{"id":11331,"date":"2022-07-28T23:46:15","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T20:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=11331"},"modified":"2022-07-29T03:06:18","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T00:06:18","slug":"the-gulf-of-corinth-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2022\/07\/28\/the-gulf-of-corinth-i\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gulf of Corinth – I"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 38\u00b022’50″N 22\u00b023’11″E<\/a><\/h6>\n

Once through the western end of the Corinth Canal<\/a> the Gulf of Corinth floats at your feet. Greece\u2019s third largest city, Patras, sits at the end of a long series of sleepy villages lining the gulf\u2019s shores. Well protected from the extreme winds of both the Aegean and the Adriatic, the opportunity for lazily gunkholing around for a month or more makes for a worthy indulgence. Far enough from summer charterers\u2019 well-worn itineraries up and down the Ionian Islands, the Gulf seems like one of those open secrets that you read about but are always five years late getting to. Most of the yachts we encountered had the look of liveaboards, or at least month-long charters with serious sailors. The wind gods blew zephyrs in our favour, that is towards the west, and we sailed most of the way across.<\/p>\n

Galaxidi<\/h6>\n

Our first stop, the enclave of Galaxidi, lies about 33 nautical miles northwest by west from Corinth. We dropped our anchor in a pretty cove with just enough swinging room for one properly anchored Valiant. At the far end of our cove, we could see a few paddlers at the public beach. The air rasped with the shisk-shisk-shisk of cicadas. Their sound rising and falling with the rhythm of the warm breeze as it rustled through the stands of pine trees. The naval academy overlooking the cove appeared closed and shuttered, whether for the summer or forever I couldn\u2019t tell.<\/p>\n

Putting on our walking shoes, we hopped in Nelly as far as the beach, then headed towards town on foot. Turning a corner, we looked out across the harbour. A low hill with a large, red-domed Greek Orthodox church dominated everything. Narrow, whitewashed lanes twisted and radiated like tendrils outwardly, towards the water. The blank walls broken occasionally by dappled shade from bougainvillaea reaching overhead.<\/p>\n

Inlets on both sides form the natural outlines of the quaysides. Yachts large and small tie up along the front. Backing stern to the quay in the traditional way, once moored an owner can step off their boat and into one of several cosy tavernas. Given such picturesque charm we were surprised at how quiet it seemed. It gave some indication of how many homes there are secondary ones, or investment properties. Still, it\u2019s close enough to Athens that weekends get busy \u2013 or so we were told.<\/p>\n

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