Cruising The Med - Sandy and Rob's Excellent Adventure: Frikes on Ithaca and onto Kalamos Port and Port Leone on Kalamos

Tuesday morning (Sept 17) we woke to sun and calm winds which was a relief to us and all the others who had either sought refuge here or were stuck unable to sail in the heavy air and big seas.

We left Kioni and headed to Frikes which is also on the North East side of Ithaca. It took less than an hour as Frikes is only one bay up from Kioni.

We had a look and it is a very quaint traditional Greek village but decided to head across to the islands off Lefkas and explore new territory.

We stopped on Kalamos in their main port anchoring just outside the harbour. Almost all boats moor in this small harbour and the locals come out in dinghies to assist the charter boats and newbies. We were just stopping for a few hours so we anchored just outside off the beach.

This is a very friendly place and we were greeted by a nice young man who helped us in with our dinghy. At the head of the mole (which means pier in Europe) was a cafe called George's named after the owner who is known as the unofficial harbourmaster of Kalamos.

It was amazing to see how they rafted all the charter boats as a flotilla arrived. Here bareboaters (or barley boaters as we call them) can choose to partake in a flotilla. They travel in a group and are led by charter hosts who plan their schedule and ensure they are moored/anchored each evening which takes a lot of the stress and decision making out of it for the guests.

After lunch, I was able to get some fresh fruit and veggies at a small market and we toured south a couple of bays to Port Leone.

Port Leone was a vibrant village (albeit small) south of Kalamos Port. In 1953, the earthquake destroyed it's water supply and rather than try to rebuild, the inhabitants emigrated to other places.

The church is maintained and 3-4 people pass by each Sunday and do maintenance and cleaning in addition to saying a few prayers.

The bay at Port Leone was very pretty and the water deep so anchoring was a challenge but we were successful.

The moon was almost full so the bay was lit up brightly. It was something to be able to see the entire bay all night by only moonlight.

Another great day exploring the Ionion Islands!