Monday 1st May

Monday 1^st May

Well we have made it to Cleopatra Marina and parked the boat up ready to be lifted into the water on Thursday.

After our night in the Rocky Horror Hotel we drove on down to Ancona looking for a campsite, loads to the north of Ancona but none near it, eventually we found a place about 20 miles south and camped next to the sea, you could lob a rock from our pitch into the water if you wanted.

We did the Italian thing and strolled along the main street, I felt distinctly over dressed in my shorts and Viv wished she had put her lipstick and eyeliner on. We had an ice cream and then walked back along the beach to the campsite and had a couple of very welcome beers.

Each town we passed through on the way down had hordes of screaming swifts soaring around overhead and the campsite was full of what I think were Citril Finches that have a call like a Yellowhammer on helium gas!

Sunday morning we were up early and packed to get the ferry, it was quite interesting talking to the various people waiting on the dockside. A couple of Brits building a house on Lefkada, a Dutch couple taking their new boat to the same marina as us and a large group of Dutch caravaners going to Turkey for two months.

We camped out on deck for the night tucked up on the stern in our sleeping bags and had the place to ourselves, no surprise! The sunset though was beautiful and we woke up to the sun rising over Albania.

We arrived in Ingoumenitsa in bright sunshine, not a cloud in the sky and to my horror I had to reverse the car and trailer off the second floor down the ramp and off the boat. Not the calmest of ways to enter Greece. To the large audience of Dutch caravaners and other assorted interested parties.

We shall look for somewhere to spend the night in a nearby town and then set the boat up tomorrow sleeping on it overnight before taking to the water Thursday afternoon.

There is an internet connection here so we will check mail tomorrow (Wednesday) and possibly Thursday before we set off.