ACS II

After a very quiet night with Sasha outside all night, we left in orderly fashion for the first walk.

There was a little wind and it wasn’t warm either: my hands were distinctly cold at times. Fortunately, the sky was clear so it wasn’t too long before it started to get light.

Now that Isabella and Luis have swapped lights, it’s far easier to differentiate between the two girls at a distance. The girls used to nearly always run together but Sasha is more independent. In the past, I wasn’t sure which distant, flashing light I should be calling.

We managed to return with the same number of dogs so I put Luis, Obi and Oskar inside to take the larger dogs out again. There seems to be a relationship change between Skinny and the girls. Firstly, Skinny even plays with Sasha whereas previously he didn’t let her get near him. Now he’s happier to run with them when the mood takes him however the girls are usually too boisterous most of the time.

I rode to Paleochora for bread and enjoyed a gentle ride back to the camping where I rested my brain. The girls had recharged their batteries so were leaping around initially which was bound to get Luis going. Fortunately, they settled down quickly as did Luis. It’s quite difficult to get an uninterrupted meditation when all of the dogs are out.

Bona called from T1 which she was cleaning. so we discussed which other rooms were in need of cleaning. Later, one of the customers came to put in some washing which Bona dealt with as well as taking it back at the end. By that time, I’d fallen asleep in the sun… Bona tells me she has a couple more days left in the greenhouses so she will start full time at the camping on 3 April. At least T5 is clean for the next arrivals. All I need to do is check that everything is present so there will be no problems. They will arrive on Sunday evening and leave very early the following Saturday morning. They might be better off staying the last night in Chania.

For the second day in a row I received a call from ACS so I went up to collect two packages, one with the welder, the other with the flux welding wire. Unlike transformer welders which have a heavy transformer, inverter welders have cunning electronics which perform the same job more efficiently. This welder can weld to 140A (4mm thickness of steel) and deal with MIG (gas shielded), TIG (gas with a separate rod: a little like soldering but much hotter) Stick (traditional welding with a welding rod) and then flux core. Flux core uses a drum of thin wire with a flux core at the wire centre instead of a gas shield. It’s the same principal as stick but much easier and automated. MIG needs an inert gas to protect the welding process, hence the ‘G’ in MIG. MIG is easier to use but not when it’s windy or draughty but requires a cylinder of CO2/argon which is quite expensive. Flux wire is more expensive than plain wire but this is offset by not having to obtain and pay for a cylinder of CO2. For me, flux will do the job nicely as I’m only welding occasionally and don’t want to have to buy gauges, a gas bottle and regulator. Also, it’s often windy which blows the gas away from the weld. I’ve been learning about welding as it’s rather a long time since I engaged in stick welding with a heavy transformer welder. Isn’t YouTube a wonderful learning platform!

A call from reception announced the arrival of an Anglo-German couple in a motorhome. They are in one of the motorhome bays. By this time, Manos had nearly cooked a bunch of black-eyed beans which he presented simply with salad. Very tasty!

No sooner had I consumed the final mouthful, a French couple with a large motorhome with a Smart Passion on a trailer arrived at reception. After another tour of the camping, they finally decided on the tallest of the motorhome pitches but may move when the others leave in a couple of days. They plan to stay for two weeks. I got to practice my French which was also a good thing.

The English couple, who intended to stay for three to five nights fifteen nights ago, will leave tomorrow. The ‘free’ seventh-night discount seems to have have worked its magic again. The nightly price for two adults and a motorhome is 20.40€. The thirty-night package is 10€/night and seven or fourteen-nights works out at 17.49€/night. Not a huge reduction but the sound of ‘free’ nights is enticing. Keeping the single night price high encourages longer stays in order to get the ‘free’ nights. Those who only intend staying a couple of nights don’t care anyway.

Ameer, Toni and Manos have been busy rethatching the shading above the motorhome bays. I don’t know what other tasks Georgia has set them but she will be here tomorrow or over the weekend. I’m not privy to her movements and there are often program changes anyway. So far, she has remained quite chilled. Perhaps it’s Zoe’s influence…

The wind decreased during the day and moved to the south-west but remained cold. The outlook for next week is rain for Tuesday with the possibility of thunder on Wednesday. A great welcome for Erica and Janne!