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Ken & Madeline Bertig
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By Madeline Bartig, Mamma Mia! #49/9
(Excerpted from FaceBook postings)
May 17, 2014: Two weeks in Greece and loving every minute. I'm excited to see all my hoped for boat projects actually becoming a reality. We are having a very comfortable and relaxing time in our beautiful little boat yard. It really isn't what one would expect of a boat yard. Partheni, Greece is very clean, quiet, picturesque with awesome views of the water. There are goats and sheep on the hill sides, one small plane landing daily at the tiny airport and great cruising friends also working on their boats.
May 30, 2014: Well Mamma Mia! is good to go….still need fuel, water, food supplies, and of course, going to the port Police (Coast Guard ) and getting our boat logs out of hock, paying our taxes and filing a proposed trip destination. Figghua Gioya, our awesome dinghy is all cleaned and ready for the adventure to begin. Ken and I sit nightly talking about which islands to revisit and which new ones look interesting. Do we go north or south or east to Turkey?
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| Paneotis & Madeline |
June 9, 2014: On the day before splashing Mamma Mia! The boat next to ours in the boat yard belongs to Paneotis. The Greek flag on his boat was all in tatters, to show our appreciation for all his help and kindnesses, we bought him a new flag as our going away present. Well this morning, knowing we were launching, he came early with a going away gift for us, a potted plant and dried herbs from his garden. It was such an unexpected surprise for me, especially since I had a gift for him also. Funny how people work, isn't it? When you know you are both on the same page and neither one speaks the other's language. I suspect kindness and friendship have a universal language all their own. Kalinita!
July 9, 2014: As Mamma Mia! peeked her bow out of Lakki harbor, we were given a great surprise - there heading towards us was HERA and our dearest friends from Norway, Sally and Helge. We spoke by radio and readjusted our plans yet again…now both boats are heading to Emborios, Kalymnos. An unexpected day to play with friends. Emborios and Pirates Cove is where we had a bad experience 2 years ago, both Ken and I were injured. Returning to this spot is a very good healing process. Time for me to get back on the horse, as they say.
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| Mamma Mia! at anchor |
July 28, 2014: Planned activities of the day are to trek up the mountain by car and then hike 300 arduous meters to the top to visit the castle. We did this once before, a few years back. It's a spectacular view with a castle in ruins, making it all the more fun to probe and explore. Unfortunately, the trek to the castle was canceled due to circumstances beyond our control. The afternoon did have its moments that we call "dock drama." Sudden severe wind gusts made docking very difficult. One sailboat in particular had numerous problems setting their anchor and backing in. After 6 tries, they gave up and decided to bring their boat to our side of the dock next to Mamma Mia! Now the fun began. It was horrendous and I'm glad we were on hand and not up at the castle. Once again they aborted this attempt. They gunned the engine pulling out from beside us, crushing our dinghy and missing our port side by a hair. They finally got clear of all boats and docked along side the ferry dock. Whew!
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| Chalki, Greece |
About an hour later the captain came over to Mamma Mia! and apologized for the mess up. That was nice. After some much needed reflection, I went to my favorite store and bought a bottle of my favorite wine Black Daphne. I took the bottle over to the captain. He was so moved that I made this jester of friendship. Me too, it made my day! Simple human kindness goes a long way.
July 22, 2014: This morning I swam from Mamma Mia! all the way to "my" cave and back. The winds are sleeping and the sun is hot, making perfect water days. Tomorrow we will take the dinghy to "our hidden grotto" and do some snorkeling. Kalinita everyone and love from Greece.
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