We have been on the move lately, staying in lovely calm anchorages as the seasonal change has provided a pleasant adjustment in our local conditions. We’ve had a stillness and calm with just enough wind to sail most days, replacing the raging force of wind we have experienced over the last wee while. We have spent the last couple of nights peacefully in Zakynthos and have just anchored in Kefalonia where it could best be described as peacefully serene.
And it is, of course, Easter. There are jet trails in the cloudless skies overhead as people travel to family and friends for the conviviality of food, festivals, and fellowship that is about to occur. All of a sudden there are other yachts on the move fluttering flags from Germany, France, Spain, and the USA, and we are noticing other yachts turn up in anchorages as the days draw toward sunset. There is definitely much more leisure craft traffic on our AIS.
Northern Hemisphere Easter is mostly related to Pagan festivals and the season of spring that bring the promise of new life and hopefully bountiful harvests. And in line with the nature-centric component that is Easter, we have been joined by a few animals of late. A giant sea turtle swam rather leisurely down our starboard hull, schools of fish can be seen in the depths amongst the Poseidon grass nursery below our hulls, and we even had an Italian swallow join us onboard as he hitchhiked a ride during our 20-hour night passage. We know he was an Italian swallow because we researched the type of bird that he was – I joke that his chirpy ‘cheep’ had a distinctly Italian accent to give it away, and the Captain promptly gave him the moniker ‘Monty’ which isn’t Italian sounding at all. But he did hang around until we were close to land again and even invited himself into the salon at supper time.
Traditionally, the Orthodox Greeks celebrate Easter a week later than we do because they calculate the date based on the Julian calendar whereas we westerners calculate the date based on the Gregorian calendar. We are keen to experience a traditional Greek Easter, but to be honest, we are missing the fragrance and flavour that is a delicious hot cross bun. The spice of cinnamon and the fruit of raisins, sultanas, and peel are replaced here with a delicious buttery short biscuit called ‘Koulourakia’; crunchy sweetness flavoured with orange and brandy, often liberally dusted with icing sugar, and sometimes shaped like a crescent moon.
Each new anchorage gives us the chance to check out the local markets and shops. We can officially confirm there has been not a single sign of any easter eggs or chocolate bunnies which we can bite the ears off; but we are likely to have a big fat Greek Easter lavished with a great selection of biscuits, European cheeses, and lashings of limoncello.
As the sun rises wherever you are, we send you and yours good tidings for peace, health, and happiness and an egg-stra special Easter.
Here’s a little melt in the mouth Kylie – Chocolate
“If love were liquid it would drown me
In a placeless place would find me
In a heart shape come around me
And then melt me slowly down
If love were human, it would know me
In a lost space, come and show me
Hold me and control me
And then melt me slowly down
Like chocolate”
Chocolate from Kylie
