Syracusa 4 Days

Tricotta cheese, tomatoes and olives from the market on board SY Matelot in Grand Harbour, Syracusa.




The anchorage in the north western corner of Grand Harbour is very safe and full of visiting yachts. The anchor takes readily into the muddy bottom and it is not long before we have a visit from Rick on board a Canadian boat who stops by for a chat in response to our friendly waves. Rick informs us that most of the boats here are headed for Ragusa for the winter. (From now on almost every boat we encounter is headed the same way.) We very quickly get the feeling that with so many people going there, it must be good, and are able to let go of some of our anxieties about committing to a marina which we have never seen, for such a long period of time.

The culture change is immediately apparent when we go ashore, parking the dinghy in a narrow canal under a bridge, right in down town Syracusa. It is a bit of a clamber getting out onto the narrow shelf!


We find a cafe which has internet and are straight into the wifi catching up on emails from home.


Just a few more steps along the same street is where we eat our first Sicilian Pizza. Just love the chairs and the simple room divider which hides the kitchen out back. The waiter is very cute!








Its dark by the time we make our way back to Matelot and we are all ready for a big sleep.






Now to the Market

Every day in downtown Syracusa, there is a produce market, where the fruit and vegetables, fish, bread, meat, cheese and you name it are available. It runs from early morning until around midday and is a huge part of the Syracusa experience for us.



The tomatoes are the reddest, sweetest, freshest tomatoes ever.



Everywhere one looks is a visual feast....stimulating the imagination to enjoy many gastronomic delicacies!



The cheese shop is the culmination of the walk along the main market street where one can sample many goodies before purchasing. In the foreground are rounds of delicious tricotta cheese, with its black, charred appearance.


The Old Town

The old town of Syracusa is a joy to wander around with its narrow alleys and ancient buildings.



The focal point of the main Piazza is the Syracusa Cathedral which is simply amazing, built over the top of ancient Greek columns, originally the Temple of Athena.












Inside the Cathedral, the crowds gather to admire the grandeur of this ancient place of worship.






Other parts of the old town are captivating but its difficult to capture the atmosphere of this charming place on camera.






Four days are hardly enough to really see Syracusa properly. The boat requires provisions and water and we have to find out how to check in to Sicily. Boat laundry has to be dropped off - luckily that one is easy as we find a superb laundry a short distance from where we park the dinghy.

In addition, as an important safety measure, a new sim card has to be purchased for the mobile phone and an internet connection for the boat to download weather forecasts and email has to be organised. It takes time (5 minutes) to research the deals available from the various providers and we settle on a deal from Wind. It involves purchasing a 'dongle' which plugs into the USB port on the computer. It runs at 14.5 mbs (megabytes per second) for a one off charge of Euro 49. It can take a sim card from any provider, but we take the promotional deal of 10 Gig per month for Euro 15 from Wind and use their sim card in the dongle. Its a pretty good offer and we have found it to be superb.

However, the Skype for some reason does not work. Will sort that later when we have time.

An unexpected problem occurs when Google notices that we are now accessing our emails from a different country. They request that we do a security check. Richard is fine but Pippy gets tripped up on the security questions as the phone number they are asking her for is old and she is not able to recall it. She is shut out of her emails which is pretty scarey. All our records and contacts are on Google. It takes 24 hours and an extensive search through old notebooks to turn up the NZ mobile phone number used when first setting up Google in 2008. Its also not that straightforward getting into the Google security settings to update them. Its a lesson learned and filed away for future reference. For some reason, Pippy is feeling quite wrung out around now. We know why Google are so security conscious as the cruising community has been hit very hard this year with 'identity theft'. Somehow the 'watchers' out there can tell when you are travelling. They can hack your email identity and then send 'help me' emails to all your contacts asking for money to be paid to get you out of jail etc. Its a scam originating in Nigeria, but horrible for those we know who it has happened to.

We (especially Pippy) recall that this is an issue each time we move from one country to another. All this 'stuff' has to be set up again. One ends up with many pin numbers, mobile phone and internet numbers etc and time has to be devoted to keeping on top of it.

On 1 October, a weather window appears which is good to passage southwards to Malta. Richard especially has not had a moment to see Syracusa, but we know we will be back here, so leave Grand Harbour, knowing that this wonderful place is still here and waiting for us to return. Malta here we come!

Syracusa at sunset:

Nick and Karen on Board to Zakynthos then Sicily

Karen and Nick finally arrive after delays caused by industrial action in Athens. A day late but never mind.

Pippy gets a diagnosis from the 'one more test' which points to something not quite right in her left inner ear.

We feel happy now to sail on.

We have glorious days ... and




...flaming sunsets almost every day at the anchorage on the north western corner of Navarino Bay...




...while we wait for the right weather window to unglue ourselves from this enchanted place.




...a couple of days of stormy squalls




...magnificent walks ...



We...admire the view from Palaiokastro (the old castle) down to the wetlands, lagoon and upper harbour...











check out...the coastline looking south from Palaiokastro...


Walk around the new castle perched above Pylos township....

Finally we take a flyer out of there and sail north west towards the island of Zakynthos, finding ourselves being headed, so spend a night on the mainland at the port of Koroni. Zakynthos is a short hop the next day and before we know it we find ourselves tied up on the town wall there. We are able to check out of Greece here very easily and without undue paperwork.

The vegetables are quite amazing. These monster onions take our fancy. One onion caramelised, served with mashed potatoes and Sicilian sausages makes a delicious meal later in the week.






On Saturday 24 Sept we leave Zakynthos harbour for the small bay of Keri on the south western tip of Zakynthos island, spend the night at anchor then have an early start the next morning for a 2 day, 2 night passage to Sicily.



We leave in calm weather, motoring for the first part of the passage until we have cleared Zakynthos.







Dinner of pork fillet stuffed with prunes and wrapped in bacon, served with char grilled egg plant and fresh green beans, with potatoes tossed in olive oil and
oregano on the side... not bad for a first night feed.






All goes well until around 3am when we have our first taste of what the passage is really going to be like. We are all hands on deck for a while with lightning and thunder all around us and squalls not far off, however we manage to sail on and avoid any problems.

We share the watches with each couple doing 3 hour shifts.

Day two is gloomy and grey for most of the day but we have a good sailing breeze. We are fairly open about our destination and it varies according to the wind, from Catania to Syracusa and at times we briefly consider the boot of Italy but fairly quickly discard that idea.




We have a hitch hiker join the boat, but Karen chases it off. It tries to come back but Karen gives it another heave ho over the side when it lands on her leg, which is to come back and haunt her later. During the scariest moments to come, she is to be heard apologising to the moth for tipping it overboard. She is sure in hindsight that the pattern on its back was that of a skull!



Our second night at sea is an interesting experience. The lightning and thunder come back with a vengeance and we have forked lightning all around the near horizon on and off all night although still a good sailing breeze to take us on to our destination which is by now firmly set on Syracusa. We consider trying to sail around the bad weather, but clearly that is no longer an option. Around 11pm we realise we are directly in the path of a severe electrical storm. Because we are not able to see what squalls are coming our way, we drop all sail and motor on.

Nick then has to go for'ard to the mast to lash the main down around 10pm as we can hear the wind velocity increasing substantially and we hold our breath until he is safely back in the cockpit.




Soon the forked lightning is sizzling down all around us... (and Karen tells us later she thought she was going to die)! We hastily explain that we would probably be okay, but our electrical systems would be all taken out if we took a direct hit. We don't think it helped much! The remainder of the night is spent motoring steadily onwards keeping a good eye on the radar screen for shipping which becomes more frequent once we are approaching the Straights of Messina. The lightning continues until dawn.



Syracusa finally greets us....





Phew... a hot shower and some clean clothes will do for a start!

Mystra, Sparta and Naplion

Just a small part of the ruins of Mystra with Sparti spread out on the plains below.

The drive over the mountains from Kalamata to Mystra is something amazing in itself with heartstopping switchback corners stacked vertically down the sheer drop and stretches of road which are carved underneath rocky outcrops which extend right across the road with nothing to support them on the outside. Driving under these is quite freaky. The occasional tunnel is a relief and there are a couple which are long and impressive.

Mystra


The view from the fortress at the top of the mountain.


Richard making like a defender of old... or and old defender!

The beginnings of this astonishing city date back to obscure Medieval times. It is known that the fortress on the mountain-top was built in 1249 and soon fell into the hands of the Byzantines who developed the site extending the fortifications right down the side of Mt Taygetos, dominating ancient Sparta. It is obvious this has been a place of noble residences and many churches and monasteries. At its peak, approximately 40,000 people lived here.


Inside St Sophia

The ruins, some of which are beautifully restored, tell a story of an advanced society who enjoyed art and philosophy and all the good things of life. Sadly the city was sacked and burned by a Russian and Albanian invasion in 1825 and abandoned soon after. Now it sits in its alpine environment with verdant vegetation clambering over its gaping ruins. Those buildings which have survived intact or been restored rise up in their iconic forms from a relief of cypress trees and rampant vegetation.


Remnants of past glory


Holding on for grim death


Not something someone with vertigo should be doing!

We explore the ruins for two hours, climbing down as far as the huge building which was once the centre of administration for the Byzantine Empire, and which is almost totally restored today, still wrapped in scaffold in parts. Turning to make our way uphill and back to the car, we push ourselves to climb back up in the afternoon heat, arriving feeling a little exhausted and very much in need of a cold drink, remembering at the same time that we have not yet booked a hotel. After several stops we drive to Sparti and find a hotel room. It is a very popular area.

Naplion

The next morning, although having planned to go back and see more of Mystra, we decide to carry on to Naplion which also merits some inspection. Richard drives us with his usual skill and we arrive around about 11.00 am.


View from Palamedes Fort

We are not sure if we really have time to see this city which was the capital of Greece from 1829 to 1834, so it is a whistle stop tour.

It is a very pretty town but we are drawn to the walk up to the fort we can see perched high above us. We count 1,000 steps each way and feel that we have done our exercise for the day.

Driving back to Kalamata that afternoon on the new highway, parts of which are not yet open, is a much easier option than going back via Mystra!

Pylos Palaiokastro and a slight hiccup

1 September onwards…

The anchorage at the northern end of Navarinou Harbour is idyllic and the castle – Palaiokastro – beckons us from the high escarpment overlooking the large brackish inland lagoon and wetland just across the narrow bar of land from our pristine anchorage.




It strikes us as unusual that there appear to be few birds here except for the lonely white heron we spot on the golden sandy beach early one morning. Later we discover this is the most southerly wetland habitat in the Balkans, known as Dibari. It is the final European stopover for 225 bird species as they head south to the Sahara Desert for the northern winter. Of these, 79 are protected by international conventions. As if this is not special enough, also residing here is the African chameleon (under threat of extinction) and the turtle species Caretta-Caretta which also comes here to reproduce. It is good to read that the birds know about this place too!




We sit on this anchorage waiting for the right weather window to make our last leg to Zakynthos Island, north west of here, then the crossing to Sicily.


Friday 2 September



On our first morning here we wake up early and take a walk ashore before breakfast up to the entrance of the castle. It is a very rugged site but does not take long to climb up to the crumbling entrance, then back down again. We feel like walking some more so follow the sign to Nestor’s Cave skirting the lagoon under the escarpment. Soon we realise it is further than we thought so turn around and make our way back to the boat for a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, yoghurt and oats.

It is not long after a relaxed breakfast when Pippy is sitting at the nav desk doing emails, when she has a strange episode. She glances up for a moment to find the saloon rocking about violently, then it turns on its side, then she either blanks out or closes her eyes … not sure but its pretty scarey. Half an hour later she is a bit shaken but fine again. She has lived with vertigo on and off for a couple of months now, and has seen a doctor in Turkey who prescribed some medication, but this is much worse than anything experienced before and we are not sure if it wasn’t a mini stroke. We contact our medical insurance company who suggest we go to Kalamata Hospital and get checked out. Its blowing quite hard by now and predicted to be worse later so Pippy doses up on aspirin and we elect to wait until early the next morning to take the boat into the marina and go to the hospital.



The next day, feeling like a complete fraud as she is now quite normal and well, Pippy reports her symptoms to the doctor at the hospital, and is admitted for tests to ensure there is nothing nasty causing the problem. Richard goes home alone for the next 5 nights and travels more than 3 hours each day to visit Pippy in hospital. We thought she might be in for a day or two, but not 5 days! Kalamata Hospital are very thorough in their investigations and Pippy has blood tests, cat scans, MRI scans, X-Rays and ultrasounds. She is seen by a neurologist and an ENT specialist.

BPPV is initially suggested (plenty about that on google), which the Ear Nose and Throat specialist gives her an Epley manouvre for, plus a neck brace to wear for the next four days to stop her head from moving too much. He also says he wants to see her in 10 days time, so that is the end of our plans to sail to Sicily to meet up with Emily and Marc and Karen and Nick. We reluctantly accept that we have to sort this out before moving on.

We are so fortunate to have good friends in Karen and Nick who do not mind changing their travel plans to fly to Kalamata instead of Catonia. It is also very reassuring to us to know that we have backup cew on the way. As it turns out later on, backup crew are essential on our passage from Greece to Sicily… but more about that later. In the meantime, Richard enjoys some nag free nights on the marina in Pylos which thank goodness is free of charge! He eats pork chop every night in the same restaurant while in hospital Pippy is dished up with boiled chicken for lunch and dinner each day. She is in a room with two old ladies who are both very sick and have relatives visiting and nursing care 24/7. They are so very kind to Pippy and try to communicate with her in sign language as no one speaks English.

It is the following Thursday and not until the results from the MRI are in before she is back on the boat again, albeit with an infected and swollen arm from a catheter, which was never used and left in too long. We have to see a doctor here in Pylos about that, then we go back to the anchorage in the north and hang out for four more glorious days while we count down to Pippy’s last appointment and Karen & Nick’s arrival at Kalamata.



Its beautiful here but we need a change, so on Thursday 15 Sept we hire a rental car for 3 days and plan to travel on and see some ancient sites in the Peloponnese after the hospital appt and before picking Nick and Karen up on Saturday.

We get the result of all the thorough X-Rays, ultrasounds, blood tests and MRI scans – all fine, nothing sinister going on, which is great but there is one more test we must do as the BPPV diagnosis now seems unlikely. This means waiting until Monday and the specialist urges Pippy to take the test as it might show something. Okay then, we will wait. He is very thorough and we do appreciate that.

We find the road to Mystra and drive on.