Update … Another One!

Feb to April 2022

We parted the UK shores with Jez fully laden with more stuff destined for our Crete house.  Still had to leave some things behind, but we’ve been ‘allowed’ a storage unit in the Aged P’s new house car barn.  You can imagine our excitement after having had to remove everything down to a toothbrush as the Aged p’s downsized.  The storage unit is currently is home to a heavy combination microwave cooker and various items of camping kit.  Plus some things we will use when we are back in the UK in the motorhome.

We travelled to Crete via Antibes to spend 2 days with James’ daughter Sarah and family.  Quite a compliment that 5 year old Jade wanted to spend a few hours with us alone whilst Sarah was at a party with Cian.  Jade was amazed at our strange home on wheels.  A bed that comes down from the roof.  A wardrobe under the bed.  Cupboards under the floor.  She was determined to use our strange toilet and so did!

Back on Crete we spent a few nights in Jez in the Kalives carpark, near our house.  We needed to clean (or so we thought, but our lovely gardener who had been checking on the house had cleaned for us!) and unpack.  We picked up a hire car, another Andy Pandy Car (Fiat Panda).  Small but serviceable, but it took several loads to get our stuff up to our house.  And the house needed a lot of sorting to accommodate our new stuff.

We had ordered a new car, a Suzuki Vitara back in November.  We knew ETAs were sliding with supply issues so we popped into the Suzuki dealership to ascertain a realistic date.  Yep, not March, more likely May/June.  Ooh er … we are paying for a hire car.  Do you have anything else available?  An, XXX but another EUR2000.  The charming Mathew said I’ll check the computer but I really don’t think so.  Then his eyebrows waggled and we held our breath.  Yes, exactly the same spec as ours due in 3 weeks.  Destined for a lease company but they wouldn’t know / mind if they had ours many months later.  And it came with a better media panel (basically and android tablet).  Under 3 weeks later, it was ours.  Any names suggestions welcome … it’s grey and reg is XNY3632?  After the debacle with Zorba, which was such a great name, we’ve not thought of anything suitable.  So we now have a hopefully reliable car with a 5 year warranty, after all the car and van costs of last summer!

Nameless car.

I was back to the UK for a few days in March for the Aged p’s 60th birthday celebration and Mum’s birthday a few days before … no diet then!

Jez has been stored at an airport car park with CCTV, gates and security 24/7.  A great rate of EUR180 for 5 months.  We’ve taken him out twice now, leaving the car in his place.  Robyn came over in March and we headed off around the main sights of the west.  The weather was bloody awful  The first night was sooo windy, only James slept.  Must be the sleep of the innocent!  I lay there thinking that I couldn’t wake Robyn in the bed over the cab to move the van to a more sheltered spot.  And Robyn lay there thinking, if this were my van I’d move it.  We made sure we found more sheltered spots after!  Our trip included Stavros (Zorba’s famous dance was filmed here), Falsarna, Elephonisi, Paleochora and Matala.  There is no road along the south coast, so twice we headed north only to come south again.  On one such drive, we had snow piled 2ft high either side of us, hail, snow, rain and wind!  We were wearing all our clothes and using the van heating … in March in Crete!  The worst March weather Crete has had in 35 years!

Got a stick happy dance from Oscar on Elaphonisi.

Sheltered overnight at a monastery.

The Aged P’s came over for 11 days.  We rented an AirBnB house near Agious Nikolas.  An ice cream in Ag Nik, Big Spinalonga walk and a meal in Plaka and a drive around the Lasithi Plateau.  Great mini trip, but again cold and windy.  Given the Aged P’s are wine connoisseurs (alcoholics!), we did a wine tasting and compared wines from another tasting J and I had done.  You wouldn’t come to Crete for the wine … it’s expensive for the quality compared to other EU countries … as the Aged P’s have told me after their Bulgarian wine tasting 2 days ago!

Chill time on our patio.

Navigating a steep down, up and a ford at the Botanical Gardens.  A good lunch was at the reward.

The Ag Nik Glutton.  A rare species 

View finally of the Lasithi Plateau a bendy drive up.

The wine snob.  To be fair, it was rank.

A chicken diner delivery on our balcony, after a couple of mojitos!

Maddy arrived for 6 days.  She’s in the last throes of her MA so did a few hours most days essay writing, sleeping and chilling.  She and Jordan are back in June for 2 weeks.

Otherwise, we’ve met up with good friends who live near us, had a few walks, and done admin.  Amazing how the time flies!  We finally got to meet our lovely landlady, who was over staying with her partner’s family.  She has assured us that she’s happy for us to continue renting long term, so we’re good to do a few things to the house.  Small world here.  I had admired a painting in one of our favourite restaurants.  Googled the artist and messaged her.  Lives not far and yes she has a studio / gallery near her home  I booked to view her work for a couple of weeks hence.  Half an hour later a message from our landlady … the artist is the mother of her partner!  The artist’s name is an unlikely Balsam Wood … how cool is that. And we now have a lovely painting hanging on our wall.