Cretan Diary - Chapter 49

Send this page address - CLICK HERE - to a friend ! Friday 5th - No Heating! February 5th, 2010 I awoke to see daylight just after 8am and went to take a shower. The radiators were off and the water was lukewarm!
I dressed and went to the shed. The heating oil filter was empty, and so was the tank!   I took Jenny a pot of tea and lit the somba.
Next door, a cement wagon was pumping concrete into a wooden structure behind the house. A cement mixer was filling the cement wagon. There was a lot of noise.
We had breakfast and I phoned Harees at the petrol station in Vamos. "We have no oil!" I told him in Greek. "Don't worry," he replied. The tanker will come to you this afternoon." Jenny drove us to the ATM at "our" bank in Amyreetha, but once again it was out of order.
We drove to Kaleeves because Jenny wanted to buy a copy of "The Athens News" in English. We couldn't find anywhere that sold it so we got money from the ATM there and drove to Vamos. We called at the plumber's shop and asked Vageeleea how to re-start the central heating boiler with a filter full of air. She didn't know so she phoned Spiros, her husband, to find out. He said that there's a red button which has to be pressed three times. If that doesn't work, unscrew the filter a little to let the air out, then try again. I'm not looking forward to this. We drove to the car park and walked to the square. We met Paul there (he and his wife, Jill, work at Aspaseea's shop) and asked him if there was a newsagents. He said no, so we walked to the hairdresser's shop, made an appointment for Jenny (tomorrow at noon) and returned to the car park.
The road-widening continues.
In places, it gets tricky!
Jenny wanted a photo of this "hunky" guy with a pickaxe.
We called at Aspaseea's supermarket on arrival in Kefalás. Her husband, Spiros, and her daughter were at the till. "Poo eena ee Aspaseea?" I asked. Spiros pointed at his head and said "próvleema me to kefalo". Oh, she has a headache. The daughter didn't know the price of eggs so we waited while she phoned somebody and then another minute until they phoned her back.
As we left the supermarket, a cement mixer chugged past. "Guess where that's going," said Jenny. We followed it along the lane and down our road.
The somba is still burning so I put some more wood in it. While the oil tank is empty, I take the opportunity to drill two holes and glue a clear plastic pipe between them. If it works, this will let us see, at a glance, how much oil is left. Jenny thinks it will leak.
Jenny told me that the water pressure was low. I went outside and the water pump was chugging away. Everything looked OK. The mains pressure on the meter next to the pressure tank read 3 bars. I don't know whether that's low or not. At 2:30pm there was a knock at the door. One of the builders asked, in English, if he could attach his "plastic" to our garden tap for two minutes. I said yes and asked him if he was local. "No, I'm from Egypt." He speaks to his fellow workers in fluent Greek. Unfortunately, with our water pressure being low, it wasn't sufficient to do what they wanted. I went next door to see what they were doing. They were constructing two swimming pools. They asked if I knew anyone in England who wanted to buy a house. Unfortunately, I don't. The oil tanker arrived at 3:20pm. The driver was very helpful, commented on my little plastic pipe "fuel guage", asked me if it was glued OK and proceeded to put 500 litres in the tank. Then he asked if I wanted him to bleed the air out of the filter and start the boiler. (Of course I did!) It turned out to be a messy job, so I'm glad that he did it. We paid him 325 Euros* and offered him a "pourboire" (tip) but he refused to accept it. What a nice man! No, my little pipe isn't leaking and we can see that the tank is holding 550 litres. *That's 68 cents a litre. 100 litres has lasted just 10 weeks and we are now in the coldest month. However, we have had time to determine what thermostat settings give enough heat at the right times of day, so we should be able to run it more economically. 6:20pm. The taps seem to be working normally now. The water pressure has increased to 5 bars.
Now we are going to our quiz night and meal.
Saturday 6th - Tired February 6th, 2010 Well, we didn't win the quizz. Although our score was the highest, we were penalised for having a team of eight. We spoke to our friend, Terry in England, via "Skype" after breakfast. The water pressure is up to 6.5 bars. The taps are working normally, now. We drove to Vamos for Jenny's hair appointment then to Georgioupolis for an "Athens News", stopping, briefly, to pass Eleni's weekly TV programme recording over. It was the last episode yesterday. In Georgioupolis we met our house agent, Georgios, for the first time in weeks. He was with somebody so he didn't have time for a chat. We returned home and had sandwiches. Then I had to take a siesta and awoke in time for evening dinner! The day has been sunny with clear blue sky overhead. Outside temperature reached 12 degrees but it felt very warm in the sun. Now, at 8:30pm, the outdoor temperature is still 11 degrees so our central heating is managing to keep the indoor temperature at 18 degrees. The next few days are forecast to be cold, with some rain.   Sunday 7th - Rain February 7th, 2010
We had breakfast, as usual, at the "Naos". Some family members were having a friendly chat in front of the TV, which was showing the Sunday Communion. Our friends joined us but had only coffee.
After breakfast, we drove to the "Oasis" table-top sale. (We didn't walk because it was raining quite heavily.) Jenny bought a few items while I chatted to Eleni. It didn't seem as smokey in there as last Sunday but we didn't linger for longer than necessary.
We had decided to visit the new "Potamon Dam" so we drove to Rethymnon, along the "National Road" and turned right. We crossed this ancient Venetian viaduct.
It took about twenty minutes of (slow) driving to reach the Potamon Dam and there wasn't much to see!
Here's a view down the reservoir. The top of the dam is on the left. The rain was really heavy so they obviously chose a good place to put the dam!
We made a circular tour of the reservoir, passing through a couple of villages on the way to the St Antony Gorge. When we arrived, all we could see was a taverna surrounded by a sea of mud and some earth-moving vehicles. A new stretch of road ran to within a hundred metres of it. We made a "u" turn and headed back to the National Road. As we passed Rethymnon, on the way home, I noticed a car coming towards us quite slowly. The driver looked a bit dismayed and, as we passed this car, I realised that we were on a short stretch of dual carriageway and HE was on OUR side of the barrier! Thankfully, there was very little traffic. The driver apparently decided to carry on, rather than do a "u" turn while the road was clear. Kalo taxeethee !
At home it was still raining a little but no water had come into the house. At 5pm the rain stopped, so I went outside to take a photo towards the bay.
Darkness fell and Jenny made "paella" for dinner. I watched recorded movies, late into the night, and finally went to bed at 1am.   Monday 8th - Sunny February 8th, 2010 It's nine o' clock. I can see blue sky and sunshine between the curtains, which Jenny has opened. It doesn't feel very warm but I can hear the boiler roaring, outside in the shed. I shower, dress and go downstairs; empty my hot water bottle into the sink; drop an aspirin into a cup of apple juice; eat a banana while I check my emails.
Jenny cleaned the house while I worked at the computer. It rained a little in the early afternoon. When it stopped we went for a walk around the village.
On a corner stands a small wooden hut. We have no idea of its purpose.

Tuesday 9th - Headache

February 9th, 2010

I've had a headache all night - like the start of influenza. I didn't fancy breakfast so I must be ill!

Jenny has driven to Rethymnon to buy some presents. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say what.

It's 13'C outside and mostly cloudy. We are supposed to be doing a 9km walk tomorrow.

Jenny's comments:

Mike woke up feeling 'fluey'. I needed to go into town for some shopping so it suited me to be able to go alone. Mike got up and sat at his computer, but later took himself off to bed.

I drove into Rethymnon and parked in the usual place which is on the way into town. I was glad of this as, when I walked into town, the traffic was backing up with a lot of horn blasting! My main reason for going in was to buy some carnival masks. The big carnival is on Sunday so time is limited for buying masks. There are shops selling nothing but fancy dress, wigs, masks and accessories. There were even Tam o'Shanters with the ginger hair on. We couldn't find them when we wanted them for Burns Night. They also sell witches' and devils' costumes. They don't celebrate Halloween here but if, as a British person, you want a Halloween party you have to be organised and buy your costume in February. The normal dress shops have fancy costumes on their dummies in the windows. Valentine's Day is on the same day as the carnival and is very much overshadowed by it. Unfortunately, as I was on a shopping trip, I didn't have my camera with me so I have no photos of the shops or town decorations for this blog.

I wandered from one end of town to the other, which I wouldn't have been able to do if Mike had been with me, even if he had been well.

I phoned Mike when I stopped for a drink, but he didn't sound pleased. He was in bed and possibly I'd woken him up. Not worried about me at all. I called at the supermarket on the way home and bought some dark chocolate as requested, and some ice cream as a treat. I didn't have much of a spending spree because the money I have arranged to be transferred from my bank in the UK hasn't reached our Greek bank account yet.

I left Mike in possession of the bedroom and TV, so I watched a DVD on his "iBook" laptop during the evening.

Wednesday 10th - Bed

February 10th, 2010

6:20pm - I've been in bed for two days. The headache, stomach ache and unmentionables have almost gone but I'm left with backache through lack of movement or - more likely - through being propped partly upright and falling asleep in that position. (Jenny thinks it was caused by straining on the toilet but I can tell you - there's no straining involved in what I've had!) I've just been for a short walk. It could have been longer but then I'd have had to change my trousers.

Jenny went for the long walk and has just phoned to say she's on her way back. I'm boiling rice. Daren't eat anything else!

Jenny's comments:

Mike looked worse this morning and had no interest in going on Geoff's walk today. I phoned Ken, but he had packing to do and a cat to take to the cattery before his trip to England tomorrow. I drove to Fres (pronounced Fray) allowing far too much time. For a while Geoff, Derrick and I were the only people there, but then Geoff got a phone call from Iain who was parked at the wrong church. Derrick set off in the car to collect him, as it was obvious that would be quicker than trying to give instructions over the phone.

7 of us set off in the end. For 2 hours we walked along the valley, through olive groves and past derelict buildings in the most out of the way places. We also passed a new chapel, also in the middle of nowhere. As the church clock struck one we arrived in the village of Nippos where we stopped for lunch.

The clock struck three before we left the taverna, having been charged 4 euros each for a meal and drinks. We were also given extra free beers, free bread, cake and raki!

We continued our walk for another hour. There was some fine rain, but not enough to go to the trouble of putting my waterproof coat on. The mist closed in and the wind deposited a fine layer of red dust on everything, even my camera. As we neared the car park, Geoff phoned up Colin who lives 50 metres away from the car park and invited us all there for a cup of tea! It was very comfortable in Colin's house by the open fire. He and his wife, Linda, gave us a good Yorkshire welcome, strong tea and biscuits. We also had the guided tour of their lovely home. Reluctantly we tore ourselves away at about half past 5 because it was starting to get dark. I didn't phone Mike during the day because I knew he was in bed and didn't want to disturb him, but I had just started to drive home when I got a text "Are you safe and well?" (translate as - I am hungry will you be home soon?) I pulled over when I could, and reassured him. I called for petrol on my way home. Today is a general strike, but Harris' petrol station was open so I topped up the tank. I was lucky I did because on Thursday Mike told me petrol has gone up from E1.21 to E1.38. The strike was very effective wasn't it?

Mike was boiling rice when I got home. He didn't offer to share it, but plain boiled rice isn't very appetising. When he had gone back to bed I reheated the leftover risotto which was much tastier.

Thursday 11th - Backache

February 10th, 2010

After an uncomfortable night, I awoke still with backache. I took a gut-protecting tablet (I react badly to NSAID pain killers), boiled some rice and ate it, then took a strong painkiller and hobbled up the hill to buy bread. Meanwhile, Jenny drove to the ATM at Almereetha to get cash. On the way home, my back pain diminished remarkably and I was walking almost normally as I reached the house. I had promised to help Eleni with her web site and drove there as soon as Jenny returned with the car.

Jenny adds:

A glorious morning after the mist and drizzle yesterday! I put some washing in the machine then ate my breakfast outside in the sun. I drove off early to the ATM to see if my pension money from England had gone into the bank, while Mike stayed home deciding if he was better or not. By the time I got home he had decided he was and went off to Eleni's to work on her website. I had been going to wash the car, but never mind. I baked a lemon cake and some more biscuits. He was home before I had finished. I had planned to do much more while he was out, but he insisted he had been a long time.

At 3.30 I left him at work and went to Georgioupolis to meet Hazel and Pete for the village carnival. We sat in Tito's with drinks, while we waited for the procession. Each class of school children was dressed in a different theme. There were mice, cowboys and indians, frogs and musical instruments.

The teachers were leading them round the square, dancing. None of us remembered our own primary school teachers being that much fun. We saw Georgia (from the Sunday breakfast "Naos" taverna) and her youngest daughter in fancy dress, but didn't take up her offer of joining the party as we believed it wouldn't start until late. We went home for tea.

When I got home Mike was sitting at his computer, waiting for me to make him a sandwich... please finish this sentence for yourselves.

Mike:

I had to make my own darn sandwich, and eat it whilst working at the computer. I feel a lot better but I'm burping a lot. My back is not bothering me at all now, but I have to keep reminding myself not to slouch in the chair.

Must remind Jenny to wash the car; it's really filthy and I can barely see through the side windows! It looks very "local". Nobody would guess that we're foreigners.

It's 8:30pm so I'll watch some (recorded in the UK) TV now. Time for a rest.

Chapter 46 - Feeling Better

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