Sailing with Balvenie - Westwards thru the Corinth Canal and onward

7:32 AM Sun 26 Jul 2009 GMT

'Balvenie' Yacht Balvenie

Transiting the Corinth Canal with steep walls and a couple of bridges overhead - Yacht Balvenie

Amanda Church and Mark Farrell continue their tales of sailing in Greece on their 47ft sloop Balvenie

After our 4 nights in Aegina is was time to move on again and head further west. We pulled out of the harbour without drama, not always a sure thing when you stern tie to the town wall, as anchor chains often get laid over each other, and can make for a very messy tangle often when leaving.

We sailed, then motor sailed as we lost the breeze and headed to the end of the Saronic Gulf, and the entrance to the Corinth Canal, till there was only land ahead. We anchored for the night, still not having spotted the gap for the canal - we hoped it was still there as it's a long way around!

Next morning with a light westerly breeze we headed for the breakwater, tied alongside the empty dock, Skipper went ashore with boat papers and credit card and the paperwork was completed in under 5 minutes. The canal is not busy at all, very few large ships can fit through it and it seems to serve mainly yachts, smaller coastal traders and a couple of tour boats that offer the 'canal experience'.

Maybe they could bring the Egyptians that run the Suez Canal up here and show them a thing or two on how things can be done efficiently! Then we just had to wait for them to lower the road into the canal, and off we went. The canal is 3.2 miles long, 25m wide and the limestone walls rise to 79m. At ?177 for our transit it is quite an expensive half hour of entertainment and we popped out in the Gulf of Corinth in no time at all.

With a building nor'wester and gathering thunder clouds we had full days sail to our destination of Galaxidi . We spent much time dodging lightening strikes and squalls, and realized it was the first time we had sailed in the rain since our passage from the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal to Sri Lanka in January 2008!! We weren't surprised by the rain - after all we had just paid for water to hose the boat down in Aegina... oh well....

The cute Harbour of Galaxidi - Yacht Balvenie

Galaxidi is a delightful spot, visited mostly by cruising yachts as it's out of the way for the charter fleets and a little off the beaten track for holiday makers. There is a small town basin to stern-tie, or, if plenty of room, side-tie to, cafes and bars along the quay; but it's very peaceful and surrounded by a young pine forest. We spent three nights here, sitting out stormy weather, and spent one day visiting the ancient ruins of Delphi.

We caught the bus around the large bay to nearby Itea where we changed onto another bus and started the climb up the valley through acres and acres of olive groves, into the mountains to Delphi. This is where Zeus declared the centre of the world to be and the Sanctuary of Apollo was built here.

The Gymnasium area of Ancient Delphi - Yacht Balvenie Click Here to view large photo

It is one of the most important ancient sites in Greece, and although we have seen better preserved ruins the site is absolutely stunning, perched high on the mountain slopes with a vista down to the Gulf of Corinth. There are still the remains of the gymnasium and running tracks, and this was more a place of relaxation and leisure than a bustling city.

Ready on the starters blocks at the Olympia Stadium - Yacht Balvenie

It has done well to survive the earthquakes that shake this area regularly. The adjoining museum is excellent and houses treasures unearthed in the 1930's under the 'sacred way'. Artefacts are well displayed and documented.

The westerly winds eased a little so time to keep going but sad to leave, and Galaxidi is already a favorite. We spent the afternoon covering the 18 miles to our next destination of Trizonia. We had 20 knots, of course on the nose, but with relatively flat seas and after 11 tacks dropped sail outside this small island, just 1 mile off the mainland.

There is another of Greece's unfinished marinas here. They receive money from the EU for various projects, start the building then when the EU money runs out the Greek Government is supposed to finish the project off, but it seems that a lot of the time they don't.

So there are a few of these little marinas around, with all the docks, cleats, dock lighting etc, but no power, water or staff and generally in a state of disrepair, and they are free and most welcomed by us cruisers. Yesterday we got a ride to the mainland and on to Nafpaktos to look around this bustling little town and tiny ancient harbour then caught the bus and ferry back. We have side-tied to the end of a dock and here we will remain until the unseasonal thunder storms abate and the strong winds from the west ease, so we can make our way out into the Ioanian Sea.
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Finally it was time to move westwards again. We left the little island of Trizonia and motor-sailed until we cleared the Rio-Andirio suspension bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world. Then it was time to practice our tacks again, just 10 today. We headed up the narrow channel into Mesolongi (Messolongion) and tied up yet again in another unfinished free marina.

Mesolongi is low lying and hasn't got too much going for it. The 'marina' is quite a distance to town, but nearby there is an interesting array of war planes, canons and other equipment, just sitting in a fenced off area by the port. Adjacent to this are lying several huge wind turbine parts, still shrink-wrapped awaiting installation, but looking like they had been there for quite some time - undoubtedly more EU money and worth millions!

Underneath an overhang into another tunnel in the Diakofto rack and pinion railway - Yacht Balvenie

We had intended to just stay the night here, but we met up with a couple of other cruising boats, Rien and Ineke on Zeezwaluw from Holland and Kit and Belinda on Quilcene from England. Kit and Belinda had just returned from an overnight excursion to Diakofto to ride the rack and pinion railway there, something we had looked at doing but thought it currently wasn't running, so with offers from both of them to keep an eye on Balvenie we planned our next mini-break.

We decided if we were to go across to the Peloponnese Peninsular to do the train journey into the mountains we may as well go a little further and visit Ancient Olympia. We enquired about hiring a car but there are no hire companies in Mesolongi so armed with bus and train timetables we set out, first by bus to Patras then by train eastwards to Diakofto.

It's a small seaside town sandwiched between the Gulf of Patras and the Northern Peloponnese mountains. Not much happens here, the sleepy town centres around the train station, and a few tourists pass through to travel to Kalavryta, through the Vouraikos Gorge up into the mountain ranges and ski resorts in season.

We stayed the night at the pleasant Hotel Lemonies (?50 incl breakie) and had our best meal yet in Greece at Costas (both Lonely Planet recommendations). Next morning we were off on our train journey into the mountains. The journey takes about an hour each way and climbs over 700m in 23km. The railway was built in the late 1800's by the Italians and clings to the side of the gorge, snaking up the river side and following it up into the well wooded mountains.

Back down in Diakofto by 11.15am, we started our marathon of getting to Olympia. There seems to have been no consideration given to connections onward when the once a day timetable for the mountain journey was decided. So after a very long coffee then a dreadful cheap lunch, we bordered the intercity train westwards at 1.37pm via Patras to Pygrus. We arrived after the last train to Olympia had departed which runs at 3pm!, so did plenty more waiting and caught the 6pm bus to Olympia village, finally arriving around 7pm.

Olympia is a lovely little place, fully set up for the tourists but certainly not overrun at all. We checked into the clean and comfortable Pension Posidon (?50 incl breakie), then rewarded ourselves by venturing out for a well earned drink and meal, followed by a stroll around town.

Next morning we were up and out early for the 8am opening. First we visited the Archaeological Museum. It has an excellent display of votive offerings and other artifacts, and an exceptional number of statues, all very well displayed, recorded and described.

Reconstructed statues in the Olympia Museum - Yacht Balvenie

Then we moved on to the ruins of Olympia, home of the first Olympic Games held in 776BC. It is so hard to imagine that nearly 2800 years ago they were staging athletic games for leisure and entertainment. We wandered through the ruins, unfortunately they are rather ruined, due to the age, many earthquakes and Theodosius II who decreed in 426AD that the temples be destroyed as they held 'pagan festivals' there.

Higher up at Delphi overlooking the amphitheatre the gymnasium pictured above and the Temple of Apollo - Yacht Balvenie

You do still get an excellent overview of everything however, and the running track and surrounding area is a very special place, complete with entry archway, rock starting blocks and judges seating. Mark did a quick lap of honour, and we sat in the peaceful surroundings and tried to imagine how it must have been. After the ruins we had time for a look through the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity Museum, also very good then headed for the train station.

By catching the 12noon train to Pygrus we had time for a tasty ?1.50 gyro (pita wrap with pork, tomatoes, onions and fries in it), while we watched the 'mobile chicken truck' selling his live wares, all jammed inside in cages, and given a periodic whack on their becks if they stuck them through the wire too far - not quite how they do it at home!!!

We caught the intercity train to Patras, then had only an hour's wait for the bus to Mesolongi. All was going to plan until we got stuck in a traffic jam due to road works for over an hour, something we are certainly no longer used to, but made it back to Balvenie by 6pm, worn out after two big, but very enjoyable days.

Cruising Info for Mesolongi:
Anchorages - Mesolongi Unfinished Marina ( www.messolonghimarina.com info@messolonghimarina.com ) ... 38 21.61N 21 25.04E 7.4m side tied No charge currently but works underway to finish marina (working slowly!!)
Internet - Patchy unlocked signal at dock
Money - ATM machines in town, about 20 minute walk
Provisions - All shops in town, nothing at the marina. Water hose on dock, did not see a fuel truck
Formalities - Didn't see/do any
Sightseeing - This wasn't an ideal way of doing our tour but this is what we did -
1/2 hour walk to bus station outside Exodus Gate
Mesolongi - Patras Bus 1430/1530 ?5.10 p.p
Patras - Diakofto Train 1707/1807 ?1.80 p.p (local train - no air con and a couple of extra stops)
Diakofto - Kalavrita - Diakofto Rack and Pinion Train 0854/1150 ?6.80 p.p return
Diakofto - Pygrus Train 1337/1604 ?8.10 p.p (intercity train - air con)
Pygrus - Olympia Bus 1800/1845 ?1.90 p.p (bus station about 7 minutes walk from train station)
Olympia - Pygrus Train 1205/1235 ?0.70c p.p
Pygrus - Patras Train 1257/1452 ?5.40 p.p (bus station about 10 minutes walk from train station)
Patras - Mesolongi Bus 1530/1615 ?5.10 p.p
If we had caught a later train or bus from Olympia we would have had a couple of hours in Patras and got back about 8pm.

Cruising Info for Eastern Corinth Canal, Galaxidi, Trizonia and Itea:
Anchorages -
Corinth Canal Eastern Side .. 37 55.25N 23 00.83E 6.5m and and weed held ok
Galaxidi .. 38 22.62N 22 23.26E 3.8m Stern tied to harbour wall, some holding not too good as continual dredging but we held well. Most likely very helpful Angelos will be there to direct and assist you. No charge for tying up, but pay extra for power and water
Itea .. We didn't stay here but it is a little closer to Delphi if you are wanting to go to the ruins. The marina is right by the bus stop. It has now been completed and we believe they charge ?8 per night to dock, unsure of power and water. Although calm water inside it is much more exposed than Galaxidi to all but a northerly wind. Bigger town with all the facilities
Trizonia .. 38 22.15N 22 04.57E 2.5m side tied. Find wherever you can. No charge for tying up but no facilities and plenty of big holes in the dock to break an ankle on!!!!
Internet - Corinth .. nothing, Galaxidi .. OK Cafe has good signal and excellent coffee, have a coffee and get the code. Trizonia .. Posideon Cafe good signal in marina, charge is ?2 1hour, ?5 1 day or ?10 3 days and skype worked well. Possibly free while having something at the cafe but need to pay if using onboard.
Money - Galaxidi ATM machines, nothing at others
Provisions - small stores at Galaxidi, tiny minimarket at Trizonia.
Fuel mini tanker on the dock at Galaxidi, water and power available 5Euro for each I believe
Formalities - Tried to check in Galaxidi 3 times, no one home. Nothing others
Sightseeing -
Galaxidi .. Buses to Itea from square slightly up the hill at 10am then onto Delphi 1045, return 1545 to Itea and about 20minute wait. ?3.20 through tickets per person each way. Entry to Delphi ?6 site only or ?9 site and museum See www.galaxidigreece.com for more on Galaxidi
Trizonia .. Bus back from Nafpaktos at 11am connected with 12noon ferry which waited for it. Bus was ?2.70 each ferry ?1. Got ride to Nafpaktos kindly from Spiros one of the restaurant owners.

by Amanda Church and Mark Farrell