And then there were (briefly) Six then Two Again

Day 51 (Thursday)

After yesterday’s exertions a lazy day was called for so we lazed around the pool without even having the energy for another round of Lilo Wars.

Day 52 (Friday)

Jane wanted to go and see the beach where the Italian soldiers marched up and down in the Captain Correlli film (Mirtos Beach).  We drove along the stunning coastline stopping to take lots of photos on the way.

I kept saying that Mirtos beach was great to look at from a distance but terrible to actually visit.  Happily, I was proved wrong, the beach was beautiful and the crystal clear sea was very warm.  I can’t believe it’s October next week.

A visit to Mirtos has to be followed by a trip to Assos (and its narrow Isthmus) for a cup of coffee.  Cris and Jane decided that Assos could be a potential holiday destination.  We travelled back to our villa for a quick shower before heading out to our local tavern (Enastron) for moussaka and kleftiko washed down with vanilla and chocolate ice cream (for some – Jane and Tracey).

Day 53 (Saturday)

We can’t quite believe that our week with Cris and Jane is over.  With heavy hearts we loaded the little Hyundai and set off for the airport.  While we were queuing to check in Tracey spotted her friend and (former) colleague Diane with her partner Ray further back in the queue so it was good to have a chat with them.  Once Cris and Jane had checked in we could go back up the hill for breakfast at a taverna.

The taverna was all abuzz with the news that Craig Revel Horwood from Strictly was on the flight.  Ray was particularly excited about this.  It sounds like they are going to have an interesting flight home.

Once we’d waved our fond farewells it was time to do some shopping and get ready for the arrival tomorrow of ‘the Mothers’.

View from our Villa

 Mirtos Beach (Assos in the background)

Assos (with its narrow Isthmus)

Assos

Easyjet Daahhling..

Now We Really Do Need a Bigger Boat

Day 49 (Tuesday)

We couldn’t hold back any longer!  Today was time for ‘Lilo Wars’.  We raced each other up and down the pool, Cris and Jane were victorious although I later discovered that they’d cheated by over inflating their lilo.  A steward’s enquiry resulted in their disqualification.  Their complaints about the integrity of the steward (me) fell on deaf ears.

Later on in the afternoon we went to Argostoli which is the main town on the island and took the ferry to the town of Lixouri.  There wasn’t much open in Lixouri so as it was happy hour we had a cocktail at the cocktail bar.  We asked for mojitos which was fortunate as it the only drink the cocktail waitress was confident about making.

The ferry seemed to sway a lot more on the trip back to Argostoli but that could have been the mojitos.

Day 50 (Wednesday)

We couldn’t quite believe that Cris and Jane still wanted to go through with the boat trip despite hearing about all our seafaring mishaps.  A free cool box was supplied with the boat so we went to a shopping first for food and drink to fill it with before a brief training session with the laid back Vasilli.

Once we were underway it wasn’t long before we found a beach to have breakfast.  Cris volunteered to be first off the boat to tie us to a rock.  There was a short ‘yelp’ as he disappeared over the side of the boat followed by a longer scream when he hit the water, the sea was rather deeper than he was expecting.

We enjoyed a pleasant morning of swimming, sunbathing and snorkelling before it was time to get back on board the boat.  Cris got back on first, Tracey was next.  Cris pulled from the boat and I pushed from behind.  I thought she was safely aboard but then I saw her bottom heading toward my head at great speed and we were back to square one.  Although I had sustained another head injury there were no Croatian women to pour vinegar all over me this time.

When we were all safely on board the anchor was weighed and Jane took over the helm on the way up the next bit of coast.  I’m sure it was nothing to do with her helmsmanship but we all got very wet as the boat bounced across the waves and we had taken on so much water we had to bail out with a plastic beaker we’d borrowed from the villa.

The next beach provided us with a good location for lunch and we then slowly made our way back to Aghia Efimia for a well earned Greek beer (Fix).

Two Salty Old Sea Dogs

Stop for Breakfast

And Then There Were Four

Day 47 (Sunday)

Awoke excitedly to the thought that other people would be joining us today.  Tracey and I had run out of things to talk about six weeks ago so it will be nice to have someone else to converse with.

The little girl had returned again and was hanging around expectantly.  After we had packed the car we asked her if we could pay, fully expecting her to get one of her parents but she took us into her office, pulled open a drawer of her desk and handed over our bill which we duly paid.

We went to our favourite spot in Aghia Efimia for lunch (the Paradise Beach Taverna as frequented by the Gibsons) and then headed off to Trapezaki to find the villa where we will be staying for the next two weeks.  The villa wasn’t due to be ready for us until 4pm so when we arrived at 2:30pm we fully expected to be turned away but there was no one around and the key was in the door so we moved in and got ourselves settled before going to the airport to pick up Cris and Jane.

Kefalonia airport is quite nice because you can sit in a taverna just outside the airport and watch the planes come in.  When we saw TCX1248 arrive we just walked down to the arrivals hall.  Tracey had been practising her waving and put this to good use when we saw Cris and Jane coming through passport control.  Jane told us tales of wind, rain and cold back in old Blighty but we didn’t believe her.  Off we went back to the villa for Chicken Pastitstada and to catch up with all the gossip.

Day 48 (Monday)

It was a nice warm day today so it was a good opportunity to try out the pool.  Someone had kindly left two lilos behind and we had great fun learning how to balance on these but we were much better at falling off of them.  The sea was calling so we drove to Aghia Efimia to find a quiet beach and followed it up with a late lunch/early dinner at Paradise Beach Taverna.  On the way back through Aghia Efimia we stopped and booked a motor boat for Wednesday (one with a steering wheel this time).

Leaving Gatwick

 A Warm Welcome

The Pool

Lulu and the haaaiiiirrcut

Day 44 (Thursday)

Arrived in Patras at about 6:30am.  Patras is Greece’s third largest city and literally means ‘door’ as it is the doorway to southern Greece.  The ferry terminal was quite a modern building where there were little offices for lots of ferry operators.  The ferry to Sami in Kefalonia was operated by Strintzis ferries, this was the only ferry operator we could not find.  I set off to find the elusive company and found their ticket booth about 1km further along the port but it was closed but there were lots of cafes around where we could have breakfast.

I returned to Tracey and reported my findings and we decided to decamp there, have breakfast and wait for the ticket office to open.  I’m going to have another rant about the Greek ferries now.  Why don’t they put all the ticket offices in one place?  Or at least provide signs to point you in the right direction.  The information desk was also unmanned (rant over).

During breakfast we were offered watches, dodgy DVDs and lottery tickets.  After a while we were visited by various small children holding out their hands and rubbing their tummies which was rather harrowing.  The children did look well fed, well dressed and clean and you could see their mother in the distance looking on.  Unfortunately they wouldn’t take no for an answer and only ran off when chased by the café owner.

The ferry office opened at 9:30am so we bought tickets and trundled the long way back to the ferry terminal.  At the terminal we discovered a lovely rooftop café where we could have stayed. Doh!

At 3:30pm we finally arrived in Kefalonia.  I assured Tracey that I was pretty sure where our accommodation was so I left her again and went off in search.  After 45 minutes I admitted defeat and we got a taxi.

Regular readers of our blog will not be surprised to learn that our accommodation in Sami is rather strange.  We were met by a 10 year old girl who showed us to our room and again we seem to be the only guests.

Day 45 (Friday)

Last night I started to feel a bit peculiar and put it down to the long ferry journey but today I am no better so I’ll have to take it easy.  However, from my sick bed I managed to negotiate a deal on a hire car to be delivered this evening.  I started to feel a little better as the morning progressed so we went downstairs to discover that the little girl has been replaced by a small, scruffy, white, cute dog who greeted us enthusiastically and walked with us part way along the road to Sami.  Tracey is feeling fine and managed to polish off a full English while I just had toast.

Tracey refuses to let me cut her hair so we went in search of a hairdresser and eventually found one.  We went in and Tracey asked for a haircut, the lady couldn’t speak a word of English and seemed reluctant to do it there and then despite the fact that it was empty of other customers.  After lots of hand gestures we booked an appointment to have something done tomorrow afternoon.

Upon our return to our apartment we were greeted by Lulu (we know this is her name from other people’s reviews) but still no sign of any humans.  I’m a bit worried about who I hand over the cash too.  Will the little girl return or do I just leave it with the dog?

Day 46 (Saturday – HAIRCUT DAY)

There are other guests in the hotel!  They are two cats who must be German because they were first to the sun loungers.

Off to the supermarket this morning to get supplies for the arrival of Jane and Cris tomorrow.  Beer and wine were the main purchases.

Today is haircut day.  Tracey entered the salon and discovered the hairdresser had been joined by another younger lady who had obviously been drafted in to translate but her English wasn’t much better.  I think Tracey is pleased with the results although when she came out she went straight into the shop next door and bought a hat.

We are very much looking forward to seeing our friends tomorrow and we are hoping the accommodation we are moving into will be a little more normal.

the German cats

 Sami

 Lulu the receptionist

 the Jamie Lee-Curtis cut

Auf Wiedersehn Corfu Pet

Day 42 (Tuesday)

The only beach resort that the local buses went to was Dassia.  To get to Sidari you would need to get on a long distance green bus (sorry Gayle, we didn’t do it).  We looked at the beach and the sea, had a coffee and went back to Corfu Town for a bit more of a wander.   Before we arrived in Corfu we managed to avoid any mosquito bites but the recent storms seem to have brought them out and we are being eaten alive.

Day 43 (Wednesday)

Our ferry wasn’t due to leave Corfu Town until 11:15pm so we had a lot of time to kill today.  We had to be out of our room at midday so we closed the door behind us at 11:59am and went to sit at the bar for a couple of hours to read.  The barman was only too happy to call a taxi for us (and see the back of us).

We were dropped off near the Liston and we went to have a late lunch.  Before we could even sit down a retired couple from Newcastle on the next table asked if we’d just arrived so we told them all about our travel plans.  For the next two hours they told us all about their holidays.  They showed us their mosquito bites and we seemed to have got off lightly!  They told us they were staying in the Club 18-30 resort of Kavos where it was busy last week but had gone very quiet this week.  We seem to have made quite an impression as when they finally left it was handshakes and kisses all round.  We were exhausted but it did help to pass the time.

The walk to the port was longer than expected, we stopped at a café and when it was time to leave the waiter asked us if we were going to the airport and we said we were catching a ferry to Patras so we could get to Kefalonia.  He said that this ferry journey did not exist which worried us for a little while until we worked out that he thought I said Paxos (the ‘s’ in Patras is silent).  We asked him where he takes his holidays and we talked for a good thirty minutes about his favourite places in Greece, this all helped to pass some more time.

There are lots of things we love about the Greek islands but the ferry ticketing system is not one of them.  Having purchased our tickets on Monday we had to walk 500m to the ferry operator’s (Anek) office to check in.  When we got there the girl behind the counter tore off the bottom portion and gave them back.  What was the point in that?  The ferry finally arrived and we spent an uncomfortable six hours trying to get some sleep.

Dassia

A Mouse with clogs on

Day 40 (Sunday)

A fairly lazy day today after all the travelling yesterday.  Did some washing, played songpop, watched Macgyver on Greek TV and QI on BBC iplayer.  The planes must be taking off from the other side of the runway as it is much quieter today.

Day 41 (Monday)

After studying the Corfu bus timetable on the internet we went to the nearest bus stop.  At the bus stop we met a couple of Welsh ladies, one of whom was visiting her elderly father.  As the bus took quite a while to arrive we had quite a long chat with them and bored them with our travelling stories.  They both seemed quite relieved when the bus arrived.

Once we arrived in Corfu Town our first job was to buy a ferry ticket for Patras where we will catch another ferry to our final destination of Kefalonia.  The ferry leaves Corfu Town on Wednesday at 23:15 and arrives in Patras at 05:30.

After taking photos of the cricket pitch and the windmill Tracey said she wanted to see Mouse Island (Pontikonisi) so we set off in the general direction.  It turned into a bit of a ‘Roger Frith’ type walk because it took us ages to get there.  We took some photos and watched a couple of planes land then walked all the way back for a very late lunch.  On the way back to the bus station we passed a Marks and Spencer and Tracey didn’t go in!

When we got back to our hotel we heard an English chap trying to get the barman to order him a Chinese Takeaway – good luck with that mate.

The Liston, Corfu Town

The Cricket Pitch, Corfu Town

The Windmill, Corfu Town

Mouse Island

Nightmare on Sesame Street

Day 38 (Friday)

After a stormy night we awoke to an overcast day so we decided to walk to a taverna, have breakfast and do a bit of online admin.  When we got to the taverna the heavens opened and we had to wait over two hours for it to ease up (see short video clip below).

Our original plan was to catch the catamaran on Saturday to Corfu Town but as the weather was a bit iffy we thought it might not run so we changed to Plan B.  Plan B was to take the ferry to Igoumenitsa then go from there to Corfu Town.

On the way back to our room we called in at the ferry office to see if we could buy tickets.  The chap behind the counter said the ferries weren’t running today because of the weather but he was hopeful for tomorrow.  Gulp!  We didn’t have a Plan C.

The room we are staying in is part of a complex of twelve and we are now the only ones left there.  The man who owns them is a friendly guy who didn’t volunteer his name to us so we call him the Count as he looks and sounds like the Count from Sesame Street.  His office is on the ground floor and when we got back he said that he had just finished mopping up.  The path outside his office flooded and when he opened the door the water came rushing in.  He said that he mopped up five buckets of water, one, two, three, four, five.  We sympathised and went up to our room.

Day 39 (Saturday)

Awoke to an overcast day again but it looked more promising.  However, after we packed the rain came even harder than yesterday.  I went downstairs to pay the Count.  He was standing outside his office unable to get in because the path outside had turned into a small canal, if he opened the door he would flood it again.  “You see my problem”, he said?  “There is one small drain and six drainpipes pouring onto the path, count them”.  I counted them out loud, he loved that.

The one small drain was getting clogged with leaves and other debris so he nipped off to get a broom and kept brushing the leaves away until it was clear for him to enter the office.  I handed over the money and he counted it slowly, he loved that.  He kindly offered to phone the port authority and find out if the ferries were running.  The ferry had left Igoumenitsa but we were to phone again in thirty minutes to see if it had left Lefkimi.

Thirty minutes later the rain was worse so I went downstairs fully expecting to find out that the ferry had been cancelled.  I found the Count leaning out of his window with a broom, the path had flooded again and he was stuck inside and he could just about reach the one small drain at full stretch.   While he phoned the port authority I sheltered just outside the office, found another broom and continued trying to clear the drain before the Count was swept away.  A few minutes later he shouted out of the window, “The ferry is on its way, would you like me to call you one taxi?”.  “Yes please”, I said and went back upstairs to collect Tracey and our luggage.  When the taxi arrived the Count said, “I’m sorry I could not help you with your luggage but I am under seizure”.  I thought he was having a medical emergency but then I realised he meant he was under siege.  We left the Count leaning out of his office window frantically trying to clear the drain shouting “Please come back”.  We said we certainly would (especially if he could guarantee us the comedy).  Upon writing this I think perhaps he was asking for help, I do hope he’s OK.

As we were waiting for the ferry the Flying Dolphin catamaran service arrived.  One girl had to be carried off, she looked very green indeed and we so glad we changed our plans and have nicknamed the Flying Dolphin the Vomit Comet. 

It was sad to leave the island as Paxos is in danger of replacing Kefalonia as our favourite place in Greece.

It took a long time to get to Igoumenitsa because of the heavy seas.  It started to rain again when we got off the ferry so we found shelter for our luggage (and Tracey) and I went off to buy tickets to get us to Corfu Town.  The ferry was due to leave at 2pm, I bought the tickets at 1.51pm so I had to sprint back to Tracey then we had to run along the port to catch our ferry and just about made it.

The accommodation we have found in Corfu is a little odd (but cheap).  There seem to be over fifty apartments and we seem to be the only ones here apart from the four bar staff.  What we also failed to notice when we booked it is that it is situated at the north end of the airport runway.  No need to set our alarm clock for the morning.  It is described as a self catering apartment but despite a small cooker and some pots and pans there are no cooking utensils so we have just been to the supermarket to buy some supplies for supper and found a set of four wooden cooking utensils for the bargain price of 0.54 euro.  They will henceforth be known as our trusty travel utensils as we refuse to leave them behind.

Crash, Bang, Wallop, What a Picture

Day 37 (Thursday)

 The reason we hired a boat yesterday was because the weather forecast for today wasn’t looking very good.  We walked in to town for a coffee and dodged a few raindrops but we didn’t need Tracey’s brolly. 

 As the weather wasn’t too bad we decided to walked to Mongonissi on the southern tip of the island where the island’s only sandy beach can be found.  When we got arrived there the weather was beautiful and we wished that we brought our swimming costumes with us.  After a beer and a read we wandered back to Gaios for a swim there.

 Rain was still threatening in the evening so we chose to go to the closest tavern and just about made it before the heavens opened.  The first rain we’ve seen in forty days.  As the evening went on the storm grew worse and every time the lightning flashed Tracey jumped which sent the lady on the next table in to fits of laughter.  It turned out that the lady and her husband on the next table were Heather and Kevin from Melksham and the couple on the other table next to us were Joan and Tony from Berwick upon Tweed.  We got know each other quite well as the evening progressed as we thought we were going to have to spend the night there.

 The rain did ease off a little so we wished other the best of British luck and made our way back.  Tracey shared her brolly with Heather and Kevin I got wet.

Taken at 11:00pm

We're Going to Need a Bigger Boat

Day 36 (Wednesday)

Before we picked up our boat we bought some provisions for lunch and a snorkel so that we could see some fish.

When we arrived at Makis boat hire he looked us up and down and decided he wouldn’t trust us with one of his 30hp boats.  Tracey said that her father was in the navy but he wouldn’t change his mind.  He brought us over a lower powered boat that would be easier for us.  It didn’t have a steering wheel or electronic start so I failed to see how it would be easier.

After a (very) quick lesson we were off.  First we went to the south of the island because we didn’t have to cross the ferry port that way.  Once we had gained a bit of confidence we turned round and headed north where we found a lovely beach to swim and snorkel.  We discovered that the best way to enjoy snorkelling was to find a submerged flat rock and rub it with your foot to disturb the algae.  This attracted dozens of fish, creating your own mini aquarium.  The boat was equipped with a small ladder to make getting in and out of the boat easier, fine in theory but more difficult in practice.

When it was time to set sail again we found that we couldn’t lift the anchor as it was well and truly stuck in some seaweed.  Undaunted, I got back in and heroically dived down to free us.  Using the rope attached to the anchor I pulled myself down the 10 metres to the sea bed, stood on a rock and wiggled it free.  The purchase of that snorkel was very wise.

Tracey had a go at captaining the boat and because she has inherited salt water in her blood she was much better than me.  Lunch was calling so we stopped again, this time in a shallower weed free spot, had lunch followed by another swim and snorkel before setting sail again for the northern tip of the island in somewhat choppier waters.

Tracey was gaining confidence in her boating skills and ‘volunteered’ to ‘park’ the boat back into its mooring spot.  We saw Makis indicating where to park in what looked like a very small space.  Approaching cautiously and hoping that no other boats would cross our path we pointed the vessel in the general direction of Makis.  What I had failed to tell Tracey was how to stop so we may have just ‘clipped’ a boat on the left as we careered towards the harbour.  Makis winced a bit but no harm was done.  Having left our sea legs firmly in the boat and paid Makis for the fuel we had used we made our way back to our accommodation for a slug of rum and the singing of sea shanties.

No Puns for Paxos

No Puns in Paxos

Day 33-35 (Sunday - Tuesday)

Apologies for the lack of updates but we don’t have internet access in our current accommodation so we have to do all our online work at a local taverna, it’s a bit of a hardship but I’m sure we can get through it.

The last 3 days have consisted mainly of swimming, relaxing and eating so there isn’t much to report I’m afraid.

As I’ve grown a beard I feel the need to captain a ship so we’re going to hire a motor boat tomorrow from Makis Boat Hire – ‘A safe return or your money back’.  We can’t decide whether to hire a 15hp one for 30 euros or a 30hp one for 35 euros.

Bye for now Me Hearties…

 Gaios Town, Paxos

 These geese turn up everyday, I'm not sure why

 Ah, now I see

Packing for Paxos

Day 31 (Friday)

The first job on our list today (the only job actually) was to purchase our overnight ferry tickets to Igoumenista (Greece).  The ferry port was a 10 minute walk away and the ferry terminal was a further 15 minute walk after that.  When we got to the ferry terminal we realised that we didn’t have our passports so we had to go all the way back and try again.  After we had bought the tickets we came out of the ferry port and noticed a place nearer to our B&B where you could buy tickets.  Doh!

Today was my (Mark’s) birthday so we had lunch at a nice fish restaurant.  We ordered a secondi plate each, Spaghetti vongole (clams) for Tracey and Fisherman’ risotto for me.  The waiter couldn’t believe this was all we wanted so we worried that the portion size would be a bit small so we both ordered a fritto misto (fried fish) as a main dish.  Needless to say the pasta and risotto would have been more than enough but the fried fish did not go to waste!

On the way back to our B&B to collect our luggage we spotted an older lady making orchietti (ear shaped) pasta by hand, Tracey was fascinated and would have loved to have had a go but didn’t know how to ask so we watched for as long as we felt we could without being rude and then carried on our walk.

After we had collected our luggage we went to the ferry terminal (we really know the way very well now) for our overnight journey to Igoumenista.

Day 32 (Saturday)

Arriving at Igoumenista at 06:30 was like arriving at the end of the earth.  When we disembarked from the ferry there was a policeman waiting with handcuffs.  Fortunately he didn’t put them on either of us but on a chap behind and then put him in the boot of his car.  There was a sign that said ‘Free bus to the terminal’ but after waiting a few minutes we decided it didn’t look like it was running and decided to walk.  During our walk a pack of dogs decided to follow us, we’ve noticed that every port seems to have a number of stray dogs, but they seemed friendly enough and soon got bored once they realised we did not have anything to feed them.

In direct contrast to Bari the passport control was non-existent and we walked straight out (having lost the dogs).  Thankfully, we weren’t planning on staying in Igoumenista long.  The plan was to catch the midday ferry to Paxos so we walked to the local ferry terminal and found that there was a 

ferry leaving in 30 minutes so we bade our fond farewells to Igoumenista (and a different pack of dogs) and left.

The ferry trip to Paxos took two hours.  The walk from the ferry port to our accommodation was a 30 minute hike along the shoreline of a very inviting crystal clear sea so once we’d booked in it was straight into our swimming costumes for a dip.  Normally I’m a bit of a girl’s blouse when it comes to getting into the sea but the water here is so warm I went straight in. 

 View from our room in Paxos

A Barracking in Bari

Day 29 (Wednesday)

Our ferry wasn’t due to leave until 22:00 and we had to be out of room by 11:00 so we had to do a lot of waiting around with our luggage today.  We went from a cafe to restaurant and drank and ate very slowly.  The last bus we caught in Croatia was actually quite empty.

At Gruz port we stationed ourselves at another cafe and waited until we could board at 20:00.  After we set sail we tried our best to get some sleep but it wasn’t easy on a ship full of Italians.

Day 30 (Thursday)

When we got to the port of Bari most people didn’t seem in any hurry to disembark.  After the long walk to passport control we could see why.  Hundreds of tired people trying to squeeze through one small door.  If you let the tiniest gap appear in front of you or (heaven forbid) you politely gave way to someone a small elderly Italian woman (of which there were dozens) would jab you in the back.  After a particularly vicious lambasting I tried to explain that I was British and polite queue etiquette was part of my DNA but that wasn’t received very well.  A one point Tracey managed to quickly move into a small gap and received a ‘Bravo, Bravo’, we couldn’t tell if they were being sarcastic or not.

Our room wasn’t quite ready when we got to our hotel so we left our luggage and went for a wander.  I wouldn’t make a special effort to go to Bari for a city break but it’s a nice enough place.

Goodbye Dubrovnik (the waiter behind is for Auntie Joan's shed)

 We thought this was our ferry

 But this was actually it.

A Sudden Downturn in the Market

Day 28 (Tuesday)

I checked the Dubrovnik port authority website this morning and noticed that there were 3 cruise ships in today so it might be a bit crowded.  As we needed to buy tickets for the next leg of our trip to Bari we thought we’d go to Gruz port and pass all the ‘cruisers’ coming the other way.

We went for a walk along the port to take some photos of Cunard’s Queen Victoria cruise ship.  It was huge and I had to go a long way back in order to get the whole ship in the camera frame.

Once we’d bought the tickets we had a look around the fruit and veg market.  Tracey was walking in front of me and she noticed and woman moving a large sun shade around in an ungainly fashion and thought that she’d better be careful before she did someone some damage.  Unfortunately that someone was me as she brought it crashing down on my head.  Tracey was oblivious to this (or so she said) and carried on walking.

I managed to stagger to a chair clutching my head.  Someone gave me water and another lady gave me a bottle of what looked like coke.  I was just about to take a swig when she snatched it off of me and poured some over my head and a load more over my hands (and shorts), it turned out to be vinegar.  I had started to gather quite a crowd by this time (still no sign of my loving wife) and someone else handed me some water, I took a large gulp to discover it was actually some strong alcoholic substance (plum brandy?) so I took another gulp which brought things back into focus.  I convinced the crowd of onlookers that I would live and stumbled off to find Tracey.  Tracey’s opening words were “Where on earth have you been and why do you smell of vinegar?”  When I had related the whole sorry tale to her I expected some sympathy but my story was received with tears of laughter!

Tomorrow is our last day in Croatia.  We catch the overnight ferry (Wednesday at 22:00) to Bari (Italy) in order to criss-cross the Adriatic to get to the Greek Ionian islands.

Don't worry about my head, I've nevvur bean betttur.

Cunard's Queen Victoria Cruise Ship

Queen Victoria and two other lesser ships

The top left cabin belongs to Bill and Sheila ;-)