Lefkas or Lefkada... a left turn for us...

Lefkada, (famous as a stopping off place for yachts travelling north and south and also as an international windsurfing destination) - set on the canal between the large and fertile island and the mainland, is a very unusual place - particularly so because it was hit by an earthquake in the late 1950s and hastily repaired in corrugated iron. There are a lot of very old buildings with solid stone lower levels and upper levels in ci. The most outstanding feature for us though is the several bell towers which were probably destroyed which have been rebuilt in steel and are particularly interesting.

We came in through the canal around 2pm last Thursday, timing our arrival for the lifting of the road bridge which is raised every hour on the hour to let the waiting shipping through. We were in company with around 8 other yachts on this particular day.

We have been tied up to the wall in Lefkada town now since then and it is the longest we have stayed anywhere for a while. It has been sad to bypass some of the more interesting sites on the mainland as there is so much ancient history in this part of the world. However, we keep saying - we cannot see it all.

We do love it here. We have found quality help in the form of some engine and boat maintenance and repairs which we had put in the too hard box until now. Contract Yacht Services have come to our rescue with an awesome array of parts and professional assistance which has seen us make quantum leaps in our understanding of the engine and electrics on board Matelot. We have also repaired several other items, like new parts for the fridge, stove and a hatch handle repair rather than having to replace the whole hatch. We seem to be able to access single parts much easier here and do not have to purchase the whole 'kit', most of which we do not need. A particular example is the ignition switch on the boat which had a broken spring. In Slovenia we were told we would have to replace the whole panel at great expense. Here we replaced just the single switch for a much lesser amount both in time and in outlay. See the top photo with Englishman Pip helping Richard with some upgrades to the stern shower fittings. He has been absolutely amazing.

Now we are trying to come to grips with our charging system as our batteries seem to be suffering from 'undercharge' and 'overuse', especially as we have had no shore power since we left Corfu. There are several options, all of them expensive, but we will work our way through it. Our inclination at the moment is to try and finish the season and deal with it next year but that may be an 'ostrich' reaction. The options well over $1k Kiwi. We will do some more research on these before we make a decision.

In the meantime the weather in Levkas has been initially a major storm with torrential rain - nice to be tied up - to the past 2 days of idyllic clear blue skies and light breezes which would be ideal for us to be exploring the Ionion Islands.

The small town of Levkas is charming and interesting. Today I have taken a lesson on making Greek Coffee - it will be interesting! We missed a great photo opportunity today also as we had our recycled plastic bottles filled with local wine straight from the barrel. Very expensive at E3 per 1.5L!

We have had a chance also here to pause and socialise with people we met the day we visited Antipaxos. First of all Rob and Sarah on Serafina - thanks for a great evening on board your beautiful yacht! We have also had a neat time getting to know Brian and Coralie from Inga - see the photograph of them following us through the canal. It is one of the very neat things about being on the water that we are meeting so many wonderful people along the way. Friendships must be established over a very short time, but always with a promise to 'see each other again next season'!

Richard has promised me a special night out tonight so here we are at the internet cafe! But hey - its different - we have light and we can stay up a little later tonight!

Captain's Comment

I did promise her a night out on the town and where better to spend it? here we can sup on cappucino, gobbler up icecream sundays and the like and communicate with home and friends. Anyway it was her choice!

The captain