Romantic Message in a Bottle a la Nicholas Sparks Found

This is a small post about a small, romantic message in a bottle with a surprisingly big story. To me, it calls to mind the romance captured by Nicholas Sparks in his famous book.

BBC Radio presenter Corrie Corfield was vacationing in Greece when she stumbled upon a message in a bottle, according to Country Living.

Romantic message in a bottle found by Corrie Corfield in Greece, September 2017. Photo: Corrie Corfield / Twitter.

The message included a phone number, so Corfield rang up the number. Apparently, it was answered by a woman named Penelope from Athens, who explained the origins of the note, according to Country Living.

“It’s a love letter to someone she’d met on holiday & they’re still in touch,” Corfield wrote on Twitter. Nicholas Sparks would be proud! “She was very surprised I called but delighted too,” she added on Instagram.

Corrie Corfield. Photo: BBC.

Penelope sent the message during summer 2017, simply intending to commemorate her romance. This is not as common as you might think–at least, I have not found very many romantic messages in bottles (though this one comes to mind). So Penelope’s message is actually very special in this regard.

But I think my favorite part of the story is that it is apparently still developing! When Corfield found this romantic message in a bottle back in September, Penelope and her crush were still in touch. But as of now? Who knows! We may never hear the rest of the story–at least, not until someone else finds the bottle again. This is possible, since Corfield returned it to the sea after speaking with Penelope. So, if you are visiting Greece, just keep your eyes peeled when you are on the beach 🙂

View of Kioni Bay on the island of Ithaca where Odysseus lived. Photo: Wikipedia user Andrew Ogram.

As for Penelope and her romance–well, we may not know much, but we know she must have a fair amount of patience. Messages in bottles, a lingering holiday romance… And it makes sense–after all, the Penelope of Greek Mythology was the wife of Odysseus, and she was both loyal and patient as she waited for him to return from his, ah, odyssey. So, we’ll see 🙂

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Beach of Petanoi on Kefalonia Island. Photo: Wikipedia user SPolykalas.