Athens

With a stiff breeze all the way from Corinth Cannel we made it to Athens in about 5 hours. The harbor was crowded but we managed to find a place and settle in. We spent the next couple of days visiting all the tourist spots. The Acropolis is really one of the best historic sites in the world. A commanding view of the city and the grandeur of ancient Greece paints a beautiful picture in marble and fluted columns. There are ruins sprinkled throughout the city. Temples long forgotten erected to important god that is now relegated to myths and legends. There is no order to this city. Streets are strewn along with all the logic of a plate of spaghetti. And with the Greek alphabet coded on all the street signs, it is more like solving a mystery of some forgotten place in time than a modern city. But most Greeks speak English and with their kindness and help, we manage our way around. It seems no matter what city we are in, we are always drawn like moths to a flame to restaurants and tourist shops, and something I quickly tire of. After 3 days of exploring and soaking in the summer heat, my daughters wind up their time here on the Etesian. Reality starts to soak into their bones and with a fond farewell, they catch their flights back to the states and back to the real world. I miss them already. We have become a well-oiled crew with each person knowing just what to do as we cast the lines to the quay. When we set sail, everyone does their tasks with ease. Now I am by myself.

I too have to prepare to go back home. My youngest daughter Malorie is getting married. She was planning on a fall wedding, but seems to be driven to make the marriage happen sooner rather than later. So I schedule my trip for August 14th. I will be home for about a week. The marina tells me I can not leave the boat here because it is way over booked on the weekends when all the bareback charter boats come in from a week sailing in the Aegean. So I start off looking for a suitable port to keep my boat for the week I will be gone.