Fan Club

For the first night, I put the small fan, used for heating during the winter, under my insect net to give me some extra cooling and ventilation in bed. The idea is to draw air in through the open window and circulate it around my bedchamber. I felt the fan heater might fall over during the night but it remained upright as I probably don’t wiggle that much when asleep. In any event, there’s a switch in the base of the fan which disconnects the electricity if the fan is not firmly on the floor. Today, I’ve improved on the installation by passing the power cable out through the window to the decking where a socket connects it to the power. There is no 220V power installed at the front of the van.

There was a gentle, cooling breeze as we walked up from the first circuit of the Promontory towards Plakaki. The silence of the morning had already been shattered by a doggy barking event which was instigated by a dog tied up outside a motorhome parked nearby. In the position of a lone dog tied up outside, I think I might feel rather vulnerable when a group of unknown, flashing dogs suddenly appears from the darkness. The cacophony was short-lived as I moved them on and called them to me. Otherwise our advance was unhindered and uneventful.

There wasn’t a lot going on at Plakaki so we were soon on our way back towards the tied-up dog and The Promontory. There was no noise this time as I had the dogs down at the shoreline and the surprise aspect had also vanished. We completed the second round and then returned to the van where I sat and drank tea whilst exercising my brain.

Isabella lost her ball very early on during the second walk however found another of the many scattered around in her secret caches. That ball was also left behind before we got back. I didn’t throw the ball once as she had her mind on other things as did I.

After our walk, I jumped on my bike for a ride over Panorama and around Paleochora. There was plenty of tourist activity although I’ve heard of a bar closing early, presumably for want of clients, but I don’t know the full story. There was plenty going on in Petrakis with an abundance of cars abandoned in the road outside as is usual, particularly on a Saturday.

I returned briskly to the camping as the wind was behind me. I stopped only at the beach for a quick swim. The sea was lumpy and I seemed to be the only person in the water. Once back at the camping, it was still reasonably early so I left the boys inside as they seemed quite calm. I may have fallen asleep even.

The wind got up as the day passed although its been sunny and warm. The camping is busy however Georgia was saddened to hear of yet more wind tomorrow. She was telling me how tired she feels now that she’s helping out at reception. I understand a good boss should spend time in each department and have personal experience of every job. She asked if I knew that Tonya had left. I didn’t want to tell her that I’d been communicating on and off most of the morning with her. Georgia didn’t dwell on the matter.

Tonya is on her way back to Nafplio, which is not far from Tolo where we spent three weeks back in 1973 during our first Greek holiday. She sent me some of her pictures which I find pleasing to the eye although I know nothing about art. Apparently, she does commissions unless it is for something she particularly doesn’t like.

Isabella is very jealous of the relationship between Sasha and Luis. They have been playing happily together for a while. Considering Luis is one of the oldest and given his initial animosity towards Sasha, he plays with Sasha almost every day. Sasha has now diverted her attention to Isabella and so sharing her favours. Luis has come back for a rest in front of the fan.

I understand Zoe plans to stay at the camping during the winter. I’ve heard this many times before and have yet to know of anyone who’s survived very long in one of those freezing rooms up at reception. Few have any idea as to how cold, wet and windy it can be here or how long the winter nights are. If she stays, I can make use of her as a backup if she survives the cold.