Methoni, Aug 17/09

Methoni August 17/09

We awoke to another calm day. All night long we had been in small but annoying swells which rocked the boat almost constantly. A wakeful night for most of us.

We motored west for a couple of hours and the found some nice 15 knot winds. It required some tacking but we made over 5 knots so it was fun. Several other sail boats were heading the same way so Dave made a race out of it.

We sailed by an island which the Greek military use as a bombing target. It is a large island and we saw lots of fighter planes but no exciting shelling going on. Just low flying and manouvers.

We anchored in Methoni bay about 5 pm, another very nice small town with beach resorts. We are seeing about 6 small motor homes at each of these stops now. They seem to just stop where there is space. Jim and I walked by some and they seemed very new.

M & D went ashore but we opted to relax on the boat. The beeze was fresh and we were able to stay nice and cool.

Next a.m., before leaving, we all went ashore to explore the Methoni Castle. It was extensive and well preserved. On the point of the peninsula the Turks had built an octagonal tower as part of their contribution – once they were in charge.The settlement was leveled at least twice, once by fire and once by the Turks.
The large inner area has acres of wild garlic and other weeds. It would be lovely to see in spring blossom time.
We returned to town, had a frappe (to cool down and get restored). Also picked up some groceries and were back to the boat by noon.

We find we really like all the towns and could certainly stay at least another day, but alas, time is coming to an end and we want to spend some time on islands in the Ionian Sea too.

Pulled anchor and were off to Pylios because it has diesel available at the docks and we are getting down on our supply.