Mamma Mia – what are these Greek cats up to now?

We are used to cats belonging to someone... but in Greece, cats are regarded as a natural co-habitant and are truly community cats! The nice climate and abundance of food makes it easy for them to survive on the streets. We were, however, surprised when they freely entered a sex shop.

Ha, ha, looks like the black and white cat walking into this establishment, is searching for the lady in the cat outfit....The cat seemed really puzzled why some woman is trying to copy her.

Curious as we both are, we had a quick peek to see what the cats were doing inside a sex shop!

We spent New Year in Rhodes. Went to a Japanese restaurant with German sailors from the boat next to ours.

We did not realise that it was already 2023, until the waiters wished our table a happy New Year. Could not believe that we missed the fireworks!

Traditional celebrations are a huge part of Greek culture. 6th of January is the day of Epiphany. On that day, People all over Greece, congregate along the country's waters for an ice cold dip into the sea. Competitors battle to retrieve a wooden cross thrown into the sea by a priest. Whoever retrieves the cross is said to have one year of blessings. Only boys dive for the cross.

Youth winning the cross dive and blessing as part of the Epiphany water ceremony.

Australian wine and board games during winter nights. We are both bad losers and it was getting very competitive. We agreed to play 10 rounds of Backgammon and won nine games each... Caroline lost the 10th game by one dice roll/number! Unbelievable. It could not have been any closer than this!

We were waiting for a good weather window to sail from Rhodes to Crete. During one night we had 43 knot gusts in the Marina. 2 weeks later (we had already left by then) they had 54.5 knots! Rhodes Marina is really bad when there is strong wind (lots of swell).

Once the weather forecast was better, we sailed from Rhodes to Crete. The journey took 24 hours. It was a wet and very dark night with big black clouds hiding the moon.

Things started to look up the next morning.

We enjoyed a coffee after checking into the Marina of Agios Nikolaos in Crete (our new "home" town for a month),

Crete has lovely mountains....

We were keen to hire a car and enjoy the nature. Our first trail was a 4 hours hike to small waterfalls.

A drive to Heraklion followed the next day. We chose a small mountain road, which lead us past deserted looking villages.

Inside the Heraklion Koules Fortresss, Old rusty Venetian cannon balls and amphoras from shipwrecks.

Caroline was keen to visit the Island of Spinalonga. She recently read "the Island", a historical novel written by Victoria Hislop about the life on the Leper island. The book later became a hit television show in Greece, clearing decades of fallacy surrounding the island. Today, Spinalonga, the once “grave of the living”, is the second most visited archaeological site of Crete. At the entrance of the island, an inscription advises you to leave hope behind, while at the entrance of the cemetery, a small plaque urges respect for the souls that never managed to escape Spinalonga.

In between 1904 and 1926. 730 lepers entered, among them 465 died. 28 were legally debouched and 16 escaped. 39 children were born from marriages between inmates, among which 16 died. Healthy children over 6 months were transferred to an Orhpanage in Athens. Spinalonga was home to the last active leper colony in Europe and closed in 1957.

We were lucky to find a boat heading to the island during winter. A lovely rainbow greeted us on the way there.

Spinaloga in the background with its Venetian fortification.

Entrance for the new infected arrivals. The sign on the left reads: Disinfection kiln of Leper colony and disinfection area. The way leads through the housing, shops, hospital, church etc.

Fortress of Spinalonga.

After 1 hour on the island, the boat returned to get us.

46+ knots winds in the marina in Crete, but feeling safe here. There is very little swell in this marina and such a difference from our previous location.

Check out the waves outside the breaking walls and inside where our boat is.

Birds enjoying Agios Nikolaous in Crete.

Taverna Portes, our new favourite! The food is amazing and desert and Raki with honey (traditional Cretan spirit) is a free addition to every meal.

Visit to the sacred Psychro Cave in the Lasithi plateau (considered to be the birth site of Zeus). We were the only ones there but would be very busy in summer.

You never know what's around the corner !

Snow on Greek mountains. Lovely backdrop on our walks.

For Sven a hike should be rated as "Expert" and "Alpine experience required".. So off we went to do the Mesonas gorge hike, 780 m elevation, 16 km.

The walk in the narrow Gorge is only 4 km long but has vertical walls with an old aqueduct still carrying water from the Milonias springs to Kavousi village.

A cold drink back at the village.

The evil eye is part of the Greek culture (and of course of some other countries too) and is deeply ingrained among Greek people. It is believed that the evil eye can strike anyone at any given moment and therefore these pretty protectors can be seen everywhere. We have bought one for our boat too! We just like the look of them.

It is time for Caroline to say Goodbye to Greece.

Bag is ready for her trip to visit her family in Switzerland, her sister in Dubai and her sons in Australia (and of course to catch up with friends). Meanwhile, Sven will welcome his nephew Fabian, who will take the ropes from Caroline. Caroline will re-join the boat in Malta (or or wherever the wind blows them).

Have a good and safe trip boys. Freezer is full of home cooked meals - just in case you need them during your passages.

Plan for 2023:

Malta, Tunis, Balearic Islands, Morocco, Gibraltar then heading towards the Canary islands and Cape Verde.