Two friends, Paige and Denise, and I chartered a 32 foot sailboat in the Greek Islands in May of this year. It was a great vacation! I don’t recall a more relaxing vacation…ya know, it’s just hard to be in a hurry in a sailboat!

We set up the trip over the internet with some random guy who runs a chartering company out of his home in Norway. Paige and I were so glad to see him when we headed to the port on Sunday afternoon…he was real and our trip was ready to begin. Skipper Frode was Great! He sails the Greek Isles every summer, and knew the best places to visit, restaurants to eat at, and places to avoid. We laughed, wondering if we learned more about Greece or Norway on our vacation.

In two weeks, we visited eight islands and ten ports. When I studied the islands we were planning to visit, I was thinking that they all were described the same way…beautiful beaches, whitewashed Mediterranean style buildings, and Greek charm…I almost wondered why we were going to so many islands when they were all described the same way. Well, each island had it’s own charms, its own great places to eat, and its own special history and places to visit.

Our first port was Aegina, a short trip from the port in Athens. We arrived in the evening and had our first taste of Greek cuisine, but by far not the best. The ;next morning, the port police did not allow us to leave the island because the weather was not predicted to be safe. We hopped on the local bus and rode over to the ruins of a temple to the Creten Nymph Aphaia. In our visits to the Parthenon (before we left Athens) and this temple, we were all grateful for the persistence of our fifth grade teachers, each of us could pick out the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns on the temple. All sarcasm aside, the ruins were beautiful and it was so interesting to see things we had studied in the "flesh".

Speaking of flesh…we headed back to the boat and the port police were permitting people to leave. We motored towards Hydra, our next destination. When we passed the island of Poros, the winds were perfect for our first sail. We hoisted the white sails and the sun was high! We "got our feet wet" by sailing back and forth in the protected area. It’s gonna be a great trip!

We sailed on to Hydra, island where several celebrities have homes. Our tour books all said there was only one motor vehicle on the island, but we were nearly run off the road by at least three. Either way, the island was stunning and charming. We ate dinner with several other sailors our skipper Frode had met in port. It was about this time that we realized that we were predominantly getting hit on by men well in their 40s. Bummer.

The next morning, we explored the island, and then hit the high seas to the island of Kythnos, the first island we visited in the ring of islands called the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea.

The sail was amazing. Paige’s riotous sense of humor came out as we passed the time telling stories on the sea. We also read, relaxed, and to our great surprise, saw a number of dolphins along the way. They like to play in the waves created by the boat.

Kythnos was peaceful and explored a little and ate at this great restaurant where we were really getting into the local foods. We tried all sorts of appetizers and got to pick out our main dish from the kitchen. We also tried Ouzo and Metaxin, both liqueurs well known in Greece. The Metaxin was our favorite. (hic)

We sailed on to Serifos the next morning. We hiked in the hills, and also up to the town the next day. We had quite a climb just to get post card stamps. That afternoon, we sailed to Paros.

We stayed (and stayed and stayed) in Paros. The weather was not favorable for our stay here and the port police were not allowing sailboats out of the port. We explored the island in a micro rent a car, and went to a nude beach…only it was a bit chilly, so we were not attired as such! There was also a great market on the island. This is one of the bigger islands we visited, so not too bad a place to get stuck. Our last day on Paros, we ferried to the island next to Paros called Anti Paros. We rented bikes here and rode to some cool caves at the top of a hill. The hill was intense, so Denise and I started walking it about halfway up, then ditched the bikes, hiding them in the bushes and huffed our way to the top…only to find that the guy that drives the bus up there has the only key and he had quit for the day. No caves for us this trip!

The next day, the port police were allowing departures from Paros, so we headed off into the wind. That’s not exactly the best of sailing conditions, so we were motoring. It was quite a rough ride, and the only day I was not feeling well. It was also a crappy time to realize that the gore-tex in my pricey REI rain coat had disintegrated. I was drenched and cold and had to go into the cabin for a while. I started reading Zorba the Greek and the author was expounding on how every man (I guess women can count here, too) should sail the Aegean during their lifetime. Kind of amusing as the Aegean was tossing us this way and that! A great part of the adventure.

We next visited Ios, a bit of a party island. We bussed from our port over to the Far Our Beach Club and relaxed on the beach and had drinks and enjoyed the views (that’s men, not beaches here) We had a great dinner in the town of Ios and purchased our flying dolphin tickets for our trip to Santorini the next day. The flying dolphin is a large hydrofoil ferry.

Although we started our day in Santorini with some negative vibes (long arduous story about mean, lying taxi driver and busses that wouldn’t let us on) we were able to visit the archeological remains of an ancient Minoan City that was destroyed by a volcano in 1625 BC (kind of like Pompeii, but the people got out). The site had three story buildings and pots that were found with the contents still in them.

From there, we went on to the city of Fira. Santorini was the most touristy island we visited, and Fira was the biggest city on the island. We shopped here and I took off on my own to do some sketching. (Hey baby, wanna come see my sketches sometime?)

Back on Ios that night, we had a birthday party for skipper Frode. He turned thirty while skippering our boat. The next morning we were off to Sifnos.

Sifnos was my favorite island…for a number of reasons. First, while our weather wasn’t totally bad on the trip, it wasn’t prime. (I have to admit, while disappointed by the lack of perfect weather, it didn’t matter, the vacation was stellar) Our stay on Sifnos was characterized by the most ideal vacation weather you could imagine. We swam (if you got in the water, you earned the Sea Faring Water Goddess status) and enjoyed the peace and quiet of being the only boat in port. The next morning Paige and Denise bussed over the hill while I stayed behind and sketched more.

We sailed back to Serifos and then on to Aegina on our way back to Athens. The wind died down and we were forced to start the motor. Ironically, it was here was that the boat decided it wouldn’t start up - just an hour or two away from Athens, and we had planes to catch. Frode opened the engine and played the role of Mr. Fixed It and we were on our way again. (I couldn’t decide if I was glad, or sad. It would have been nice to be marooned in the Greek Isles!)

Some post trip remembrances…Boat showers are short but welcome! Sunburn hurts, wear sunscreen! Keep yours eyes on the horizon during rough sailing, it helps you not get seasick! Dolphins like noise, make noise when you see them and they will stay around longer. When you travel during the "shoulder season", you get hit on by 40 year old men. Peoples laundry on the clothesline looks picturesque when you are on vacation! It’s hard to be in a hurry on a sailboat! It’s tough to order the calimari when you’ve seen it drying on the clothesline!

Hope I didn’t bore you and in fact have piqued your interest in a sailing vacation. I encourage you to take the plunge and go on a sailing trip! If you do, make sure to call me if you need a first mate. It was unbelievable! Frode now charters in the Caribbean during the winter and Greece in the summer. Check out his web site at http://www:saltyseas.com