June 6, 2025 – Lefkas Marina, Lefkada, Greece
Another sunny morning with a light breeze but getting a
little hotter each day. The humidity is very low, 35%, and the sky is clear
making for a very hot day today. With no bimini the dodger was our only shade.
We did leave the mooring and motored to the fuel dock where we were able to
pump out our holding tanks. No more using the boat facility but the admiral arranged
a hotel room here in the marina.
We walked into town for one last trip to the laundry to wash
sheets and towels. A good job to do in the hottest part of the day. Back on the
boat they took no time to dry as we continued our other chores. This will
likely be the cleanest and driest we have ever been able to put the boat away.
Saturday is turnover day for the charter boats but most of
them return to the marina on Friday afternoon. Some people pack and leave,
others spend their last night on the boat. It is a chaotic scene with so many
boats arriving all at once.
At the hotel we enjoyed a nice shower to wash the sweat of
the day off but had a light dinner on the boat. With the boat being put away it
is always better to spend the last night on the shore.
June 7, 2025 – Lefkas Marina, Lefkada, Greece
It was a lazy morning at the hotel with breakfast by the
pool. It was starting to be another hot sunny day. Back to work taking down the
dodger and finishing with putting all of the covers in place.
All around us the charter people are packing and leaving while the charter company is fixing and cleaning all the boats, it’s a mad house. We are in the same mode, but we will be back in 3 months. With the list complete we were winding down and avoiding the sun.
Chatting with our boat neighbor we learned that they were
from the Netherlands and had recently bought a house here in Lefkada, up on the
hill overlooking the Ionian Sea. Evidently the tax rates on pension income are significantly
lower here, sort of Florida verses California. We traded boat cards and
determined that we would likely see them in the fall when we return.
I talked with one of the captains who was running two of his
own charter boats. He invited us on board his catamaran for a tour. A Catana 40
with an amazing amount of room for 8 guests. This was his way of affording a
boat to get out on the water.
A last minute adjustment of the lines and we were off the
boat heading home. The shuttle bus was at the taxi stand for us and we were the
only ones on this luxurious shuttle bus. Everyone was coming in no one was
leaving. A 30-minute ride to the airport with a few great views of the Fort at
Lefkada and marsh land north of the island as the sun was setting. The small airport
was crowded, but we managed to get to our gate with time to spare.
We were flying Ryanair, a discount airline that was the only
game in town to get out of Lafkada and on to where we needed to be, ultimately
Barcelona for the long flight home. For now, we are flying to Rome where we
will have a hotel room at the airport for the night. Reasonably on time and
luggage in tow we arrived at the hotel at 0100 and enjoyed a good night’s
sleep. We are slaves to Delta Airlines and Hilton Hotels, they never disappoint
us.
June 8, 2025 – Rome, Italy
It was very a very restful night, happy to have no pressing
schedule or anything to do. Our flight was scheduled for 1300 leaving us plenty
of time to relax. Rome is a big busy airport, fortunately we have been here a
few times and know the layout. We checked our bags in at the self-serve Ryanair
kiosk. I was proud to say that we succeeded with technology and checked our own
bags. Security was painless, and we were well ahead of schedule.
It was lunchtime so when in Rome eat Rome style pizza and an espresso drink. The plane left on time and arrived ahead of schedule in Madrid. We were meeting longtime friends, Kevin and Miriann and John and Vicky. We met Kevin and Miriann when we lived in Atlanta, and they bought our Catalina 22. We grabbed a taxi to our hotel, Atocha Hilton near the train station, and checked into a very nice room. We did a quick change, a refresh and had the front desk call a Taxi. It was not far to our friend’s place in Plaza Mayor, but the heat was oppressive, and we were anxious to see everyone.
It was a great reunion as we enjoyed aperitivos in their very cool, literally and figuratively, apartment overlooking Plaza Mayor. It has been 8 years since we last saw them so there was a lot of life to catch up on. We all walked to the tapas bar, Lateral, and met up with their friends from their hometown in Costa Rica. We tried lots of tapas and a couple different wines passing plates and bottles family style.
On the way back to the apartment we picked up more wine, ice cream for dessert and meat and cheese for munchies. It was a great night, but the party broke up at about 0100. The evening air had cooled to a tolerable level allowing us to walk home to the hotel.
June 9, 2025 – Madrid, Spain
A lazy morning enjoying coffee in our room before heading
out for some shopping. Suzette was back on the hunt for her dress for the next
Commodore’s Ball. For me I wanted a nice tan tee shirt. We headed to the
Salamanca shopping district where the nice shops are located. We only visited a
couple of shops and Suzette found a spectacular dress; she will be the bell of
the ball once again. I found what I was looking for so now it was purely
shopping for pleasure, hers not mine.
Back at the hotel it was check-out time, but our train was not until 1400. We left our bags at the front desk and walked down the street to a little café for some brunch to hold us over. After lunch we collected our bags and walked to the train station with plenty of time to find our platform. We boarded the train and settled into our very comfortable seats for the 3-hour ride to Barcelona. The countryside had turned into deep greens and gold in the fields. The rolling hills and farms passed quickly and turned into urban sprawl as we entered Barcelona.
We grabbed a taxi to the apartment and dumped our bags into
the room. We stayed here on our last trip, a good location in the nicest part
of Barcelona, Sant Gervasi. We hit the street and flagged a taxi into the old
part of the city to try to catch up with the shoemaker, but he was closed, Whit
Monday? I had hoped my new shoes would be ready, but they were not according to
the shoemaker’s latest email to me. I wanted to see if it was too late to
change the finish on the shoes. I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.
We walked north through the various neighborhoods and back to Sant Gervasi. It was dinner time we decided sushi was in order and found the sushi bar in our neighborhood. Very traditional menu with great sushi and a quiet dining room. We asked the chef to surprise us with something special using the blue fin tuna. He made a beautiful and delicious sashimi dish and shared that this was a dish he made when he was a chef at Nobu.
A short walk back to the apartment and we were ready to
crash. 2 nights in a row with a 0100 bedtime had us old people wiped out.
June 10, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
It is truly summer in Spain, sunny days and light breezes. A
very lazy morning had the admiral sleeping late and me tinkering around trying
to keep quiet. We hit the street around 1100. The mission…new shoes for
Suzette. She scored on the dress yesterday so now she wanted, needed, new shoes
to go with it. By 1400 we had only managed to buy some things for me, not that
I need anything.
We stopped for a quick bite at a café near the shopping area
and then caught a taxi to IMO. We were hoping this would be the last trip to
IMO for Suzette. We arrived at the facility that we were very familiar with,
and we were greeted by familiar faces. They are always so friendly and
accommodating. Suzette did the usual battery of tests and then saw Dr. Garcia.
A clean bill of health! The eye looked great, vision had improved, and he
recommended weening her off the steroid eye drops! Evidently you cannot just
stop taking steroids, you have to reduce the dose little by little. There was a
little scar tissue on the retina but that was to be expected and not an issue.
Suzette was jubilant! It has been a long
road, and we were happy to be reaching the end.
We stopped back at our apartment for a respite from the hot day before heading back to the shoe shop where we had a 1800 appointment. Norman the cobbler was happy to see us. He has his uniform white tee shirt, orange or yellow paints with a big cuff in them, he is a little guy, black round frame glasses and always a little cap on his focally challenged head. The shoes were done and ready for the patina as he put it. We confirmed the finish I wanted, and he said that he would mail the next Monday. I asked for some shoe store recommendations for Suzette, and he recommended a designer to look for and a couple stores to try.
We needed to get a refill for Suzette’s eye drops while we were still in Spain, the last refill! We ended up walking to about 5 different pharmacies until one took the time to find it at another pharmacy. He called them and had them put our name on it. It was about a kilometer away and we were starting to hit the wall on walking, but we persevered, and we were rewarded with the proper prescription.
It was dinner time, nearly Spanish dinner time. Norman had
made a recommendation for a restaurant, but we had left that neighborhood and
did not want to back track. We found a great Tapas bar, La Anxoita, near the
main shopping street and enjoyed great service and some unique tapas. Revived
by our meal we walked back to our apartment taking in the evening in Barcelona
one last time.
June 11, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
Up early to check out and catch a Taxi to the airport.
Traffic was lite and we arrived quickly. The airport was surprisingly quiet, no
long lines, no hordes of people. We walked right up to the counter and checked
our bags. Only two bags and only about half full. The security check was
equally fast and easy. Plenty of time for a Cappuccino for Suzette and a Latte
for me.
The plane departed on time for Amsterdam and the weather was
clear and calm for flying. This was a domestic flight on KLM, so we did not
expect much but they served an egg sandwich and a decent cup of coffee.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is so well organized and we have been here so many
times that finding our way to the next gate was easy. Immigration was a slam
dunk, we are officially, but not physically, out of the EU. This is important
for my 180-day Schengen clock. We were pushing it on this trip.
The flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis was very
comfortable, we love the Premium economy on Delta. The seats are spacious; the
food and wine are plentiful and good by airplane food standards. A couple meals,
a couple movies and a nap had us landing in Minneapolis 9 hours later and ahead
of schedule. Unlike when we go to Europe, when we return we have to collect our
checked luggage and schlep it through customs, then recheck it. Minneapolis is
a beautiful airport and, again, not crowded. I guess Wednesday is a good day to
fly. Despite being fed well on the long flight I was jonesing for French fries
and a beer, the thick kind with ketchup. There is nothing like the fries we got
as a kid on the boardwalk in Rehobeth Beach, DE, thick and smothered in malt vinegar.
I think that is a British thing.
The flight home left on time and was reasonably comfortable
for a domestic flight. A movie and a nap to pass the 4 hours travel time.
Always happy to go and always happy to come home. Our luggage arrived in one
piece, though I have worn my suitcase out, it may be time for a new one. Our friend
Inez picked us up as usual and took us home. Arriving home everything seemed to
be in good order, but a fuller assessment would wait until morning.
This was a long trip, a full 90 days covering 4 countries
and 1500 miles of cruising. We were able to do some great sailing and become
better sailors as a result. Greece is a beautiful place with lots to see but
the bureaucracy requiring checking in and out at every port really puts a
damper on the experience. It would not be so bad if there was consistency and
clarity in the process, but every port manages the process differently, so I am
always worried about getting it right. We had two sets of fabulous visitors
which were the highlight of the trip. The boat is secure in Lefkada, Greece and
in good hands with the people at Peleros Yacht Services taking care of the boat
until we return in early September.
I am full of gratitude for all the friends that look out for
us while we are away and make our lives that mush better when we are home.
Comments
Post a Comment