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"Grey Pearl" 62-08 - Braun Jones and Tina C. Jones
July 24, 2006
Better to be in Montenegro than in the Middle East, I say...
Braun & I are reading with GREAT interest about the conflict (OK, war)
between Hezbollah and Israel. As many of you know, we were in these
countries the month of June and in some of the very locations bombs are
landing today...in Jounieh and Beirut Lebanon; Haifa, Ashkelon and Ashdod,
Israel. Can you say lucky? Sadly, we may have been one of the last yachts
for awhile to visit ports in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
Since the last dispatch, we moved on from the Middle East and enjoyed a
welcomed couple days in Ayios Nicholas located in SE Crete after landing
there from Port Said Egypt.
From the time we left Pt. Said we were caught in a Meltemi (seasonal winds
that blow continuous for days/weeks at 25 to 40+ knots). They harassed us
while working our way North in the Aegean Sea. These wind conditions are
common this time of year in the Aegean, but we were hoping to avoid them -
no luck there. Friends, Layne & Adam got a little sample of these fierce
winds during their visit - lots of mal de mer.
We cruised to the Cycladic Islands of Ios, Mykonos, Siros and spent a week
in Piraeus/Athens to get some work done on the boat.
Since leaving the Mid East, July was spent having some friends on board,
catching up with our fellow Nordhavn buddies Uno Mas & Satchmo in Piraeus,
working on boat projects, scootering to the beach, mindless reading, making
up for our 3-month pork withdrawal...yep, we're Americans and proud of
it...so, pass the bacon and chops please! We enjoyed our time in Greece
which means eating more than one's share of Greek salad & mousaaka washed
down with Mythos beer and Greek vino - tasty!
A day ago we left the northern Ionian Greek island of Corfu. The Ionians are
all lush and lovely but Corfu with the most yearly rainfall of all the Greek
islands, is the greenest and quite possibly, I think one of the prettiest.
Emerald mountains, turquoise waters (swam right off the dock!) lapping rocky
coves, pastel colored buildings, colorful bougainvillea, oleander and
jacaranda spread over cottages, shimmering silver olive trees...get the
picture?
We were 5 days berthed just below one of the two ancient forts in Corfu
Town, located in the middle of the island's east coast. This town is
pretty and bustling and the people and the places are very cosmopolitan.
Though definitely Greek much of Corfu's old town displays the architectural
styles of its many conquerors - Molto of Italy's Venice ruled over 400yrs.,
then France and England which also left behind cricket & ginger beer.
We talked about touring the forts and the archeological museum but,
nah...we're kinda tapped out on ruins (affectionately known in the boat
touring crowd as "more rocks"). How do you compete with the ruins of Baal
Beck in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Palmyra in Syria and Masada in Israel?
Not to mention what we were fortunate to see in Turkey and Egypt.
We set out from Corfu for an overnight passage heading north in the Adriatic
Sea, passing well off the shores of Albania and eventually entered a fjord
to sail 17 miles inland to its end and the town of Kotor, Montenegro. A
"must stop" suggested by friends.
Presently, we are tied up to the town quay just steps from the city. A
classic looking medieval walled town that is UNESCO listed as a World
Heritage site. We have found this label to be like the Good Housekeeping
Seal of Approval... if UNESCO rates it, it's usually absolutely worth seeing
and preserving.
While preparing to med-moor to the dock early this morning, Braun & I
thought we were suffering from severe sleep deprivation when we noticed
further down the quay that all too familiar stack of a Nordhavn 62...but no
illusion it's our sister ship, 'San Souci' that crossed the Atlantic with us
3 years ago. She was owned by friends Ken and Roberta Williams whom we
really wish were here. Cocktails on board, dinner in town and all that fun
stuff...
Time to sign off and explore...BJ has me hiking 1 kilo to the top of the
mountain all along the fortified walls to the last hold out, then to the
maritime museum in the old town...hold me back...
We will spend a few more days here and then sail north to Croatia.
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