The south end of Sfaktiria Island which almost encloses the bay of Pylos (Navarinou Bay)

No one warned us how much we would love Pylos. A natural hurricane hole (not that we needed one) that could fit hundreds of boats, the harbor is miles wide with lots to explore. We anchored near town the first couple of days, as we needed to clear in, do laundry, get provisions, and see town.

Local fishing boat

Pylos is somewhere between a village and a town. Mostly local Greeks and French summer here, but itā€™s not overwhelmed by crowds. Clearing in was easy enough, and both gas and provisions were an easy walk from the dinghy. If I had one complaint it was that there were no self serve laundry shops and it was an expensive place to have your washing done.

The artist Frida painted on a catamaranā€™s dagger board (lots of Frida influence in Greece)

The Mares chandlery turned out to be our favorite shop, partly because it was such a well stocked store, partly because the owner (Fotis) greeted us with an orange drink, and partly because Fotis sent us off with a bottle of local olive oil with our purchases!

Interesting cloud formation over Pylos and the ā€œabandonedā€ marina

We loved watching the local kids head out in their optis for Wednesday night ā€˜racingā€™ (hard to do with the little wind they had).

Optis hard at work

We had some of the best pork gyros yet at one of the cafes in the main square, but the real treat was the wine restaurant where we managed to score a reservation. Overlooking the harbor, the food was some of the best we had in Greece so far.