Proper Greece
Greece as no other region for yachting requires the correct appeal. Otherwise you can disappoin or get a mass product in a tourist wrapper. But if you do everything competently – you will return here again and again, especially since the study of all Islands of Greece you will definitely need half aim.
Many yachtsmen Greece dislike. And, in principle, they can be understood. Service in Marina "leaves desire" or just absent, and Marin themselves here are not so much. A typical picture for a small Greek island – anchor parking or a tiny close berth, where you can not always connect to electricity, get water or fuel. And for sure at two o’clock in the morning, no one will go to you on the motorcy, to hospitably specify a free place and help moisten. By the way, in neighboring Turkey, this practice is no exception, but the rule. In addition, over the past years, ten Turks have chosen such new marins that even the Cote d’Azur.
Follow the example of the neighbors of the Greeks do not hurry. And they can also be understood: why invest money, if the Lord Yachtsmen and are present in a wide range. It remains the most difficult thing – to understand the yachtsmen themselves, who are crowded here with crowds every year, no matter what. Greek yachting and undoubted advantages: from the point of view of yacht charter, this country is almost perfect – the local charter fleet is huge and constantly updated. Choose what you want: any size, quality and year buildings. Where to go – also not a problem: hundreds of islands in Greece, and they are all different. It is easy to understand why everyone who walked here on the yacht, her own picture of what is happening. Someone proves that this is a paradise place, someone swirls Greek marina, Greek food and universal Greek pofigism with an indispensable promise more there either. In order not to be among the latter (especially if you are going to the Greek Islands for the first time), throw off the snobbery and take the local skipper, even if you all know how to fine. It is very important where to go here: if there are two ports on the island, then one of them will be a picturesque green bay with transparent water and cozy taverns, and in the other you will spend the night moored between the ferry and rusty barkas, breathing the smell of diesel and pierced fish. Separate theme – wind and general weather. Especially not easy in this sense at kikladakh.
Cyclades – Big Archipelago in the Aegean Sea, south of Athens. In the summer, the northern, North-Western winds are dominated here, which immediately means one serious problem: it’s easy to descend easily and pleasantly, go back much more difficult. This is one of the main reasons why to cover with all the kiklades – the case is absolutely unreal. But you can plan several separate routes for every taste. The northern islands are larger, inhabited, there are more tourists and entertainment, respectively. In the southern part of the archipelago, on the contrary, even in the season relatively not enough, and if you are crazy not glamor, but unity with nature, here you will find it. We chose the second option: they decided to go from the island of Santorini to Kos, looking along the way to the so-called small cikes – a group of small, lumpy islands.
Santorini
From all Cycladic Islands Santorini is the most famous. Once it was a valid volcano, which served, according to archaeologists, the cause of the death of the Minoan civilization. About one and a half thousand years BC, he exploded and a huge tidal wave bold all coastal settlements and ports of Crete, and therefore the powerful miner culture turned out to be cut off from the outside world and quickly sued no. Santorini itself immersed under water, only part of the crater remained on the surface in the form of a crescent and a few more islets from volcanic lava. The island is incredibly beautiful, but somewhat overloaded with tourists. It is customary to make romantic vigions, no wonder when entering one of the villas there is a sign "The most popular place for hands and heart suggestions".
Want non-bunny impressions – go to the northern part of the crater: the place is called china. Do not even try to give an anchor there – it will inevitably get stuck. Bottom covered with large boulders, so get on a buoy. The bay is surrounded by high cliffs, at the top of which the settlement itself is located – "Chora". It is not easy to get there: a cool path leads to the top, at the beginning of which you will see the local "Taxi" – With a dozen degraded donkeys and mules. Differently in any way: the car movement is impossible here, and on foot – give God the soul. Only without panic: when the donkey stubbornly panties right along the edge of the abyss, the main thing is not touching anything – the animal itself knows what to do. To appeal to the help of accompanying traffickers is also useless, the only thing they can say in English: "Madame, Sit Snirno". But at the top you will find a reward – a picturesque snow-white town, luxurious views, good restaurants and bars on the terraces, where God himself ordered to contemplate the sunset with a glass of cold Sangria.
Schinza
Schinza Island, the full opposite of the excessively popular Santorini, is a small bull of sushi mily in ten south of the big island of Naxos. In any case, such a shine was remembered for us five years ago: a deserted silence, the immense failure of the night sky, covered with the stars; and tourists can be counted on the fingers – they all came here, like we, on a yacht – differently to the island. This time there was a surprise. It all started with the fact that in the tiny Marina had to be squeezed between "Megoy" from FEADSHIP and a healthy Italian sailboat for a hundred feet. Next door – a whole brood of new motors, mostly Italian production. Italians often come to Greece on their boats, but earlier they were mostly furredi neighborhood Corfu. In the Ionian Sea in summer there is little wind, and water like asphalt is the most for high-speed glissing boats. In the Aegean Sea, and especially in the kiclades, the wind is often unslab, and you can run into a very high wave. That is why a few years ago, motorboats made a meager part of the local charter fleet, and today sailing yachts in most. But, apparently, the Italians have taken out their own tourists so much that they went where the eyes look, despite the weather. So shinza seems to no longer be "Shelter shelter". However, it has its advantages. If earlier on the island there were only a few taverns with local "Rustic" kitchen, this time we were lucky to get into the real gastronomic paradise. That restaurant seems to be called Deli (nothing Indian, rather, something from the word "delicacy"). However, it does not matter: there is only one street on the island, and you will find it without any problems, especially in the dark – on the terrace hanging over the sea, there are highlighted steps. There is no menu, but in French, a distiller waiter instantly made us a masterpiece meal of eight changes in dishes with indispensable "Fresheners taste" Between them, not forgetting to list the ingredients (only local, freshly cast and freshly spent) and suggest the right choice of wines. It was a real cultural shock, given that over the past six years, that we go to Greece, somehow have already gotten it to get used that the Greeks are never in a hurry and do not love change and unnecessary televitations at all.
Amorgos
Highlated Amorgos has not yet replete tourists. It is difficult to build hotels here and not many natural beaches; Although those that are, surprisingly beautiful. It was here that Luc Besson filmed his film "Bluewoman". The abyss really opens, especially if you look at the sea from the top of the rocky ridge on the east coast. And it is from this side of the island that you should not walk on the yacht: the strongest squalls constantly break off, so the amorgos is better to go bite from the West, if you, of course, are not looking for adventures. In Amorgos, it makes sense to get stuck for a couple of days. Here, unlike many Cycladic Islands, there are not only silence and nature, but also what is considered landlords. The most impressive of them is a male monastery Panagia Hozotiotiss, stripped to a sheer cliff at an altitude of 300 meters above the sea. He received his name from the icon of Our Lady, brought to the island at the beginning of the XI century from the city of Khozov in Palestine and actually caused the foundation of the abode. Soon the monastery was ruined with pirates (or either by the Turks, or venetians), and the icon was thrown into the sea. According to legend, a few years later, the sea miraculously brought it back completely intact. Anyway, but in 1088 the monastery was rebuilt to the Byzantine Emperor Alexei Komnin, and Icon still is there.
The monastery makes sense to call, even if you are not religious: first, look at the local museum, where the ancient handwritten books are stored; And secondly, it was easy to lay down the human perseverance – as an ancient builders without modern technologies managed to join such a large building to a literally sheer wall. And do not forget: monks require to visit a dressing way ("Rental" There is no appropriate clothes here).
Fishing
Perhaps the only way to silently combine fishing and cruise yachting – tuna fishing. This fish is only interested in moving bait, so there is no need to specifically stop and spend time. Place on the spinning of rubber squid, throw fishing rods – and you can go further: it does not matter – under the sail or under the engine. All day passed without a single bunch, so the next morning we threw fishing rods rather to clean the conscience and just forgot about them. Everything happened very unexpectedly: Thank God, someone managed to grab the rapidly flying over the rod. With a minute in the cockpit, chaos reigned: if the fish grabbed, you need to stop the boat as quickly as possible, otherwise the ripple, but in the hype, they all forgotten what ropes to pull. Further – minutes of forty intense struggle, and now in the water glitters something similar to a huge mirror. Of course, we wanted to catch tuna, but did not count on such a beast: Rybina weighed a kilogram fifteen. To pull this monster, I had to tie a hinge Shkartik and put on a fish on a torso, a propagating rope for fins a dining fork. Yellow-fired tuna (Yellow Fin) – Rare mining: It is less than blue tuna, but much more tastier. Cutting tuna requires skills and speeds. By paying out the fish, lower it overboard on the rope loop tied by the tail and "towing" from half an hour, otherwise fool the deck with blood. Do not descend from the extraction of the eye – small sharks are found in the Aegean Sea. For a person, they are not dangerous, but may well claim your catch. The next three days, the tuna was distributed to the neighbors in marinam and was used on board in all kinds: fried, parenchy, cheese … The last option is the most delicious, such freshness of Sashimi will not be served in any Japanese restaurant. But the fish after that did not want a month.
Levita
Levitha Island (Levitha) Even by the standards of small cike – the place is failing. Only one family lives here: she belongs to her farm, where sheep is bred, goats and even grow something on a scanty, dried soil. In the latter, it is difficult to believe – Landscapes of Levites resemble the land after a nuclear explosion: Casting bushes, spines and endless fields of stones, among which there is a barely noticeable path – she leads to a farm, where guests are happy with pleasure. There is something like a tavern, where they are preparing a simple, but delicious home food from what God sent, as well as, which is surprising, there is a good choice of local wine. Going there in the evening, do not forget to take the lantern more powerful, otherwise, returning back to the boat, risk a break of my legs: the only sources of electrical lighting on the island – windmill and diesel generator on the farm. It is worth exitting the gate – and you are immersed in a pitch darkness, thick, like ink. The main thing is not to go from the path, because only she leads to the only yacht parking – a small bay in the south of the island. Here the boats can stand on the buoy (anchor will not allow the depth of 30-50 m). Getting off the way, we have been wandering among the stones and sharp, like a razor, barramen. The most offensive: here it is – the top fire of the yacht, the visible is very close, and you will not come up – stone "field" Remove into a cloudy coast.
Write the full encyclopedia of the Greek Islands – the same thing that try to create a general theory of everything. Even a ten-day campaign in a small part of a single archipelago has no chance to fit into a magazine article. Overboard this story, a whole bunch of interesting islands, where we visited: IOS, Kalimos, Kos, Kufonissi. So: just take a yacht and go. And, by the way, if that, your story will definitely be completely unlike this.
