Messolonghi is in the middle of the Klisova lagoon, a huge area of wetlands that is paradise for fish and birds. In late autumn it provides a haven for birds making their winter migration and we were amazed at the numbers that passed through. They would come, stay for a few days to rest, to eat and to wait for late arrivals. Evenings saw the sky turn black as birds rose en masse and headed for their overnight roosting spots. Electricity wires provided the major resting places and it appeared that not a single stretch of wire was without a temporary visitor. On several evenings it took over 15 minutes for the birds to pass over. Not just the size and density of the overhead flock but also the noise, the noise of their wings beating in unison and of them calling to each other. Different birds arrived at different times but most notable were the starlings and then the cormorants. I assume we will experience the return migration in a few weeks, when Spring arrives and the weather improves.
Anyway, back to autumn and our first impressions.
Here, at the entrance to the channel the banks are lined with houses and restaurants, all very colourful, many built on stilts, the scene more reminiscent of some parts of south east Asia than of Europe. It was beautiful and so very different to anything I could possibly have imagined.
It was a Saturday afternoon and there were plenty of people around, enjoying a long lunch at one of the many tavernas, messing around in boats or just enjoying the beach and the balmy, late autumn weather.
I loved this blue house. It seemed to stand out from all the others, sitting far out into the water, clean and bright, would living there be similar to living on a boat I wonder? Of course, I have put these two pictures in the wrong order! If you look at the previous one you will see that the whole of the mountain is visible whereas in the second the mountain is only just coming into view. I suppose I could change them round...
The mountain, whose name I do not know, is so much a part of the scenery here in the marina. Surrounded by mountains, it alone stands out, isolated from the others, an entire mountain rather than a series of peaks. In that, it is so like Mte Ste Victoire, the mountain that dominated our visual life when we lived in Provence, and I love that, it provides a link between two very different times in our lives.
The lagoons, the fishing huts and if you look very closely, the distant mountains.
Finally, we were through the channel and into the bay that fronts the town. There are no photos of this part of the journey. We had reached the frantic time of contacting the marina, trying to understand where they wanted us to go, telling them there was no way Ganymede could fit the spot they had allocated, were found another berth and in no time we were tied up, ready to investigate our new surroundings. Our friends, Bernie and Dudley were only a few boats away and had already invited us for drinks later. Bill and Jean arrived soon after to welcome us. And so began our winter in Messologhi.
