Mon 8 Jul to Wed 11 Jul – Sifnos

Monday

Phil had told us about a coffee roastery here in the remote bay of Apokofto beach. It seemed an odd place for a roastery so we definitely had to go and check it out. We found it was being run by a young couple with a passion for coffee and they had just opened their small business in May this year. We looked at raw coffee beans they source from all over the world, the roasting machine and whatnot before settling in and trying some of their fredo cappuccino. The coffee was delicious and quite potent, as both Camilla and I got a bit jittery from all the caffeine this morning. It was fascinating to listen to Phil, who has been cruising in Greece for 15 years! We spent the afternoon swimming and taking the paddle boards around the bay, before checking out the local taverna for dinner. We were met with nice food but a super grumpy waiter … the first time since coming to Greece. Wonder what his deal was? Oh well, we enjoyed the local cuisine and a decent portion of the local red as the sun settled down behind the hillside. 

Tuesday

We both had an average night’s sleep, not really sure why? Getting sleep is one of those things that we don’t tend to think about when we’re not sailing, but that becomes “a thing” when on the boat. Some nights we just don’t get much sleep, be it because the boat is rocking or the wind is blowing nosily. So whenever we do manage to have a nice sleep, it’s always worth a mini celebration. This morning however we woke up tired and groggy, and had a slow start to the day. We mostly just hung out, read our books and admired the crystal clear water around us. That all changed when we saw a familiar sight on the horizon. Two big catamarans with dagger boards were making their way into the bay which meant our boat friends were here! We took the dingy over for dinner and a few drinks and spend the night catching up on sailing adventures. Oh, and we received our dinghy seat, which we had neglectfully forgotten in Olympic marina! Thanks for bringing it along guys! 

Wednesday

After a much better night we woke up energized on Wednesday morning. The plan was to go ashore and grab coffee at the roastery, which unfortunately wasn’t open yet. The wind had also picked up, and there was a weird wind shift from south west all the way to north on the forecast, and much time was spent debating the best course of action. Our Catana friends decided to head over to the next bay south and hole up there. We decided to stay put after neighbour Phil decided to leave, allowing us to anchor in the perfect spot that he had picked initially. 

Happy with our spot we decided to explore the coast a bit. There is a tiny village across the bay, with a nicely paved path along the rocky coast line. After a nose around and the obligatory drink on the beach we headed back to our bay to have a look at the old monastery perched on the hillside. Fantastic views across the bay, but not a single monk in sight. Back on the boat we watched two massive cats come into the bay and raft up next to each other, followed by an Italian boat that (of course) had to drop anchor so close to us that we could strike a leisurely conversation with them from cockpit to cockpit. They ensured us that they would move as soon as the cats would leave. And sure enough, as the evening rolled in and the charterers left, they moved into a spot a little further away from us. Unfortunately they didn’t bother to dig in their anchor which made us wonder how they would survive what would be a windy night.

Thursday

We woke up early Thursday morning; the winds that were on the forecast had arrived. We weren’t really surprised to find the couple on the Italian boat on the other side of the bay, they’d been been dragging anchor all night before it finally bit into the sand. The day turned out to be quite windy, and we felt smug tucked away in our little bay as we watched the white horses roll across the water just outside of the anchorage. Towards the evening the wind died down a bit allowing us to get off the boat and enjoy a well deserved dinner on the beach. Back on the boat we found the wind had been mostly replaced by a decent swell, which Bini happily acknowledged by nodding and rolling left to right. We settled in for a rocky night.