Athens (Part 1)

We left Sounion at 0900 on Sunday 3 July and started motoring northwest towards Athens. There was a little wind but it was pretty much on the nose and we had arranged with our friends that we would meet up in Athens just after lunch so we needed to press on. Fortunately as we made our way there the wind freshened and backed and so we were able to switch off the engine and ended up having an excellent sail.

Approaching Alimos marina   

There are several marinas at Athens but we have always used Alimos marina in the Kalamáki district of Athens because it is conveniently close to Strevs’ and Simon’s hotel. They had already arrived in Athens but we had stuck with our plan to avoid arriving in the marina on Saturday because that is when we thought the charter companies have their changeover day, filling up the available mooring space. We radioed ahead and Alimos were happy to accept us. Once ashore and booking in, we saw a sign in the office saying that there was no space for visiting yachts on Saturdays or Sundays because of the charter yacht changeovers; we were both pleased that they had space for us and that we hadn’t come the day before.

Looking up at the Acropolis from Plaka   

Strevs and Simon were able to come down to BV almost straight away and so we spent a very pleasant afternoon hosting them on board. It was great to share a beer or two and catch up. After showers and a change, we all traipsed into Athens for dinner; curry, what else would you have in Greece? Actually Strevs knew that we probably hadn’t had a curry dinner for a while and knew an excellent restaurant so it was both a good plan and a fabulous meal out.

Plaka   

Brettos distillery bar   

Having stuffed ourselves to almost bursting point we wandered around the Plaka area of the city. It’s full of bars, restaurants and some tourist shops and has a very nice atmosphere about it. Brettos distillery and bar proved to be a great venue for cocktails and after all of that we felt that we had arrived in Athens in an appropriate style.

During our previous vists we have covered most of the main tourist sites and so this time we felt no real urge to charge around the city in tourist mode. However, there are so many ruins that it is difficult not to stumble across them if you walk around the central area.

Athens, Greece