Sunday December 14th

Today Cam and I just mucked round in the campervan, Col went back over to Venice to pick us up some supplies…when we got over there he found it totally flooded! I will let him explain!

Well what a adventure, I trotted off to the ferry and noticed that the mooring point was up quite high and being the expert sailor I am I realized the tide must be in (or to that effect) as we were getting closer to the city Venice I was saying to myself ‘huh the water from this angle looks as if it is lapping at the door steps of the shops’ I didn’t pay any more attention to it until we hoped of the boat and had to get off the mooring onto the foot path, and to my surprise and disbelief the foot path was covered with water - there is a café about 15 meters from the waters edge, the locals were sitting down on the outside furniture sipping away on their coffees with their gumboots on completely unfazed by the water lapping at their feet.

Now I had a problem, I had to get off the mooring so others could get on, I did the best jump I could but still landed in ankle deep water, luckily with my flash new shoes I brought they repelled the water, as I looked around I discovered the path to the supermarket ( the only shop that I knew the way to)was 95% emerged with water, there were a few parts that had only about an inch or so of water so I made my way down, as I was trying to look casual about but must have looked like a rite moron hoping and jumping, as other boats went by they caused little ripples of waves in my direction.

I got to about 20 meters from the supermarket when I couldn’t go any further, I watched as people in their gumboots waded through the mid calf depth water, I then decided to abort the mission and try a different location, half an hour later I reached the other dairy type shop ,and being my luck they didn’t have any of the essential items in needed to make my banana pancakes, so then I headed back to the ferry terminal to get the boat back and try something else.

I reached the terminal and then a thought struck my mind “surly the tide must go out at some stage, it was just after 12 so I thought I would wait around and see. Three quarters of an hour later I headed back down the path to the supermarket to have another attempt, the water was still lapping at the buildings but it had noticeably gone down. I got to within five meters of the supermarket and the water was still deep, just over the ankle, well screw this I thought there is no other option so I walked through it hoping like hell that my shoes would hold out, the left foot soaked but the right was dry, so a little bit of a victory for me I guess. 45 minutes later I have finished the shopping and step outside to discover all is normal, apart from the wet looking cobbles you would have never known. That’s about it I walked back to the ferry and went back to the campervan, my shopping expedition that I thought would take me an hour at the most ended up taking 4, but all’s well that ends well.