Our ferry research on the storm break day in Loutsa gave us a new exciting idea. For a long time we had the idea to reach Turkey via some Greek islands. So why not just go to an island that is as close as possible to Turkey and find us a sailing opportunity there?
The island of our choice is the small island of Samos. A mere two kilometers separate it from the Turkish mainland. Even to catch the weekly ferry to Samos, the train shortcut to Athens was necessary. So after a night in the capital, a soothing hot shower, laundry service at the Bangladeshi around the corner, delicious street-food and the ascent of an unofficial observation deck in the middle of the city, we are on the road again, this time to the ferry port of Athens. The two-story ferry is impressive. As we look back at Athens getting smaller, however, we wonder if we might have cycled through mainland Greece a little too fast. We come to the conclusion that we want to allow ourselves a little more 50-km days in the future and that our pace of the past few days can also be blamed on the thundery weather.
The loudspeakers call out a different Greek island every few hours. Hard to believe we are where we are right now.
Under an impressive starry sky, we leave the giant barge at 2 a.m. and start looking for a spot for our tent. It smells of fig trees and sea and seems a few degrees colder than on the mainland. Our previous consultation of the map pays off: We unerringly reach the Potamistrand and immediately find a vacant cottage with a somewhat view-protected, covered terrace. Perfect. There is even a water tap around the corner and the gentle sound of the waves immediately lulls us into a carefree sleep.
We wake up in the most beautiful place on earth! Behind us forested mountains, in front of us an incredibly blue sea and a pebble beach that seems to be made of pearls. The wonderfully rounded stones shine in all kinds of colors. It is hard to believe where we have landed again. We decide to stay here for another night and spend the day with bike care, equipment optimization and a walk along the lonely coast to a small bay. A real vacation day!
Many more wonderful adventure vacation days are to follow. In the afternoon of the second day on the island, we tear ourselves away from Potami and cycle across the mountainous island to the other side. On a small winding road we reach a mountainous landscape right next to the giant Kerkis towering over 1400 m high. Kerkis is shrouded in clouds and the southern coast of the island is barely visible. Our destination today is the Phytagoras Cave, which we discovered on our map. Our curiosity is aroused and we are amazed when, after a steep climb, we come around a bend and a narrow, steep staircase winds its way up the mountainside in front of us. Up there in this hole in the rock sat Phytagoras himself more than 2000 years ago and thought of clever things!
The disused coffee shop at the foot of the stairs offers us comfortable accommodation for two nights. The comfort increases when Nicos, the owner, who shows up on the second day, also unlocks the toilet for our use. For once, we explore the south coast of the island without luggage, and on the second night we escape a fearsome storm that takes out entire trees on the other side of the island.
Over the course of a week, we sail to all the major ports on the island and try to get a ride to nearby Turkey. “No,” is the answer. “Not possible!”. Gradually we find out that due to Corona and further political gnashing of teeth, the official mood between the Greeks and Turks has cooled somewhat. The Turks take their orders very seriously, we are told. Sailboats are not allowed to suddenly have more people on board than recorded in the papers. Only when we spend two days on the xxxx coast do we realize what is really behind the harassment: Samos lies on the refugee route from east to west. The strait, which is only two kilometers wide, is ideal for illegal crossings to Europe. Some long-term sailors, who are basically willing to take us along, tell us about the patrolling Frontex boats and change their plans themselves. Too laborious and risky is the approach of a Turkish port at the moment.
Also we accept now- there is a change of plan coming up. Our only possibility to enter Turkey is via the land border. Once a week there is a ferry from Samos to the Greek mainland coast in Kavala. This is the closest we can get to Turkey by boat. We book a ticket and enjoy the remaining vacation days on the wonderful island to the fullest and with daily changing places to stay.