Skinny has been maligned as I later discovered he’d not done a runner and jumped over the fence as he wandered into the van later on. I’m not sure where he was but I know that he can get out of the compound but cannot get back in. Also, he was not wet enough as it was raining. Later, all of the dogs, except Obi, were in the van whilst I was eating my meal. I had Fido lying between my feet and Isabella next to my right foot. I had to move away at one point but looked down later to discover Isabella fast asleep with her head resting on Fido. There seems to be some connection between Isabella and Fido as he’s a little more tolerant to her ragging than the others.
My computer has been having problems with the video card for a few days and shut itself down in protest. At which point, I started to prepare to go to bed. It was only 21:00 but it was cold and very damp outside so I decided to call it a day. I must have been asleep by 22:00 as I was quite tired. As a result, I was awake about 04:15 and was up and out just as the alarm sounded. We were out on the Promontory having avoided the large lakes which had formed in the field, the road and the car park. I guessed it must have rained a little in the night. Later, I made out pockets of ice crystals so concluded there was a storm and hail too. I only realised the extent of the situation when I went out with Skinny later. There was a layer of crystals by the roadside near to the camping and most of the road outside of Vlisidis supermarket was blocked by a mound of ice crystals. There was also other debris which indicated there’d been heavy rain. On the return leg, I noticed the piles of ice crystals which must have come from the rooves of the greenhouses.
I went for a shower when I got back from my run but noticed the water was a lot cooler than expected. I examined the hot water tank thermometer when I’d finished my shower to discover it indicated around 40℃. Under normal circumstances, it’s just below 60℃. The control panel of the boiler was flashing red with a message in English reporting ignition failure and to check the gas supply. Either there is no more oil in the tank on the roof above or there is a fault with the boiler. I sent a message to Georgia so that she can call the guy in to take a look. We still have the immersion heater so all is not lost.
A message on my phone from the Finns alerted me to an electrical problem which I guessed was a tripped breaker at the main panel. This tends to happen under very rainy conditions so Isabella and I walked up to the office and reset the breaker. Chatting to the Finns on the way back, I learned they’d been kept awake by the storm and feared for their roof lights as the hail battered them. I received the same story from Peter and the Swiss when I went do to check there were no problems. Over 14mm of rain fell between 22:30 and midnight and a further 9mm between midnight and dawn. At least it was dry for the early walk.
I later received an email from a guy who wanted to know the price for two people and a tent(!) for one week. Bearing in mind the weather forecast, I replied they might do better with a Small Cabin as over 60mm rain is forecast for the next couple of days. He quickly replied accepting my offer of a cabin and I understand the couple are catching the 16:00 bus from Chania. I’d better make sure one of the cabins is habitable and stick in an electricity meter as I gave them a price excluding power.
The day has been very busy as I’ve had little time to stop this afternoon. I took Fido and Isabella for a walk after I left the door of Z6 open to give it some air. I noticed there were no blankets so needed to find some later. We bumped into the Finns out walking their dog on the Promontory. Fido and Isabella had already met her so there was no problem there. We walked together to the end and were on the way back when the phone rang and a German couple had arrived at reception. I told them I’d be back shortly and to have a look around the camping whilst waiting. We met the new arrivals and did a tour of the camping. They have chosen a spot just inside the beach gate by the bar decking, have paid for three days but may stay longer.
I needed to get blankets and put in an electricity meter so swapped Fido for Luis and went to collect some bedding from the store. Naturally, the blankets were right up high so I needed to climb up to get them. Having dropped some off, I took Luis back and got the tools I needed to install the meter. There was a bit of a moment when Isabella felt it necessary to jump on the bed with her muddy paws which pleased me little. Time was marching on, the punters were on the bus speeding towards Paleochora, and I hadn’t finished installing the electric meter. These meters are very cunning as they work with the network so it’s possible for me to see the electricity usage from my iPhone so doesn’t involve crawling into cupboards with a torch or squinting into the darkness.
I took the dogs out for the Evening Walk as darkness fell and wrote a quick email to the customers with my phone number in case they arrived before I got back with the dogs. I was just collecting the dogs together when the phonecall arrived. Skinny and Charlie were not yet present so I took those I had and headed back. We picked Charlie up on the way and Skinny was lurking outside the gate when I came back from dealing with the new arrivals.
I fed the dogs and prepared some food for myself so now we’re inside the van with the heating on as it’s only 17℃ which I feel is a little chilly for the evenings. I might just have the rest of the evening off.
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