It was 04:15 when I woke up. I couldn’t find my head torch because it was not by my bed. The head torch is better when it’s dark as it has a red light which is perfect first thing in the morning. Enough to see by without destroying your night vision. I made do with my iPhone torch which is extremely bright so has to be pointed at the ceiling to avoid being dazzled. I got out of bed, dressed and the day began. Skinny, Isabella and Obi were outside so I joined them to put on my boots. Isabella usually occupies my chair at night and doesn’t always stir herself when I come out of the van. Skinny and Obi were outside on the decking. It wasn’t raining but it was extremely windy. There were droplets in the air but that was due to water from the sea carried in the wind. We set off at 04:43 making our way across the field to the road which leads to the Promontory. There were not too many people about, which is the main idea. Even IZO made no sound or was not there. We completed four laps and I took them all back then went out with only Isabella for a few more. I wasn’t able to do that yesterday as it was raining but there’s been no rain today so far. The forecast reckons there is a 30% chance of moisture after 19:00 today. We’ll see.

I sat down to read my emails and check out the headlines. I’d done just over 7km of walking so needed a rest and a cup of tea. Isabella chomped on her bone and sprawled out on the floor. The others eventually made known their presence so I let them out too. Luis even managed not to bark at the cats too much. He’s busy grooming Skinny at present and is concentrating on his ears. I can see Luis’ tongue poking out of the opposite ear. Skinny seems happy for all this attention and Isabella has joined in too.

Xanthippos arrived at the gate as I was preparing my breakfast. He told me he’d come back from Paleochora where he’d encountered a police check. He told me they were very active today as the police were from Chania. The local police are less enthusiastic and are keen not to make too many waves I should imagine. The fine for not having a correct declaration for your journey is €150 the first and second offences. This rises to €5,000 and a trip to Chania following a subsequent offence, so Xanthippos informs me. I understand that swimming, fishing and boating have been added to the list of banned activities and suspect this is because Easter is just around the corner. The lockdown is supposed to end in two days however I feel this is highly unlikely. The authorities are concerned that people will wish to celebrate Easter in the traditional way which involves lots of family contact and plenty of eating and drinking. They can foresee an Easter Revolt so are preparing strategies to deal with it. Cretans are particularly good at defeating the authorities so it will be interesting to see how the situation develops.

I received a message that Friedrich was planning to go to Paleochora for shopping and that I should send him my list. I called to advise of the heavy police presence and he told me the main reason for the trip was to visit the post office which is closed on a Saturday anyway. He will probably go on Monday.

The upshot of these interruptions was that my breakfast preparations were delayed so I ended up eating it during my weekly phone home.

The afternoon remained fine and, fortunately, less windy. I went for a ride on my bike around the camping just as Xanthippos arrived to feed and exercise Georgia’s dogs. He took them out of the camping so it wasn’t a bother to me. I completed 10km going round and round and selected an indoor workout to get around the problem with the trees interfering with the GPS. Indoor workouts don’t use GPS and employ different methods to calculate the value of the workout. More in line with the amount of energy expended.

I went for a shower after my energetic ride then fed the dogs who are now romping around excitedly in front of me. Luis more excitedly than the others. I have yet to prepare something to eat which is hardly surprising as I ate ‘breakfast’ rather late and am doing less exercise than usual.

The evenings are noticeably lighter due to the hour change and the lengthening day. I should put something together to eat I suppose…