Independence day

Kassiopi celebrates independence

This week saw the celebration of Greek independence. The residents of Kassiopi walked down the hill to congregate at the village statue, to lay wreaths while women wept to the sound of school children singing the national anthem. Meanwhile, a mooring lines throw away, Tomas celebrated in his own way with his weekly 'whores bath' which couldn't have been better timed. The patriots had no clue of the naked sailor washing himself aboard Crest Hawk.

Charlie Chaplin tash gives Tom efficient leadership qualities

The people of Kassiopi were friendly to us and so we left them with the best gift we could give: The promise of our return to Kassiopi in May.

In the mean time, we have made our home in Erikkousa, the most northerly island of the Greek Ionians and one of the most sparsely populated. Less than 30 residents make their home here, half of them having spent their working lives in NYC and the other half Albanians. When walking through the island's dense hilly forest we have discovered abandoned houses, one of which is fully furnished with a newspaper left out dated 1978. All cutlery and crockery is included, offers in the region of €250 (the old lady who died there can be included for an extra fee).

Crest Hawk's galley, in need of a sweep

Our plan had been to check out the other two nearby islands, Methraki and Othoni, but the unpredictable weather has meant we will be here for another couple of days. Lucky then that we have made a new friend! His name is Christo and he has been supplying us with more citrus fruits than we can ever eat, telling us 'the island provides everything we need'. Grapefruit for breakfast is nice, we're still working on a dinner invite though.

A red jellyfish. Potential supper?

Tom's Top Tip: "Money can't buy you love but love can buy you money"

Ben's Best Bit: "A baby being put to sleep with the Nokia ringtone, or the baby just wasn't answering his phone"

Crest Hawk from Kassiopi Castle