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Cruise with Alba Voyager as she sets sail from Scotland on an adventure which will take her to many foreign lands and hopefully round the world.
2008 Aegean Islands Cruise (Kalimnos, Leros, Lipsos)Jul. 6, 2008

After saying our goodbyes to John we headed for the island of Kalimnos breaking our journey with an over night stop at Isle Pserimos. For the last five miles we had to motor into a strong head wind with a steep sea and we were making very little progress. Until now we hadn’t required the motor a great deal except for getting in and out of harbour and although the boat felt a bit sluggish I let it pass. I now knew there was something wrong, probably a fouled propeller. When we could get to a quiet bay I would have to dive on it and check it out.

 

A gullet in Kalimnos harbour

We left Pserimos in the morning before all the tripper boats arrived and headed the ten miles to Kalimnos the main port on the island of Kalimnos. We were lucky and managed to get a berth at the town quay which has electricity, normally this is packed with charter boats in high season. The only disadvantage was the ‘boy racers’ on the road adjacent to our berth, but then few things are perfect!

 

Looking down into Vathi Harbour

We decided to hire a scooter again as we are finding this one of the best ways to explore the islands. Daily rates are between10/15€ and is fuel minimal, you can usually cover an island in a day. Then if you wish you can return to areas you want to further explore and spend more time. The picture above was taken from the road looking down into the small port of Vathi which is at the end of a long fiord and affords a small but secure harbour.

 

Vathi's swimming pool

Another delightful place we visited was Emborios and here we found the restaurants provided mooring buoys, all you had to do was eat in the restaurant if you wanted to stay overnight on the buoy (many hotels in Scotland use the same system). So after a few days we sailed to the more tranquil setting of the bay at Emborios. I expect this is what the west coast of Scotland would be like if only the sun was to shine a bit more often.

 

Yachts on the moorings at Emborios

Another delightful place we visited was Emborios and here we found the restaurants provided mooring buoys, all you had to do was eat in the restaurant if you wanted to stay overnight on the buoy (many hotels in Scotland use the same system). So after a few days we sailed to the more tranquil setting of the bay at Emborios. I expect this is what the west coast of Scotland would be like if only the sun was to shine a bit more often.

 

We ate at Captain Kostas

We picked up one of Captain Kostas mooring buoy’s in the bay, so we ate in Captain Kostas restaurant. And I can recommend the food, it was excellent. We had three lovely quiet days here, reading, walking ashore and of course Captain Kostas ice cream!  

 

View of the bay from the restaurant

Well all good things come to an end and we pulled ourselves away from Emborios and set sail for our next island, Leros.

 

On route to Leros

On arrival at Lakki on the island of Leros we didn’t go to the marina but anchored in the bay as I thought this would be an ideal place to dive and check out the propeller. And so it was, after about ten dives all the barnacles and crud were removed and hopefully there would now be a big improvement to our speed under motor. Where was Susie when I needed her?

 

Italian architecture from 1912

Many of the buildings in the town are of Italian origin dating from the Italian occupation of 1912 when Italy used Lakki as its main naval base in the Aegean. Now with EU funding these art deco buildings are being restored making for a very pleasant contrast to the local architecture found here and on many of the other islands.

 

And still in daily use.

But the past hasn’t gone away altogether; this fellow was used daily by his owner as his main mode of transport to and from the town. We spent six days anchored in the bay before moving on to the small island of Lipso.

 

Isle Lipsos to port

Lipsos has only a small Hamlet (Lipso) of probably about 600 inhabitants, but it is here that you will find an Oasis in the form of a bakery. In this bakery you will find bread, croissants, cakes and pastries to rival the best that France can offer. Anne had to blindfold me every time we passed the shop!

 

One of the world's best

 

It was even better from the inside

How Anne ever managed to drag me away from Lipso will forever remain a mystery.

Post Comment
catch upOct. 3, 2009
hi tom and anna its your cabin boy thought id get in touch and see how you are and find out were you are to get back to me my email is stevo_a_williams@hotmail.co.uk
Posted by stephen
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