The Outer Islands

Thursday we left Skopelos heading to the outer islands just to the northeast.  That night we anchored right off a small, uninhabited island and tied 2 stern and 2 bowlines ashore for fears of heavy wind later in the night.  The winds did come, but fortunately we were secure.  The next day we swam over to a shipwreck only partially submerged.  We climbed aboard and explored all throughout the different rooms, finding newspapers from 15 years ago and an old bottle of whiskey.  It was kinda like exploring an abandoned building except everything was tilted at an odd angle and the main compartment of the ship was flooded with water.  There were two other abandoned boats attached to the larger ship that we also climbed through.  One of the students managed to find an old baseball cap in one of the boats, which he now proudly wears.  I swam ashore next, and since I had my sandals on, wanted to try to make it to the top of the island.  There were no trails and maybe 500-600 feet of elevation to climb, but I managed to hop along the rocky parts and avoid most of the prickly bushes and overgrown olive trees.  At the top I had the pleasure of enjoying some incredible views, all to myself.  I climbed along the ridge a little and started back down this time heading more for our boat instead of the beach I had come from.  I hadn’t done my homework (nor brought the proper clothing; swim trunks and sandals don’t offer much in the way of protection from scratching bushes) and basically tried to climb back down through the thickest growth on the entire side of the island.  I was so deep in bush and growth that the sun was almost completely blocked out.  I kept telling myself that after a few more feet the bush would clear and it would be an easier walk back down, but after literally belly crawling (no shirt either) over and under bushes, and thoroughly scraping my entire body I admitted defeat and climbed back out through the bush, to the top and back down the path I had came, which felt like walking on a cloud compared to the forest of sharp things I had just rolled my body through.  The salt water was a good cleanse as I swam back to the ship, and after a good stretching session I felt pretty good, and was proud that I had made it to the top.

Saturday the weather cooperated fantastically and we were able get some great sail training in.  For one of the first times we were able to turn the engines and move under just sail power.  It was great practice for me to trim the sails and help the students tack and jib quickly.  We anchored for lunch and then left for our next destination, about two hours away.  The wind was a little lighter, so we used a little engine with the sails up.  Any disappointed from the light air was made up for when a group of dolphins swam with us for a bit.  I was right up on the bowsprit when 3 dolphins started twisting and turning through the boats wake just below me, I think the first time I have ever seen dolphins while sailing.  Saturday night we anchored in a small bay next to an island with one resident (a monk) and one building (the monastery)

Sunday was our free day, but in the morning all the students and Theo climbed to the top of the island and visited the monastery.  The monk there spoke great English and talked to us for over an hour, an interesting mix of Orthodox history, his own life and a very sad idea of grace and forgiveness.  After the monastery we motored further along the island for a great lunch and some swimming.  Theo took us over to some caves where we were able to swim through an underwater tunnel.  Theo is a former dive instructor and so got in the water with us and showed us where to dive and how far to swim underwater to avoid surfacing too soon.  I had expected a much longer/difficult dive into a marvelous underwater cavern, but basically just had to swim down about 10 feet and 30 forward to get from one side of the cliff to the other.  Still, it was a lot of fun and a good chance for me to practice diving and equalizing, which I currently suck at.  Next we went to some cliffs to climb and jump off of.  Two of the guys jumped from about 50-60ft but my hip surgery (or more likely my dislike of heights) kept me to climbing a little lower down and jumping maybe 15 feet, which hardly qualifies as anything more then jumping off the bowsprit, which I do almost everyday. 

We left again and our currently anchored in a super calm bay with about 3-4 other sailboats.  I took the opportunity for a nice swim and used shampoo and soap for the first time in about 10 days.  Still no real shower for over 2 weeks but it felt good to wash a bit.  I’ve been rocking a pretty sweet Mohawk for about a week now, so I don’t have too much hair to wash, which has kept my overall grossness level to relatively low, and it’s amazing what two small cupfulls of fresh water can do to rinse the saltiness off.  

Peace

-BG