Walk/Swim/Sail One Hundred and Twenty-Seven – Aegina to Vathi

We went shopping for provisions, including buying local specialities, pistachio nuts and preserved sour cherries. Robin spent a small fortune on fruit (which went bad very rapidly) from a charming woman selling from a tourist-trap shop on a boat. The local people of course aren’t seduced by the charm and prefer to buy fresher, cheaper produce from the regular shops.

I finished off this drawing of the church next to the harbour and then we set off. Our anchor was entangled with a huge rusting anchor that looked as though it should have come from the ‘pirate’ ship in the harbour, but Robin dived in and disentangled it. Once again, great wind for sailing.

When we entered the huge bay area where Vathi was located, the wind was blocked by the mountains, and the water was as smooth as silk. Having watched all the children and Robin in the ’ringo’ I thought I should at least have a go. If you like the feeling of being bounced around in a jeep or landrover over an unmade road then this is the sporting activity for you!

We stopped in the next bay to Vathi for lunch and swimming. The rocks were very obviously volcanic and some of them looked like lava flows. We found more urchin shells to add to Xavier’s collection and Robin delighted everyone by finding a red starfish which we all admired before returning to the water.
Then on to Vathi which was a lovely, clean, small and intimate harbour with just two tavernas. Everyone in the flotilla arrived early and there was a lot of fun with everyone jumping off the rocks and swimming together in the harbour.

Poor Michael had yet another tale of glasse woe. He and Jane had anchored somewhere with crystal clear water and he had dived in forgetting that he was wearing his super-duper £400 glasses. He could see them glistening away at the bottom of the sea in water 20 metres deep but without aqualungs he couldn’t do anything about it.

A punch party was organised on the quayside, Hugo collected a bucket of hermit crabs, to the delight of Xavier, ostensibly for hermit crab racing, though in the end they were returned to the sea without participating in any races. Then dinner for everyone in one of the two tavernas, followed by a night of ferocious wind all night.