Nafplio or Nauplion

36 degrees and 22 minutes was our most southerly position and turning point this season. Now we are heading north again. As promised, George returned our railing in Monemvasia in the evening and did an excellent job. We set off early the next morning and sailed into the sunrise. On the port side, the fortified town of Monemvasia was still in a deep sleep and the first fishermen crossed our path. No matter where we sail in the world, I always find this early morning hour magical.

The third bay of the Peloponnese, the Gulf of Argolis, was on our menu. 30 nm from Monemvasia, we entered the bay of Poulithra on the west side of the bay. Leonidi is close by, but somewhat in the mountains and out of our reach. Poulithra is a very green and sparsely populated bay. Surprisingly without any fortresses. There are a few houses in the mountains and a few sheds on the rocky beach, the function of which remained a mystery to us. Otherwise there was plenty of nothing.

Navily is weakening

When we choose an anchorage, we usually use ‘Navily’, a community-based app, as a guide. You can find anchorages on a map with a description of the seabed and information about the surrounding area. This is usually a very helpful application and we happily used it for years now. If a place isn’t marked, one can add it. Especially in the Bahamas we have added a few new anchorages and described them to the best of our knowledge.

Navily Anchorage Score

There is also a ‘score’ that indicates how potentially convenient and safe the anchorage is. Wind and wave direction give a value that indicates whether you can expect a restful night’s sleep. Unfortunately, in Greece this score is even less reliable than the weather forecast.

Poulithra

Poulithra not only looked scenically beautiful, but also well protected from swell according to the charts. The Navily score was 80 out of 100 points. So we expected safe and calm anchoring ahead. We were the only vessel to anchor and Ka got into the cold water to check the anchor. Shivering from the cold, she was surprised by a small seal, which became even more frightened and took flight.

We enjoyed the afternoon in the silence and solitude of this green bay. The mountains of the Peloponnese – as beautiful as they are – often have the inhospitable characteristic of dropping cabatic winds into the bays. This was also the case in Poulithra, when we were suddenly caught in such strong winds for 2-3 hours that we had to recover our flag. It calmed down towards sunset. But then a heavy swell rolled into the bay, which robbed us of our sleep. Very early in the morning we were fed up and shortened our visit with an abrupt departure. The 80 Navily score was realistically closer to 20.

Nevertheless, we will remember this place because at departure we caught our first fish since we have been in Greece!!! And it happened with an old, plucked lure from the Caribbean. Maybe the Med fish are more thrilled by expotic bait. A delicious tuna landed on our barbecue.

Our next destination was the small town of Nafplio (Nauplion), another 30 nm at the northern end of the bay. Very small and particularly exclusive cruise ships call at this destination from time to time. And now we know why. We wanted to anchor outside the town in the forecast good conditions. Instead of a nice 14 knots, double the wind force tugged at our anchor and the spray made it impossible to get into the town dry by dinghy. During a short break in the wind, we lifted the anchor to tie up at the town’s public dock.

Strange or criminal?

In Nafplio, the harbour is a community dock, just a basic concrete harbour basin. If you steer your anchor backwards to the dock, men in yellow waistcoats appear. They kindly take the lines and help with mooring. Once the boat is moored, the big cheese shows up with a professional badge and highly professional looking clipboard to collect €50 just for the docking assistance. In exchange for a Greek (illegible) receipt. Not a bad reward for 5 minutes of effort, which all sailors usually provide to each other free of charge as assistance. Mooring fees are collected later by the Port Authority.

What annoys the skippers is that there’s no choice, that the authorisation is unclear, that the fee is ridiculously overpriced and that it is completely unusual at the community dock. Skippers with local knowledge trick the yellowjackets by arriving at 7.00 am, when nobody is there yet. Our sailing mates Dan and John did exactly that and moored up without any help. Nevertheless, the yellow guys turned up at 9.00 am to collect money for nothing in return. That’s rather dubious. Some skipper refuse to pay and then things escalate with police threats and the full monty. There are very different opinions on whether this is legal or an illegal rip-off. When I asked the lady who collects the mooring fees in the harbour, she said that there was nothing they could do about it. The Port Authority, on the other hand, said that it was completely ok.

The legitimate concern is that this will spread and Greece will become a country that rips off sailors like Croatia, which many sailors now avoid.

The old greek capital

But let’s move on to something more pleasant and the real reason for our visit: Nafplio. This fine little town isn’t on Greece’s must-see list but it definitely should be. In 1828, Nafplio was the first capital of modern Greece for six years, until Otto von Wittelsbach, King of Greece, chose Athens in 1834 and the title of capital was lost.

Today, 15,000 inhabitants live in the small town at the northern end of the third Peloponnese bay, the Gulf of Argolis. The location is favourable, as it is only 126 km road to Athens or 44 km to the Corinth Canal. For us, it will be 85 nm or 160 km to Corinth by sea, without any detours.

The City of Bougainvillea 

Ka had time for a new painting

Huge fortress, Fortress island

Nafplio is an incredibly charming town. For a town of its size, there are surprisingly many pedestrianised streets with lovely shops and tavernas, squares and places to linger. There are also lots of curious and unexpected things, like the ‘best Italian ice cream in Greece’ – I’m no expert, but it found it incredibly tasty and true to style.

“Best Italien icecream in Greece”, folks enjoying the evening

There is hardly a street that is not overgrown with magnificently colourful bougainvillea. A visit to the old town centre is simply beautiful. Once again, a fortress towers over the city, this time a particularly magnificent one. It is said that it can be climbed via a staircase with 999 steps. We’ve had too many fortresses and plenty of views recently and decided not to. Only one is not enough and so there are three more fortresses around. One of them is located on an island in the entrance to the harbour. Of course, all the old buildings are magnificently illuminated at night.

And not to be underestimated is the wonderful footpath, over the cliffs along the sea, around the town. It ends at a beach bar that could just as easily be in the Caribbean, only here it’s a stone beach. However, Nafplio is simply beautiful and a must-see for us.

Lovely coast walk with beach bar as a reward

We set off again in the early morning, heading out of the Argolis Gulf. We enjoy the most beautiful company that sailors can have: Dolphins. More of that next time / Holger Binz