It is winter again as it rained just as I went to pick up Sophie from the bus station in Paleochora. We had a meal at the camping restaurant and then chatted under the awning. We both wore fleeces and it was too cold for the mosquitoes.
It’s late so I’ll fill in more in the morning.
There were intermittent showers all day long and I regretted taking down the front awning sections as it was quite cool when we sat out in the evening.
For some reason, the plan for the bus to drop Sophie and her mega-pack off at the camping gate failed. My research indicated that the bus from Chania should stop in Paleochora and then continue on to Kountoura, past the camping gate, and then return. This was not the case so I picked Sophie+MP up from the Paleochora bus station.
Peter appeared at my gate as he wished to update me on the process of relocating his van. I had assured him that Grammeno would not be the place for him during July and August due to the crowds. He likes his solitude. He also finds he’s right in the middle of all the action in his current location so has little privacy. He says he can store the van near Chania airport for 50€ per month which seems very reasonable. He has also decided to return to Australia to take care of some property business as his partner is unable to deal with it.
Antonis arrived shortly after I returned from my daily ride to Paleochora to tell me that he would be coming to make a start on the new roof structure. Good as his word, he returned to start work. He spent the morning constructing and tacking together the front of the van roof fame.
You will not be disappointed to learn that the construction is up to the usual Antonis standard and that this roof structure will withstand any wind speed up to 200mph!
He told me that he is going on an adventure to the top of Psiloritis, the highest mountain in Crete. This involves a four-hour trek up the mountainside followed by a night on top of the mountain near the little chapel of the Holy Cross. There is a cave which is attributed to Zeus amongst other previous deities. This trip coincides with an annual pilgrimage to venerate the memory of Zeus et al. Antonis tells me that at night you can see as far as Agios Nikolaos at the eastern end of Crete and even to the Peloponnese! He mentioned that it gets extremely cold at night despite the temperature at sea level remaining around 22C. He has been on this trip several times.
The evening meal in the camping restaurant was very pleasant although there were few other customers. A family with two teenage ‘boys’. The eldest, in particular, looked bored.
We were the last to arrive as well as to leave.
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