Now that it was once again safe to run the engine, we pulled out first thing yesterday morning to go to the anchorage in Bali, Crete. In the bay at Agios Nickolaos, we were protected from the wind and big seas. As soon as we rounded the corner to leave the bay, we were smacked with 30 knots of wind on the nose and big waves that smashed into the bow relentlessly. This lasted about 2 hours before things started to calm down. The wind dropped to the low 20’s and the wave force reduced enough that we could open up the pilot house doors. It became an overall OK ride since the waves are not as steep and rapid as the last few trips we have made.

After 10 3/4 hours of paralleling the north shore, we pulled into the anchorage. We have long dreamed of the day we would pull up to Costa’s and Maria’s hotel and drop anchor outside their door. It was an exciting moment for us. And for them, too. Maria said was thrilled when she glanced out the window and saw Kosmos in the bay. She said she frantically waved to us, but we didn’t see it.

The wind was coming at just the right angle to make the anchorage rolly. To make matters worse, there were two speed boats doing circles around us. One pulling people on inflatable tubes, the other pulling parasailers. Argh. Paravanes were definitely a must in here. We put out the paravanes and brought down the dinghy. Getting the dinghy down in the rocking bay was not easy. We can’t remember if we have mentioned this or not, but we think that the paravanes make Kosmos look like she has a force field around her, like if you get too close you will be zapped with a tremendous electrical shock. We always laugh about it when they are down.

We puttered over to the small port. Maria told us that when she first built her hotel that the whole town consisted of a handful of small houses around this little fishing port. Now the port is jam packed with tourist boats and jet skis for hire, and the buildings are restaurants and hotels, not houses. We found a spot on the quay and tied up. We went up to the hotel and had another fun night with the family. Here is a picture of the port from higher up on the hill.

We have mentioned that our Greek family stays up late, so needless to say, they are late risers. This morning we did a bunch of chores. At lunch time we headed up to the hotel to have lunch with Maria, Costas and Koralia. After lunch, Maria came to see the boat.

It was a holiday weekend, and Costas and Koralia were hosting a celebratory barbecue. Koralia’s parents did most of the cooking, so you know the food was awesome. Simple, but tasty. They made lamb (on a regular charcoal grill, no old school primitive convection ovens like at the sheep shearing party) fried potato wedges in olive oil, and salad. Neither of us are potato fans, but we were addicted to those awesome potato wedges. We met many of Costas and Koralia’s friends and had a good time.

It was an outdoor party. The night was warm, but not hot. The moon was full and vibrant. The highlight of the night came when, to everyone’s surprise, an eclipse started. The moon got down to a small sliver before it slowly went back to its normal shape. It was certainly a very special occurrence. And, as we always do when we are with them, we stayed up way too late.