A sailor's work is never done...

Amaris Sails the World

 

Zakynthos - Kefalonia, Greece

 

A sailor's work is never done...

 

Staying in a harbor has been rare for us while cruising the Med.  Twice in Italy we stayed in marinas - once when we had an issue with one of our engines, and a second time when we wanted to leave the boat for a day to visit the ancient city of Pompeii. Both of those nights in a marina cost us over $300 US.  In Greece, we were pleasantly surprised by the low cost options of public quays.  Staying in Zakynthos seemed a luxury at only $30/night.  (half that if you only have one hull).  Most public quays in Greece don't charge at all.  We had found our version of paradise.

 

Once the boat is safely tied up in a marina- we have time to leisurely wander through the town shopping, eating, drinking etc.  Of course being tied up also gives you access to go to a hardware store, where you can get parts, return to your boat, try to make the parts fit, then repeat.  Normally this is a more or less easy process at the conclusion of which you have a job well done - and an ice cold beer.

 

Zakynthos is an interesting type of town.  It serves as a major hub for the cruising community as boats come into the town to clear customs, get their Greek cruising permits (Transit Log), grab a few groceries, and meet friends that fly into the airport from all around the world.  There are several grocery markets, produce markets, butchers, fish mongers, and of course hardware stores.  Oddly - there was no chandlery (place where you buy parts for boats) within the city.  We were given a decent set of directions to walk there (3-4 km away) and instead asked the harbor representative if he knew of a place to buy a cruising guide.  "I will have one dropped by."

 

That was done easy enough.  The gentleman that met us later that day with the guide in hand ready to sell to us (ironically not even marked up) owned the local chandelry.  Because his store is so far away, he doesn't get many customers and needs to deliver the goods.  I had a short list and Shawn and I were quickly invited on a field trip.

 

The man had an amazing store full of stock.  Anything that a sailor could want was available - under an inch of dust.  Not to worry - we picked up our Malta courtesy flag, two new dock lines, some fuel hose (for the project i was about to complete), some teak oil, and a hand full of other items that were not previously on our list.  Amazingly - the man apparently didn't know to inflate prices of his goods annually and likely just did when he reordered.  We paid 1960's prices for our items and left feeling great about supporting his business (we hadn't intended on buying the new dock lines).  After letting us pet his dog for a few minutes, he drove us back to the boat while telling stories of his adventures having been born on Kefalonia, working on merchant ships for 20 years, and then returning to Kefalonia where he had lived for the last 20 years trying to make a go of it with his shop.

 

Once back to the boat, it was time to finish my job of changing out the water separators in the fuel system (one failed earlier causing the loss of an engine as described above).  I was able to finish half the job before Ron came.  He caught me on film finishing the work on the second engine.  And as a side note, I was not the only one in the harbor working on the engine in my underwear!  (Note the shorts in the foreground of the photo)  It is hot in that compartment!