San Francisco to Lavrio, Greece to Kea - October 13 - 15, 2023


Leaving San Francisco on Friday the 13th which proved to be a poor move.  We boarded our plane, taxied out to the runway…and sat for a while.  After a few passengers saw fire trucks approaching the plane, the pilot announced that we had a hydraulic leak, and the fire trucks were only there to clean the runway.  We were towed back to the gate and deplaned. Luckily, they found another plane for us, and we finally took off 4 hours later.

We missed our connection in Munich but got on a later plane and arrived safely in Athens hours later than originally planned on Saturday.  We had a one-night stay booked near the port of Lavrio.  Our hotel was a quaint family run hotel with minimal amenities but as we were there just overnight it was perfect.  
Carol, Don et al.  arrived a few days earlier and had spent time in Athens and then in the Cape Sounion area exploring the sites with a great driver and guide (Upper Travel for future travelers).

On Sunday morning, a van picked up the 7 others and then us and we headed to the port of Lavrio to board our yacht (For Sail), a 56 ft catamaran built in 2016 (current cost, $2.5M) but totally refurbished early this year. Read more about her HERE

We met our Captain (Irakli) and the crew, Chef Dimitris and Steward Sara.  We settled into our staterooms…Chris and I took the master suite…I claimed older sister status (see picture).


As soon as we were settled, we headed for the island of Kea (~2 hour trip), docking in the community of Vourkari mid-afternoon. 

Our lunch was a delicious Greek Salad...

Greek Salad by Dimitris

There are no "slips" like we have at marinas in the US, the boat drops an anchor and then backs up against the cement docking area along the street.  This picture was taken standing on the stern of our boat. 


After docking, Chris, Carol and I went for a walk off to the right, heading up over a hill and down to a local beach (Chris needed to feel the water temperature).


After Chris had his chance to test the water, we walked back to the boat and then continued on down the street checking out the shops along the waterfront.  Chris found a fancy bench to sit on while I was admiring their artistically decorated trash can enclosure.




We ended our day with the first of our fabulous meals - Stifado - prepared by Chef Dimitri and Greek wines selected by Sommelier Sara (she has multiple roles).

Due to jet lag and the fact that I had little sleep on the plane and our night in the hotel, we went to bed early (and I didn't wake up until after 9am Monday).




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