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The Ionian

Travel, yachting and lifestylemagazine for the Ionian Islandsand adjacent mainland Greece.

Vol. 5, Issue 2 – June 2014

Publisher and EditorBarbara Molin

Advisory BoardYannis Dimopoulos

Justin Smith

LayoutRyan Smith

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We make every effort to ensurethe accuracy of each issue.However, we cannot be heldliable for any errors or

omissions. The contributors'opinions are their own.

Printed in Greece.

Our lives tend to be a mix of ups and downs: roads taken, nottaken and those we wish we had taken before we becamedistracted. And sometimes we become inspired and a newdirection is revealed. And so it is with our stories this month.

Barbara de Machula never disappoints even when distracted bylife's more difficult aspects and we are grateful for The Art ofDairy Farming, whichshe sent from a hospital bed. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Ned Kelly, who is a newly published novelist is both inspired and distracted in hiswork as he and his wife, Barbara enjoy our lovely Ionian Sea aboard their yacht,Grey Glider. He shares his life aboard with us in Inspiration From The Ionian.

Our cover photo this month is Corfu Town by Miriam van Veldhoven-Janssen whowith her husband lives part of the year on Lefkas island. She says that theinspiration for her photography is 'what else but the magical Greek light'.

Happy reading... ≈≈_/)* Barbara Molin

Inspirations and Distractions

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Editorial

Hello there, sailors!The first Amvrakikos Gulf Sailing Race will take place onJuly 19 ‐ 20. The 50‐mile race starts from the port ofVONITSA, runs down to AMFILOCHIA, and then back toVONITSA. This is a great way to see all of the beautifulsites of the Amvrakikos Gulf and our home town ofVonitsa. Sign up before July 15!For more info call us at:

69477 04503 or 69091 58646Organized by Remezzo Yacht Club and Jetoil Pantazis

BARBARA DE MACHULA

Poem for my hospital drip bottle.

hello mister drip

we are stuck with each other

without our mutual company

not worth to bother.

I have been a bit tight in the chest for sometime,especially at night waking up, not breathing well but ofcourse it was winter and we all caught a cold somehow,somewhere…

This minor affliction did not keep me from pushing mydairy destiny, since my little goat, Amaltheia was readyto meet her handsome lover and start a baby. Eventuallythis would result in an abundance of milk and - howgreat, finally after all the trial and error of cheesemaking - my own Amaltheia cheese factory.

The local priest, a wonderful, kind man who has agentle touch with animals could provide the groom, andAmaltheia was adopted for a while into his beautiful

herd of goats. I could see immediatetely that she wasthe foxy one, and when the marriage was over we werepretty sure she would have a great baby. Indeed, on the30th of March, an adorable, little, white fellow wasborn and became my pride and joy. It jumps and playseverywhere, drinks milk from its mum and there isplenty left for the cheese.

There my farmer's lessons came in handy. A few localheroes taught me how to milk my lady and pretty soonit became a routine to milk her twice day. She gives meabout two litres a day and it is such a joy!

Keeping a goat appears to be hard work, because youneed to keep the stable in a decent condition andbecause my lady loves fresh hay and dried grasses, sothese also need to be available.

Since the hay is dusty, I might have caught some mouldor germs that made an end to my dairy dream in a toughway. On a nice Sunday in April, I decided to get somecough medicine and because I couldn't find a localdoctor's surgery open, I ended up in Lefkada hospital.

TThhee AArrtt ooff DDaaii rryy FFaarrmmiinngg

There, I was told that seemingly my body was fallingapart, with strange creatures in my lungs, a racingheart and on top of everything, a nice case ofdiabetes. (yes, I know I'm too fat). Before I knew it,the nurses stuck all sorts of needles in me,monitoring and testing and after a few days I wastransferred to the big hospital in Ioannina fortreatment that you could call a chemical warfare inmy veins.

So, from there I write to you, being sure that when Iget out of here, I will continue my dairy adventure.Meanwhile, Amaltheia has a good temporary homewhere they milk her properly every day.

I must say, though, they serve a wicked chicken atthe Hotel Ioannina, as I call the hospital, and thedoctors are my personal handsome vampires.

Also, I managed to make alovely yoghurt before I left,so I cannot wait to get backto normal life again!Meanwhile, keep the germsout!

Barbara de Machula is anartist and writer originallyfrom Amsterdam. She liveson a farm on the side ofamountain close to amonastery near Palairos.

www.paintingholidaygreece.com

Inspiration from the IonianNED KELLY

Last year was our second season of sailing in the Ionianduring our thirteen years on board ‘Grey Glider’ . She isa Warrior 35, strong as an ox and a venerable old ladyof the sea. Our first season was seven years ago andI’m ashamed to admit that we hurtled through on ourway from Turkey to Italy. This time was a moreleisurely affair and we realised how much we hadmissed. The warmth and friendliness of the locals, thepredictable and manageable winds and the beauty of theislands and anchorages made it a wonderful experience.

I think I’m retired, but keeping a yacht in seaworthycondition is a job in itself. I do, however, like to writeand the peace and tranquillity of anchorages like Vliho,Lefkas, in stunning all-round scenery, leaves the mindfree to turn to the muse. A bonus to this is the sheervariety of characters: locals, visitors and other yachtcrews that abound in and out of the cruising seasons.

In addition, Greeceand the Ionian inparticular providesmillennia of history.Who could fail to beinspired by Ithaca -the start and finishline of Odysseus’sfantastic journey andadventures ofHomeric fame? Orhow the civilised

world was changed by Octavian’s victory over MarkAnthony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium?

At times, though, that there are too many distractions towrite. One fascinating day in the Gulf of Amvrakia wewere privileged to see a total of fifteen separate pods ofdolphins over the space of a few hours while sailingunder a delightful breeze. This breeze accommodatedus by changing from east in the morning to west in theafternoon and thus permitting us to sail the length of thegulf in both directions in one day.

Could a day on a yacht be any better? Of course it can.With 'Grey Glider' secure in a sheltered anchorage,Barbara and I took a short trip in the tender and soonwere sitting on a terrace sipping Ouzo and watching aspectacular sunset. Whether it was the splendour ofthe day or a particularly good chef but I have thememory of a wonderful meal followed by a peacefulnight of sound sleep.

There are times when a yacht requires removal from thewater for essential maintenance and such times arealways worrying for the Captain. The Ionian had onemore pleasing experience for us up its sleeve. The lift-out at the Aktio boatyard was happily free from anyexcitement. The staff were welcoming and friendly andthe work carried out professionally and very reasonablypriced. It was probably the least worrying lift out andreturn to the water we have ever had.

All in all one of the bestcruising seasons in ourexperience.

It was with greatreluctance that we badefarewell to the Ionian tocross over to Italy forthe winter in a marinawhere we had pre-booked. We areplanning to return thisyear as we are sure of having another year’ s worth ofdistractions. Now armed with the season's experience,I’m halfway through writing the sequel to my firstnovel – without distractions!

Ned Kelly is an Irishman with interests in rugby, flying,sailing and writing. He started writing after beingunimpressed with books bought at airports His novel,Until the Fat Man Sings is available on Kindle.

www.williamvkellyauthor.wordpress.com