We are mooring at a tavern
38° 39′ 44.1504” N 20° 45′ 33.066” E
28th of June
Three times in just a few weeks we visit Port Spiglia, located in an enchanting bay on the north side of the island of Meganisi. We have got the place recommended by Bob and Ann, an English couple, whom we met in Prevéza on the mainland. They sail every spring and autumn, and when they tell us, they have sailed in the Ionian Sea for 16 years, the first many years in a rented boat, and the latest in their own boat, Coconut, we ask if they have some recommendations for a couple of Danes newly arrived in the Ionian Sea.
If they have!
Skippers wife with the sole ruler of harbour as well as restaurant at Port Spiglio, Babis himself
Ann sets out and writes a nothing less than a short story about all the good places – six handwritten pages with anchorages, ports, beaches, eateries, phone numbers. We are now the happy owners of a personal guide to the Western Greece.
We start with Porto Spiglia on the island of Meganissi. “Call Babis,” says Ann’s list of ionic top experiences. Babis is the owner of a tavern, which is so close to the bay, that the water almost licks our feet when we eat. He owns and manages the excellent tavern, but at the same time he acts as harbor master for 50-60 berths along the quay and floating bridges.
We call Babis and say hello from Bob and Ann – and we get a berth in what is unofficially called “the British sector”. Mooring is free and so is electricity and water. But we are expected to eat in the tavern. Fair deal. Super concept.
Life is simple, when you are in Babis’ universe. You exchange experiences with your neighbors, most of them British but also some Norwegians, Swedes and Dutchmen. You take a walk to the high-lying village of Spartakori overlooking the part of the Ionian Sea, go to the beach at the tavern or you walk to the somewhat larger beach in the bottom of the bay, and in the evening you eat at Babis’ tavern, often with some sailors you have met before.
If the bay becomes too tight, you rent a motorcycle or a car and explore the small island and its many beaches. Rarely on our entire boat trip have we come that far down in gear as in the universe of Babis.
That’s why we come back, when we a little later in June, have got our granddaughter, Nellie, six years old, onboard Ronja.
Beach, swimming, eating, reading in Harry Potter. It will not be much better.
And come back again, when Nellie’s father arrives in July to participate in the sailing.
We also call a few times in Vahti, the main city on the island of Meganisi. Here we call – again according to directions and phone numbers from Ann’s handwritten guide – Karnayio Tavern, and again we experience the special Greek phenomenon, that a tavern operates the quay and let you have a free berth, if eating at the tavern, which is no problem when the food is both good and cheap. That is what we sailors call a wind-wind situation.
Bonus info: There are many grasshoppers at Meganisi, and in Karnayio Tavern at Vahti they like to board your boat. We thought they were innocent, until we asked the tavern owner, whether they had mice, because we could see that someone had been in some of our food and had left excrements in the boat. No, she said. It is grasshoppers. They eat everything, food, clothes, mattresses. Do not ever have sympathy for them. They do a lot of damage. The next time Nellie and Per jump ashore, they scare a grasshopper beyond the railing and discover to their great astonishment that it is actually a good swimmer, but they also observes that after 15 swimming strokes it is – haps – eaten by a fish. Nellie is quite absorbed by the incident, but understands that this is part of the food chain of nature. Maybe we are going to have fish for dinner tonight?
