We were out just after 05:40 on a quiet and cool Saturday. There were plenty of stars, no moon and no vehicles in the beach car park. Luis slipped his collar as we entered the Promontory and I just let him take his time as the rest of us were able to make more progress without him being on the lead. We walked down to the end and I left the normal group minus Luis in the parking location whilst I did the first circuit with IZO and Skinny. Luis kept up but cut some corners. The second circuit included Fido on the lead and Charlie free to run. It was only when we were passing the Big Beach that I noticed a maggot-dangler asleep on the beach. Charlie didn’t respond and Luis didn’t seem to notice. I decided to put Luis back in his collar when I picked up Oskar and Obi for the final circuit. Getting away without Luis not spotting the recumbent fisherman twice was good enough as now it was much lighter. As it was, we met the horta-gatherer who came over to introduce himself to the dogs with an attempt at friendship. We walked back down and over the rocks with only Charlie on the loose. I felt the man had been barked at enough already. It was now light and we headed back to the camping.
I made tea and breakfast and got on with my morning. I wandered up the camping to find out why we had no Internet connection to discover that neither the Central Kitchen nor the reception building are connected when on the generator. I also noticed that the generator, which had been on the roof above the workshop had now moved to the main power panel by the gate. A much better location as far as I’m concerned as I no longer have to put up with the noise and smell. It transpires that the generator, for whatever reason, is not able to support the whole of the camping only the cabins, restaurant and central part of the camping. The main power cable to the camping is too small to supply the increased demand which is why the power trips out in times of high demand. Running the generator to support half the camping leaves enough power for the remaining load. Only half the camping is served during power cuts! What a shambles! The idea was that the generator should support the entire camping during the various power outages. I have also discovered that it’s necessary to start the generator manually and to manually switch over the power to the parts of the camping served by it. The telephones are via the Internet: there is no power in the office, anyway, the Internet doesn’t work because there is no backup power at OTE’s cabinet down the road. You have to unplug the router and plug in a telephone to contact the outside world!
I had a chat with Steffi who said that Sascha had gone to see Martin in Azogires before meeting with Antonis and Wall Man at Spaniakos. A significant group of Greek children and leaders arrived and were welcomed by Georgia(!). I then had my weekly phone call and unravelled my hand so it could take the air. My hand has been exposed for around seven hours so far today and I’ve been able to enjoy the first decent shower in over three weeks. Not having to hold my arm up in the air is a real bonus and I could actually wash all of me!
I discovered that there has been some nerve damage which is hardly surprising considering the nature of the injury. The pain I thought was from the wound is actually from an area where the nerves are all jumbled up. If my other injuries are anything to go by, the nerves will eventually repair themselves and find new pathways. I thought the tip of my finger, nibbled by Boris on one occasion, would never work again. Several years on and it works as normal. These things just take time.
I went for a shower and a chat with Peter. We talked about walking excursions and I suggested Gialiskari, Anydri and Lissos. He’s had time to get used to the camping and now sees beneath to thin veneer of sanity to the underlying shambles that is Grammeno. We agreed that you either accept it for what it is and live with it or you leave. I did warn him that it’s a lunatic asylum when he arrived! He now believes me.
I’m going to wrap up my hand and then go and walk the dogs.
Leave a Reply