Sailing in Greece
A Family Cruise of a
Lifetime
A Family Cruise of a Lifetime
Sailing the Greek Islands: A Family Cruise of a Lifetimeby Tim Aquilina For 7 days in July of 2005 I took my family on the cruise of lifetime. We sailed to the Greek islands on a yacht skippered by the most wonderful person, Stefan Ritcher. His first mate, Soulis was the perfect accompaniment. These two showed us the best vacation we've ever experienced. |
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When we landed in Athens, Stefan was there to pick us
up at the airport and drive us to the boat, Caraya II
in the port town of Lavrion. We immediately set sail
for the island of Kea where we met with an old friend,
Matt Barrett.
Kea
is one of the Cyclades islands and is closest to
Athens so it didn't take long to get there at all.
Over dinner we planned our sailing itinerary, and then
retired to the boat for a good night of sleep in the
harbor. The first day we sailed to the Cycladic island
of Serifos, but first stopped along the way for a swim
off a secluded bay near the island of Kithnos. This
was the first in what I can only describe as 'the best
way' to experience swimming in the Agean, or anywhere
else for that matter. After our swim, Soulis prepared
the most delicious omelette and Greek salad. I had
never tasted anything so delicious. This was another
first in what became a series of the culinary
delights, each one better than the previous.Afterwards we sailed to the port at Serifos where we rode a bus to the top of a mountain to visit a Church overlooking the bay for an incredibly beautiful sunset. Once nightfall arrived we returned to the harbor and had a tasty meal at a waterfront taverna which Soulis and Stefan had recommended. The next morning we set sail back to the island of Kithnos, and docked in a quiet little harbor where we had another fantastic meal consisting of the most deliciously fresh fish. Stefan and Soulis were right alongside us to help us with ordering and translating, they turned out to be much more than just skipper and firstmate. 
The very next morning we sailed to
Sifnos
, an island my friend Matt Barrett had highly
recommended. It was at Sifnos where I met Tony, the
owner of a really entertaining bar called the Old
Captain. Tony bought us a round of drinks and
told stories of 'the good old days' in the early 80's
when Matt's band had played there. He had pictures on
the wall by the bar, too many to count of not only
Matt, but just about everyone who had passed through
this elusive place in timeless Cyclades wonderment.
Tony also recommended a great Italian restaurant so
after drinks we headed for the restaurant Da Claudios
where we encountered another savory delight. Stefan
had checked the weather report at a nearby internet
cafe and was concerned about north winds bringing
weather to the Cyclades so we decided to change our
itinerary and head for safer waters in the
Argo-Sargonic Gulf. In the morning we headed for the
island of Hydra. It was a long sail to Hydra from
Sifnos, but the 'Ancient Sea Spirits' provided
us with fortuitous winds and we made it there in no
time at all.
We loved
Hydra
. I think we had the most fun there. It's different
from the Cyclades in many respects, from appearance to
culture. It's a more polpular island so the harbor is
more crowded than what we found on the previous
islands. The port captain at Hydra is a colorful man
and earns his keep. He's a short, stocky guy with a
massive grey beard who I saw jump into the harbor to
unscramble the 'anchor spaghetti' that can sometimes
occur owing to close quarters of the boats. His name
is Pan and he's not to be missed shouting orders at
the boats as they navigate into 'his' realm of Hydra
magic. We were so charmed by this place that we
decided to stay an additional day so my daughter Sue
could rent a balcony room overlooking the harbor to
paint. While here Stefan and Soulis not only showed us
the best places to eat and shop, but they took us to a
nightclub for the 'best night' of the trip. We drank
ouzo and danced into the wee hours of the night.
After Hydra we sailed to the island of
Poros
, another in the Argo-Sargonic Gulf where once again
Stefan showed us the most incredible place to swim
anchored near some ancient, elusive island that was
only large enough to house a small church. It was here
that I swam to the place from our boat and explored
timeless sands of the ancients. After a night on Poros
we sailed back to the mainland at
Cape Sounion
where we anchored in the bay and rode a small dinghy
to shore and climbed the hill to the temple of
Poseidon where we watched the most fantastic sunset.
There was a small crowd there at the temple which
actually appluaded the moment the sun went down
beyond the horizon. It wasn't like any sunset I had
ever experienced. After nightfall and dinner we
returned to the boat which was anchored in the bay and
went for a night swim which was the perfect 'last'
swim of our trip. The moon was full and you could see
the temple lit from above. It was more than
perfect.We had been met earlier by Stefan's charming wife and handsome little two year old son for dinner at the taverna in Sounion so it was a real pleasure to see him in his element as 'family' man, a perfect closure to our odyssey. |
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The next morning they brought us ashore one more time
by dinghy for what turned out to be a sincerely
tearful and heartfelt departure. For these two turned
out to be much more than just skipper and
firstmate. They had became our friends for a
lifetime. (Tim sailed with Stefan again in 2009. For more information on Stefan see Sailing with Stefan Richter ) |
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