….to change her mind that is. I know I said the Corinth Sea was out…but I may have changed my mind. I have always really wanted to go see this shipwreck….I mean, look at that place! How cool is that!?!? –>
It’s a beach called shipwreck beach (how original) and it’s on the island of Zakynthos! (or Zakinthos, or Zante…remember last time how I said everything has two names?). But see, here’s the problem, I didn’t know where it was until now…and it turns out that it’s up at the top of the Peloponese. So what’s the problem? Well, for starters it’s about 300 nautical miles to navigate around the bottom and get there. Secondly, I’m reading that the bottom of the Peloponese has a bit of a “Cape of Good Hope” area that I’m not 100% sure I want to tackle.
Going around the other way, up through the Corinth canal, means it is only about 160 nautical miles to get there, easily done in a week with some layovers. While the canal will be interesting, they charge you a fortune to transit it and we will have to go through twice. But it would mean we would have three weeks to noodle around in a leisurely manner and really coast back on the prevailing winds which tend to be southerly at that time of year (yes, I’m aware that there also wasn’t supposed to be a Force 8 storm in May last time!). So…it is starting to look like we may be traversing the Corinth canal twice, once in and once out. I suppose we will just have to build it into our budget.
If we do go this direction, we will head up from Pireaus, through the Corinth canal and out along the Patras coastline into the Southern Ionian . I am thinking that we will head straight for Zakynthos first, check out the shipwreck and then hightail it off the west coast since there seems to be few anchorages on that side.
I also want to check out the Blue Grotto on the top side of the island. Again…how can we miss this scene?!?!
So I figure we will then head up to Cephalonia. How can we miss a place that translates (OK in Latin) to brain?
Then, as time and weather permits, up to Ithaki and maybe up to Levkas or some of the small islands nearby.
Then back down into the Gulf of Patras and the Gulf of Corinth and try to take a day trip ashore to visit Delphi and perhaps Corinth.
So there’s the current plan….I’ll let you know if it changes.
P.S. That invitation is still open for anyone who’d like to charter a boat and flotilla alongside of us….