Family visit

Well, it's been far too long since I wrote anything. So here's my penance...
We picked up our son and his family from the airport in Corfu. We tried Mandraki yacht club as a pick-up point and it was a great success. A spectacular and well sheltered location right under the castle. A reasonable price and a very friendly reception from Chrissi and the other harbour masters. They even have a tame taxi driver who picked me up at 0330, took me to the airport, picked up the family and returned to Mandraki all for €20.
We had been concerned that Niki and Madison might be seasick on the long passage down to Preveza and tried to find public transport alternatives. Sadly nothing joins up - ferries don't meet buses, buses don't run when you need them, etc. so we gave up.

Kieran & Niki

We started the voyage with a gentle couple of hours down to Petriti all in calm weather and all sheltered from the Adriatic swell by Corfu. Had a great day swimming, dozing and exploring. Next morning we had a gentle trip to Lakka for old time's sake (two years before we visited Paxos with them).

Morgan

Next night, we tucked everyone into bed with seasick tablets. At 0200, Morgan (granddaughter) and I tackled the long open-sea leg from Lakka to Preveza while everyone else slept. By  0730 when we were approaching Preveza and everyone started waking up.

Madison

Although Madison (other granddaughter) was a bit sick it was only for an hour and we anchored behind the marina in Preveza and had another nice relaxed day.










Next day was the Levkas canal and then down to Vliho intending to eat dinner at the yacht club. Unfortunately, the wind blew up strongly and we didn't trust the dinghy so dinner was cobbled together on board. Then it was down to Port Athene on Meganisi. This was one of the highlights.  The night was moonless and - the kids stayed up late. We had brilliant stars above and all swam in fairy dust below as the phosphorescence sparkled around us. Real Magic! If you haven't swum on a dark night in clear Med waters, give it a try. You won't forget it in a hurry.

Desert Island

We decided to spend the last few days in the gulf of Amvritsa where we expected to see turtles, dolphins and a "desert island". Sadly the wildlife seemed to have gone on holiday and we only saw a small pod in the distance and a single large turtle by Preveza town quay when they were getting ready to leave! The desert island was a hit though.

Moran and Madison at the fair.

The final treat for the children was the funfair at Preveza. Alton Towers it wasn't but they were surprisingly nice (for fairground people) and it didn't feel as if they were only out to grab our money.

Getting back to Corfu airport was another logistic nightmare as nobody wanted to go all the way North and then back on Rosa. In the end we hired a car in Preveza and drove them up to meet the ferry at Igoumenitsa - by far the most convenient and least expensive option. Having wheels also allowed us to stock up at Lidle and to fill cans with Diesel at an excellent price
Altogether a very successful visit allowing us all to spend quality time together. Very important when you spend most your life as a sea gypsy.