We became very familiar with the Meltemi winds as we made our way down wind to Paros and Antiparos where we hired quad bikes to visit amongst other things a spectacular cave - impressive, as were the 420 steps back up!
Antiparos Cave
Drying the catch, Antiparos
Our next stop was Naxos - a beautiful bay to ourselves - where we got our anchor chain well and truly snared. Fortunately the water was crystal clear and we were able to motor round the offending item and with guidance from a swimmer we were able to detach ourselves. We think that it was the rudder from a sunk fishing boat, but what ever it was, it was not moving!
Our next stop was iOS, yet another stunning Greek island in the sun. We then used the Meltemi wind to blast our way to Santorini, the crescent shaped volcano, and we stayed in the matching crescent shaped marina.
Santorini Marina. At first sight it appeared empty, but as darkness fell it very rapidly filled with day trip booze cruisers who had been enjoying the Santorini Sunset Experience.
Santorini Marina - rafted out three deep. Ian, Nick and Debbie clamber back towards Nautilus. This was our most expensive mooring in Greece at €33 per night, but as it the only safe haven on the island, there was no alternative for us.
Santorini was another quad bike destination for us, and definitely worth the marina charges - absolutely stunning. The white houses perched on the cliff tops look like snow from a distance
Looking down into the crater, Santorini
It's incredibly steep - hard to believe you can build on such a gradient. The 'road' in the photo is used by donkeys to carry those who can't make it up the hill on foot from the tour boats up to the town.
Some of the older buildings on Santorini
And one final photo of a typical Greek sight: Church bells, Santorini
The final push of the Meltemi took us to Crete, where we visited Agios Nicholaos and of course the nearby Spinolonga Island, the Venetial Fortification that much later became the leper colony made famous by Victoria Hislop's book, The Island
Spinolonga Lagoon, the island can just be seen in the distance.
The main gate, next to the Decontamination Rooms.
Some of the old buildings - many were destroyed by the Greek Government in the 1970 due to their embarrassment over their treatment of the Lepers.
The old Venetian Barracks - much of this was inhabited by the Lepers.
This shows how close Spinolonga is to the mainland, but there are only two entrances, and those walls didn't only serve to keep invaders out …
It's very mountainous, and the roads can be quite exciting.
Some we shared with Goats.
And we DID NOT partake of this BBQ!
The Eastern tip of Crete - we turned back when the road ran out and we'd reached a Military Base.
The Lasithi Plateau - Home to many of Crete's 25 to 35 million Olive trees.
No trip to Crete would be complete without a visit to Knossos, the ruins of the Minoan Palace that was only discovered just over 100 years ago. It was then 'restored' by Sir Arthur Evans at the turn of the century - his restorations have been the source of furious controversy ever since as it very much reflects his personal the on a culture that existed between 1700 and 1450 BC.
Knossos Minoan Ruins - with added concrete.
We headed West after leaving Agios Nicholaos and stopped in Malia, reputedly the Party Town of Crete - the Marina was a rather sad reflection of the failings of the Economy. Built about 10 years ago, funds dried up and the Harbour is now filling up with the sand that was previously on the surrounding beaches. No one is happy!
Malia Harboour, a sad sight.
Chania was our last stop in Crete. Chania has a lovely old Venetian Harbour, an old town complete with a large weekly market, hundreds of tavernas filled with tourists and locals and is one of the oldest continually inhabited city sites in the world.
Part of the old Venetian Fortifications, Chania
Catering to the Tourist Industry.
Whilst in Chania we walked down the Samaria Gorge, which at 16km is apparently the longest in Europe. Fortunately we took a very early bus to the start of the hike and were amongst the first of the 880 visitors to walk the gorge that day.
The first 8 km are incredibly steep.
The view back up the gorge
Further down
Samaria Gorge is a National Park and home to the Kri Kri, somewhere between a goat and an Ibex
After 8 km down hill, we finally reached the bottom of the gorge.
Ian and Nick Newell, dwarfed by the size of the gorge.
The narrowest part, at 3.5 metres wide. Very little water visible at the moment but there are numerous fresh water springs on the way down, and as soon as it rains the gorge is closed to the public.
The Town Quay, Chania - it may look peaceful, but there was a huge amount of surge and as the October weather deteriorated a huge surge built up in the harbour threatening to knock the boats back against the harbour wall - time to leave.
The entrance did not look at all appealing, but neither was staying in the harbour - after much consideration and watching a couple of other boats successfully make it out we decided the open sea was a safer option than the harbour.
Five days later we arrived in Licata for a catch up with old friends from last winter, we really enjoyed the Greek islands and leave with very good memories.
Some final views of Crete:
Nothing to do with us! These were outside a restaurant.
But this was ours - en route between Crete and Sicily
