Tuesday 16 July 2019

To and Fro

Boats


On an island water transport is a big part of life


Water taxis which will take you the few hundred yards across to the mainland for 1 euro


'Socrates' - my son-in-laws taxi boat


And here is is on the right, Captain Kyriakos with the Captain of the taxi boat 'Konstantinos'


One of the car ferries which takes cars and passengers to and fro across the strait from the island to the mainland
It costs us 7 euros one way for our car, driver and one passenger






The 3-Island cruise boat which comes in every day all through the year calling at Poros for one hour and then going on to the nearby islands of Aegina and Hydra


Flotillas of yachts which carry tourists on a weeks island-hopping holiday.  They come in a bunch at a time, tie up together, drink, eat, partake in the nightlife and next morning groggily up-anchor and sail off to the next island


One of the little fishing boats which come in early in the morning to sell fish on the jetty



A luxury yacht, one of many, which come in for days of Greek island life
We've had Prime Ministers and Presidents, Saudis and Russian millionaires





A private yacht, often sailed by an elderly couple enjoying their retirement sailing the med, wintering on Malta or another safe port







The Flying Catamaran which comes in twice a day bringing tourists and locals from Athens and Piraeus to the closer islands in the Saronic Gulf


The big car ferry which brings cars and passengers from Athens and Piraeus to the Saronic Islands and mainland ports.  This is a 2 1/2 hour journey but half the price of the Catamaran and you can enjoy a brief sight of the other ports as it offloads car and people

All these boats weave in and out of the harbour traffic, the visiting yachts often causing the small car ferry to hoot in indignation. 
We used to love watching evening shipping manoeuvres from our roof terrace. 
  Living so near the harbour did have its disadvantages.  Now our daughter and her family hear the endless engine noise from the big car ferry once it has pulled in for the evening.  It doesn't completely shut down its engines all night and at 6am very noisely pulls up anchor.  The little car ferries used to make a very loud chug-chug-noise which grated on the night air but the newer ferries are much quieter and the ferries stop working around 11.

All part of island life

12 comments:

  1. In my UK town of Brighton, the authorities built the Marina way out of the central area, so we don't see all the yachts etc. It would have been so much nicer if it had been built between the piers. Brighton would have been even more exciting than it already is.

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    1. So much more interesting watching boats and boaties!

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  2. So special and interesting.More and more I'm sorry I do not live on a Greek island.

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  3. I took a boat to Samos from Piraeus when I was last there. I have one uncle that lives in Piraeus and my fathers family comes from Samos
    We went overnight. I get the best sleeps on a boat

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    1. You were rocked gently to sleep. Not so good when seas are high and the you have to keep a tight hold on to the side of the bunk to stop falling off lol

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    2. True. But again. We were on a cruise ship where over ninth percent of th people were sea sick as we had to sail through the bottom of a typhoon storm. And I was one of the few people who not only wasn’t sick. But I could eat sleep and enjoy myself. I got lots of dirty looks from everyone lol

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    3. You're a thalasso-lyko! I bet the others were all giving you the evil eye lol

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  4. Beautiful pictures and your water taxis are so cheaply priced.

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    1. They can't charge much more than 1 euro. It's only a few minutes boat ride.

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