Now we are five

Despite going to bed considerably later than usual, I was awake at 05:30. I loafed for a while before getting dressed. The Brown Dogs remained on the bench seat. I turned on the water heaters and brought Oskar in from the storeroom. Poor lonesome Charlie was in the Small Dog Compound on his own. We set off for the Promontory across the beach under a relatively cloudless sky pierced with twinkling stars. A quick look at Distant Suns, my astronomy app, confirmed that Jupiter was actually ahead of Venus this morning however Saturn and Pluto were hidden by a bank of cloud above the horizon. Neither are easily visible and become less so as dawn breaks. We walked about as normal but it seemed a little quieter than usual. No ragging with Pea, Princess and Oskar. Obi, Oskar and Charlie became a little animated at one point. Fido concentrated on trying to devour his ball and Luis generally pottered around happily. Luis is not averse to a bit of Princess/Pea ragging either. They might miss them but for perhaps the wrong reasons. For my part, I’m pleased to have only five dogs and would be content with fewer. It would be great to find the right home for Charlie as even with a 5:1 ratio, he can do better.

I completed my core workout before running so as to be on hand as it was Sunday morning. I then ran off towards Kountoura remembering to take some money to get Tony a pastry as I passed the sunrise bakery. Xanthippos was at the gate as I returned as he wanted the keys to the workshop. I left it unlocked so that he could come and go as he pleased. He then returned as he needed keys for other locations so I gave him the bunch and told him to help himself from reception. He appeared a little surprised that I didn’t accompany him. In order to have a peaceful life, I clipped the bunch of keys to my fence under the green fabric and showed him where they were so that he can help himself without bothering me.

I had a shower and some breakfast as time seemed to have escape me today. I left only Obi out so the other four are looking a little lost in the SDC. There is now more accommodation than there are dogs so there’s definitely no excuse to stand out in the rain.

Tonight we will try to have all five dogs in the van to see how that works. I think I can survive with five reasonably small dogs so long as they behave nicely together.

Claudia wants the washing machine on Tuesday morning so I offered her the option of giving me her washing on Monday night so that I can start the machine early when I turn on the water heaters. That way, she will have more time to get her laundry dry. She mentioned that Monika planned to arrive tomorrow to stay for a couple of days. Claudia and Monika often meet up for exciting excursions to Liddl in Chania. Monika wants to get her washing done too and I recall she mentioned that she intends going back to Germany soon.

Sascha came to ask about a lift to the airport – he could have come with me last night as I was just down the road. Anyway, he’s probably going to get the bus. He tells me they will probably stay until March unless the weather remains horrid indefinitely. He’s getting a rental car from Sixt at the airport as he can get a better deal than locally. Notos, the car rental company in Paleochora, needs to get their act together as they are expensive and the vehicles old. He needs a rental car as he doesn’t have a bike and getting his van out from its parking place is not simple. Sascha and I sat in the sun and chatted for a while and then he went back to his ‘girls’.

Ursula and Tony are having lunch in Souda with Tina, Tony’s sister and a friend. I think Ursula is hoping not to have to drive back through the mountains in the darkness.

Today’s weather has been more pleasant with a top temperature of 16.5℃ and no rain so far. Tomorrow and Tuesday should be reasonably fine however Wednesday and Thursday are looking damp.

I’m looking forward to getting used to walking fewer dogs which should be easier to manage. I’d like to attempt different walks from Krios or Gialiskari Beach. I’m hoping to take Obi and Oskar to Stavros in Maleme to get them microchipped and obtain a Pet Passport. That way everything will be in order and no one will have any grounds for complaint.

The Evening Walk was very active for Luis and Fido as they were vigorously chasing their respective balls. Obi was munching on a sponge, Oskar was periodically intercepting Luis ball and Charlie was chilling out.

We returned to the camping and I fed them. Luis inside, Fido and Obi under the awning and Oskar and Charlie on the decking. Once all were done, we adjourned inside for an evening with Captain Baines and James Onedin. There are a lot of dogs in here!