… says the Kurpfälzer or the Kurpfälzerin. This means something like “first of all, things turn out differently...”. That's what's happening to us at the moment: the northern and southern Ionian Islands are separated by the island of Lefkas. A canal leads to this island from the south, over which there is a floating bridge, the only car connection to the island and the only way to get north or south by boat. The bridge opens once every hour so that boats can pass through without having to drive around the outside of the island, which is spectacularly scenic but inconvenient. There are no safe anchorages on the route, it is open sea and Italy is opposite.
Suddenly we are informed that the bridge's safety certificate has expired, that the bridge has to go into dry dock and that the passage is now closed to boats until further notice. Nobody knows for how long. Dozens to hundreds of charter sailors who were travelling north or south and have to drop off their boats on time now have a 60-mile detour ahead of them, and many will not arrive in time.
For us it's just inconvenient, a detour, but we still have enough time before we pick up our guest Felix in Kerkyra.
This is Greece - after all, Christmas always comes unexpectedly and unexpectedly ......