When describing the joys of sailing among the far flung Greek islands, it is hard to know where to begin. From early Spring until the last days of Autumn, from the first flush of dawn until nightfall your constant companion is the beauty that surrounds you. The sea itself, breathtaking in both serenity and anger, the colours of the waters and the skies, the distant panoramas of the rugged mountains, the villages, the forests, and gardens. Each day can begin and end in an enchanting bay or a boisterous waterfront, a remote island, or a cosmopolitan city.
You can dine in elegant restaurants or simple tavernas, sample finely crafted dishes or fresh sea food cooked over smoky fires. Enjoy famous wines or the owner's house wine made from grapes grown out the back and, of a variety that could have been popular in Odysseus's day.
Even in this modern age where many believe the ancient gods and the heroes of the first fables which mark the beginning of Western literature, have long since lost their relevance, it is still impossible not to rub shoulders with them. Every mountain that looms on the horizon, every glade along the winding roads, every forest, every stream that bubbles through a rocky chasm or lies calmly beneath a grove of olives, the very sea that tosses your boat, or the wind that drives it, has a story of them to tell.
Reminders of the richness of Greek history are everywhere. Of the bravery of the ancient warriors and philosophers who enabled the beginnings of democratic government. Of the scholars, scientists and philosophers who gave the world the great Greek Golden Age. No artists have surpassed the works of Praxiteles or the exquisitely decorated vases and frescoes of the Minoans.
