Heaven on earth in the Greek Islands

After leaving a suitably cold rainy day in Putney, Pete, Dean and I met Trudy at Victoria and took the train to Gatwick. In typical British Rail fashion, it cost the same amount to buy four tickets as it did for two, so long as we travelled as a group. After being referred to as ‘The Group of 4′ by the ticket agent, the guys at the barrier gate and the train conductor, we decided to adopt that name for the rest of the trip. Never gets old.

Checked in with First Choice Airlines to Preveza (which, despite one of the check-in staff’s suggestions, is not in Zimbabwe…) and pissed around for a while in the delights of the Gatwick North terminal, stopping only long enough for Trudz to have half the contents of her carry on luggage confiscated by security. You never know, she may have been planning to blow up the plane with that 200ml of sunscreen.

After that fun was over, we boarded the flight and headed for the Ionian. As we came in to land, first impressions were spectacular – gorgeous deep blue water, yachts sparkling in the rays of the setting sun, heavily wooded islands rising steeply out of the ocean and a cloudless blue sky as far as the eye could see. Sound like heaven? Well, it is.

After the Group of 4 held up the immigration queues for a few minutes (apparently they don’t get many non EU passports coming through), we took the Sunsail shuttle to Vounaki marina and got the first look at our floating home for the next week, a 43ft Beneteau. Dean had been doing his best over the last few months to lower expectations about the level of creature comforts onboard – as a result, I was pleasantly surprised by how much room there was, both on deck and in the cabins.

After a spectacular sunset over the hills, bags were stowed, essentials were purchased – beer and red vodka – and the relaxation button was firmly pressed. Around 10.30 we eventually decided that maybe dinner wasn’t a bad option, so we walked the ten minutes into Palaros, found a fairly local taverna and tucked into an awesome Greek salad – my god, how good were the feta and tomatoes?! – and souvlaki (with chips of course). I suspect you get chips with everything here, dessert included. There may have been a few more local beers (Mythos) and wines consumed as well. Back to the boat (via a fully clothed swim for 50% of the Group of 4) where the red vodka proceeded to get hit fairly hard and my role as musical director was called into play. Much to the delight of our neighbours in the marina, I’m sure. We finally stumbled off to bed somewhere after 2am. Not for the last time this week, as it transpired…

The next morning we were up far too early and the sailors among us had the (very brief) briefing. After some shopping (ie, emptying the store of cold Mythos) and last minute repairs by the base engineer, we were on our way, motoring quietly out of the marina towards Skorpios, a private island owned by Jacqui Onassis. And it suddenly hit all of us just how incredibly beautiful it all was, and how amazingly fortunate we were to be able to be here in the first place. The team colours were hoisted (a Kiwi flag), the team song was played (Mr Brightside), the team drink was consumed (red vodka) and the team dream was well and truly lived. Mooring off one of the rocky beaches on Skorpios, it was obviously time for a swim. With air temperature in the mid 30′s and water temperature only a few degrees lower, words really can’t describe the experience of diving into water with easily 20m+ visibility, then snorkelling round for half an hour or so checking out the sea life. There were plenty of fish to look at, albeit not as colourful as Vietnam. We motored for another hour to another gorgeous spot (obviously with more swimming required) for a sandwich lunch, then off to Spartahori to tie up for the night. No dramas for our first mooring, and (after yet more swimming in the stunning secluded little bay) I went for a run around the coastline. It was hard work in the heat, but well worth the effort for the stunning views. The taverna owners (Panno and Babis) remembered Dean which was pretty cool after five years, so we had a bit of a chat to them, wandered up the hill to the township for some sunset shots and to top up the Pringles supply, then a few drinks on the back of the boat before walking the whole 50 metres or so to the taverna and a table on the beach right beside the water. Dinner and a couple of large glasses of Mythos later, Pete and I decided that obviously the best way of getting back to the boat was by swimming there. So we did. Not a bad way to finish the day, there’s not many places in the world where you can pay for dinner, walk a few feet and swim back to your accommodation…