I had signed up for a sailing course which takes you around the Saronic Gulf, mooring up at a different location every evening.

Ooooh……….sorry…. just felt my chair slide to the left. Have been off board for 18 hours now and having acquired my sea legs without even noticing… I guess they take some time to fall off?

Lucky for me, I thought, this RYA course is taught in English – fellow crewmates from other countries have to work in their second language, but I am in my comfort zone of mother-tongue. Ha! Not exactly true my hearties! Boats have a WHOLE different language. Only by Day 3 was I finally getting my head round the fact that the ‘mainsheet’ is not in fact the BIG SAIL, as would seem obviously logical to me mateys, but a rope that controls the boom. And don’t say ‘rope’ in front of my instructor if you don’t want to be sent to the bow to flake the anchor in punishment, cos ‘there are no ropes on a boat, only lines’!

Talking of punishment – if you laugh at my knots I may well clip you round the ear with my rolling hitch. Trouble is, by the time I’ve re-consulted my course book on how to tie it you will be off board and drinking beer in Hydra with our Skipper!

This mind-blowing experience was over too quickly. We were particularly fortunate I feel, as we went through all the weathers – from hot and sunny, millpond water (no air for sails at all), to 6-7 Beaufort - waves breaking over the bow and our sails almost dipping into the sea as we leant over at an impossible angle. I felt so intrepid! So, so exciting….

I will never forget that shared adventure with the excellent company of interesting, intelligent  crewmates and of course our brilliant yachtsman/racer instructor.

I miss my triangular double-bed already! I wanna go back! Thank you to the Aegean Sailing School!!

Thank you Anita for sharing!

Until next week,

Jack
 

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Seafood legend Lefteris Lazarou won the Michelin race, gaining the country’s first star for Greek food—and rightly so, say the hordes clamoring for tables at this wood-floored, white-walled dining room (belonging to Hotel Eridanus) or a prized one on the terrace overlooking the Acropolis. Lazarou rises before dawn to source his psari (baked seafood dishes) and treats them in ways that veer into classical French territory without ever leaving Greece. Typical are cuttlefish risotto with caramelized garlic and bay leaf, and grouper with wild greens braised in egg-lemon sauce. Meat dishes are fewer, but just as amazing, such as his take on patsa, the workingman’s tripe soup, served in a martini glass.

Dinner for 2 from about 120€, fish priced by the kilo

80 Piraeus, Athens
210/522-8400
www.varoulko.gr 

Do you have a recommendation or recipe to share? Send it to us at ideas@xpatathens.com!

Veteran investor Mark Mobius of Templeton's emerging markets Investment Trust told Greek financial daily Naftemporiki on Tuesday that Greece's stock market was cheap and that the country would remain in the single currency club.

"Greece will stay in the euro zone, there is no issue," Mobius, who is in Athens for company visits, told the paper. "The stock market is cheap and we are buyers."

Uncertainty over the Greek government's negotiations with its official creditors to unlock remaining bailout funds has hurt the stock market, with the Athens bourse's blue-chip index down 14 percent year to date.

Mobius said privatisations are key to attracting foreign investors in Greece and improving the market climate.

To read more please visit: Reuters