It is Monday 27th May and a good day to update the blog because as I write it is raining and not a day for sailing. We have done the boat chores and the shopping so will be off as soon as this depression passes through, hopefully tomorrow.
Filling in some detail for the last couple of weeks with friend Peter on board, look what he came back with when we sent him to the bakery for the morning bread! We did try them, but they tasted much as they look and he was banned from making a repeat purchase.
Together we explored old town Kalamata, visited the underwhelming castle and what is left of the old buildings and streets to the north of the town but were disappointed not to find the museums open.
We walked the harbour pier which was an impressive construction about a mile long protecting the town harbour quays. It is hard to imagine that in the southerly winter storms these walls are under attack and are often breached by the pounding seas.
We had a good sail south to Methoni, a sheltered bay on the south western tip of the Peloponnese, where we anchored safely sheltered from the strong north westerly winds.
Methoni was very interesting with the ruins of an impressive Venetian fort and a Turkish tower straddling the north south peninsular below the town. The fort guarded the shipping route around the Peleponnese. When the Turks captured it and it is told that Cervantes was a prisoner here and the tale in his Don Quixote of the captive may well relate his experience as a Turkish prisoner.
We enjoyed exploring the whole area for the princely sum of 1 euro each for OAPs!
We celebrated Peter’s birthday in Methoni at a splendid restaurant and Peter manned up to do some serious swimming, perhaps to burn off the indulgences of avocado on toast for breakfast and lamb kleftiko for supper! Credit is also due to Nigel though who swam with him for a few minutes!
We had a brisk sail back to Kalamata for Peter to make his flight home.
It had been disappointing that we did not make the trip to Crete and back, but it was not meant to be. It is clear that Kalamata is a transit stop and not good as a cruising base due to the dominant strong wind patterns in the area. This basic problem has certainly been exacerbated by the truly strange weather we have experienced. It has been much colder and cloudier than normal with frequent low pressure systems passing through giving strong winds and rain. We thought that last year was unusual but this year is shaping up to be worse; could this be the reality of a changing climate?
Deja Vu 
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