All roads lead to Corfu - Literally 2

The Middle Bit... Having thought about this for a while I have decided to give you a brief insight into the middle bit. The calm before the storm if you like, the Return will follow.

There was no mistaking it, we had been in Arillas for 2 whole days, 48 sun filled hours, we had been to the beach, had 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and about to have our 2nd dinner, yep I hadnt imagined it, we were absoloutly not speaking to one another!

This couldnt go on, marathon mans son, daughter-in-law and 3 kids were joining us the next morning as was marathon mans daughter. I had to do something, this wasnt like us. I looked at my kids accross the dinner table at the Lombada (as it was known then, its now the Thalassa) I looked at marathon man and I said " oh, come on, one day we will look back on all this and laugh"! Silence... Marathon man ordered more drinks.... " come on kids, just think, you have had a great experience..... " A great experience?" says eldest kid "A GREAT EXPERIENCE"??? Mum! We were strapped into a vehicle for 3 days, we were almost set on fire going over the Alps, You threw our pee over the brakes and four swiss policemen and we thought we were going to drown in Brindisi!!! That was it, put like that, all we could do was laugh. we laughed and laughed until tears rolled down our faces. That is until I said, still laughing, "never mind kids, we can do it all again in 12 days, we have the return journey to make"! Silence.... deathly silence.

Day 3 and we still had not used the boat. To windy. (never thought of that did he)? Marathon man was on his way to the airport with the kids to pick up his son & co. I said the kids could stay with me and we would go to the pool, but no, they figured at least they would get to see how normal people arrive in Corfu! So, I decide to spruce the boat up a bit, with a bit of luck it would be less windy later on and we would get a bit of a cruise in. As I approach the boat, I notice that the boat cover looks even more askew than when we arrived, all sort of tugged over to one side. I gingerly walk around to the other side only to find Kyriakos & sophias goats finishing off the last of the ties!! I`m scared of goats. These goats know I am scared of them. Someone told them and they know. One of them, (the scariest one) dosent much like me. He moves towards me. I run. He runs faster. I run into our villa, lock the door and am still there when marathon man and the tribe arrive back from the airport. It is still too windy.

DAY 4 we manage a couple of hours. You know the rest.

DAY 5 too windy

DAY 6 Yay!!!! we go out and have a fab day.

DAY 7 too windy.

DAY 8 too windy. (your getting the gist of this now)

DAY 9 still windy, but marathon man has had enough! Right, he says, who wants to come out on the boat, silence... you see its not that we dont enjoy boating, we do, but having spent many years in Arillas we know how windy that coast line can get. Generally it is at about 3pm that the wind starts to pick up, but when its windy in the morning, you just know its gonna be rough as a*******s out at sea. Poor Spencer, (marathon mans son) I think at that moment, Spencer wished he had been a Sandra! "Come on Spence!," says marathon man, "lets me and you have a day out and leave these girls to it" "Kids? do you want to come"? LEAVE MY KIDS ALONE! I say a bit too quickly. So off they went at 10.30am. Back they came at 11.30 am. Too windy!

DAY 10 I dont believe it. Perfect. No wind.

DAY 11 too windy.

DAY 12 I know, says marathon man, we`ll sell it!! WHAAATTT? says I? SELL IT??? Yessss daddy, sell it, sell it, and sell the car and then we can fly home like normal people!!! Please daddy, please, please, preety please, please SELL THAT BOAT!

DAY 13 OK says I. Sell it. Panic, by now is most definately setting in, the horrors of the journey here were coming back in waves, I dont suppose we could sell the car as well....... In fact, I tell you what, lets just throw the car in with it, you know make it a really good deal for someone... "What is wrong with you woman"? "We cant just give a range rover away"!!! "Cant we? why not"? say I, really starting to bottle it now "in fact, lets just donate the car & the boat to Arillas!! yes, yes, that would work, that way it will allways be here when we are on holiday and more to the point we could BLOODY WELL FLY HOME!!! ( I had forgotten to tell marathon man that the goats had eaten our return route map & had spent the last 5 nights trying to remember the way home. This from a woman who couldnt find her way out of a paper bag)!

DAY 14 Picture the scene, marathon man is loading the boat with our suitcases, there is no boat cover to put on. The half that didnt get ripped to shreads on the journey here was eaten by the goats. We walk like the condemned. The kids are a funny colour. I still havent told marathon man about the map. I feel sick. OMG. We have to do this again. WHY wouldnt he give it all away. WHY didnt he believe me when I said " I really dont think the kids are up to this, I really do think I should take them home on the plane, you know, just for them, like, sort of thing.... No. I take a deep breath, tell the kids & marathon man that no matter what happens between Arillas & SE London, I love them and get into the car for the uneventfull journey to the port in Corfu. How little I knew.... there was something bugging me... something niggling in the back of my mind.... something I had forgotten..... ah well, it will come to me...

TO BE CONTINUED.......

Yammas, Angie

Fluffy bubletush