I woke up at 7:30 just as I heard the roar of the boat's engine--it was time to move. I rushed on board to help with the fenders and maneuvering and we were soon out of the port. Sadly, our enthusiasm was not matched by that of the wind; soon after leaving the port we hit a patch of no wind and so we had to turn the engine on for a few more miles to get us through to an area with more wind. As a side note--we rarely ever used our engine during navigation. Dull as it was at times to be stuck with no or little wind in the middle of the journey, we usually weathered it and slowly made our way to an area with more wind--we only ever really used the engine for the absolute final approach to ports as the engine made the ship more easier to maneuver. But today was an exception, we really had to make progress and could not have afforded to waste precious hours standing still.
Read MoreKalimnos
Greek Sailing Odyssey Day 16: Leros - Kalimnos /
Today was yet another day when me and my dad woke up early to go sightseeing before we sail off--this time our destination was the Platanos castle. We caught the 7:43 bus, which was on time! Amusingly, the bus driver kept on honking throughout the whole trip, frequently but irregularly enough to catch you off-guard and make you yank instinctively each time. You see, there are many reasons to honk in Greece: a vehicular 'hello' to a car--any car--passing you in the opposite direction, a warning to pedestrians, or an alert to general traffic when the bus was approaching a turn; the streets were often quite narrow and cars could easily crash into the bus if they didn't know it was right around the corner. Noble and sociable as the reasons were, the constant fanfare from the bus must have been greatly enjoyed by anybody who lived by the street at such wee hours of the day.
Read More