Yasssouuuuuuuu and so many steps.

We swim two sides of Greece - the Sporades Islands to the East, and the Ionian Islands to the West. After the last two years in the Sporades, we came West this year. At the same time, the news shows us that our beloved Skiathos to the East is flooded and a disaster. Our hearts ache for our partners and friends there, and we are grateful to be able to run our trips and put a little into the Greek economy from our Ionian starting point here on Lefkada.

Travel to Greece is long but rewarding. I left my home in Bath, Maine, at 1130 am on Thursday morning, rendezvoused with my fellow guide Alina at the Portland bus station at 1, we bussed to Boston, Logan Airport where we flew at 7:00 pm to London, Gatwick. There we met up with our crew family, Skipper Richie Rome and Admiral / Chef Lisa (Lou Lou) Dixon. After moving too many bags through customs and from one airline to another, we all finally had an hour or so in a nice lounge, where both coffee and morning adult beverages (mimosa, bloody mary) were on-boarded.

From Gatwick via EasyJet (A flying taxi, really), we flew to Preveza (PVK), where we waited for two taxis (an actual taxi) to take us to our little apartment on Lefkada Island, where we ate a quick but robust dinner, then collapsed into bed, 36-40 hours after last having been horizontal. It’s a bruiser of a journey, but we are here.

Saturday before SwimVacation is a big step day, with provisioning, paperwork, hunting for internet and other essential things, moving all of our gear to our new boat home which we trash and clean up again, and finally, dinner. I clocked over 7.5 miles and that was even with a few trips by rental car that we hired for the day.

Steps done, into my little nest of a bed which includes my clothes and lots of things we don’t have room for elsewhere on the boat. I am small, and so a small empty space in the middle of my wall to wall bed cabin suits me just fine. It’s cozy, and for the next two weeks, it’s mine.

Along the way to ready we have slaughtered some meals, fed some cats, said a lot of parakalo (please) and Efcharistó (thank you).

Guests will be here in an hour, and I still have a few more things to take care of, so I best get to it.

Like all of our homes away from home, I love Greece. The culture, the food, the history and of course the swimming to be done in this beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

Love,

Heather