Cool but breezy was the order of the day. I believe we actually got round in a reasonable time. I was just about to depart for the first circuit with SBD, Obi and Skinny when he started fidgeting. I looked round to see The Boogeyman materialising from the darkness. No, wait, it wasn’t The Boogeyman only Kostas. He was going round to pick up salt from the further side of the rocks and it’s quicker to go in from the other end as the bishop might have said to the actress.
The Early Walk went without incident and we were back by 06:41 in time for Skinny and I to go for our jog to Kountoura and back. This was followed by a trip to the beach and a quick wallow. Then breakfast as I was feeling a little hungry.
I’d arranged to install the Office 2019 software I, at last, managed to get the licence for yesterday. It was on a laptop, the owner of which was going to be out all morning. Other than the electricity going off on a couple of occasions, I was able to complete the removal of previous versions and installation of the latest.
The generator saga continues with more banging in the workshop and long sessions of the generator running. At one point, the generator seemed to be running under a heavier load than usual so it may have been supplying electricity to the entire camping. It seems to be supplying this area at the moment as it’s not under heavy load. What they are doing, I have no idea.
The pussies broke their pottery bowl yesterday and were without one for most of the day. They were protesting when I went to feed them in the evening. They now have a former Boris water bowl as they are big enough to tackle a bigger bowl. This is made of metal so might hopefully last a little longer. I’ve just been out of the gate into the camping to find the three kittens outside the ‘door’ to the storeroom. The ‘door’ consists of a piece of chipboard held against the opening on the inside by means of my 23kg gas cylinder. Hi-tech indeed. The idea is to stop the customers from wandering into the storeroom and helping themselves to anything of their choosing. In the days of Dave, he used to be on guard to lick anyone to death who dared to pass him. Sadly, the three kittens don’t quite have the same presence.
The top temperature for today is 33.6℃. We have not had to use the cooler as it has been windy so additional cooling was not required. Indeed, I needed a shirt this morning after bathing as it was too cool to be wandering about without.
Last night we ventured to the end of the Promontory as there were fewer people about, it was cooler and the dogs seemed up for it. The walk was unhurried but pleasant although I didn’t take them all the way to the end of the Promontory to save time and poor Luis’ little legs. He did better than the morning so must have got his second wind.
I was watching a YouTube documentary about the New Silk Road from China to Europe. It is a huge undertaking however it’s more than a little concerning the methods they are using to achieve their goal. Previously, all bulk goods for China travelled by ship which takes three to four weeks. There is now a railway from China to Europe which cuts transit time down to four days. It is now possible to move goods from Spain and Portugal to China via the railway. It’s still more expensive than by ship but much quicker. It seems the Chinese are becoming decadent so have acquired a liking for French wines. They have bought up vineyards in the Bordeaux region so are able to cultivate and grow wines for eventual shipment back to China. There were quite depressing scenes of [overweight] Chinese [men] on holiday in some of the countries through which the New Silk Road passes. Things are less strict than back home in China and the indigenous people say the Chinese behave badly. But then they have the money so can virtually do as they please. However, I’m of the opinion that things may end badly.
I watched another documentary about advances in Chinese agriculture. Apparently, there is a huge push to get people to consume dairy, especially milk. There is a lot of effort put into dairy farming but not quite so intensively as in the US. It seems strange that European governments are trying to get people to consume less dairy for health and environmental reasons yet the Chinese seem to be behind the curve when it comes to the problems of obesity so prevalent in Europe. One might think they’s learn from our mistakes and keep to their previous, more healthy lifestyle which was mostly plant-based.
The Evening Walk is complete and reasonably uneventful although there were some barky dogs on the Promontory I carefully avoided by adopting an alternative route. We met the horta ladies who have been collecting there ever since I’ve been at Grammeno. The dogs are now fed and the generator has only just been switched off. Phew. Reminds me of the days of Narrow Boats in the winter time when the batteries run flat due to the cold. It was so peaceful once the engine stopped.
Time for my supper.
Leave a Reply