29/07/09 – Saronic Islands – Ermioni to Dokos, Dokos to Ydra, Ydra to Poros (night sail)
So off we went sailing from Ermioni to Dokos. We then made our way to Ydra, 
arriving in the late afternoon. As we were arriving, we got a good close look at a flying dolphin (as you can see from the photo). 
We couldn’t quite tell where the entrance to Ydra actually was at first – it was sort of hidden by some surrounding rocks. However, as we got closer, all became clear and we steered our way into an already very crowded harbour. Luckily we were not planning on staying the night, just a short visit for dinner before our night sail to Poros. The crowdedness appeared to put off several other visitors and we saw a few boats pull into the harbour only to turn around when they saw that the boats were all parked four or five boats deep.
We attached ourselves to some other boats and decided that rather than climbing on five other boats to get to the quay, we’d make use of our handy little dinghy. Unfortunately, previous experience had already taught us that the outboard motor was not working and that someone would have to row (guess who volunteered?). So Ben pumped up the dinghy and John volunteered to stay with the boat just in case it needed to be moved (also because the tiny dinghy was not going to be able to transport five people to shore in one go!). Very carefully, we arranged ourselves into the dinghy and Ben rowed u
s to shore. Due to the crowded shore area, we had a bit of a problem finding a space. Ben had another problem – rowing backwards meant that he was being directed by three women!! I think he found that in itself challenging as we all directed him to different spaces using a combination of instructions such “go to your left, I mean my left” “I mean go right” “I mean portside – or is that starboard?” “Oh, were you directing him to that one, I thought we’d go to that one over there” “But is there one over there? It looks full to me!”. We all decided that the experience was very ‘character building’ and miraculously found ourselves a spot, managing to clamber up the wall to the shore so we could explore Ydra. The journey back was even more entertaining, but more of that later!
Ydra (as you can probably see from the pictures) is an incredibly beautiful little town, and one in which vehicles are not allowed. So transport everywhere is in the form of donkeys. Of course, this meant that we had to travel in traditional style and went for a little donkey ride. A lovely way to see the island, although I’m not sure how happy the donkeys were about it all – they seemed in a bit of a hurry!
We then went for a little wander to see more of the views before making our way to the restaurant we had chosen for dinner – a pretty little place with tables set out in a little square under the trees. After some rather questionable wine, we managed to find some nicer wine to drink with our meal, another assortment of traditional Greek food. Then it was time to get some provisions from the shop and get back in the dinghy to the boat!
On the way back we decided to get some frappes and smoothies as well as a takeaway for John and the provisions, so we were a bit more weighed down as we tried to get into the dinghy. If the journey over to the shore was entertaining, the way back was even more fun. Partly because it was dark, partly because we were now crammed into the dinghy with lots of shopping bags and three drinks which we were trying not to spill. We had to navigate our way out of the corner we’d parked in, taking it in turns to push the dinghy away from the other boats as Ben rowed. We were in fits of giggles by the time we got back to our 
boat, but again, it was ‘character building’! We put everything away on the boat and got ourselves ready for the night sail (for me this meant putting on extra jumpers in anticipation of being cold!). We sailed out at around half past nine in the evening and had to use the compass and
lights around us to help us get to our destination. It was lovely to be able to see the stars and to sail in darkness, although a little scary when the boat heeled. I overcame a little fear of taking the helm in the dark and did helm the boat for a while in the dark – I have to say, I prefer to be able to see where I’m going. However, it was interesting to use lights to guide us and to rely on that. Very early the next morning (two or three am I think), we arrived in Poros, where we managed to find a spot to park on the pontoon, park the boat in the dark (well, Ben did!) and managed to annoy the man in the boat next to us by accidentally waking him up as we pulled in! Oops! He was OK about it in the end though and we settled down for a celebratory drink before going to bed and guessing what time we’d all wake up in the morning (or whether it would be the afternoon before we got up!!)
For all the photos of our trip, checkout our photo album by clicking here.
For the scrapbook entry showing the route of where we travelled, click here.
To view all of our Summer Holiday 2009 posts, click here.