We left UK on Sunday 23rd August with an almost equal amount of determination, anticipation and trepidation. The Corona virus pandemic had had us all locked down from March through June, and only slowly venturing out and mixing cautiously in July and August.
Masked up, sanitizer to the ready, we had an easy, half full flight from Gatwick to Preveza with Easy Jet. We had most of the back of the plane to ourselves and the flight was uneventful apart from one awkward young male passenger who decided to sit directly behind Mo, even though there was huge choice of places to go. He declared it was fine; for him maybe, so we moved a suitable distance from him!
Checking into Greece went smoothly with only random testing being done. We were out in no time at all to get our rental car and drive the half mile to the boat in Cleopatra’s boat yard.
It was only 2130 local time, but the night was beginning to shroud Deja Vu in a shadowy gloom. We got on board to discover all was well; thank goodness we had no surprises! We unpacked, set off to the bar for a welcome and necessary beer, made the bed and slept surprisingly soundly.
Then the work began. It was hard being so very hot. With azure blue skies above, temperatures hovering in the mid thirties and with strong afternoon winds, we took our time to peel off the cover that had encapsulated Deja Vu since last September, washing off the Saharan sand as we went. A big cleanup operation ensued along with the many small jobs that needed doing to get the boat ready for launching. Mo had to kit up in a fetching onesie with goggles and, due to the heat, start work at 7am to put antifoul on the keel which had had anti-rust treatment done. The moment was not recorded on camera thank goodness! For the amount of sailing we were going to do, we decided not to do the rest of the boat, what a good decision!
The Marina and the boat yard was functioning normally, albeit at reduced capacity; it had clearly been a tough summer so far as fewer boats had been launched. The two restaurants were open and very welcoming. More tables had been provisioned outside and the staff wore masks when serving customers. The quality of the food was as good as ever. On the Wednesday we drove to Lefkas and Nidri, both places busy with traffic and a fair number of tourists, although the locals reported vastly reduced numbers. We stayed in our car most of the time, getting out only when visiting our agent and the local police to get a replacement Residency permit that Mo had been granted last year. There is no understanding their bureaucracy and we needed to exercise extreme patience!
We launched on Thursday 27th August and it was a great relief to be afloat.
We are staying in Cleopatra’s Marina for a couple of nights as we had shopping to get and more jobs to do. This included Nigel going up the mast from where he managed a couple of great photos!
The Greeks are very careful and serious about the Virus threat; masks are worn, sanitizer is widely available and they are mindful of social distancing. Most of the tourists around are German and mid European, although we are aware of a significant number of Brits, who, like us, have just arrived and are venturing out to grab some sailing in September.
We set off tomorrow for the Ionian Sea and, we hope, some quiet anchorages so we can swim to keep cool! The word on the block is that the Ionian is quite crowded with many of the usual restaurant stopovers closed. We shall see.
Deja Vu 
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