Nick and Martha, our good friends from Newfoundland, Canada, have been interested and curious about our sailing life aboard Dolce Farr Niente since we started on this adventure four years ago. We have some experience travelling with them; so, we loved the idea of welcoming them on board. Our schedules finally aligned in May 2024. They joined us at Cleopatra Marina in Preveza.
There is a wonderful cruising area in this part of the Ionian called the Inland Sea. It’s not really a sea, rather an area of water enclosed by the islands of Lefkada, Cephalonia and Zakinthos on the west and mainland Greece on the east. Other islands are dotted around the Inland Sea, including Meganasi and Ithica to name but two. Our plan is to spend time exploring this area for the Spring season.
Before starting our sailing journey, we explored around the Preveza area. Just north of the main town lie the ruins of the ancient city of Nikopolis. Nikopolis was built in 31 BC by Octavius (aka Augustus Caesar) to commemorate his victory over Anthony who infamously abandoned his men in battle to pursue his mistress, Cleopatra. Nikopolis was a grand city with a theatre, stadium, aqueduct and more, all encompassed by great walls.
We left Preveza and made the short trip to the island of Lefkada. Lefkada is close enough to mainland Greece to be connected by a causeway and floating bridge. We timed our arrival at the bridge for the opening at the top of the hour. We picked our way through a sailing regatta upon exiting the canal.
We spent a couple of days around Lefkada, two nights at anchor near a beach close to the town Nydri and one night at a dock in Nydri. The beach anchorage gave us a chance to swim and get our sea legs. We were close enough to town that we could take the dingy for supplies or exploring. Nick started to show his culinary skills… …first up homemade Bolognese sauce. We moved to the dock to get the alternator serviced (turns out we just needed a fuse) and to seek shelter from a forecasted strong wind.
Martha and Peggy got their steps in with a hike to a nearby waterfall. The pools below the waterfall were frog heaven, we couldn’t believe the racket as we approached.
Our next stop was the island of Meganisi. We anchored in the bay of Ambelakia. We were fortunate to have very light wind. We were able to take our time anchoring and getting the tie-up lines to shore which helped for Nick’s and Martha’s first time ever and our first time for the season. From the anchorage, we took the dingy to a beach and walked around the bay to the small town of Little Vathy.
We had a lovely sail from Meganisi to the island of Ithica. The winds were easy 10 to 15 knots; but, the sea was a bit rollie for Martha’s liking. We put her on the wheel for much of the day to help keep her eyes on the horizon and her mind distracted.
We had two stops on Ithica, Kioni and Vathy. We have been to Kioni before; so, we knew what to expect. We anchored with our lines to the town quay. We lucked out to be at Kioni on Friday night and Saturday morning when it is not so busy with the charter boats.
It was our first time in Vathy. We anchored in the harbor in front of the town. It was lovely for swimming and for getting to the shops.
After a peaceful night at anchor, we started back north in preparation for our guests’ departure in a couple of days. We had one night in Sivota which is a lovely stop at the southern tip of Lefkada. It was our first time there, we were surprised and taken aback by the sheer volume of boats. One could spend hours in the afternoon just watching all of the boats coming in.
We finished the circuit back in Nydri. Nydri is an easy cab ride to the airport in Preveza for our departing guests and we had plans to spend a few days there to sort out some boat business.
It is the best of all worlds when you start out with the expectation that you are sharing an experience; but, in the end, you have also learned a lot and had a wonderful new experience yourself. We can’t thank Nick and Martha enough for diving in whole-heartedly, for sharing in all of the above and below deck tasks, for the gourmet meal planning and execution, for reminding us just how wonderful our life is and how far we have come and for the overall laughing and having fun.
