When we sailed the island of Lefkas in the Ionic Sea of Greece, on the most southeastern side of the island, is an islet called Atokos. This is an uninhabited island, where on the east coast is the famous Wild Pig Beach. We took our dinghy and looked at the pigs that walked on the beach here. The pigs are wild or semi-wild pigs, probably descendants of animals that were once left on the island by humans. This happens more often on uninhabited islands, where pigs are introduced for food purposes or accidentally stranded by ship voyages. Atokos has been uninhabited for a long time, but in the past it was occasionally visited by shepherds or hunters. The pigs may have come from these. They eat a wide range of plants, seeds, roots and nuts that occur in nature. On Atokos vegetation is sparse, but pigs can eat dried grass and branches. Marine life can also be a source of food; some pigs eat washed-up seaweed or small crustaceans. Although pigs are technically wild, they often exhibit semi-tame behaviors when they come into contact with people. Their behavior depends on how much interaction they have had with visitors. They can tolerate human contact, but often remain wary. Some pigs are curious and dare to approach, especially if they smell food!

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We anchored in the bay of Laganas and while we were anchoring, we suddenly heard a puff coming from the water. It turned out to be a sea turtle that swam at the back of the ship and came up for a moment. We were surprised, because we knew that this bay was famous for sea turtles, but we did not expect to see one right away. And it was impressive, because the sea turtle was at least 1 meter long and weighed 80kg, which means that she is certainly more than 50 years old. The sea turtles have become the symbol of Zakynthos, they are called Caretta caretta and can grow up to 1.20 meters and weigh 100 kg. They mainly eat jellyfish, shellfish and seaweed. The breeding season runs from May to August. Females come ashore at night to lay their eggs in holes, after which they cover them with sand. A nest can contain up to 100 eggs. After about 60 days the young turtles hatch. They navigate to the sea by following the moonlight. The caretta caretta is very threatened by pollution, fishing and tourism. We spent 3 days in the bay, saw a sea turtle behind our boat a few times every day, but often 8 tourist boats immediately came to see the turtle very close as it tried to swim to the beach.

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The Crazy Waters Bridge in Chalkis sits at the narrowest point between Evia and the mainland, where the strait is only about 38 meters wide. Because so much water is forced through this tiny opening, extremely strong currents are created — the reason sailors call it the “Crazy Waters.” The bridge is in the middle of the city and opens only once a day to avoid disrupting the constant road traffic. Boats may only pass at slack tide, the brief moment every six hours when the water is calmest. That’s why sailors often go through at strange times like 1:30 or 3:00 a.m. While waiting, boats are not allowed to tie up along the quay because the turbulence is so strong that it would be dangerous. Instead, everyone must anchor in the bay and wait for instructions from Port Control. We anchored there with about fifteen other boats and waited until slack tide at night. At midnight, Port Control suddenly called all boats in order — we were number three. Passing the bridge in the dark was surreal: strong currents below, quiet city lights above. The bridge didn’t lift; it actually slid sideways into the quay walls, disappearing completely. Once through, we moored safely just 100 meters further in the city. Experiencing this natural phenomenon at night, in such a narrow and powerful channel, was something I will not quickly forget!

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