I was awake at 04:30 but wasn’t vaguely inclined to get up. The alarm went off at 04:55 so I studied the forecast to discover rain was predicted for the next couple of hours. None was falling so I thought I’d wait until 05:15 before making a decision. Still none fell so I procrastinated a little more just in case. After all, it was cold, dark and windy so rain would have been far too much. Eventually, around six, the rain began so I felt comforted having made the correct decision. The rain was gentle but continuous so I was grateful to be in my bed rather than trudging around the Promontory with loads of wet dogs. I used the time to Elevate and meditate.

We eventually got out around seven-thirty when the rain had stopped and the sun was shining brightly. We had a great, if not breezy walk to the rocks and down to the river. It was good to see everything in broad daylight for a change. The river has undergone a number of course changes and now occupies a shallow, relatively narrow bed with fast-running water. I noticed that even Skinny was having difficulty walking across in a straight line. We found the lost ball from the evening before and were back at the camping by nine.

I fed all the animals and made glue for myself as it was still quite cold and I felt it would be good to partake of something hot. The same ingredients as banana bread, just heated up. Whilst the glue was cooking I went to see Sandra to suggest she might accompany Anke with the cat on Friday. We had a chat and I left it to them to organise the finer details.

The remainder of the morning was eaten up with eating and doing little else. I went up to the reception to collect Manolis’ oil-filled radiator which he’d kindly allowed me to borrow. I’d considered buying an electric radiator but wished to try it out beforehand. This one is 2.5kW (1kW+1.5kW) so able to generate more heat than is required to warm the end of the van. I heated the radiator once the battery was full just to see how quickly it heats up and how long it retains heat. It takes a little while to heat up but supplies a gentle and silent heat which the fan heater doesn’t. The problem with the fan heater is that it’s fine when on but quickly feels cold when off. It’s also quite intrusively noisy. So far, the radiator seems to do the job but it is big. We’ll see if the dogs give their seal of approval this evening. It’s going to be chilly for the next few days so I though it a good time to try it out.

The couple in T3 called to say they’d be leaving so I went to collect their money and have a chat. They gave a generous pourboire which I’ll share with Bona as there’s a little cleaning to do. They left an unopened bottle of wine amongst other things. Alistair was telling me he spent 40,000€ restoring his Porche and they drive other valuable cars. They plan to return for the holiday weekend at the beginning of May as it’s their wedding anniversary. They want all of the statics and some of the four-person cabins. I suggested they arranged their stay with Maria.

Stephanie was in the camping so we adjourned to the common room for a chat. She left to pack her stuff as she flies out tomorrow.

I picked up some cooking pots and a duvet for storage and my hotplate from T3, chatted the the German couple who will probably leave tomorrow to visit other parts of the island. I proposed my latest marketing ploy but they didn’t go for it.

I’m steeling myself to take the dogs for another walk as Isabella has had only one so far today. I could easily be persuaded not to go as it’s still cold and windy but not raining at present.

The Evening Walk was brisk but chilly as the northerly wind was still cold and strong. Fortunately, once on The Promontory it’s quite sheltered. Isabella ran madly after her balls for the first part then decided to keep one always in her possession whilst marking the spot where the recently-thrown ball had landed. I was glad to get back to the comparative warmth of the van where the oil radiator was heating quietly. Tomorrow should be sunny so we can afford to drag the battery right down.