Fun with the Amys

My niece Amy came to see us for 2 weeks.  It is hard to believe that she is already coming to the end of her visit.  We were counting down the days until she arrived (the 13^th) and at the same time, trying to cover a lot of miles to get to Athens to pick her up.  On the way, we had a few very windy days, but the days were not as bad as the waves.  They were 8-10  feet, not huge but they were close together, so the boat was constantly rolling to and fro.  It was sunny and beautiful, but we were all sick!   We can handle wind, but it is always the waves that will get you.

It was hot and sunny when Amy arrived. We did the tour of the Acropolis and its museum.  Both incredible.  I remember reading about the Parthenon in high school and wondered what the big deal was.  How could a 10^th grader sitting in a class room possibly imagine the enormity of the structure, the detail, the engineering?  The lines of the Parthenon really do (nearly imperceptibly) curve inward and upward so the structure really does look, for lack of better words, ‘beefy’.  Even the kids got it in a way I know they never could have from a book.

We also saw Delphi, where the Oracle sat and advised the Greeks for over 600 years.  If there were a single spot in Greece where one could communicate with the Gods, it would be in Delphi.  Imagine ruins, but not on a hot, trampled, city-like location, but instead high up in the cool mountains, olive tree covered valleys below, peaceful, and quiet.  It is spiritual.

We are working our way westbound, so Amy saw much of the Gulf of Corinth and the Gulf of Patra.  She thought the Corinth Canal was amazing, and another huge highlight was meeting up with the other Amy, our Greek Amy, in Navpaktos.  Navpaktos is where Amy and Dimitri live.  It feel like a little home for me and it is where I feel like I became empowered as the master of my destiny (at least on the boat) last fall.  I had so many challenges there…the start button, the wiring issue, the windlass issue, the anchor fouling that started it all.  It wasn’t so much that I overcame those issues, it was what was gained: a real connection to a place and friends. 

We got to Navpaktos at night, and we were all tired and went to bed early.  There were other boats in the harbor, so we anchored off the beach.  I was disappointed to not be in ‘my’ spot but seeing the town from the water the next morning made up for it.  We meandered about town in the morning, and for a while, it looked like we would not be able to find Amy.  Finally, we tracked them down…and seeing Amy and Dimitri (and another friend, George) walk through that door to say hi was like the sun coming out on a cloudy day.  Smiles, hugs, memories.  The kids were estatic, I felt joy.  These are our friends.

Amy and Dimitri came with us to Missalonghi – about a 6 hour sail.  It was great to catch up, daydream, talk politics, talk about life.  One thing I love is about them is that in the midst of this crazy economic crisis, they stay objective and almost detatched.  Last fall, they seemed much more committed to staying in Greece than now.  The government and economy have deteriorated so much that they are beginning to consider other options, perhaps, although it would be so hard to leave such a beautiful place and family.  It seems that they are realizing that time is marching on, but the situation here gets worse, and they are thinking about what happens to them if they ‘sit and wait’.  They are a really great couple, and we had so much fun with them and said our goodbyes…for now. 

We were stuck in Missalonghi for an extra day waiting for winds to blow over.  Blow they did…even in our little protected bay it was blowing at 30 knots.  We heard it was 50+ out on the gulf. 

We took off early the next day. Missalonghi isn’t really a place you want to spend your vacation, unless you are in town or really like estuaries.  For the second time on this trip with our Amy, we got up early to beat the winds that usually pick up during the day.  We finally arrived out on the Ionian islands on Tuesday (two days later than hoped, but within what we had planned).  Unfortunatley we have not been very lucky with the weather.  For some reason we have seen a lot of clouds and some rain showers.  I am hoping for Amy that the sun decides to come out and stay out.  Yesterday was mostly sunny, and when the sun is out, it is brilliant.  Regardless, we are swimming, walking, running, shopping and eating.  Most enjoyable is staying in remote coves.  We have been having loads of fun.