Tilos Rocks and so does Crete!

28-August 2011
We have found all the yachts! They are on the tiny speck of an island called Tilos – near the Turkish mainland between Cos and Rhodes. What a fab place this is and not surprisingly the Superyachts have discovered Tilos too.

Clear sea water to swim in, beautiful coves, beaches, drinking water on the island, a mayor who has spent his EC money wisely, and a friendly hard working population of 500. A viable island now we have been told, because there are new schools all the way to 18yrs so the young families do not leave. A serene monastery with one monk, the abandoned village of Mikro Horio with one occupied house – a night club and, best of all, the island is a specially protected area under the European Birds directive which means the Greeks ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SHOOT! Hurrah! Greek men do not feel macho unless they are shooting small birds so this is a big achievement. And you can tell – you see and hear birds on this island when walking the wonderful ancient footpaths – a novelty in Greece.

We arrived here from Crete two nights ago after a two week stay and loved it too. The people were lovely even though the tourist trade seems fairly healthy there – their attitude differs from Rhodes. After a wonderful time on the East end of Crete in a garden of paradise where we ate at the same restaurant every day, the food grown and cooked by an extended family was so good and so good value for money we could not resist. A first for us in all our travels. By the time we were able to leave (the Meltemi kept us pinned down) we had run out of food, water and clean clothes. There was no possibility of getting any in Kato Zakros as there were no shops and we had to ride the tender ashore in our swim wear with our clothes wrapped in waterproof bags due to the sea state and wind. One night it was full moon and there was a beach party. I wanted my hair and makeup to look OK so I put a plastic bag over it all to stay dry! Well it worked and it gave the fishermen anchored near us something to look at – they must have wondered what those mad British would get up to next.

Eventually we made it to Sitia Port which we thought would be OK from the pilot but when we arrived the whole EC funded harbour was full of silly little pleasure boats (apparently none pay) so the visiting yachts had nowhere to go and no chance of accessing the power and water points the EC had funded to attract yachts. The concrete laid in Sitia has to be seen to be believed – a huge and expensive port project next to the harbour with only a rusting dredger tied up and walls too high for a yacht. So despite protests from Frenchy who seemed to be a permanent resident yacht and the Port Police, we squeezed in to a spot where we could reach water in the harbour but which trapped the Coast Guard boat. After smiling sweetly and asking, the Port Police relented and said we could stay the night. It was a bank holiday the next day and the wind was high so the boat would not be leaving that evening after all.

Next day was a frantic morning of filling water tanks, washing clothes, shopping and then moving to a marina the other side of the large bay in Ayios Nikolaos. The pilot said this place was noisy and touristy but we did not find that at all. We actually liked the place – though I think the holiday makers have abandoned it this year. It was very empty. We left Deep Blue in a great little marina, got the bus and went West to Rethymno to meet up with our dear NZ friends Pippy and Richard and stay on Matelot for a few days. So great to see them and we explored the west of the island together in a rented car. What a wonderful time we had – we visited the beautiful town of Hania, went right to the end of the island and swam in glorious sea below a pre historic Hellenistic harbour which has been lifted 6-9 metres above sea-level by an earthquake in Falassama, and walked along one of the longest and deepest Gorge in Europe – the Samaria Gorge - with hoards of other people but still very worthwhile.

Crete is a magnificent island – the biggest in the med, with mountains to match in scale the Alps and fertile plains that feed much of Greece. We found the people of Crete generous and friendly, perhaps like the rest of the Greeks used to be before tourism tainted them.

We left Pippy and Richard to continue their sail west while we sailed a couple of miles North of Agios Nikolalaos to Spinalonga and Elounda. The island of Spinalonga used to be a leper colony (like The Island by Victoria Hyslop) but previously was a Venetian fortress built in 1579. Over the years it has been occupied by Venetians, Turks and then the Lepers until 1957. Now it is uninhabited but visited by a continuous stream of tourists. The Lagoon it protects is very shallow and used to be crystal clear but sadly no longer. However we liked it and stayed a few days and it was here we met one of the most interesting people we have ever met.

German Dieter said he was crazy but not stupid, 67 years old he spends his summers exploring the Greek islands by inflatable canoe. He will paddle 60 miles at a time between islands even in high winds, he sleeps in it (occasionally en-route) and carries a little water, a GPS, and a sleeping bag. He has a good pension and eats all his meals out. Replacing the canoe costs him Euro600 every 5 years and he has been paddling for 35 years. He used to paddle in his holidays but since he retired he paddles all summer. He spends the winters in Germany being Grandad and visiting his 6 children.

It was time to leave Crete so after many happy days there we set sail for an overnighter to Tilos where we arrived just after sunrise, anchored, swam and then slept before going ashore to meet another group of friendly locals. Tomorrow, after a wonderful month, we return to Turkey and will spend a week sorting a few jobs that need doing on Deep Blue and laying her up for the winter, and then it is home to Bristol for a weekend with the family before me back to Antibes and Andy (probably) back to Palma.