Living on a Greek island

Apart from keeping friends up to date with my Greek goings on, I have realised that this blog has been a good record  of my time here in Greece. I am a bit of an over thinker and often will spend a lot of time coming up with lots of what ifs and also brooding on bad things that have happened to me. So the point was to record the good things that happened here, as my brain will be good enough to recall the bad! Not that there has been a lot of bad to dwell on, it has to be said. The rat in the house was the low point but  I have been blessed with lots of encouragement from people here and abroad, for which I will be forever grateful for. I have met so many people here, who are now my friends, and I feel very accepted here, with all my quirks like picking up litter and walking everywhere.  So many things have been amazing here, in no particular order here are a few of them. The Dog Palace. It is likely one or more of the dogs there won’t be alive in September when I  r...

I planned on my day off to do a beach tour of Serifos but when I got to Vagia, I changed my mind and decided to stay put. Beforehand, I went to the coffee shop and had my usual, I told everyone Mavro was still alive, and relaxed with trying to go over some Greek phrases I am trying to learn. When I got back to the house the phone rang and the Dog Palace owner told me Mavro had died during the night. I was to go  along in the afternoon to help with his burial. On my way out of the house, I thought I was seeing things  as there was a lady walking past the house with a dog that looked like Max or Fritz’s double. The lady had rescued him, an abandoned hunting dog and he was now called Shurlock. She will also be away in high season to avoid the crowds. I hope to see them both again on my return. As I drove down the road to Livadi, I reflected that there were a lot of white cars about, mostly  hire cars and lots of people using the donkey track. In Livadi I picked up a Nobby sn...

I had a result last night on the Greek language help. Someone in my UK home village, speaks the language and is happy to help me. I will meet them when I return. Another idea, a neighbours daughter has a small swimming pool, maybe they would let me use it, offer some advice? I asked my neighbour and they will speak to their daughter. Double result. At the Coffee Shop, they were asking about Mavro, I said in Greek, he wasn’t eating and not drinking so much. I also said a grave had been dug, I walk past it several times a day. I did speak some other Greek to Marino, and used Google Translate for the rest! The walks went very well today, they were hot, and most of the dogs took a sip out of the flask. Rita is keener on it more than the others. Hopefully with more use.. I was looking at the countryside and the Dog Palace and there are still flowers, some pretty yellow ones, that I find really attractive. On the Aloni, Maloni, Rita and Chocca walk, they saw some goats and had to be persuade...

There were rumours of a little rain today, but it did not arrive.. It’s hot and sultry even up here in the mountains and the flies are annoying at best. I had a nice meal with one of my friends at Stamatis last night and a catch-up as they have been away for nearly a month. It was nice and cool beachside, they had had a big wedding party, but they all shortly disappeared in a coach up to Hora. The Dog Palace’s owner wasn’t there today or their dogs, one less walk to do. While I settled in, Moloney and Rita were on hunting duty. I took them both and Aloni down towards the coast and it was hot. I made up a long lead for Rita, so she could walk alongside the other two, despite the heat they were all pulling hard.  Later Victor walked with Rita but elected to not go far. That left Scoopy. We went to the farm, and it struck me that despite the heat, the flowers are still coming but not in the same profusion of Spring. The different seed heads are amazing. A plant like our own Cow Parsle...

After a quick visit to Mavro at the Dog Palace, I went to Livadi to do a couple of chores, then headed to Aghios Sostis. There are two beaches here, either side of the church from which the beach gets its name. I have normally used the right one, a nice sloping sandy beach. But after a while there are big slippery stones in the sand. The left hand beach gets the most of the sea borne litter and is often choppy. It’s not often used. After I cleaned all the litter on that beach and floating in the sea, into a sea supplied bin bag. I went floating in the sea. The beach has a fine grit, then stones, with a kind of sea weed growing on. It was not long before I realised why people stay away, there are often little sea urchins on the rocks! But I stayed out, the gentle waves becoming a bit more urgent, when a Sea Jet passed across the horizon.  The sea is beautiful with the sun rays probing its shallow depths until they find the rocks. I did a sort of gentle backstroke with me kicking my ...

A much quieter day thank goodness at the Palace, even if my insides aren’t cooperating yet. The Moloney, Aloni, Rita and Choca walk went without incident, except the usual stranglehold on Rita when a car went along the track. I did notice that she was limping near the end, we checked her paws, they were ok, but the Palace’s coworker spotted a cut in her skin above one paw. We only let her go on the short Victor walk after that. I should mention I found this broken but lovely outside Teak side table by the rubbish bins. It’s repairable, so it’s going to be fixed. Talking of the coworker, we are hoping the wood for the pergola in the house I am going to live in is going go to arrive very soon, so to allow him some time to put it up, I am going to work at the Palace Monday through  Wednesday next week, I have Saturday and Sunday off.  The countryside is still green, for now, but the heat is building up day by day. I have seen some amazing examples of plants growing in adversity, ...

 It’s not really been that bad today, but a few things have upset the normal balance at the Dog Palace. When I woke I felt that my stomach and other digestive organs were a little upset and walking an hour at a time with dogs with no convenient toilet is far from ideal. Sure enough after I started, trouble ensued and I did my best given the circumstances! The first walk got worse as Rita put her head in some undergrowth and reappeared with what looked like a weasel or stoat. It’s fate was sealed, I wasn’t going to be able to save it and the only good thing was it died very quickly. Rita decided she wanted to carry it back to the Palace, but luckily gave that idea up. Unfortunately this is probably the fourth incident when a dog in my care has done this, it’s not nice, it’s a bit better than cats I suppose.  The day carried on with a few more dramas, none so bad as the ones described above. But when we walked back to the car, we both said we will be glad when we are safely in o...

I went to the Taverna next door to me Tuesday night. I know all the family and apart from the mum, they all have second jobs, as well as working at the Taverna. I managed to order all that I wanted in Greek, it wasn’t hard. But I wanted to tell them, that I was heading to Sifnos soon for two weeks, then the UK for two months, then back here in September. Again it wasn’t hard Greek. I also added a last sentence to say I was moving down the mountain and that I would still come to their place. After my meal, I went up to pay and said my three lines. The boys speak perfect English, and I think the mother and father got my words or the jist of it anyway. One of the sons partner was working there and the father was on the burner, mother keeping an eye on them all. She goes there in the morning and does all the prep work. They will be open for a few weeks in September then slowly slowly, things will close down again.  In the morning I went to have my coffee, the first for two days, but I ...

Although I know a lot of people enjoy the blog, it’s going to come to an end, for the summer at least on June 15th. What I do when I return here is unclear. The short form is good as it stops me spending too much time on the blog, but I wonder sometimes wether little and occasional might be best. Like today, there really isn’t an interesting story to tell. For sure I enjoyed myself at the Dog Palace but there isn’t a lot of news from even there. Mavro is hanging on by a thread, but he seems content to sleep near us when we are around and eat very little. Unfortunately Buddy, the new guy who was always a bit wobbly on his feet, had some kind of problem yesterday and is even more wobbly and isn’t eating too good either. It’s very sad because he hasn’t had long up there, to enjoy his time in such a peaceful place. We hope he gets better and has a little more time.  Scoopy decided he liked the water flask after all, but Max and Fritz only went a short distance so did not need it. One t...

We planned to start a bit earlier on my visit to the Dog Palace this week. It’s been getting hotter, so the last walk is not so good for the dogs. However as we drove up the mountain, it was shrouded in clouds rolling in on the strong wind. I had bought a dog water flask with a drinking attachment with me, which can be carried over the shoulder. It has a large capacity stainless steel flask. I decided to try it out. The Dog Palace owners friend came up with us too, and helped me with the first walk. We went to the deserted farmhouse, where there have been amazing flowers. There are still new ones appearing still. Rita was first with the flask, she liked it, Chocca decided to drink using her tongue in the flask itself, and Molony seemed happy with it. Aloni not so. A huge Grasshopper appeared and jumped on the Palace owners hand!  We then walked back, and did a split shift,  me with Victor and Rita and the friend with Scoopy. We past each other and I let the friend try the flas...

 I went to Agios Sostis this morning for an early morning swimming lesson. Unfortunately the second beach was covered in litter, mostly from the sea, ( well humans ) I decided to come back later and clear it up. For the swimming lesson I was accompanied by a dog, who loves swimming. She is much better than me, but she taught me a thing or two today. I took it easy getting in the water, waiting for a while for my body to get used to the temperature before going all the way in. It’s a very invigorating experience, even if you can’t swim. I did the floating on my back thing, and then after a while tried moving forward, swimming doggie paddle style. My coordination isn’t too good, I forget sometimes  to use my back legs and start to sink. But I ended up going for longer periods. In the end we left before people appeared, it’s ok to have dogs on a beach , but if free, you can’t expect other people to enjoy four boisterous dogs! I went down to Livadi, got my friends bread order, in ...

Yesterday, the Dog Palace. Two humans and four dogs in the little car. It seemed a little less cramped. As we got to the track to the Palace the track had been renovated. Which means, as I have described before running a bulldozer over it and compacting the result with a steam roller. For the little car it was a dream come  true, except they never do the little bit of the track that leads to the Palace from the main track.  Unbelievably Mavro looks even thinner than before, but is still getting about. I had my usual weepy moment with him in his den. He loves being cuddled and petted, even though you feel it must hurt him to even give that him. Later on after walking too far, I had to carry him back. Again it seemed painful to pick him up but he doesn’t seem to mind. The Aloni and Maloni walk went ok except on the return leg Rita saw some goats in the distance and high tailed off to them. I tried in vain to call her back. I had to give up. She came back eventually. From now on,...

On a damp and murky day I did a walk to Kallitsos with the Dog Owners friend. We did not go all the way but stopped before dropping down to the village. We then climbed to the higher track for magnificent views for both sides of the island. We met a few other walkers, doing the same route and saw goats in the distance.  When we got back, I had a nap, before a quick dinner then again with the Dog Owners friend, we drove down to an even wetter Livadi to hear some piano music, the friend who got the cactus had organised with her husband. It’s part of the program where artists come to the island for a few weeks then do a presentation to the public, in this case play music. It was a small building, previously unknown to me, like a school music room. I had met the musician at the bus stop before not knowing who he was. He played pieces by a composer called Phillip Glass that I really liked. The other pieces were not my cup of tea, but he is an excellent player. He made the electronic pia...

I went to the Dog Palace yesterday afternoon, just to see Mavro, he is not eating much still but was pleased to see me. He lies under a blanket most of the time. I left in my own car, but on the way back my phone rang, I answered it when I got back to Hora. It was the Dog Palace Owner. Their 4x4 was not working, they were not sure what to do, as the pick up would struggle to fit them all in ? Well my little car is not big, but I drove back and we fitted everyone in. The plan was to put Chocca in the boot, but she soon hopped out and onto the back seats. No dog could be encouraged to sit with the Dog Palace owner on the front passenger seat, so their friend had four dogs with them on the back seat. I told them of the story about how many people  fitted  in a Mini. But we got back ok, had some dinner after a bit of shopping in Livadi. The alternator is broken on the car, I am not sure how long it will take to get a new one. One of the breakdown owners cars he drives is a Lada! A...

 A friend of mine warned me the summer one way system is now in force in Livadi. The advent of more traffic and  regular buses means the pinch point near the cross roads would be even more untenable than it would be, if the one way was not in place. I have not seen any new signs but it’s good to be warned. I had a souvlaki dinner last night and managed again to navigate my way around it using my Greek.  This morning after my haircut and an early lunch in Grans had me head back up to Hora for a late coffee in the shop, where my haircut was a bit short for Marinos I think, I helped a US tourist order their coffee, and told them about the shop’s history and the photos of the previous owners. I showed Marinos the Marine watch app and that my friend was on the Speedrunner Jet and who they were ( he knows them) . I then helped them unload their cats and had yet another Freddo Capuchino which was nice, but three in one day? After this, it was to the dentist for a filling, expert...