We hoist the Greek flag
36° 26′ 07.0000” N 28° 14′ 52.0000” E
We are “home” in the EU
The Turkish guest flag has been replaced with the Greek guest flag. We are back after a year in Turkey.
It feels good.
First impressions are that the Greeks speak better English, are in higher spirits, and have a more relaxed approach to life.
In Turkey, you moor your boat at the customs pier at an exact agreed-upon time, and from the moment you get your stamp, you are no longer allowed to set foot on Turkish land.
In Greece, it’s more like… well, you can drop by tomorrow, and we’ll take a look at it.
We will miss the Turkish cuisine. It’s miles better than the Greek. When it comes to nature and culture, these two countries are evenly matched.
Ahead of us lie Rhodes, Karpathos, Kasos, Crete, and the Peloponnese, and life is full of possibilities.
Caught in a sudden storm.
36° 49’ 98.00’’ N, 30° 36’ 37.00” E
It starts with lightning, and then another. Then the wind arrives, howling, almost insane, whipping the sea into foam and creating high – disturbingly high – waves.
Then comes the rain, but mostly, we are preoccupied with the storm, tearing at the rigging and abruptly stopping Ronja’s progress as the bow is lifted high into the air and then hammered down into a wave trough, with water pouring over the deck, and the pitometer dropping from 6.5 to 1.2 knots.
It all happens so quickly that we barely have time to close the hatches. Just a moment ago, the wind gauge showed 0.0, and the wind direction indicator was spinning because it couldn’t find a clear wind direction. And now, the wind gauge shows 20, 30, 40, 50 knots, directly at us.
We are in the midst of a thunderstorm.
What do we do? Should we turn back? Seek shelter in a Turkish cove two nautical miles behind us?
We grit our teeth. Tell each other that this must be a passing storm. After all, the weather forecast promised good weather. Isn’t it also getting a bit brighter – just a little bit – far out to the right?
After an hour, it’s over. First, the wind subsides, then the rain stops, and after a few hours, the waves also calm down.
Ronja regains speed through the water. The rest of us relax.