Cameron's Dodecanese Page

2001: A Greek Odyssey

We went to the Dodecanese Islands in Greece for our second sailing extravaganza in 2001. This was a different kettle of fish than the Whitsundays.

We had a 36' Bennetau for the first week and a 39' Bennetau for the second week. We stuck to a pretty hectic schedule for the first week and spent a lot of time exhausted after sailing most of the day - and one evening well into the night. Sailing by the full moon was beautiful but scary with the water pounding on gnarly cliffs nearby in the darkness.

The smaller more remote islands Simi, Nissyros, Tilos, Halki and Kalymnos were fascinating. They were incredibly stark and rugged, but settled with beautiful towns and houses built to the shape of the land. The Mediterranean islands have been trade routes with key significance throughout history, which is evident from the rich culture that oozes from the place.

The sailing was pretty straightforward, although there were sometimes significant distances to cover with nothing but huge rocky cliffs between safe havens. We underestimated our travel time on more than one occasion, and mooring turned out to be tricky - the docks were crowded even at low season and required reverse parking into gaps not much wider than the boat while dropping the anchor with reasonable precision. Phew! We spent our first afternoon entertaining the township of Simi as we farted around in the harbour for hours trying to moor the boat. After that we anchored in bays as much as possible, some of which were absolutely stunning.

Despite all this it was a fantastic trip and a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. Oh, and I should mention the food. Every port we stopped at had several tavernas within view, and the meals we ate were simple, delicious and surprisingly varied from island to island. A highlight was the "aborigine salad" which disappointingly turned out to be aubergine.


Ruth and Mark in sensible hats.	Cathy joins us on Nissyros.	Chris mooring the boat.

On Nissyros we met Cathy and Chris in a volcano. They identified us from a distance as fellow Aussies by our sensible hats and joined the crew after Ruth and Mark were taken by pirates (read "left to meet other engagements"). They were a real find. In addition to being a good photographer, Chris turned out to be an expert sailor, making the rest of the trip safe and easy for the rest of us. Most of these photos have been appropriated from his collection.


On the dinghy.	Octopus drying on a clothesline.	A ruined temple on Rhodos. Apollo? Zeus? Who knows, it was all Greek to me.

We found the proverbial octopus on the clothesline at Poppy's Taverna in Vathi Bay, Kalymnos. It was so fresh that it squirted ink across the table as we cut into it - seriously. Kalymnos was such a nice place that we abandoned plans to conquer further islands and spent the last couple of days just pottering around there relaxing until it was time to head back.

Next year (2003) we plan to return to Greece and spend a month sailing in the Ionian, where I hope to find an answer to the age old question: just how much does a Grecian earn?