In the calm conditions it was safe to stern tie for the night in Faros, on Sifnos. It was astounding to see the clarity of the water and it made it easy to find the anchor..in the middle of a patch of sea grass. It was holding OK, but we would move around to the big bay the next day before the high winds were due to return. Tom and Camilla on the boat Bon Bini, were anchored in the bay after a 2 week stint at a boat yard up on Siros. It was great to see them and hand back their dinghy seat that we had collected from the dock, back when we stopped at the Olympic Marina. There was a relaxing dinner in the cockpit with Tom, Cam, Jim and Kate, before we headed on our way the next day. (There was also a lone naked man on a small dock that Polaris had a line too, who seemed a bit non-plussed, although not so much that he felt the need for more clothing, bless his heart..)
We headed around to plati Yialos the next morning and got a good spot in the anchorage. The breeze would come on sometime during the night, but that afternoon was perfect for a swim to shore for refreshments..and it was too hot to accomplish much else!
Sure enough the wind arrived and the night was a lively one with boats dragging and reanchoring. We had a charter cat anchor immediately infront of us who was pretty blaze’ about the conditions and had his dinghy and paddle boards covering our anchor bouy. Fortunately they left the next morning when the wind was gusting to 30 knots..hopefully heading down wind! Most of the day we did cleaning jobs and ran the generator to top up batteries and fill the water tanks, while keeping an anchor watch.
The wind finally lightened up and an excellent night of sleep was had! Waking with plenty of pep, we decided to walk back over the hill to Faros, and visit the Way Cup coffee roaster and cafe. There was a nice breeze both directions and it was an easy 40 minute hike each way. The Way Cup was in a little store a short walk from the beach, and the young owners were enthusiastic about their new business. The coffee had a terrific flavor and really packed a punch..certainly it spurred us for the return trip! We purchased 2 bags of beans for later consumption, and had a good chat with the young couple. Isabella had grown up in the area before moving to Athens where she met her husband. They told us that there were only 5 coffee roasters in all of Greece when they decided to pursue their own business. We spent an enjoyable time chatting about their business plans and travel they hoped to do, they showed us their mascot (a baby coffee plant), and then the caffine kicked in and we set back off over the hill at a brisk walk.
