Pure Relaxation
August 24, 2010
Mike woke up being congested and coughing. Initially, I think he was hoping to push on to Lefkada so we could start working on the boat. But it didn’t take much for me to convince him to find a quiet anchorage close by and spend the day taking care of himself. After poking our head into the popular bays around the island and seeing how crowded they were (and not wanting to expend the energy taking lines to shore) we decided to take the advice of our neighbors and head to Nidri on Lefkada. And on our path were the islands of Skorpios and Skorpidhi, the private twin islands which are owned by the Onassis family. I found it really exciting and spent the entire time peering through the binoculars trying to make out the grounds and houses which you could catch a glimpse of here and there.
We then entered Nidri and it was a zoo! Boats anchored on both sides of the entrance, endless rows of piers with boats, boats coming and going.
We then ended up in a very sheltered large bay where we found a bit of privacy at the far end. Mike spent the day reading and napping and awoke feeling a bit better. I swam and simply relaxed. In the late afternoon we were really happy that we didn’t chose to anchor closer to the taverna because it quickly filled up with charter boats that did not appear to know how to anchor. But good evening entertainment as we sat on the deck, sipping retsina and enjoying the beautiful sunset. And the day did Mike good, he was happy we didn’t push on to Levkas and we both found ourselves really enjoying this ‘boat life’. After dinner we got in the dinghy and Mike rowed while he serenaded me with the Doobie Brothers and Neil Young. We watched the full moon rise over the hill and then I took a quick swim in the moon light before heading to bed. Now today is what we have dreamed of. If only there could be more of it but we will take what we can get.
(Thank you moon...)
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Well, you may have guessed that the previous entry is from the day that 'pickles' was made. And this next one is the day we found out I was pregnant. I just had a feeling even though I wasn't even late yet. And it was Friday the 10th, a day that has proven to be a good one for Mike and I (we were both born on Friday the 10ths, we got engaged on a Friday the 10th, we got married on a Friday, 1/1/10...well, there is a 10 in there at least). So I thought I would take a test and see if the day still held it's magic. And to my (our!) huge surprise it certainly did.
Friday the 10th!
September 10, 2010
We were up and out at 6:30am and motoring into gray skies. And it wasn’t long before we started to get closer to a huge bank of ominously dark clouds that appeared to grow before our eyes. At first it felt a bit exciting to head into the rain, until we started to see the lightening flash in the dark purple clouds which were straight ahead of us. So we veered off course a bit and luckily the storm system moved in the opposite direction. A little while later we came across a little squall with winds about 25 knots and gusts to 30 knots. The seas were choppy but since we are in a gulf there wasn’t a lot of fetch so no huge rollers this time (thank goodness). From then on, it was just rain, and more rain. But we had fun. We were dry and warm and spent the entire day sitting in the cockpit together talking about our plans for the boat and coming home.
We finally reached Taranto around 3pm and started to make our way through the massive harbour. Our visibility was terrible due to all of the rain on the dodger windows and we were constantly on the look out for moving boats, big and small. Luckily, despite this appearing to be a very busy harbour, we didn’t come across too much boat traffic. We have to say that the initial approach to town wasn’t very inviting. The sky line was filled with huge cranes and smoke stacks with oil tankers anchored in the bay. But as we got closer we could start to make out the old town which looked pretty interesting. After finally finding someone to take us to a berth (unbeknownst to us, we had been hailing a big ship and not the marina) we tied ourselves up in the dumping rain. Oh, it was so nice to be settled and inside our dry cabin.
But after a bit, the skies cleared up and we went for walk to find a market for a few items to add to our dinner. But Mike started noticing old town and we took a diversion. It is standing exactly as it was a thousand years ago. And needless to say, many of the buildings are in a state of disrepair and crumbling before your eyes. We walked along the perimeter for awhile and then found a wide stair case that drew us in. I started to become overwhelmed just by the stark beauty of it all. We also got the strong feeling that this town is a lot edgier and grittier than where we have been. We were so obviously tourists and I was trying to be inconspicuous with my camera but it was just so hard (as you can tell by all of the photos I have posted). I can’t say that we felt incredibly welcomed so started to make our way back onto the main road. But we finally felt like we saw a real town and not the ‘touristy’ old town or the ‘chic’ new town.
We finally found the supermarket and returned to the boat to stay in for the night and make dinner. But of course a meal of gnocchi with prosciutto, bleu cheese and pine nuts! Then it was getting cozy on the day bed to watch a movie on a cool and rainy night. Mike says his Autumn ‘nesting’ is coming on strong because we are obviously much more interested in making good food, drinking wine (preferably with friends and family!) and being cozy than we are sailing the boat right now.
So for the part that got left out...
After returning from our walk to the store, I got the nerve to sneak into the 'head' and pee on a stick. All week something was telling me that I was pregnant but I didn't want to get my hopes up. It was surreal to see the faint 'positive' that appeared a few moments later. I walked out of the 'head' and I don't even remember what I said to Mike. I don't even remember what he said to me. My god, he had no idea what I was even doing in there! I think there were just a bunch of wide eyes and hugs going on that night.
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But there's more. Who really is at fault for all of this is the Perera Family! Especially the youngest Perera... Lucca. During those 2 weeks they were with us I was showered with 'Lucca Love' every single day. We would have our cuddle fests and he would pour on the hugs and kisses. Even take my face into his hands and just stare into my eyes with those huge brown eyes of his. I would melt. So once we had the boat to ourselves again, well, we kind of threw caution to the wind. And by the time we came to our senses it was too late. Thankfully.
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