Greek Island Adventure – Pursuing the dream!: A trip to Klima bay and the latest Xmas BLOG

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!