Beetles and Williwaws

M. The following morning we set off with a vague plan to head north again. We no longer have any particular itinerary or deadline, other than to reach Kos by the weekend, so the criteria have changed to seek appropriate nooks fitting the wind direction, and to explore new places. This is resulting in a rather bumbling motion. We decided to try Ormos Palionisou on the north east of Kalymnos.

As we moved the warps there was an unfamiliar but definite impression  that scuttling had occurred, and 2-3 small black beetles emerged from various nooks and crannies.
Now we are made of stern stuff and this did not phase us. No screams.We have no entomophobics currently on board. However we were not prepared to be completely infested and so caught the little blighters and sent them for a swim. Little did we know that they had brought their mates, pals, extended family and in fact their whole village with them. Everything we moved on deck stimulated more waves of black, flailing legs. We must have looked bizarre, running about deck scooping them up and jettisoning them overboard. Fearfully, I explored the cabins. Were we indeed totally infested? I had nightmare visions of opening cupboards and waterfalls of beetles pouring out, but in the end I saw, and failed to capture, one only… let’s hope that’s the end of them. It did however stimulate radical cleaning … even the bilges had a scrub. Goodness knows how they got onboard. We had bought some fruit and veg, which may have been a possible mode of transmission, but I’d rather believe that they performed a stealth tightrope walk along our mooring warps. Perhaps any lurking entomologists out there can educate us about 

 their type, behaviour and characteristics!

Captive! About 8mm long

We had a pleasant sail up to Palionisou. This long inlet is surrounded by steep craggy mountains and the seabed is rock, making anchoring unsuitable, but mooring buoys have been laid by the two tavernas at its head. Perhaps the enormity of these buoys should have given us a clue that this was a windy place. No sooner had we settled, when a fierce whooshing gust violently swung us round, making everything strain, rattle and shake. ‘ That’ll be the williwaws’ said Colin.

I thought he had succumbed to some sort of maritime delirium, but lo and behold Google confirms that these are a sort of catabatic wind that suddenly sweep down steep mountains. They apparently are particularly pronounced when there are snow capped mountains. So I’m not very sure if these technically qualify. However they do have a good name, and from henceforth we will be proud to discuss our williwaw experience with those who care. They were certainly frequent and dramatic gusts, straining our 2 mooring warps to creaking point.

The etiquette around here is that if you use a taverna mooring buoy , then you eat at the taverna. This is fair enough, since they do not charge a mooring fee (as we have encountered in Croatia, Scillies and Sicilly) and they seem to maintain them well.

We wondered why the white buoys (for the taverna on the left) were all taken, and we were the first to take an orange (taverna on the right) . The hosts were welcoming but I have to say the meal was somewhat average. I wasn’t too impressed by my plate of mixed vegetables. This dish usually presents a lovely selection of seared local veg, aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, roasted on a wood fire with a tasty

dressing. Instead it was a plate of lukewarm and very drippy frozen vegetables. Hmmm. Perhaps we’ll try the white buoys the next time!

We decided to track back up to Leros and explore Pandeli bay, having viewed it from the castle on our heroic climb.

bit like Edinburgh castle?

We sailed on a light westerly and arrived in a tranquil evening and decided this was a safe bet for a night at anchor. A swim in the clear water allowed me to inspect the anchor, well set in a patch of sand. Colin’s Raspberry pi once again has to have credit for providing us with a more reliable anchor alarm via its GPS dongle. We sat under the fantastic vista of the castle without incident, and enjoyed the comings and goings of superyachts that came to join us through the evening. 

Time was coming to head south again towards Kos. We hadn’t seen shops for a good while, and stocks were pretty low, so we decided to head for the metropolis of Pothia, the main port on Kalymnos. The large bay exposes a sprawling town that climbs up the surrounding hills and the pilot book gives a rather negative account of it, so we entered with rather low expectation.

The quay has been extended to give plenty of room for visitors, with good depths and a very efficient marinero who was attentive and helpful. I went for my usual reconnoitre/wander and was surprised by the appeal of the town.

 statue commemorating sponge divers

It has a history as the centre of the sponge diving trade and this was the theme of the shops and civic monuments. It was a ‘real town’ with a few touristy shops and eateries, but beneath this surface the locals went about normal life, tolerating the yachties amongst the busy thrum.

The small chandler shop looked like an unlikely place to find a new part for our aft swimming shower that had shattered when I dropped it the day before. I explained my quest to the young man who shook his head and sucked his teeth. It was an odd size. He then disappeared into the depths and returned with a complete kit.. new hose and head. With a shrug he said .. ‘ take it away and see if it fits … then come back and pay me if OK ‘. There I was , a complete stranger and he trustingly sent me off with his stock. How refreshing! Of course it fitted perfectly. Well done that chap. He didn’t seem surprised when I returned to pay 15 euros. Good job. I suspect that a posh yachtie chandler would have charged 50.

Greek flag visible from Turkey?

Our stroll through the town in the evening was rewarded by the lovely spectacle of a school traditional dance display. Every child was beautifully dressed in individual costume, presumably hand made by family. The boys wore embroidered velvet waistcoats and baggy knee length trousers and the girls, a thick overdress exposing lace and embroidered under dresses. Headscarves and lacy handkerchiefs. The dancing was elegant and gentle … not quite like Scottish country dancing ! A real treat.

The stop gave us a chance to catch up on the ever growing list of jobs. Our gangplank appears to be splitting along the vertical plane. We had been on the look out for something to repair it, when I spotted a sawn up pallet. Much to the bemused interest from our Turkish neighbour, Colin spent an afternoon sawing, sanding and screwing the struts. It appears to be an effective remedy and hopefully will prevent our guests from an unexpected dunk!

well we like a challenge ....