More pics from beautiful Klima

A trip to Klima bay and the latest Xmas BLOG - Happy new year everyone.

Hi again ! We hope you all had a great Christmas ? Our first Christmas in Samos proved to be as lovely as we had hoped due to the amazingly warm weather and also the warm hospitality of our new friends and neighbours.  We were invited to join some of the other English people living here for a small Christmas eve gathering in a taverna on Pythagorio harbour front. All were taking a few nibbles , and our friendly pack of local dogs, who come to the boat regularly to be fed, followed us into town in the hopes of getting a xmas snack!  The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky as we all sat gazing out at the glorious view . A small Greek band passed by collecting for local charities and playing Christmas carols! It felt a little weird toasting Christmas in the blazing sunshine but we are sure we will get used to it in time and we didn’t mind in the slightest that we were all feeling too hot !!  We also had  a few glasses of wine with our Dutch neighbours , Mike and Luka who sailed their Catamaran all the way from Holland to Samos despite having hardly any experience of sailing or being at sea!! Sounds as though they had an interesting journey and they had some hilarious stories to tell about their journey! ( the wine may have helped of course!) We met up with them again later that night and also Ann and Bob in the marina taverna. Needless to say it was a very merry xmas eve!! Hic!

We woke to another beautiful day on Xmas morning and opened our presents sat around our little boat xmas tree drinking bucks fiz ! Father Christmas had bought us some lovely presents… including a special gift …an engagement ring! Yep we got engaged !!   Not gonna get all mushy and stuff but it was a moment never  to be forgotten.! ( Aaaaw!) Moving swiftly on…we had been invited to the marina taverna by the manager Marcus for xmas dinner but as we already had plans to do our own on board later and were going to another English friends for xmas afternoon drinks and nibbles we decided we would just pop in for a drink! But in true Vicar of Dibley style we were invited to eat and a lavish spread of turkey with all the trimmings! We ate and drank what we were offered ( many helpings of turkey and stuffing!) so as not to offend , … then had to leave to go to our next invite! We both felt just like Dawn French on our way into town where we again ate, drank and were merry! Needless to say we accepted a lift home and never did manage to cook our own xmas dinner! The boat appeared to be very low in the water Xmas night for some reason!! We decided it was the extra xmas ballast we were carrying!

Boxing day was very quiet as we recovered from our over-indulgence, and too windy to take the boat out as planned. But the wind eased and today we were able to take the old girl out once more. It is always a great feeling untying the ropes and exiting the marina to cruise along the amazing coastline here. The views are wonderful and each time is another “pinch me” moment.  We cruised round to a little bay not far from the marina called Klima. As it is winter there is no one here at this time of year so we were able to more side-on to the rather crude and basic jetty there. Missing a few slats here and there and made from what appears to be drift wood, it is a little ramshackle to say the least! But totally in keeping with the feel of the place and adds to that “ Robinson Cruiso” feel! Perfectly fit for purpose though and sheltered from any wind. Totally alone there apart from a few local cats (who feasted on some tins of tuna we gave them!) we spent the day in the sunshine and quiet reading and fishing. Wonderful! The views from the bay are spectacular over Samos Strait to the Turkish coast just south of Kusadasi. We are here for the night and may stay tomorrow weather permitting. There is no shore power so no heaters on and despite the warmth of the sun during the day it gets pretty cold as soon as the sun goes down, so blankets are at the ready! But as you no doubt guessed, we don’t mind in the slightest!

Kilma bay- a little winter gem. 

God knows! - But a beautiful fish. 

Just the one jetty in Klima- someone had nicked most of the planking! 

The Capitan...

Klima on the south side of Samos Island is completely deserted this time of year.....It will be interesting to see the change in the summer time. 

Xmas eve 2015

Off into town for a few drinkies with the 'pack' in tow! 

Think it was the smell of the sausage rolls!! 

Different! 

More sanding!

Christina's original name board coming back to life! 

Lots and lots of sanding, but hey... 

Tara's found the perfect sun trap... Xmas is 3 days away! 

Winter maintenance 18 December 2015

Tara polishing her port holes! 

Time for some new TOMS.... 

Sanding back all the Teak..... Could take a while ! 

The original wheel .... Fiddly sanding.... 

Beer o'clock...

A month into winter 2015.

Well we've finally managed to get internet access after a month in the Marina. (Yippee!) You forget how important the internet is until its not there. Friend’s family... Blogging!! Forget trying to run any sort of business! We've rented a new type mobile device called ‘Huawei’, like a wireless router. Ideal for boats because as we move around in the summer we should be able to still use it! . Its working great so far so fingers crossed.!Weathers still great, which is a little odd as its meant to be a wet island Samos in the winter months. The winds turned around to the north, so its a bit cold out of the sun but get shelter and it’s hard to know what to wear!. Still hard to believe it’s a couple of weeks to Xmas and were still in shorts. We've bought a cabin heater for the boat as its dark early and we are bunkering down for the evenings. We've met some good friends in the marina (Anne and Bob) who have leant us a load of DVDS so we have TV again! Taras son Dec is also sending us out some more with lots of other Brtitsh goodies like gravy! Mash without gravy… the Greeks don’t know what they’re missing!! Anne and Bob also have a car, so they've been brilliant showing us all the winter hot spots around the island. Including a salt bed where the pink flamingo's over winter! Brilliant to see but not close enough without binoculars to put a proper pic of them on here yet!! We need to get a decent camera now as the one on the ipad is not good enough to capture the true beauty of the island and the amazing things we see! 

The area of the island is 27 miles long and about 8 miles wide. It is separated from Anatolia (Turkey) by the 1-mile-wide Mycale Strait. While largely mountainous, Samos has several relatively large and fertile plains. A great portion of the island is covered with vineyards, from which muscat wine is made. The most important plains except the capital, Vathy, in the northeast, are that off Karlovasi, in the northwest, Pythagoreio, in the southeast, and Marathokampos in the southwest. The island's population is 33,814, which is the 9th most populous of the Greek islands. The Samian climate is typically Mediterranean, with mild rainy winters, and warm rainless summers. Samos' relief is dominated by two large mountains, Ampelos and Kerkis (anc. Kerketeus). The Ampelos massif (colloquially referred to as "Karvounis") is the larger of the two and occupies the center of the island, rising to 1,095 metres (3,593 ft). Mt. Kerkis, though smaller in area is the taller of the two and its summit is the island's highest point, at 1,434 metres (4,705 ft). The mountains are a continuation of the Mycale range on the Anatolian mainland. According to Strabo, the name Samos is from Phoenician meaning "rise by the shore". There is so much history here, the birthplace of Pythagoras, so give it a google if you get the chance coz will take too much time for us to do it on here!!

Smallest Xmas tree ever!! 

(MUM!!)... Pink flamingoes on the salt flats in the background.... look like seagulls in this shot LOL 

Turkey in the distance and another great little anchorage for the summer...

Tara's determined to find a new puss! 

Well the Christmas tree is up and we are getting ready to celebrate Greek style!! Which probably means lots of Ouzo and Greek dancing!  Steve is very good at it now after our trip in the summer with Captain Yannis! We have got used to the cycle into town for essentials,,,ie wine!! lol and also the trip into Samos town{Vathi} on the local bus/coach. It is a great little journey along the coast high in the hills so the view is amazing and we always feel as though we are on a holiday coach trip !!

There are still many "pinch me" moments and we are loving our new life here. Once spring comes there is the promise of much more to see as we are assured by those here that the spring flowers are a wonderful sight and of course we will be looking forward to the warmer weather and setting sail to explore our islands many coves and beaches as well as those of the neighbouring islands. Meantime it is winter here too and hopefully it won't be too cold on the boat . Let's hope Father Christmas figures out how to open the hatch !! Lol