Katakolan (Greek Mainland) the good bits.
 
On arrival in Katakolan (when we were still happy and naive as to what lay ahead) we were met by a man on a bike, asking us if we wanted showers now you all know that Stella Maris would not get an AA 5 star rating for her facilities, to be honest she wouldn’t even get a 1. So when he said showers for 1 euro we jumped at the chance, what he didn’t mention was that the showers were up a very steep climb of steps. We followed him as he took us to his parents house (up steep climb) where they rent out rooms. We were all ready to have our showers, when we realised there were about 6 Americans in front of us also waiting. There followed an hours worth of polite conversation whilst we took it in turns to have showers. It had been light when we started out on our trek to showerdom, by the time we returned to the boat it was dark. Hey ho the shower was hot, which is my book is glorious with a capital G. The Greek family were very friendly and gave us a bunch of grapes. Despite the high winds and our worries about the boat, we hired a car and set off to Olympia as this had been our main reason for going to Katakolon. On arrival at Olympia I realised I had been here before (memory like a goldfish). But in my youth I really don’t think I fully appreciated all it had to offer. We had a good day, but at the back of our minds we were hoping and praying that Stella Maris was holding up o.k. When we returned the wind was blowing quite hard and had apparently been doing so for most of the day. Stella was exactly where we left her all in tact if a little bit bouncy on the waves. A motorboat next to us had not faired so well, a day of scraping up and down the quay had taken its toll fenders had been burst or pulled off! On our last night there we decided to visit our friendly Greek family to use their showers again. (well at 1 euro who wouldn’t) We trudged up the steps, Captain Miles had his shower then just as I was having mine another storm broke. The rain was very heavy and there was lots of thunder & lightening. We found ourselves stranded up with the Greek family for about an hour. They invited us into their home to wait until the rain had passed. We were given some tomatoes, mint and some fruit that I’ve not seen before. The conversation was short, the T.V was in Greek, but you know what a lot of smiling went on! We got a break in the weather and took our leave thanking them for their hospitality and kindness. We returned to the boat and battened down the hatches for the night. All hoping for a good nights sleep, didn’t happen, well you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth, just wish the rough wasn’t sooooooo rough!! Stella Maris crew, shaken and a tad stirred XXX
Saturday, 30 September 2006