Our departure from Samos, finally, to Amorgos

Well, after 2 failed attempts to leave Pythagoria on Samos, (1st return requiring a new exhaust manifold, 2nd to unjam our mainsail, the jam being at the top of the mast), our 3rd attempt on the 13th June was, we are pleased to say, successful.

Our 5 day extension in Pythagoria did have some upsides, we met a lovely couple, Jon & Angie, who had just sold up back in the UK and purchased their first boat, a 2000 57 foot Oyster no less, their intention being to sail around the World, once their steep learning curve levels off a little, (we have some sympathy being exactly where we were 6 years ago!) all very exciting, and we got to practice our mooring again, and again, and again…..given the number of sea trials we underwent to test out the new exhaust manifold!.

The Last of Pythagoria until September..

So, the 13th brought fair winds and we had a fabulous sail for 34NM south west to Patmos. We had hoped to make it all the way to Amorgos that day, but the wind took a little while to decide what it wanted to do and by the time it did, we were on course for Patmos, where we dropped anchor in a lovely bay we found last year, away from the hubbub of the town and all on our lonesome, except for the goats ashore.

South East Patmos.

After an early rise allowing me (Chantal) to jump on the paddle board for the first time this summer and brave the still rather chilly waters for a swim, we set off to Amorgos, with a forecast showing no winds, but when we rounded the corner we were pleasantly met with a south 3/4 and sailed almost all of the 55NM to Katapola, the “Capital” of Amorgos, an Island that escaped us last year because of the persistent strong North West Winds which together with steep cliffs turns the surrounding sea into such  turmoil that most charter companies wont allow their clients to sail there. Thankfully with fabulous southerly winds, this has not been an issue for us this year.

Amorgos

Amorgos is the easternmost island of the Cyclades, rich in cultural heritage and wild beauty, according to our book on the Island.It is undoubtedly an island of contrasts, one side, mountains, the other steep slopes ending in stunning beaches with crystal clear water. However it was the people, the Amorgans we liked the most, so friendly and hospitable, probably because the island is very much off the tourist route, except for the French who flock there, all because of a film, Luc Besson’s Le Grande Blue.

Anyway, after such a wonderful first night on anchor, we shied away from the quay at Katapola, dropped our pick in the peaceful bay and had a wonderfully chilled evening watching the sunset, enjoying some much needed food, with the inevitable bottle of vino!

Unfortunately it wasn’t set to last, as the winds turned westerly pushing a small swell into the the bay, not ordinarily a problem except the up and down motion soon set off a creak and vibration somewhere in Seaclusion’s bow which permeated through the entire boat. Despite spending an hour trying to source the issue in the dark, with no joy, we both attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to get some sleep. Needless to say, the next day we waited for a space and then moored up on the quay for some much needed shut eye and then find the problem. We think we have but watch this space as it has not been tested properly yet!  We then had a wander around exploring Katapola.

Katapola, Capital of Amorgos

The following day we hired a car to explore this beautiful island, well it would have been rude not to. The first stop being the Chora/Hora.. the “Capital” with its 414 inhabitants, & narrow, white- washed streets. Once upon a time it had 36 windmills, now sadly there were only 10 we could count, in a state of disrepair.

Next Stop, the Abbey of Hozoviotissa, “nestled” on a steep rock, so much so it looks like it is hanging off it. This Monastery was built in 1088, standing 300 meters above the sea, its length is 40 meters, its width just 5 and is still home to a number of Monks, one of which gave us a local tipple, although we are still not sure what it was. Its tiny rooms were worth the steep walk, thankfully via steps chiselled into the rock face, but it was certainly the main exercise of the day for us!

We then set off to the very south of the Island, to Kalotaritissa, passing the Church of Agious Onoufrious standing tall over the plains of Kato Meria.

On our way we stopped on the roadside and took a meandering path down to a tiny inlet just north of the southern tip to see the half sunken and obviously abandoned ship “Olympia”, which was ship-wrecked in the infamous Meltemi winds back in 1980 and now creates a somewhat melancholy site in the gorgeous turquoise clear waters around it.

Kalotaritissa

We then turned northwards to head up to the top of the island, to visit the Port of Aegiali and two hillside villages, Lagada and Tholaria.

Aegiali wasn’t much to write home about, we were grateful we didn’t stop there with Seaclusion.

Lagada however was very quaint, with its typical whitewashed cycladic houses, narrow streets requiring goods to be transported by donkey, the town clearly not trendy enough to sport golf carts like Capri and others we have seen! Despite it’s tiny size, it did have 3 churches in its midst.

Next, Tholaria, on the opposite side of the bay, again with its cobblestone and painted streets. Energy however was wearing thin by this time, and with no donkey in sight to take us to the top, so we took in the views over the bay and then headed back to our little home on the water in Katapola.

That night saw us watch our first match of the World Cup, Spain v Portugal, and Chantal seeing Ronaldo in a red shirt thought that Spain were playing in red, well I had to put her right on that one.

We finally left Amorgos on Sunday 17th passing the final church (we had given up counting them by this time),  access to which was only by boat, and set sail for the Little Cyclades.