I just love August! Particularly the 15 August Holiday Weekend which is next weekend – yippee! It’s going to be pretty horrid over that weekend but the good thing will be that it’s all downhill to quieter days with cooler weather and fewer people. Not that we’ve been rushed off our feet this year which, for me, is a real bonus.
August is when many Greeks take their holidays. This year, fewer Greeks plan to take holidays away from home either for security or economic reasons. This was revealed during a survey carried out in June by a national organisation. Whilst riding through the camping earlier, I noted how many more tents are pitched in the upper part of the camping area. Things are looking up so next weekend could turn out busier than the holiday in June when it was busy then.
Noises off during the night enticed Luis to a rendition around 23:30. Some cats were bashing about in the vicinity of Janne and Erica’s caravan. As a result of failing to comply with my firm suggestions to stop barking, I gave Luis the Order of the Collar for the remainder of the night. Other noises off were from revellers who I feared might be on the Promontory. These included a couple of barking dogs and continued until around 03:30. I was awake about 04:00 and had already been up to invite Skinny into the van so that Isabella and he would settle. They were only fooling about and not creating a huge disturbance however I could see it might escalate.
I had a feeling that the Promontory might be out of bounds due to the revelry so put the collars on the dogs before leaving so as not to have to come back should we wish to go straight out into the second walk. As it turned out, there were only a few FreeLoaders on the west side of the Big Beach so we needed only to make a minor diversion to avoid them.
Instead of going back to the camping, I took the whole lot for a run up and down the river keeping them on their leads until we’d crossed the road. The meeting with the guard dog was predictably fearsome. We walked up and down with only a few deviations as everyone stuck mostly to the track.
The final part on the return went via the beach so as to allow them a quick swim to wash off the mud.
The sea was surprisingly busy as I approached the water. I’m pretty sure I saw Maria coming out of the water shortly after I went in. My swim was much shorter than yesterday as I had an agenda to consider. Should I go to Krios or should I go into Paleochora?
Paleochora won so I set off after a quick hosepipe shower. I’d not really bought enough on Monday and lacked carrots for the Doggy Dinners. Approaching the frontier at Plakaki Hotel, I was met with another uninterrupted 900m of tarmac! The resurfaced section now goes all the way to just before the bend with the tall rock. Finish off that section and it will go almost into Pleochora! Progress indeed. The technicians are still working on the accompanying path and I could see a team of other technicians busily laying more sets. It seems an incredibly labour-intensive way of doing things to me. Concrete mixer, fine sand, sets and about six blokes sweating in the August sun.
I took a little detour down towards Alonáki Beach to spy on the guys working in the field which runs down towards the sea parallel with the camping. The excavator is still hard at work and has dug out many cubic metres of soil and rock. I’m guessing the accompanying timber is for shuttering to make a raft foundation. Pure speculation at this point but I’m sure Antonis will know what’s’ going on.
It was hot so I quickly let out the dogs and put the shopping away so I could get my breakfast underway. Today, I fed the dogs first!
It’s been another hot day with a high of 35.8℃ and low of 22.3℃. It’s also been quite humid at times giving an effective temperature over 40℃. I need to get another shower before the water in my hosepipe cools down.
I saw the first sand lily of the season although this one is off to a flying start as it’s next to a leaking pipe where the ground is moist. It’s like a little oasis of healthy green grass whereas anything which is not watered is brown and dormant.
Other excitements included a new wire for Skinny. The old one, kindly donated by Ursula, was one of Heidi’s which had been used during their stays. I’d ordered a long tie-down wire which enabled Skinny to go far under the decking and to tie himself around the metal legs which support it. I recall returning from hospital with my hand in plaster and having to crawl under the decking single-handed to release Skinny. Now, he appears to have mastered the art of only getting tied around things occasionally so I’ve given him a longer line so more freedom. I’ve been looking at alternatives including an electric fence or a collar triggered by a radio signal from a wire at the fence. The electric fence solution initially appeared the answer however it might create problems for the cats and I’d need to keep any tree branches away from the conductor. The collar solution only affects the wearer but there’s a limit to the time a collar can be left on the dog or the possibility of necrosis like in bedsores.
It would be great if he would just stay in the compound without jumping over the fence at every opportunity. It would be great not to have him on a static line for people to fall over and him to tangle himself and others in. I’ll have to think some more.
There were a couple of support calls, one from Louise where I’ve done a temporary job on her virus. Another was from Simon about Caroline’s ongoing database problem. I shall look into that on Friday when Caroline’s not in.
The Doggies are hopeful for their dinners which might now be cool enough for them to eat. I’m planning to get another shower as I’m sticky…
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