Even more loafing around in bed, this time until 05:40 meaning we were out just before 06:00 after marshalled the troops.
Only one car was parked in the beach car park although four or five vans or cars with tents were dotted along the top of Alonaki Beach. One car was opposite the field in a very exposed position. I would have had to work quite hard to find somewhere more exposed. The couple were striking their tent as we returned at the end of our walk.
There was not a soul on the Promontory so we completed our first circuit without any encounters. Walking up the beach, I let the dogs wander at will as no one else seemed to be up. After all, it is a Public Holiday.
The wind was not as strong as the day before and appeared to be from a more westerly direction. It had calmed a little by the second Promontory circuit so we sat a while to watch a passing fishing boat.
We were not far from the car park when Obi picked up on something causing a rush forward by most of the dogs. I ran too as I couldn’t see due to the trees and bushes. When I arrived, a woman was clutching her little white fluffy dog fearing perhaps Skinny or Isabella might choose it for a light snack. The reality was they were wagging their tails and just interested. I called Isabella too me so the woman could release her dog. She eventually realised they were not going to snack on it and we turned off into the field soon after anyway. Only Isabella and Luis followed the woman and her dog to the second entrance from the road into the field. Both came promptly when called.
Back at the van, I spent time Elevating my brain and then set off for a bike ride to the top of the mountain. It was still quite lumpy in the sea so I thought a longer ride would be in order. It was difficult at the top of the mountain due to the wind, just as it was the day before. This time, I was ready for it so managed to keep going so long as I used full engine power and pedalled hard. The trip down the mountain was much quicker.
From there, past EKO, the departed ferry and the Puppies. Today I explored the port area and donated some doggy biscuits to a cat I found under a van. I didn’t mention they were doggy biscuits. There were no doggies at the PAWS sanctuary on the way back either.
From the port, past Petrakis and back to the camping. It was blowy but not demandingly so however I wasn’t inclined to go into the water like everyone else.
The dogs were released and fed. I got on with preparing the DDs for later but there were no carrots so a slightly different recipe today. There was spinach and beetroot stalks and leaves so plenty of greens.
We settled into the remainder of the morning until I received a call from Michael at Reception. They needed to print some important documents and the printer had other ideas. I walked up to reception to discover the problem was to do with the laptop and not the printer as I was able to scan and print from my phone without problem.
The couple who have been working the bar and restaurant had become surplus to requirements and had been given their P45 which was what needed printing. There will be no need to replace them now that the peak of the season has passed. I understand their tenure had not been without conflict. Tony can have his caravan back now having been relegated to the old wreck which has stood up the top of the camping for as long as I’ve been here at least. He will be pleased not to have to be camping out opposite the workshop I’m sure. He is very long suffering…
I followed Michael down to where a German family were waiting to upgrade their family tent for a cabin. The father was half English and both parents spoke great English which is nearly always the case with folk of their age. It’s not their first visit to Crete and they’ve been here in winter. I pointed out that the camping is open in winter too.
I got on with processing the Doggy Dinners and restarting my bread starter yet again. Following a very active couple of almost explosive iterations by the previous attempt, the third one stalled and didn’t seem to look very good. I took the precaution of sterilising the jar in the Instant Pot in case there was some alien bacteria causing problems.
I’m enjoying having a kitchen tap which doesn’t leak water whenever it’s turned on full. I should have changed the tap ages ago. Not having the sink lid is also a major advantage as the lid blocked out the light and just got splashed so looked unsightly.
My neighbours with the small child packed up this morning as have others further away. Whether they have been replaced by others remains to be seen. There have been fewer arrivals than departures which will continue to be the trend except for the weekends. Noises off and hammering indicates the are new arrivals.
The fiftieth anniversary of the departure from the Gold Standard by Tricky Dicky Nixon was 15 August 1971. Following the Breton Woods Conference at the end of the Second War, it was agreed to peg the major currencies against gold with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) acting as a temporary lender in case of difficulties. By 1971 the US had been at war in Vietnam for several years and there was no more money left to pay for it all. With the Gold Standard, money or currency had to be backed by the equivalent value of gold. Technically, one could exchange a dollar bill or pound note against gold to that value. Moving away from the Gold Standard, which was initially designated to be a temporary affair, meant that the Fed was able to print more dollars than it had in gold. This act effectively reduced the dollar from being ‘money’ which has a value, into ‘currency’ which has no intrinsic value just acceptance that it will be exchanged for goods and services. This is a Fiat Currency. One which is not backed by any precious metal or similar. Nothing to do with an Italian motor manufacturer.
This change in monetary policy has resulted in the present muddle which stems from having far more currency in circulation that goods and services. An effective ever-increasing overdraft and we all know where that leads. Look at the Weimar Republic in Germany in the 1920’s where more and more currency was just printed in an attempt to continue to pay off the WWl reparations whilst devaluing the currency. Not a good game…
Leave a Reply