Once the alarm went off, Isabella got the fidgets so I let her and Skinny outside as I felt she might have an important mission to attend to. It wasn’t long before I was outside and we were saddled up and ready to cross the field and head to the Promontory. Only the Austrians were present in the car park.
The moon is about halfway through its visible cycle so there was plenty of light and stars in the almost cloudless sky. We made good progress to the end of the Promontory and crossed the rocks without need of torchlight. We went up the road to where the river crosses to the sea and then descended to the beach towards Plakaki. All were present and correct.
It wasn’t very light by the time we were back on the Promontory as we were ahead of time and sunrise is still happening a little later every day. It was still a little windy as we stood on the high point on the rocks and munched biscuits.
It was 06:35 when I put the kettle on to make some tea before going to feed the cats. As usual, there was a posse of cats waiting by the gate however, the morning feed it generally more leisurely than in the evening as the cats arrive more gradually. In the evening, they’re all present and ready for food.
It was hard going as I headed towards Paleochora as the wind is back in the north and gusting strongly. I was caught unawares at one point and actually brought to a standstill. If I’d been on an ordinary bike progress would have been very challenging. I made it up the mountain and then through Paleochora to the PAWS area. The timid female came rushing up to me so it was fortunate I had something to give to her. She was far less timid than usual. The dog which is now on a chain attached to a small pallet was not happy I was feeding the other dog so let me know. I went over to her to pet her and gave her some biscuits.
There was a brief stop at Petrakis for some oranges, olives and bananas. I ran out of oranges the day before yesterday so it was critical.
The young German couple had called to say they would leave once their tyres were fitted so I didn’t hang around on the way back. They passed me on the road and were back in the camping after an hour or so. They wanted to pay by card but it’s cash only in winter so they drove back to town to get money from the ATM. They paid and then left after a brief chat. It was only after around 30 minutes I discovered the passport snuggled peacefully in my pocket. I called them and they came back yet again!
There have been four washes today. The Swiss were the first with a mega-load which would have taken forever to spin so I divided it after several abortive balancing attempts by the machine. Kirsti had two loads and the Czechs only one. Whilst waiting around for the washing machine, I unplugged the UPS and left it to run on battery. It was still going after 3-4 hours so it will be the office that goes off first.
The German couple returned later in the afternoon and the ladies reported they enjoyed their stay away but are pleased to be ‘home’. They still have until 13 December at the camping.
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