We followed Ursula up the eastern track towards the end of the Promontory having diligently skirted around the van with dog parked for a few days near the main entrance. There was general lethargy, surprising really considering it was probably the coolest morning in a long while. The night was also cool as I had two blankets from the get-go. Not helped by sitting outside earlier and getting cold so going to bed cold too.
The Early Walk, despite its lethargy, went without incident, Ursula and Heidi went back to the camping and I took the others over the rocks. Skinny and I went on our morning trip to the pie shop to collect a spinach pie for Tony. I had a shower then went down to Ursula who had offered to take me on a shopping trip to Petrakis. We were there by 08:45 and back at the camping around 09:15 if I recall correctly. I went to the Swiss couple to inquire after their washing to be offered a ride on one of their E-bikes. I took it out towards Paleochora and back all the way to Krios via the greenhouses at the top of the mountains. When I tried to return it I was told to hang on to it all day and to use up the battery.
After breakfast, I made my usual weekly call and we chatted whilst I sat in the sun. I noticed several missed calls from Georgia but she finally realised it was Saturday and it would be a long while before I got off the phone. I had to break off around 12:50 to welcome a new customer who wished to rent Ξ1 for a couple of nights. I took his money, photographed his ID and gave him the key so I could continue with my phone call. He’d rented Ξ1 during the summer so knew where everything is.
After my call, I dropped Luis to Ursula so that I could go out for a more adventurous bike ride to finish off the battery. I decided to ride to Spanniakos to check out how things were going at Sascha’s plot and take some photos. The plot is near the top of the mountain, a ride I would not have even attempted on a ‘normal’ bike. With the E-Bike, I was able to make rapid progress, still working quite hard, but the hills were easily achievable. I decided to continue up the road which headed north before descending back to the main north-south road over the mountains. I checked the battery level and decided to see how far I could get. I made it to Kandanos and then turned around for the mostly downward trip to Paleochora and then to Grammeno.
At one point, I was following a mixer truck which was holding me up! He needed to brake for the bends on the descent. I could go faster than the truck but was not able to go fast enough to overtake so had to sit behind him in his slipstream. By the time I’d climbed the steep hill which provides a shortcut to the camping avoiding Paleochora, the final bar on the battery level indicator was flashing indicating the battery was nearly exhausted. I was only about 4km from the camping so it didn’t much matter if it ran out. Riding with no help is quite hard work as the bike is around 25kg. I made it back to the camping still with a little power to spare but Georgia was lurking in reception and called out to me as I arrived. She was on the phone to a supplier about estimates for work to transform the unfinished building into an indoor activity area and common room. The idea being that groups can use it for Yoga courses all year round whilst staying on the camping. I’ve been on about this for years and it now seems that success is within our grasp. I finally escaped to return the bike for charging then join Tony and Ursula for a very belated tea and cake. Apparently, the other dogs had been very noisy so Fido, Charlie and Oskar had to be shut in the van. Luis was reasonably well behaved so I understand. Ursula had worked hard to produce a wonderful chocolate cake. I devoured a large chunk of it washed down by a very welcome cup of tea. We chatted a while and Ursula offered to postpone our evening meal to Sunday evening due to my tardy return and consequent disorganisation.
The dogs have since been walked and we spotted two motorhomes and a caravan on Alonáki Beach as well as the van-and-dog in the car park. It was a beautiful and relaxing walk under an almost full moon. Definitely a not-to-be-missed event! It is still very warm during the daytime but the evenings and nights are somewhat cooler. For the time of the year, the weather is almost unbelievably mild and sunny! Long may it continue.
I just had to go down the camping to silence IZO who was making a fearful din near to Ursula and Tony’s cabin. I put his blanket in the old Boris plastic bed at the side of their cabin in the hope he might use it. I may need to put IZO in the large wire dog crate which I’ve positioned just inside the door of the storeroom. On my way back, I ran into the mother pussy who has been for food three times today. I hope she’s not in the pudding club again!
My Activity statistics are looking quite good today although nothing like some of the statistics achieved by Ursula who has managed to close her Move Ring three times in one day. For me, closing it twice is hard enough. Today I managed more than two-and-a-half times or 271%. Getting 100% requires at least two dog walks and a run. Today I managed 8,258/3,040kj or 271%. My weekly statistics will now receive a bump and my Monthly Challenge will have moved on a little. I’ve received a new cycling workout award as well as an Exercise personal best of 240/30 minutes. I might have the remainder of the day off!
One particularly clever move today was to feed then cats, then forget to close the gate to their compound enabling Oskar to eat all of their food. He was more interested in their food than actually chasing them – for a change… Oskar is generally slightly more chilled where the cats are concerned. Whereas Luis…
Leave a Reply