Sailing in Greece: the dancing queen and the dolphins

If you had told 10-year-old me that she would grow up to live out her Mamma Mia fantasy, she wouldn’t have believed you. Before you ask, no, this is not a story about how my daughter came to have three possible fathers. This is about my 2018 sailing holiday around the islands of Greece.

I used to be terrified of any boat smaller than a cruise ship. However, that fear flew out the window when I found out I was going to be dining at a different taverna in a different town every single night for two weeks. My mum and I had zero sailing experience but luckily, we had her partner at the time to be the expert – not to brag but one fellow sailor thought we were all pros!

A nameless lunch break spot

We hired the boat from Greek Sails in Poros and our boat was identical to Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349. Poros was where I had my first Greek meal, stuffed tomatoes. Being a vegetarian and having limited choices in very remote islands, I will preface now, I pretty much had stuffed tomatoes or mushroom and truffle oil risotto every night – but they were both truly mouth-watering.

The next morning, we set off bright an early, freshly squeezed orange juice, real Greek yoghurt, and juicy peaches the size of my head for breakfast, to Ermioni. The ocean was blue like a larimar stone. If you know me, you won’t be surprised to know that the first thing I noticed was the number of cats flocking to the harbour. One that took particular shine to me was one I nicknamed ‘vampire cat.' He had fangs.

Vampire Cat

The best restaurant was in Paralio Astros. We sat beneath ample grape vines drinking homemade wine that went down like water. On our way to a new adventure, I did one of the wildest things I’ve ever done. Five dolphins began diving around our boat. The water was so deep the boat’s radar couldn’t even calculate the depth. Throwing complete caution to the wind about all my ocean fears, I crept into the crystal water with a GoPro, careful to keep my distance from the dolphins. Unfortunately, I no longer have the footage, but the dolphins were more than happy to swoop, squeak and swerve under the water and give me the best experience of my entire life.

Paralio Astros

Monemvassia had this ‘secret village’ filled with winding cobbled streets and views to die for, it looked like the perfect location to burst into song if you ask me. A lovely local recommended a place, Dokos, where we could sleep off anchor and another sweet, old lady handed me a bag of homegrown vegetables out of nowhere. Tiny, colourful fish engulfed us as we snorkelled in every secret cove imaginable, and the Mamma Mia songs I was continuously humming quickly became The Bear Necessities when I stumbled across some prickly pears.

Monemvassia - I had a bit of heat stroke

If I was ever going to get a one in a million opportunity, it was this one. While I was expecting to get the post-holiday blues, I did not expect to relentlessly cry for several weeks once I got home because I missed Greece so much. It was a holiday filled with variety and I think it’s safe to say, fantasy accomplished.

Me in my happy place: Greece, a cat and a mojito

A brief timeline of all the places: