Greece. June 27, 2016 — Isabelle & Pierre

Chapter 1: Onboard of Corumbe IV.

Sailing around the Peloponnese with Silvia, Gaby, Marco and Paolo.

The Itinerary from Athens to Koroni.

Das Boat: CORUMBE IV an X Yacht 50 Feet - She is a beauty!

The crew (America Cup grade....)

Paolo Kolowratnik, le marin and Pierre Fay, le sous-marin.

Le Moglie: Gaby Kolowratnik, Isabelle Fay and Silvia Brustio.

Corumbe IV dancing with the sun under light to medium wind..

Day 1: Meeting the boat at the Delta Marina in Athens Harbor, the Piraeus. The Captain and the rest of the crew arrived earlier and are ready to go!

Day 2: Stop in Póros to fix the jib halyard that broke as we left the Piraeus. Christo came with his motorcycle from Athens, climbed on top of the mast to repair, creating some excitement on the pier!

The "town" of Póros is a charming spot on the sea, a perfect introduction to the beauty of the Peloponnese coast.

Day 3: Hydra - an island without cars where all transportation of goods is done on backs of mules. We loved this gorgeous sea port with its beautiful churches, animated streets, and (to the pleasure of the girls) its great boutiques.

The harbor is very busy and rather small, you need to arrive early to get a spot on the pier in front of the restaurants and boutiques.

Early wake up with the arrival of the daily ferry - unloading of the boat and loading of the mules.

Leaving the entire day for the girls to go shopping. Among the great shops, The Hydra Trading Company, located in the old police station with fantastic views over the harbor. The owner, Veronique, is French from la Rochelle (in all places) and sells a wonderful selection of house wear and accessories. In her beautiful store, you will also find an art gallery with an exhibit of very nice paintings including works from her son: Tom Powell.

Ending the day with a nice swim and drinks contemplating a gorgeous sun set, followed by a dinner at Kodylenia's where we had a memorable experience with our waiter from Georgia (Russia), most probably a distant cousin of the Seinfeld "soup nazi"! He was after all very nice and the food was quite good....

Day 4: Spetses - a beautiful island West of Hydra and the sailing mecca for the people from Athens. We arrived the weekend of the Spetses old boats regattas and had to anchor in the bay.

Excellent dinner right on the water at Tarsanas Fish Tavern. We ordered the usual: Greek salad and whole grilled fish!

Day 5: Kyparissi - a beautiful bay on the next "finger" of the Peloponnese sailing West. We anchored in front of a small church. This was paradise number 3. Swim, drinks and dinner on board with Silvia's spaghetti - The works!

Next morning, rowing to shore for breakfast and walk/dance around this charming village.

Sailing South and stopping for lunch in Gérakas:

and a visit of the caves in the bay with the dinghy, encounter with the "mostro" - probably a seal but this was not confirmed by the captain - all fantasies are allowed.

Day 6: Monemvasia - This incredible medieval town and fortress was built on this rock in 583 AD by inhabitants of the mainland seeking refuge from the Slavic invasion of Greece. From the 10th century AD, the town developed into an important trade and maritime centre. The fortress withstood numerous Arab and Norman invasions. It fell successively under Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman rule and at one point was inhabited by over 30,000 people.

The walls of the fortress and lower town were largely restored and give a great look into what would have been life in this unique place over a 1,000 years ago.

A good morning climb brought us to the upper town where the church of Agia Sofia has been restored overlooking the blue mediterranean sea. The vestiges of a large city are surrounding the church as a reminder of the past splendor of this medieval fortress.

Day 7: Elafónisos. Passing the cap Maléas to reach Elafónisos can be an adventure on its own. Nicholas D. Elias, a former Admiral in the Greek Navy and author of the Greece Sea Guide used by all experienced captains (including our own), is describing Maléas as an important yet treacherous crossing at the southernmost point of mainland Greece: Off the coast of Laconia, it is lashed by unpredictable winds and frequent storms that swallowed ships or dashed them on the rocks.

But that day, il vento non c'era un alito! - So we crossed with the motor to the relief of Silvia.

The white sandy beaches of Elafónisos were a perfect spot for the team to go on an expedition and collect sand (and other stuff) for Gaby's collections....

Another afternoon and evening onboard enjoying the sea and the sun. Tonight is risotto night!

Day 8: Pórto Kágio - Crossing due West to the Máni with light win picking up a bit on our arrival in Pórto Kágio.

Where we met an amazing women from Belgrade, Bigliana, who so kindly offered her car so we could drive to Vathia, a village 3 km up on the hills. The only difficulty was that Bigliana is a very tall lady and the driver seat was stuck in a position set for her - Paolo had to lay quite low to reach the pedals (I could not be of any help and Marco had stayed on board to watch the boat). Not sure Paolo could see the road so well but somehow we made it to Vathia (and back) safely....

Vathia, with a population today of close to 30 inhabitants, is essentially a ghost town. Few Hippies settled here 20 years ago but have left since. This is a unique village located on the southern tip of the Máni where its original inhabitants settled fleeing the Spartan. This remote area of the Máni and multitude of small bays was also a favorite hide-out for the pirates active in these waters back then. Vathia is characterized by its "Tower Houses" built by each family in a competition for the tallest tower to shoot from onto the others.

This is an amazing place to wonder around and admire its architectural details.

Back in Pórto Kágio, we invited Bigliana and her friend, Richard, for dinner to thank her for the car. Great evening right on the beach - Greek salad and grilled fish de rigueur!

Day 9: Liméni - The harbor of Areopoli located in a large and deep bay (fjord like) on the West Coast of the Máni.

A perfect spot to watch a beautiful sunset on our last evening together on the boat,

with a well deserved drink for the Captain,

and a Caipirinha for Silvia who was longing for it for several days.!

and wore for the occasion her chic bracelet made of acetate designed by Mymi.

Day 10: Koroni, where we are welcomed by a large turtle waiting in the bay for the night to go lay her eggs on the beach near the Kolo's house.

We disembarked in the bay of Koroni. Marco and Silvia took the boat to Kalamata where it would stay in a marina for a couple weeks and met us back at the Kolo's for few more days together on terra ferma.

Sailing around the Peloponnese is definitely one of the better ways to enjoy life but to do it with long-time good friends it is the absolute best and as Georges Brassens would say, it is all about:

Les copains d'abord!

Chapter 2: Chez Kolo.

Few years ago and after a long search for the perfect spot, Gaby and Paolo built this beautiful house designed by their daughter Nina who is an architect. With stunning views over the Mediterranean and surronded by plush vegetation, this was our last and ultimate paradise.

Ancient Messen e - Driving an hour North from the Kolo's, we visited this fascinating archeological site located 25 km North of Kalamata. The site contains the ruins of a large classical city built by the Messenians in 369 BC.