Aghios Nikolaos Marina, Winter 2016/17

UK Visit.

   The Hen Party.     We returned to the UK in September and were soon enjoying ourselves preparing for our daughter Kate's wedding to Rob. First up was the girls weekend Hen Party on the Isle Of Wight. This involved much eating, drinking, a treasure hunt around Cowes and paddle boarding.

Kate

Kate, Hilary & Louise.

The Girls Together.

   The Beach BBQ    Most families arrived at The Priory Bay Hotel the Friday night before the wedding day to enjoy a delicious Greet & Meet BBQ on the beach. It was a most wonderful and romantic setting improved by some excellent weather.

Wedding Beach BBQ Near Seaview.

The Beach BBQ.

The Wedding.     The big day arrived and was blessed with the most wonderful weather. The guests were driven to Seaview Church by a delightful old bus, the Wedding Service was a great success and the Priory Bay Hotel reception was just superb. Here is a small collection of pictures from a fantastic memorable day, one of the most happiest of our lives. Congratulations to Rob and Kate and all the best for the future.

The Bus To Church.

The Boys Warming Up On The Seaview Beach.

Kate & Guy Ready To Go To Church.

Guy, Kate & The Bridesmaids.

Kate And Guy Entering Church.

Taking The Vows.

The Bride And Groom.

Ginny, Guy, Kate, Rob, Hillary And Pete
After Witnessing The Register.

The Wedding Kiss.

All Smiles Despite No Music!

Facing The Confetti.

A Toast In The Rolls.

A Proud Mum, All Smiles.

Lorraine, Robin And Louise.

The Glanvilles.

The Bride, Groom, Best Men And Bridesmaids.

The Boys And Kate.

The Wedding Party Complete.

Kate, Guy And Ginny.

The Beach Stroll.

The Bouquet Throw.

Wedding Speech Cheers.

Cutting The Cake.

The Dads Dance!

Hampton Court Walk      We were able to spend some time with Zoe and Tom after the wedding enjoying a wonderful walk to Hampton Court and a great meal with Jane and Steve.

Zoe And Dad At Hampton Court.

Zoe And Tom.

Life On Crete And Aghios Nikolaos Marina.    Life on Crete has been very memorable due to a very large 'Sea Gypsy' community from all walks of life, countries, interests and hobbies. There have generally been a minimum of 50 personnel living in the Aghios Nikolaos Marina at all times. Although it has proved to be a very wet, windy, cold and snowy winter, life has has been exceedingly busy and enjoyable. The Cretans here are most hospitable and the cost of eating and drinking out are very reasonable.  Life has been very social with the usual Sunday BBQ's, Quiz nights, Thursday walks, partying, Rugby watching, social events, Music Nights and general fun.

Aghios Nikolaos.

A Typical Crete Gorge.

A Southern Coast Beach.

Visit By Cathy And Andy     Our dear friends from UK, Cathy and Andy came out to visit us at the end of October and we enjoyed several excursions around the eastern part of Crete. We also met up with Nick and Alex, their friends who live in a hill village on the road to Sitea. We met up with others from the area to enjoy a delicious local hillside Taverna meal.

Cathy, Andy And Guy At Elounda.

Andy And Guy Above Aghios Nikolaos Lake.

The Ruins Of Lato, A Dorean City. 1000BC.

Alex, Nick, Andy And Cathy Enjoying A Traditional Taverna Meal.

Cathy, Guy And Andy At A Coffee Stop Beside The Sea.

Elounda Windmill.

Guy And Ginny Visiting Spinalonga Island.

Panagia Kera Church. 14 C, Kritsa.

Ginny And Andy Looking At The 'Amazing' 14 Century frescoes.

Palm Tree In Flower.

Heraklion Harbour And Venetian Castle.

Venetian Castle.

Storms At Aghios Nikolaos.

Guy Enjoying A Regular Chocolate Crepe.

Christmas And New Year.     There was a large Dutch community who were great fun and provided us with much entertainment and organised several parties, most notably the Christmas Dinner at the Coloured Chairs Restaurant and a hilarious and fun packed Dutch Evening in the yacht club. They were regular members of Happy Hour on Friday and provided a very positive impact on the community as a whole. We wish them all Fair Winds and Safe Anchorages.

Guy At Christmas Party.

The Christmas Party, An Elves Convention!

Ginny And Thomas Enjoying Lamb Shank.

Boxing Day Swim.

Ready For The Off.

New Years Eve Dinner.

Spinalonga Walk.

Snow On The Hills.

More Rain On The Way.

Ag Nik Marina With Snowy Hills

It Was A Fairly Cold Winter.

Ag Nik Marina Beach.

Walking With Goats.

Nickolas And Jays Wedding.      We even had a wedding of two yachties to celebrate including a walk through of paddles for the happy couple followed by an excellent party in the local hotel. 

Craig, Guy And Corinne Ready To Present Oars.

Nickolas And Jay, The Wedding Couple.

Dave And Ali, The Next Wedding Couple?????

Snow And Walks.    Tony Cross organised a walk every Thursday with a banana grading of 1 - 10. They were a great success, well organised with an unexpected detour each trip and ended up with wonderful drinks and nibbles at the Two Brothers. Unfortunately, many were cancelled due to the worse than normal weather experienced over winter but when we went out, it was a welcome break from marina life providing some excellent scenery.

More Snow!

Walking In The Hills.

Ag Nik From The Hills.

An Old Monastery.

Up In The Hills.

Monastery Interior.

Rest Time At The Monastery.

Olive Trees.

Walking In The Hills.

The Walking Team.

High Up In The Hills Above Ag Nik.

A Walk In The Mist.

A Steep Descent.

Stunning Scenery On The Walks.

Another Church Serves As A Banana Stop.

Mini Break.      We hired a car for a week and took off to Heraklion, Rethymno and over to the south coast at  Plakias. We stayed at a wonderful hotel in Heraklion with views of the harbour and visited the exceedingly interesting Archaeological Museum full of the most fascinating artefact's and jewellery from Knossos, a Minoan city around 3000BC. It was a mind boggling experience followed up by a visit to the actual city itself. The narrow streets and Venetian Castle of Rethymnon were great fun. We then drove over to the south coast to Plakias and visited Moni Preveli monasteries and more Minoan ruins. The weather closed in on our last day so we headed back to Ag Nik a little early.
The photographs keep rearranging themselves so please forgive a bit of a muddle below!

Heraklion Marina.

Knossos Entrance.

The Knossos Bull.

Knossos Dolphin Room

Ginny Enjoying The Spectacular Knossos.

Rethymno Harbour Entrance.

Ancient Public Fountains in Rethymnon Old Town.

Rethymnon Venetian Castle Walls.

The Narrow Streets Of Rethymnon.

The Allied Evacuation Monument To The Priests Who Helped.

South Coast Scenery. Green After Much Rain.

Old Rethymnon Mosque

The Roads Of Central Crete.

Guys New Diet!!

Phaistos Ruins. 2000BC.

Ginny At Rethymnon Castle. Snow On The Hills.

Ginny At The Moni Preveli Monastery.

The Monastery.

Guy On The Ancient Bridge Near Moni Preveli.

Agia Galini.

Phaistos Ruins.

Phaistos Ruins.

Guy In Heraklion Museum.
Is That A Zimbabwe Bird?

Stunning Minoan Jewellery.

Heraklion Church Once A Mosque.

Palm Beach.

Knossos.

Knossos Throne Room.

Knossos.

How Romantic, Our Rethymnon Palazzo Room.

Pit Stop In Rethymno.

Phaistos Ruins.

Knossos.

Minoan Baths.

Knossos Model

Minoan Jewelry.

Walking Around Ag Nik.

North Coast Walk.

A Well Earned Rest.

Ginny Next To The Jars Of Knossos.

A Minoan Shield.

Museum Statues And Ginny.

Another Thursday Walk.

A Steep Climb.

Walking Scenery.

Birthday Parties.      There were several Birthday Parties throughout winter were we would all go out to celebrate at the Coloured Chairs Restaurant who always did us proud with fantastic service, hospitality and delicious food. Ginny's 65th was celebrated in great style on 29th March. These picture reflect a few of the community.

Steph, Micheal And Frank.

Craig, Corrine, Dave And Alice.

Jill And Tony.

Geoff And Pauline.

Tony And Gaile.

Tina And Tim, Paul And Janet.

Paul, Janet And  Robin.

Craig And Corinne, Dave And Ali.

The Bubbly Ali.

Ginny's Birthday Chop!

     Aghios Nikolaos has been a wonderful place to winter and we now move off again with plans to sail the Greek Aegean first anti clockwise then along the Turkish South Coast to NE Cyprus were we will winter for 2017/18. We have now been on our adventure for 4 years, how time flies. We wish everyone fair winds and safe anchorages.