Breakfast in bed

 Friday 7th October Hora and Livadi

It’s certainly blowing away the cobwebs away today. Luckily for me the wind is going to ease by Sunday so I should be able to get to Syros. So today I decided to have breakfast in bed! I am still in the small bedroom, not decided what to do about where to sleep long term. It is kind of cosy in there, because the room is in the centre of the building, so some of the noise of wind is muffled. I have started the ‘decoking’ the house, in terms of Ronnie’s fur that he has left lying about, I have swept and mopped the floor, I fancy I will have to repeat this a couple of times to get rid of it all! We used to know a Golden Retriever who had a similar impact on his home. It’s a small price to pay. I have got some mince and some bits out to make a chilli tonight. 

I have several sheets to wash, it’s too windy to hang them out to dry because of the wind. I have managed to wash all the towels and I hung them on chairs in the house. Even with the relatively paltry spin speed of 1000rpm, they are mostly dry now. With no heating, it’s about twenty degrees in the house. Quite warm enough for me. I think the outside temperature is going to be about twenty three, there are a lot of clouds but the sun will be heating my water for sure. I am sure everyone remember the panels and hot water tanks on roofs  in Greece, mine has a heating element in the tank. Today the owner came up to the next door Taverna with one of the waiters, a load of building material was delivered yesterday afternoon, they are  doing some alterations. We heard some banging yesterday.

After shopping in Hora, I decided to do the other reservoir walk I have identified on the map. As I left the house there was a big group of tourists, who looked like they might be doing a walk too. I went into the KEP to see if they knew when the museum might open, they said June next year! I am hoping they have lots of black and white historical photos of the island.  Back to the walk. On my way down to the church and graveyard, I saw the horses that are used to carry things around in both Hora’s. 

It did not seem as windy as earlier, and this meant not too much dust was being whipped about. As the clouds were being shunted across the sky, they were pasting shadows and bright areas onto the mountains. After the graveyard, I took the track to the farm, and sort of decided where the new path started. It did not take long to realise I had not found the real path, or I had wandered off it. The ground was not too bad, there were those big boulders, and the herbs and shrubs were not too tall. But I could see the way forward was to go right down the the reservoir in its far corner then go along that edge and hopefully come out onto the road to Livadi. 

Right at the bottom there were some pools, may be I heard a plop of a frog. I carried on with fine views of the reservoir and went around the far side, eventually I found a path. So next time I do this walk, I might do it in reverse, to see if the path is there and where it is! 

I did see a couple of people who may be going on that path. It was then just a simple matter to walk along the beach to wards Livadi itself. I had a coffee and lunch, I went into a couple of supermarkets, I wanted to buy paper and an envelope for a letter to a friend who is not on the internet. I finally went to the post office to check for my letter, and if they sell envelopes ? Nope. 

On my way back I turned in to the slip road, where I know loads of canes are growing by the side of the road. I got four, on reflection, I think getting green ones might be better, the brown ones might keep snapping. I will poke the four, tied together in the hole, in the table and into the umbrella base. I also thought next time I use the steps, I ought to count how many there are. Going through Kato Hora, there are several routes down, so depending on the route taken will impact the step numbers.

I did get a text on my travels saying my, Sunday ferry is cancelled! That’s annoying as by then the wind will be better, maybe it’s a case that the ferry they use, the Artemis, won’t be in the right place on Sunday to do the service. I saw a Zante ferry come into the island today. I have several admin jobs to do,  to sort out the following weekend to go to Syros, instead of this week. I need to call Vodaphone, if I get time, I should plant the tulips.  Where Ronnie left puddles of water or dribbled on the floor, the mopping was not effective, so I will have to try again on those areas. I also have a leak in the shower cubicle, I will take a photo and send it to the landlord. I have also brought the umbrella in for the winter.