MITHINMA

Monday 16th
Our second attempt to leave Sygri, because of bad weather, brought us to Mithinma and well worth it too. The Meltemi is now well developed so we had a pretty rough beat for the first hour and a half but were then able to tack and bear away for some 8 knot reaching along the waves.
Mithinma is delightful. It is like an up-scaled version of Plomerion but does not seem to have suffered the deprivations evident there. The harbours (shallow inner and outer, where we are) are delightful and there is a long steep walk into town. Mithinma is a maze of tiny cobbled streets and solid houses all built with the same stone and rooted in the massive spur of volcanic rock that is the foundation for the whole town. The spur is topped with ramparts of a Genoese era castle and the town is subject to planning controls which have been effective in preserving this unique place. The highlight of Lesvos for us.