Vónitsa

Having spent the morning shopping for food in Préveza, we left Cleopatra Marina shortly after lunchtime on Friday 9 August, just as the afternoon northwesterly was beginning to build. Our plan was to sail 8 miles or so west into the Ambracian Gulf to a small town called Vónitsa which, according to our pilot book, has a Venetian castle commanding great views across the Gulf. Given that we weren’t going far, and that it was all downwind sailing, we left the mainsail covered and just unrolled the genoa. As we progressed, the wind built until we were bowling along wonderfully. The hills, headlands and islands around the Gulf were lush and green, and the water was a fantastic shade of turquoise.

It didn’t take us long to get to Vónitsa and, since we had plenty of time, we decided to chek out all the mooring options. The inlet to the west of town seemed a little crowded, given how deep it is and the harbour too seemed to be pretty full, though I am sure that we would have been able to squeeze in somehow. However, the east of the town, protected by a small wooded island with a bridged causeway out to it, was what looked to be a very pretty anchorage.

There were several yachts already anchored there, but the bay was surprisingly wide and a good anchoring depth (5-10m), so there was plenty of space to join them; much nicer than a noisy town quay we thought.

It was certainly scenic and we had a pleasant evening drink whilst finishing making up a Greek-style casserole, similar to the one Charlotte had eaten in Vathí on Ithaca.

As the sun set we ate dinner in the cockpit with just the noise of a few goat bells clanking as the herd moved across the hillside nearby. Total peace and tranquility – until that is, the live band started playing on the temporary stage which had been built in the woods on the island!

It was not the best night’s sleep but the soft morning light picked out the Venetian castle on the hill beautifully; a great view to enjoy over breakfast.

After breakfast we decided to move onto the town quay so that it was easy to get ashore to explore the castle and the town. Some of the moorings on the town quay had lazy lines, others did not. We were fortunate in that when we arrived we were able to take a space which had lazy lines: putting an anchor out in a harbour with laid moorings is fraught with the danger of snagging your anchor on mooring blocks or chains. By the time we were settled it was siesta time and very hot. Clearly the local fish population also thought it was a bit warm as we saw lots of shoals of small fish, almost looking like bait balls, in the shade of the boats in the harbour.

When the sun had dropped a bit we wandered up the hill to the castle. The remains date from Venetian times but the Venetians built on top of a Byzantine fort. Some of the walls are very well preserved but most of the buildings are ruined. There is also a small church on the site, which seems to still be in use. As our pilot book says, the views from the ramparts are excellent and we had an interesting hour or so walking around the walls and enjoying the view.

Having ‘done’ the castle we went back into the town. Some people were busy setting up chairs and staging on the small pier just to the east of the main harbour – preparations for another concert (happily a much quieter one it transpired later!). We deceided on dinner out at a pizzeria with a wood-fired oven. Not exactly traditional Greek food but it was jolly good anyway. When we made our way back to BV all the many [Ed – very many!] tavernas were full with people out enjoying a warm Saturday night. As we had made our way around the town earlier we had wondered at the number of restaurant covers and could hardly believe that they would all be taken. As we went back to BV we wondered instead where everyone had come from.

The plan for Sunday was to wait until the wind had built and then have a brisk sail back to Préveza so that we could pick up my phone. With our 2 day stop off we haven’t seen very much of the Ambracian Gulf but, from what we have seen, we will certainly divert in to explore some more of it when we are next in this area.

Vonitsa