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"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
We had a whole host of trips and adventures planned for our final month aboard Comino. Alas, things didn't go quite as planned.
We arrived back to the boat on 9th September, with a return date of 7th October, but before we even touched down at Corfu airport our sailing adventures were already in jeopardy. Let me explain. Two days before we set off my left knee started to give me jip. On the day we flew it was very sore and quite swollen. After three hours cooped up on the aircraft, I could barely walk down the steps. It was now so bad I couldn't get into the taxi - my leg was completely locked straight and my knee was the size of a football! In the end I had to lie across the backseat. I'm sure the driver thought I was off my face, not realising that getting inebriated at EasyJet alcohol prices would have cost the equivalent of the gross GDP of Guatemala!!! To cut a long story short this is how things remained for two weeks. With a lot of huffing and puffing, and pathetic yelps of agony, I managed to haul myself up the companionway steps to get into the cockpit and put my leg up. I'll not bore you with the possible causes of my affliction, as suggested by our good friend Mr Google, but suffice to say rest and putting my leg up was pretty universally prescribed, whatever the problem might be. Nicki was great and pampered me rotten. Roger and Lynne came round every day to make me laugh and force me to sip wine (not much persuading required there I have to say). I read five books and, because the sun was shining, I was actually in quite good spirits. After all, many a holidaymaker just vegetates on a lounger for two weeks soaking up the sun. So, I consoled myself that this was just a normal holiday in Greece with two weeks of doing not very much apart from eating, drinking and getting a tan. It's worth mentioning that I rather stubbornly refused to go to hospital, or the doctors, despite much nagging (in nicest possible way) by Nicki. I also declined the invitation to be pushed around in a wheelchair by Roger, who had kindly organised one via the Marina Office. I secretly feared that a late night return to the boat from a bar, along the narrow pontoon, had me, Roger and the wheelchair ending up in the water written all over it! Roger and Lynn eventually set sail and I'm eternally grateful to them both for their support. The following two weeks did see slow progress towards relative normality and I was able to hobble to the pool most days to do some light exercise in the water. I could also limp to some of the nearest restaurants in and around the marina. So, all in all, we still had a great time, albeit tinged with a little frustration that we couldn't risk sailing for fear of triggering a relapse. Sadly, I didn't take any pics this time for obvious reasons. But I'll make up for it when we resume our sailing adventures next year. Now we're home again, I'm waiting to see a specialist to suss out what caused the condition and whether further treatment is required. My knee is currently a long way from normal, but the pain is manageable, proving I don't run a marathon. Comino has her all-over winter cover on and will bob around on her berth in Gouvia Marina for the next six months. When flights to Corfu resume again in April, I'll buzz over for a week or so to oversee a lift-out, allowing me to do the antifoul painting whilst she's up on the hard. If everything goes according to plan we'll be good to go again at the end of May 2020. Let's hope nothing interferes with our plans next time!
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A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
OUR ADVENTURES FROM THE BEGINNING CATEGORIES
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