Aegean Islands and visitors!

We arrived on Paros Island May 6th, a couple days ahead of Tom and Stacy Ernst, our first guests of the season.  The first order of business was to tie the boat to the town quay in Parika port.  Successfully pulling off a town quay tie-up always feels like a victory because it requires a maneuver known as “med-mooring” in which we drop our anchor and then back Arcadia up to into a small gap between other boats.  Once this has been accomplished, we tie her to the dock and then sit back to watch other boats attempt the same maneuver.  On a windy day it can be a real struggle but worthwhile.  Town quays usually have a great atmosphere and it’s always fun have the boat in the heart of a town.  

It was such a joy to welcome Tom and Stacy to Arcadia.  We all spent a couple days wandering the narrow whitewashed streets of Parika.  Highlights included a sunset dinner and exploration of Ekatontapiliani (Church of 100 Doors), a beautiful church dating back to the 4th century. 

Once out on the water, the Ernsts were able to enjoy some pretty sailing days with us as well as some intense ones.  We hit personal speed records with gusts of 38 naughts (44 mph) and a sailing speed of 9.1 naughts.   Because they are the most agreeable people in the world, Tom and Stacy did not let the “sportiness” of that day phase them.  After dodging some high speed ferries, we found a peaceful anchorage and enjoyed a nice hike to dinner past drystone rock walls, goats, and wildflowers. Next, we visited a huge anchorage between two small islands (Antiparos and Despotiko), in view of ancient temples and white cliffs. Finally we spent time on the island of Antiparos home to lovely shops, restaurants, and a cave known for having a 45 million year old stalactite, said to be Europe’s oldest.  

After saying goodbye to Tom and Stacy, we slowly began a sail north toward the mainland so that we could fly home for Jasper’s graduation.  We spent five days getting to Athens, with stops on Serifos, Kea, and Makronisos islands.  Kea was especially fun because we were met with weather warm enough for swimming and a nice beach.  We also hiked through a valley to a town on Kea’s peak where we ate an unforgettable lunch of salads and pistachio crusted cheeses.  It was here that we also hiked to the Leo of Kea, a lion chiseled from stone in the 6th century BCE.  Makronisos Island was also a neat stop as it is uninhabited and we enjoyed watching goats nimbly traverse its steep cliffs. That was contrasted by finding a number of mylar balloons in the surrounding water due to our proximity to Athens. We did managed to clean them up.

Once we reach the mainland, we left the boat at Olympic Marina and took a flight to New York for Jasper‘s graduation from Bard College. It was a special moment and we can’t wait to see what’s next for Jasper.