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We
would like our crow with a nice Bearnaise Sauce, preferably in small
bites. Charlie returned alone yesterday morning to go through what
he expected would be another agonizing, slow and tedious process
to check back into Greece. We had also conditioned ourselves to
the fact we would have to again pay the cruising fee to get a new
Transit Log issued.
He first went
to the main Port Police office and, after visiting several different
offices, found a helpful employee who took him to the right official,
acted as interpreter in explaining that we had not sailed all the
way to Dubrovnik which we had listed as our next port of call when
we checked out, but instead had turned back because of bad weather,
and have now decided not to go to Dubrovnik but to stay in Greece.
The official researched in his book of rules and told Charlie to
go to the Customs office and ask for a particular individual and,
have that official telephone him. Charlie went to Customs, as instructed,
and the man on duty directed him to another Customs office, one
we had never seen. It was tucked almost in an alley beside the duty-free
shop and we had walked by it time after time and never noticed the
obscure entrance. When Charlie was escorted into the office, he
was met by a smiling man who called the Port Police official who
advised him of our in and out routine, and why we had returned to
Greece. The first thing he did was pick up a stack of yacht Transit
Logs, he then located the one for Sea Gem we had turned in when
we had checked out of Greece 3 days before. He found an interpreter
to tell Charlie that he thought the easiest way to do things would
be to cancel our departure, as if we had never left, give us back
the same Transit Log and waive the fee, a savings of more than one
hundred and fifty US dollars. He took Charlie to the second Port
Police office where he instructed them to cancel our departure entry
on our Transit Log and place an official stamp on its cancellation.
Charlie rode
triumphantly back to the boat on his newly rented motor scooter
with a big smile on his face. It really pays to get to the right
place. No wonder we confounded and confused the other offices. They
are accustomed to dealing with cruise ships, crews and passengers,
not a yacht with only two souls aboard.
Next time you
go to your local courthouse to transact business, try imagining
you cannot speak or understand the language. We are indeed fortunate
to be in friendly places, not suspected of any covert activities
and as one US Customs official once described us "a mom and
pop" operation.
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We are taking
the opportunity here in Corfu to catch up on some boat maintenance
that we have neglected for a time. Interspersing organizational
activities with fun things, we await the arrival of our friends.
The little town of Govia has lovely resorts, beaches and a multitude
of restaurants. We have found one so good that we find it hard to
look for more. Dinner for two runs about twelve US dollars. "George's"
has an outdoor vine-covered patio which is surrounded by a high
wooden fence. The floor show consists of watching the neighborhood
cat balance her walk along the top of the fence or watch the kittens
play on the stairs. The variety of meat is slow cooked on spits,
over an open fire, the tzaziki is rich with garlic and the salad
very fresh. George's is an easy place to like.
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Until later, from Govia Marina on Corfu, Greece . . .
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