John left us in Poros where we picked up Tine and Gordon, Danish cruisers we met in Pittwater. Having sold Ansoba, their lovely Island Packet  in Australia, they are keen for more sailing experiences.

The big excitement was the arrival of our daughter, Emily who hadn’t been on Sea Cloud for a couple of years. Emily, unlike us, loves cats. This one was pretty cute

Tine enjoyed being back in the sun

and Emily the swimming in our first bay in a small island off Angistri. It was incredible to have a bay hours from Athens all to ourselves in early July.

 Gordon loved getting behind the wheel of Sea Cloud and helping Ian sort out many technical issues.

A sail to Epidaurus, then a tour of the ancient theatre

We anchored just off the entrance to Corinth canal, ready for an early morning start through the canal which was even more spectacular than usual in the calm early morning.

Galaxhidi was a good base for visiting Delphi and an enjoyable place to revisit.

Under the  Rion bridge,

then on to Patras Marina, where we were to pick up Sam drop of Tine and Gordon.

Sam’s 29th Birthday was celebrated at a rather quirky local restaurant

Navpaktos with Sam and Emily

Downtown Patras was lively and attractive, with some lovely old, but many derelict buildings and many small bars 

Emily and Sam headed for Istanbul, Roumania and Berlin, we spent a night chilling out at the beautiful Mare Dei resort overlooking the Ionian. It seemed very empty for mid July – but understandable as it was the week of the Greek referendum when some serious economic decisions had to be made by Greece. The owner said she hoped that the tourists would come back..

Leaving Patras, we headed back up the Ionian. The Lefkas canal was very beautiful in the early morning light.

This scene could easily be in Australia….