When leaving Koroni, what was expected to be a motor (no wind), and then a sail (good wind), started with an unexpected pleasant sail with winds that filled in much earlier than expected. This was followed by motor sailing when we thought we’d have good winds, which in turn was followed by big winds and big seas, which were expected, as we entered the small village of Porto Kagio.
The point of land just below Porto Kagio was considered the mythological end of the world, the entrance to Hades (the afterlife), and it’s the southern-most point of mainland Greece.
Tucked in this anchorage are a handful of hotels (built to look like fortresses that dot the hillside from years of isolated living) and a few restaurants and one bar.
First thing, we needed to repair the mainsail, which Trip had noticed was ripped along the edge. The winds were 20 knots as we had approached the anchorage, not outrageous, but I think the sail is simply tired after a lot of years and miles in sometimes ‘sporty’ conditions. Luckily we keep plenty of repair tape on board, and we only had to take the sail off the mast and not also the boom, so the repair was done somewhat quickly.
After getting the sail sorted, it was time to dinghy into ‘town’. We opted for a walk up the hill to the local bar Spilia. Sipping beer and ouzo soon led to a dinner of hot dogs (we can never resist a hot dog and the Greeks have really tasty sausages) as the sun set.
It had been a little bit of a rolly night with moderate winds (katabatic winds come racing down the saddle between hill tops and hit us with more force than originates on the other side), and we had an opposing swell. We were hobby horsing (dipping front to back) rather than rolling (side to side), but we’re a heavy, full-keeled boat, so it wasn’t that bad. Things had eased up considerably the next day, so we decided to stay one more night. Much to our delight we went from being one of 10 boats in the anchorage to the only one!
We did a little tour around the bay by dinghy, and went past a really cool pair of stone houses that looked like they might once have been fishermen’s homes, but were now summer cottages.
Then it was back ashore to walk a little bit, and to have dinner at one of the restaurants. After dinner it was back to the boat for a drink all by ourselves. Well, one other boat had come in, but dropped anchor way over at the far end of the bay, so it still felt like it was all ours.
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