We managed to get out without waking the whole camping which was a result. The forecast had said the day would be cooler and it was. A relief as we could make better progress.
Kostas’ car was parked and he soon appeared so there was a little barking. Skinny and he had a love-in and I took the others off.
Luis turned up so he got dunked twice into the sea. He was just hanging around so was asking for a dunking really. The Crazy Sisters seem intent on being part of the action although Isabella knows better and keeps out of the way. Luis finds the whole operation traumatic enough without the two of them joining in.
I took the Crazies out where a man was cooling his feet at the end of Alonáki Beach. He appeared pleased to see them as he called them to him. They were naturally happy to oblige.
I decided I wouldn’t bother going into Paleochora as I had some bread from the day before so planned to go for a longer swim in stead. But I took my bike just to ride to the beach as I knew there would be problems if I was to set off across the field without taking the ladies.
I thought I might go just to the entrance of Paleochora and back, then swim but then went over Panorama as Ursula had reported a man who’d been waving his willy around. There was no one around on Panorama so I continued on back to the main road out of Paleochora and back into town. Then I went to go for a swim at Alonáki. If only I could make my mind up!
The camping was a hive of activity when I got back so I fed the dogs and made some tea.
The bike batteries needed a charge so I removed them from the bike so as not to forget. Since rearranging the awning area, the wireless four-way socket was uselessly stranded on the south side of the awning supplying electricity to the fan controller which was plugged into it.
The fan controller works with the EWeLink app over WiFi so needs to be near the fan except that the cable for the fan also needed rerouting. However, I’d recently received the wire ferrules which I wanted to try out so this seemed an ideal task.
I went the whole hog and took down the cable to run it to the back of the awning. I conclude the wire ferrules are a great success. They consist of a hollow metal sleeve with a plastic collar for the wire insulator. Having stripped off the insulator for about 1cm at the end. The wires go into the hollow ferrule where they are crimped using the clever tool which crimps them in a number of locations. The plastic collar just fits the insulation so provides support for the exposed wire. No more renegade strands of wire or strands breaking off. The wire and ferrule are more easily gripped by the appliance connector than twisted or soldered wire ends. These are prone to premature failure as the solder is quite strong so puts additional strain where the wire leaves the insulation. Soldering wire ends is time-consuming whereas installing a ferrule is much quicker and gives a better result mechanically as well as aesthetically. All wire ends should have ferrules!
The ceiling fan is now controlled by its own controller which is now screwed to one of the roof supports above the fan. The other end is plugged into a multi-connector on the kitchen unit. The ultimate plan is to install a larger fuse box which will separate the individual circuits and spread the load a little. The present arrangement grew like Topsy in a rather unplanned way. The current fuse box has only two fuses although the van electrics are fused inside on a separate circuit. The addition of air conditioners means a better planned system. There’s plenty of power just that it’s poorly distributed.
Yesterday felt a lot cooler and there was also some wind which made it more bearable. The four port electrical socket which was originally used to control the floor and ceiling fans has gone full circle and is back on top of the floor fan under the table. The only thing with this is that it’s only three ways at present as one of the relays has died. I recently received ten new relays so just have to solder in the new one having removed the defective one. I could only buy ten relays as they’re so cheap they come as a block. At the same time, I can put wire ferrules onto the wire ends which will make the whole thing more reliable and cut down on the possibility of overheating due to poor connections. Probably the cause of the failure of the relay in the first place. The design of the connectors could be better.
Having completed these tasks, the dogs were eventually fed and I went to pick up some food from the kitchen. Petra thought I’d emigrated as it was well past the the time I usually come to see her.
On the way back, I stopped to see that the irrigation system was working next door to discover some of the plants were not being watered properly. The present arrangement was made up from an ancient dog-cooling arrangement which I have now repurposed as it was no longer required for its original intention. The upshot of this is that the plants are now being properly watered but it was getting late and I’d still not eaten. The good thing was that these little jobs were out of the way but then it was too late so no blog was written as I decided that eating took priority.
The day was generally cooler than the previous, assisted by some wind. The weekend punters have left leaving Bona with loads of sheets to wash. The little village of tents which now exists on the other side of my northerly fence is deserted. Thanks for that Toni!
Bona got a commendation for keeping the facilities clean which I passed on to her, however, there was a comment about some injustice to do with electricity. Sadly, there are no protocols in effect so there’s a lack of consistency for charging for power, allowing vehicles into the camping etc…
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