Strong wind woke me in the night so I went to check the security of the awning tent and to make sure the tent door was closed. For some reason, I’d forgotten to close it right down. I returned to my warm bed as it was around 02:45.
I got up just after the 05:55 alarm sounded and we went out for our walk. I wanted to get going as I needed to be in Maleme by 12:00 which didn’t leave too much time for hanging around. It was still very blowy but the sky was clear to the east so I could see Venus up high with Jupiter trailing behind. Looking at Distant Suns, my astronomy app, I could see that Saturn, Mercury and Pluto were due to rise in a group. No chance of seeing Pluto as it’s a little distant but Mercury and Saturn might have been possibilities. As it turned out, the sky clouded over so there was no chance. I was lucky to even see the sunrise.
We walked around 5km and went back to the camping and got back just as it started to rain. Schedule change: substitute run for core workout until rain stops. I completed my workout and then set off for my run on very wet, puddly roads. There were a few spots of rain as I left the camping and a whole lot more from about the mid-point onwards. I wasn’t sorry to get back as it was not only wet but getting colder too. I had my shower then prepared my breakfast.
I covered the back seat of the car with an old sheet and put Pea in followed by Princess. We set off northwards through the mountains. I had to stop early on when I discovered Princess had decided the rear parcel shelf was more interesting than the seat. I discovered too that the sheet was well puked-over so removed that and folded down the rear seat back giving them a large flat area. The trip through the mountains was foggy, wet and dismal. There were rocks in the road as well as falling rocks and soil as I passed by. Water flowed down the road in rivers and there were some deep puddles. It was not a particularly good day for a ride through the mountains. We arrived more or less on time. I mucked out the back of the car and brought Pea in for his chip and rabies shot. He also had a bit of a weepy eye so received some drops for that. Two drops twice each day. Next was Princess who put up as well as Pea with being stabbed. She was despatched back to the puke-ridden vehicle and it was just a matter of dealing with the paperwork and the ritual chat and tea. Stavros is a good laugh so filling in the paperwork was a fairly relaxed affair. Greeks generally don’t have much respect for paperwork so it’s more a question of going through the motions. Both Pea and Princess were picked up on the Promontory one cold raining morning in March 2017 so it’s a matter of conjecture regarding their provenance. We fabricated birthdates and then filled in the information we actually knew. Stavros told me the law has changed in Greece regarding the rabies vaccine so a vaccine longer than a year is now possible. Not that there is any rabies on Crete anyway so it’s merely a matter of complying with the legislation. We also talked about the need for all the dogs to be chipped even though they are never likely to travel. I said I’d bring Oskar and Obi in so that they would be legal, complete with microchip and registration into the doggy database. It will make things easier for me anyway as if ever there is any problem whilst out walking them, I’ll have all the correct paperwork. Paperwork is king in Greece. So long as you have the correct papers, anything goes!
The trip back across the mountains was even less desirable than the outbound. Rain, fog and falling mud and rocks. At least I knew where to expect the rocks and mud from my experiences on the outward journey. At one point there was a huge rock completely blocking the northern carriageway of the road. I was behind a truck and trailer combination which was doing its best up the hills. I overtook that to find myself behind another not much further on. Fortunately, he stopped quite soon after. There was hardly any rain as I descended into Paleochora and parked up outside Petrakis for some shopping. It was not a prolonged affair as I wanted to get back as I knew Georgia was visiting the camping. I wanted her to take all the money anyway. Georgia had arrived before me and found all the cash which I’d left for her in the till. She was looking poorly as she’s still having problems with her leg. She tells me she’s going to Athens soon to see a friend who is a specialist in sports injuries.
The dogs were vocal so I checked in the newly-arrived German couple with their two small children and then took the dogs for a rapid walk. The sky was pretty black so I was not up for yet more rain.
They are all tucked up and my food is ready. Guess what I’m going to do next?
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