It was hot the previous evening so I had the small fan going as I ate my meal and watched another episode of Killing Eve. At bedtime, I took the fan inside the van so that I could have it blowing over me during the night. Two benefits of this: keeping cool and keeping the mosquitoes off. I woke at 03:00 and turned off the fan. A mosquito appeared very quickly thereafter.
Emerging from the field this morning, I could make out a caravan of itinerant vendors parked up along Alonáki Beach. There was a touring caravan parked further along the beach and a smaller, French motorhome further to the south. I decided to cut across where the fence has been demolished as people help themselves to the foundations of the former cantina. This neatly avoided any potential disturbance from dogs barking.
We were met by a refreshing breeze as we continued to the entrance to the Promontory. It seemed darker than usual and the next full moon isn’t until 17 July. With reasonable vigour, we did our walk, however, Charlie disappeared to return with a desiccated fish. In the early gloom, I initially mistook the fish for a stick but then a stick is uncharacteristic for Charlie however scrounging isn’t. And there’s me trying to give him back his figure.
We walked and the right number of dogs returned at the end however Fido now had possession of the fish. We walked back with Fido at a distance protecting his fish from the others. He finally allowed himself to be assimilated into the group at the end of the Promontory, gracefully carrying the fish all the way back to the camping. I did not allow the fish to accompany him inside the van so relieved him of it sticking it high up in the nearby fence. Later, Skinny was to be the beneficiary and the fish kept him amused as I walked SBD around the Promontory, over the rocks and back across the beach. Our outward journey took us past the caravan of itinerant vendors where there was a mixture of plastic chairs, potted plants and concrete ornaments. It was later by now and I had only one small dog so I wasn’t worried about disturbing the sleepers. There was a load of washing drying on the adjacent fence with the vendors and family members scattered and sprawled about outside and inside their vehicles.
The Skinny Run was cooler than yesterday’s and we were back somewhat earlier too. I went into the sea followed by a cold (coolish) outdoor red shower then prepared to go into Paleochora for shopping. The road is progressing with machines working at building up the levels and laying the curbs. The cleared area gives some idea as to the potential size of the carriageway yet there is still plenty to do so I’m not certain I’ll live long enough to see its completion.
Arriving outside Petrakis, a young lad helpfully assisted me in parking but had an ulterior motive. He was brandishing screen wiper blades and proceeded to show me how urgent it was for me to exchange the wiper blades on my car. Antonis was passing by so stopped to talk and rid me of the lad. We chatted about the Spaniakos project for Sascha and Steffi then I went shopping. Yiannis was on the checkout so I was able to try out Apple Pay on their system POS machine. I’d had a notification from my card issuer that Apple Pay was now possible in Greece. Whatever next, how things are moving on! We’ll be having reliable electricity one day. To the entertainment of other customers, I was able to pay for my groceries using my Apple Watch. Under normal circumstances, I would have waved the card at the reader then entered my PIN. Contactless payments up to 25€ can be made without PIN but my bill was significantly higher as I’d purchased yet more cat food, olives, rusks and other high-value items. Apple Pay allows high-value payments as the system is integrated into your watch so will only work if I’m wearing it. The watch requires a PIN whenever it’s removed from the wearer’s wrist as this protects the information contained on or accessible to the watch.
The young lad had been replaced by a man who determinedly tried to sell me wiper blades. It was hot, I wanted to get back so my patience was running low. The guy now knows I can get angry in Greek! He left me alone as I started the engine and moved away. I noticed some of the itinerants from Alonáki had now taken up residence along the pavements of Paleochora. They were no longer in their Jim-Jams!
Back at the camping, I unloaded the shopping and made some breakfast. I needed a sit-down and a cup of tea. Always fatal as I fall asleep! I eventually ate my breakfast and made more tea once the power resumed. I had a few IT tasks today but have also been researching solar panels from China.
The breeze got up later so the maximum temperature reached only 34.2ºC – somewhat chilly by comparison to yesterday.
The sun is sinking behind the storeroom so the temperature is dropping. I might need to turn off my fan in a moment. I’ll take the dogs for a wander before feeding them as we enter the evening routine. SBD dashed into his house last night after I threw in some biscuits. He remained there patiently and almost silently until I took him out this morning. He’s working it out. The dogs are all now sprawled out silently so I can’t bear to disturb them. It won’t last though…
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