port of Galixidi which is on the mainland. We had a rental van delivered so we could scoot up to ancient Delphi before it closed. We spent 30 minutes in the museum seeing the highlights before it closed at 5pm. This included the Sphinx of Naxos, the three dancers, the Kouros twin statues and the Omalos.
Late in the day it was not very hot and the crowds were few and far between, We walked as high as the stadium taking lots of pictures up and down. Delphi is one of the premier archaeological sites in Greece. Perched high on the Southern slopes of Mt. Parnassos on the southern edge of Mainland Greece, it overlooks the blue waters of the Gulf of Corinth.
Dated as early as 1400BC during the Mycanean years, it was a sanctuary and a pilgrimage site as late as 350 AD until it was closed by the early Christians for being a pagan worship site. Delphi was the home of the oracle, a prophetess called Pythia. Pilgrims came from all over to seek advice on questions ranging from small matters to affairs of the state. It later became the site for the Pythian games, an athletic competition similar to the Olympics.
It was a little confusing to figure out all the legends surrounding the site – Apollo, Athena, Pythia, the Python Serpent. Here is what I was able to figure out:
The location for this sanctuary was determined by the Greek god Zeus to be the center of the world. He released two eagles from opposite ends of the world and they met above Delphi. In the Odyssey there is a reference to the two eagles meeting as a sign from the gods when they flew over the spot in Ithaca where Telemachus (son of Odysseus) had called an assembly of the island’s leaders.
The priestess (the Sibyl) worshiped Gaia (mother earth). The serpent (Python) guarded some springs. Apollo arrived disguised as a delphini (a dolphin) and killed the serpent. The oracle priestess became the prophetess called Pythia. Apollo was worshiped at Delphi because he spoke to mortals through the words of the prophetess. Athena was also worshiped at Delphi because of the area’s association with Gaia.
We had a heck of a time finding our way back to the port after getting tangled up in the small roads in the village. We found a couple of little grocery stores to stock up on Tuborg flavored soda waters and a few other snacks for the boat. Galixidi is a sweet little village that was once a thriving shipping community and is still a fishing center. I would recommend staying in Galixidi rather than the touristy town of Delphi.
There is a nice walking path around the paralia that we explored the next morning.
We had an excellent dinner at a restaurant in Galixidi just across from our boat – Skeletosvraxos. The old man who owns the restaurant is very heavy and he comes and sits down to take your order. We chose several seafood items and everything was better than I expected. Wonder who he had back in the kitchen?