My closest northerly neighbours were there this morning when I went for my swim but later, I noticed they’d gone. They’ve been replaced by a single tent which is in the same sector but at the furthest point under the trees. We can all relax now although it’s possible that some misguided person might decide to put something nearby during the weekend.
My night was punctuated by sundry disturbances. First, it was Luis serenading in time with some fighting cats nearby. Hopefully not any of mine. I extracted myself from my hammock, found his bark collar, and awarded it to him. This was already the second time as there’d been a shorter outburst earlier. Fido wanted to pee at 03:00 so I was up again to let him out of the van. He was quite quick at performing however this disturbance had caused the others to begin the getting up cycle which needed to be put into reverse for an hour or so. I resumed my pit and was next disturbed by the alarm.
Only one car adorned the beach car park however you just cannot be too careful when making predictions. During the first circuit of the Promontory we discovered a tent, with motorcycle under the fly, pitched at the southern entrance to the Big Beach. We continued on by and restricted the remainder of our activities to the eastern track and the furthest end of the Promontory avoiding the beach.
It was getting light as we followed along the top of Alonáki beach where the small group of caravans had been replaced by a couple of vans belonging to itinerant sales individuals who travel around the villages selling their wares. These consist of rugs, flower pots, things for the garden and anything they can purchase cheaply in bulk to flog to the unsuspecting poor. They are, however, mostly harmless so long as you don’t open your wallet!
We were returning via the river bed when BullDover Man passed going the opposite direction on the access road above us. He didn’t see us so we were unacknowledged. Fido had picked up a bone which he was carefully carrying back for later. That was until Isabella clocked what was going on and wanted a piece of the action. Fido wasn’t about to give up his prize lightly so a fracas ensued. This expanded into a free-for-all when Oskar and Charlie joined in. I gave them an opportunity to desist however they remained unresponsive to my request. At which point I withdrew my weapon of mass destruction and played them a tune. No messing, as this needed stopping before it got out of hand. I wound up the volume from a mild and generous two to a more demanding and determined six! I zapped them, in turn, starting with Isabella who was the instigator, progressing to Charlie and then Oskar. The incident stopped as quickly as it had started whereupon I called Isabella over to sit in front of me for a dressing down. She sat there and took the flack.
Further down, we saw one of the two ladies met previously. The one with the larger dog. Again, it was Isabella who was the most forward climbing up onto the parapet wall above the road. She stayed being fussed by the lady as we talked. The lady was saying that it was a pity she was unable to let her own dog off the lead as he’s prone to run after animals and the like. She then asked about the collars which we’d spoken about previously. She was impressed by how well Isabella obediently came over to me when called and I pointed out that I wasn’t controlling her with the collar, just my voice. Her dog was getting the fidgets and I wanted to get back, so we parted.
We returned to the camping via the water’s edge however only Isabella was a bather today. I discharged the dogs then headed to the beach and into the sea. I was alone in the sea until Aris appeared with his dog for a lightning swim along the lines of the previous one. He was off and out up to the bar or to the office.
I found myself over by the island and coming back again with the waves behind me. It seemed a lot further on the way out but perhaps I was getting tired by then.
It was getting on by the time I’d enjoyed a cubicle shower but still just before nine. I let out the dogs, prepared my breakfast then fed all but Isabella. Not out of malice but forgetfulness. She was sitting patiently in the van in front of her empty bowl. Her food is stored in the van as it’s different from the others and more carefully dispensed to ensure she has sufficient quantity. There’s no way another dog would get the food before her as she’s virtually vacuuming it up as the kibble falls towards the empty bowl.
There were no calls upon my professional abilities so my only other activity was to prepare the Doggy Dinners and some of my own little projects. I had a brief chat with Sascha who sent some photos and said the delivery and positioning of the caravan was a simple operation. He invited me to visit as soon as I wished but I felt it would be good for them to have a few days to settle in before welcoming visitors to their new home.
There was an email exchange with Stavros who has kindly put some topical parasite product on the bus for me to collect from Paleochora. I asked him how he wished to be paid and he told me to just send the €60 over the next time someone is coming by his practice.
My eBay purchase of the new remote collar for Skinny seems to have run aground. The seller, Ben, has not responded to the message I sent last evening or, so far, to the follow-up sent today. He’s gone all non-communicative probably because he’s in a stress with eBay for withholding the payment and looking for someone to blame. I want this transaction to continue in a timely fashion but I don’t want my money back as it’s a bargain. I may need to wait until Ben chills out as I don’t really wish to go through the eBay complaints procedure as that can be time-consuming and messy. I’m protected as eBay are holding my cash but it’s the item I want, not a refund! Update: I’m told he’ll send it out tomorrow…
A biscuit left on the furthest side of the table where I put the food proves beyond all doubt that Isabella can reach anything she chooses from the table or other surface of similar height. She shows no interest when the big bowl of Doggy Dinners is left to cool on the table. I don’t kid myself that our previous run-in would prevent her from having another go should I disappear for any length of time.
The DDs have been consumed so it’s calm and quiet all around.
I watched the penultimate instalment of Once Upon A Time in Iraq yesterday. It’s about Saddam Hussain, his eventual capture and the missing Weapons of Mass Destruction which were never discovered nor probably ever existed. Simply the pretext for the invasion by the Americans and British. Saddam’s capture and trial were interesting particularly as one of the senior Americans commented that, even as a captive, Saddam still had a kind of aura about him. We saw him go to the gallows but still the fighting continued. It progressed into a civil war where the two dominant religious sects, Sunni and Shia tearing the country apart.
My beetroot beckons so I shall go withing to prepare a cold collation.
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