It has only taken around three years but finally we have a mailbox for the office. I wrote to Georgia last night suggesting I buy one to put on the wall. The reply said that Georgia would take care of it. I then said that I would be going to Chania so could easily pick one up, which I did. Tomorrow, armed with my drill, I will fix the aforementioned to the wall outside the office and keep the spare key. That way there will be no more chasing up the road for letters blowing in the wind and no more excuses for mail not to be delivered. The mailbox cannot accept parcels but it’s a step in the right direction.
The vet looked at Dave and gave more treatment for his eye. We also picked up some parasite treatment both internal and external. Tomorrow the dogs will become a worm, tick and flea free zone.
Antonis had a number of calls to make so Dave snoozed in the car whilst he and I went to various shops to pick up his bandsaw, grinding disks etc etc. One of the calls was for a new cylinder of CO2 for his welder. A bright, new, shiny cylinder in perfect condition. Once we’d left the National Road on the return journey to Grammeno, Antonis decided he needed a pee so we stopped in a layby for this important purpose. I decided I could wait so sat in the car with Dave. Just as Antonis got out of the car, there was a loud noise of escaping gas and the car started to fill up with CO2. The gas itself is not dangerous and is used to pump beer, put out fires and many industrial processes including welding. It is used to exclude air with affects the quality of the weld. It is heavier than air so always sinks to the bottom. The car filled up quite quickly so I decided that Dave would be the most affected with me next. I opened the door and we quickly got out. In the meantime Antonis had picked up the cylinder, moved it to the rear of the vehicle and opened the main valve to release the pressure more quickly. CO2 requires heat to vaporise so the outside of the cylinder became frosted with the water condensing on the surface. Once most of the gas had escaped, he moved the cylinder into the boot of the car and called the company. They explained that the safety valve must have been faulty and they would supply a replacement. We were quite a long way away so returning was not a practical option. It might have been a lot more exciting if the valve had opened whilst we were moving as we would have had to stop the car before removing the cylinder. It was a large cylinder so lots of CO2.
On our return I got called away by an Albanian who hoped to speak to Georgia and then found we had a German couple camped down by the beach. They turned out to speak very Good English, fortunate as my German is now quite dormant. We chatted, together with the Dutch guy and they mentioned they had seen the dogs. I suggested they might like to join me for the evening walk so I press-ganged them into taking the Brown Dogs and Dave, We had a good walk and chatted about everything from gas chambers to dogs. They said they had been considering having a dog but felt that now was not quite the time. They want to go to Gavdos but the ferry is not running due to the rough sea. They were in the Paleochora camping last night but said it was pretty poor so decided to come to Grammeno. I explained the Albanians and made sure there was plenty of hot water for showers. They came back with me before going into Paleochora for a meal. They hope the ferry will be running tomorrow but say they will pass through again on their return.
I need some food and a glass of something after my exciting and tiring day.
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