It was wet. Very wet! After writing my blog yesterday we received another 7.6mm rain up until midnight. It fell very rapidly over about an hour. From midnight until it was time to get up at 05:30, there was a further 9.7mm giving a total of 18.3mm during the hours of darkness. I was concerned that Oskar and perhaps Luis might be getting a bit damp however they both emerged dry and happy when I dug them out. The compound was flooded and there were puddles of water outside the storeroom where the flat roof downpipes discharge directly onto the ground below. Boris, oblivious to the weather, emerged and seemed quite surprised after another night in the comparative comfort of the storeroom.
We had quite a rapid walk as I suspected there was more rain to come. We went over the rocks as the sea was quite benign. There were stars but also some quite large piles of clouds lurking over and behind the mountains. Orion was in evidence as was Venus. We actually got a decent sunrise for a change rather than the blankets of clouds of late. We stood and stared at the morning sky and the mountains. They ran about and sniffed all the new smells uncovered by the wet weather. We christened the pummeled sand with new doggy paw-prints, then went back to the camping before the next lot fell.
I fed them and Dave and then down came the rain. More showers followed but I was able to take Dave for a short walk to the beach. The sun came out and it rained again then the remainder of the day was sunny and reasonably warm. I was walking around the camping with Dave, I could see that Georgia was there with some of her friends. I explained the rain in the night and we checked the vans for water. T3 had a leaky skylight and there was a fair amount inside. Xanthippos was commissioned to fix it. Olivia had already cleaned T1 following the departure of the German couple. The French couple also left today following their ten-day stay. Georgia asked if I’d like to join her and the others for lunch and I agreed but said that I didn’t now eat anything to do with animals. Georgia thought I was a bit crazy but then I pointed out that she would not be up for eating her dogs or cat so why eat other animals. She was a bit confounded by the prospect of not eating dairy, eggs or other animal-related products. I gave the short answer on that one saying that dairy etc made my life so miserable due to sinus-related headaches and nausea. She seemed able to relate to that easily enough. So I have now joined the Crazy Gang with Janne and Erica but to an even greater degree as they are only vegetarian. The good thing now is that once Georgia gets something into her head she’ll make sure of things. The first thing she said as we went to sit down in the restaurant was that I didn’t eat animals: so all of that was shoved up the other end of the table. Georgia actually admitted that she doesn’t like meat much but sort of goes along with everyone else. She also admitted that she is smoking but only four cigarettes per day. As for Maria, I forgot to ask her when we spoke yesterday.
The restaurant is owned by the lady who was cooking at the camping during the summer. She and her husband run the small restaurant opposite the large tomato place in Kountoura. It was a very nice meal with pilaf and meat as the main attraction. Naturally, there was a salad and some lovely mushrooms in batter. I was perfectly happy to munch my way through mountains of pilaf as the meat was on a separate plate up the other end of the table. The salad also had the feta on the side which is not at all uncommon. I was sorted. I was sitting next to a Greek lady who worked for a long time in the car rental business. We have similar ideas about customer service and marketing so were able to share ideas. We had a long conversation about differing customer requirements and cultural expectations. We also talked about ways to get more tourists to come to Crete in the winter and the possibility of organising activity holidays to include mountain walking and climbing activities, sub-aqua and cultural visits. Northern Europeans would find the Cretan climate quite mild in comparison to Northern Europe. The big problem is getting people to Crete efficiently and cost-effectively once the budget airlines stop regular services between November and March. Going via Athens on a scheduled airline can be expensive and very long-winded. Anyone taking a weeks holiday isn’t going to wish to spend a day at either end travelling.
We came back to the camping as Georgia received a call to say that I’d left my glasses at the restaurant. The others got out and I returned to collect my glasses with Georgia’s friend. She wanted some sugar and there was also a container of food to be delivered to Maria. I didn’t feel such a wally for leaving my specs.
The dogs were eager to see me and Georgia was amazed that I would still be taking them out given that now it was dark. I said it would be a quick walk followed by food and then bed. It was quick but pleasant and at least they are calmer.
Not so for Πεντε (Five) who has just made a racket. She can be a bit of a pain if not tied up at night. Georgia was talking about taking her back to Chania with Micky. His leg is still quite swollen and does not appear to be as straight as I would wish.
An interesting fact came from my earlier conversations in the restaurant: Georgia was confronted by her friends regarding Πεντε and Micky who are allowed to roam the camping at will whilst she insists that customers’ dogs are tied up or on leads. I would like to have been a fly on the wall during that confrontation! A case of do as I say rather than what I do.
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