BEACHCOMBING AND BINOCULARS

I had the chance to use the birthday present given to me by my brother today and went up to the roof terrace to take a good look at the mountain scenery through some super-duper binoculars. It was marvellous Spring weather when it is warmer out of doors than inside and we had breakfast outside upstairs overlooking the olive groves, farms and mountains. The far distant peaks were blue and white with heavy coverings of snow, the nearer hills were dark green with trees profiled along the tops and the nearer slopes folded like patchwork eiderdowns where fields and groves of olives were planted in straight rows which tipped in dozens of different directions. We spied an eagle in the distance and this made us think of getting out the binoculars. They revealed all sorts of treasures I had not seen before like small chapels nestling amongst copses of trees, a man burning charcoal in the valley and a farmer loading produce and supplies in and out of his truck.

I would love to say that the roof terrace is a wonderful place for meditation, Bible study and writing or painting but the proximity of our neighbours with their choice of music, the arrival of one truck after another selling garden produce, general stores, vegetables and fish has caused a bit of a stir at each new arrival and we needed a change of scene.

With the temperature at 17 C and a sky with fair weather clouds of every shape, we drove down to our favourite beach at Panormo and did a bit of beach combing – finding lots of driftwood thrown up by the recent storms along with an unspeakable collection of plastic bags, bottles, crates and other debris all left at the seaweed line along the beach. I don’t think it will be long before we form a beach patrol to gather up all these hazards to the wildlife along the coast in an otherwise idyllic bay.

Panormo was all but deserted, so it made an amazing walk with most of the village and three beaches all to ourselves. We stopped at a small café opposite a formal garden where the elderly play tavoli and chess during the summer months and noticed that they had been trimming the branches of the trees leaving small sticks of wood ideal for kindling. So after we had asked in the café, we took a handful each home with us to get the stove going in the evening along with half a dozen pieces of driftwood.

Today was quite lazy but tomorrow will be full on with a visit to a garden place to order the bamboo terrace roofing which will shade the space outside the kitchen and to choose plants. Then Art School for the morning, off to the telephone office OTE after that to order our telephone line, a visit to the bank and also to the place where you have to register for a tax number – back to Anna’s where I will post the latest blogs and photos and finally dinner back in Kastellos in the evening.

K and I reflected last night that we seem to have been living off the fat of the land since we arrived with gifts of food given to us, a lunch paid for by Anna and Bonzo’s portion of chicken (which has provided two lovely supper dishes), eggs from our lovely neighbours and an invitation to dinner tomorrow. We really will have to think about holding our celebration party before too long in an effort to pay our way!