We had intended to make landfall in Pylos, but looked at the charts and decided to make a stop in the Strofades Islands, 40nm before Pylos. I had read about them last year, but they’re very remote and only to be visited in calm conditions (which we did not have at the time).
The Strofades were rumoured to be the home of Zeus’ nasty winged beasts called the Harpies. Legend has it that Jason and the Argonauts turned back at these islands after promising not to kill the monsters after rescuing a prisoner.
We anchored in front of the small island and rowed ashore to explore. The trails are haphazard (we emerged with bloody shins), but wandered the island and visited the remains of civilization (no one currently lives there).
While walking we also found more shells trapped in the sedimentary rock, similar to what we found back in Dwejra Bay in Malta.
The next day we headed over to the bigger island. The fortress-like monastery of the Blessed Mother of God built in 1241 still stands. It’s a beautiful building, but has suffered from multiple earthquakes over the years and is in a precarious state. Luckily, restoration is underway, and steel bands have been placed around the building to preserve it while the team works to rebuild. Interestingly, by 1976 all of the monks had left, save one. He continued to tend the farm and care for the monastery alone until he had to leave in 2018 when earthquake damage made the monastery unsafe.
We continued to explore the island, and managed to find a beautiful little beach.
From the island we headed over to the rocks that form barriers and channels between the islands. Someone had placed rings and lines where we could secure the dinghy while we explored.
We had been told that swimming and snorkeling in between the rocks was really cool, but we didn’t feel up to trying to haul our gear up to the rocks to then find a place to get back in the water. We were content just to walk and enjoy the geologic formations from above.
When it came time to up anchor and leave the next morning, we knew it would be a bit of a challenge. The anchorage is well known for its massive boulders, and Trip had dove and then drawn a map to plan our exit (we had hooked several rocks). I alternated between raising chain and giving steering directions to Trip at the wheel to maneuver around the boulders. And the last bit was still really difficult – sure enough, we had managed to wrap the chain around a rock. It actually looked like it was wrapped like a Christmas present!
We tied a line to the rock to stabilize it and another to pull the anchor away. Trip maneuvered his way out over the bowsprit and with a single whack of a mallet, the rock crumbled, the anchor was free, and we were on our way.
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