One step at a time

I took myself off for a stroll on Sunday morning, heading along the lane and around the back of the Castro to the top of the Kataractis. I intend just to do a circular route through the village, down to Campos and back around to home. Not a long walk, but better than nothing. I don’t know why, but I changed my mind and the route along the way. I headed up to the Castro, thinking I’d not been there for a while, and I set off up the steps that lead to the arch (was that a barbican at one point?), and came out by the Byzantine (I think) wall. Here the path meets the one coming up from Hariotomeni church. From there, you take the last slope/steps to the gate and churches within the Castro grounds.

It was there that I had to stop and take a rest. I’d not gone very far, but my legs were killing me, and I realised it’s been a long time since I’ve climbed steps. Neil’s been up and down the Kali Strata a couple of times, but I’ve only done it once this past month, and boy, does it show. I’m usually on the road, taking the slope up at a steady pace, not slow, but also without the need to lift your legs very high. The 1.5-mile walk to the monastery where I like to walk, for example, passes with ease, though you do get your aerobics up to a decent level (or whatever it’s called), so you know you’ve been exercising. But a short stroll to the Castro? I had to spend the rest of the day recovering on the sofa with some trash TV and chocolate.

Actually, I didn’t. I came home and went to work on a story, as usual, only hitting the sofa later in the day, occasionally getting up to walk stiffly to the kitchen and back. So, Monday morning, with calf muscles still aching, and shorts in danger of not fitting, I was off out again, this time to take a stroll on the road as usual.

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Balcony photos

Here we are starting another week. Our Prime Minister is due to make an official announcement later, outlining the lifting or not of the restrictions and where we go from here. In the meantime, I found some photos on my camera, taken from the balcony over the last week, and thought I’d share some of them today. A blue rock thrush, the view, and keeping the pavements clean. Some municipal employees are still able to work as are some builders, and now the weather is improving daily, outside is the place to be when you safely can – says he who managed two walks last week and has made a note to self to try harder. So, to start the week, a few photos to get you in the mood for whatever comes.

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Clearwater, walks and Araby

After a couple of months off, I have started on another Clearwater novel. In case you’re not sure what I am talking about, this is my Victorian mystery series that begins in October 1888 with the Ripper murders, and so far, has reached summer 1889.

There are five books in the first series, but the sixth should be available at the end of May or early June. That one rounds off everything that’s been going on during parts one to five but leaves the ending open for a future series, which is what I have started working on. For those that have read the series, it concerns the same characters (those that survive part six, wink, wink) but moving in a different direction. I can’t say much more until you’ve read number six, ‘Artful Deception’, otherwise I might spoil the ending of that one for you, but this series will still contain mysteries, clues, puzzles, humour, excitement and perhaps a little sex, just like the others. The idea came to me on my morning walk the other day.

These walks are not only good for the BP and other health things, but they also help clear my mind and allow me some quiet time to focus on stories. The thought process is occasionally interrupted by a wave to a passing acquaintance, or these days, a chat across the empty road, and sometimes by Araby, the sheepdog and he runs up to greet me like he did the other morning. I think he was telling me to watch out as there were sheep and goats ahead, but I’d already spotted them by then.

Ps. If you are interested, the Clearwater Mysteries are available on Amazon around the world, in Kindle, print and Kindle Unlimited. The links lead you to Amazon.com where, if you are in certain countries, you may find a message saying ‘currently unavailable’. That’s because you’re not in your home country Amazon. Replace the .com with .co.uk, for example, and you should be fine.

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Two walks and a tortoise

Two walks in two days, a record for this year. Admittedly, Tuesday’s march wasn’t far, but yesterday I managed to drag myself up to the monastery on the side of the hill, and what’s more, it was at a reasonably early hour. I sent an SMS as we must, but for some reason didn’t receive a reply until half an hour later (usually it’s straight away), so I didn’t leave the house until seven-thirty, but still… I got myself out there and went back to my old route.

Walking uphill from the village, I came across a tortoise crossing the road, and as he/she had narrowly missed being crunched by a passing car and had frozen in fear or lethargy, I gave it a lift across to the verge. There, it carried on its meander among the grasses and colourful weeds. Passing the church of Agia Marina, the air was heavy with the scent of tree bark and later, incense, and just around the corner, with the sound of Persian as some guys were tidying up the area by the bridge. There’s a newly rebuilt wall beneath the cemetery now, and metal railing across the bridge. The ravine is built up with square cages of rocks to aid irrigation, and the piles of sand are being removed along with the machinery. So, maybe that work is nearly complete?

I’ve also seen men fixing grilles to the water channels at the side of the road, and other council services are running as normally as possible. The refuse trucks are out and about from early morning until late, and the street sweepers are about their business, solo-style. Apart from fewer people on the streets, no bars or socialising and fewer people in the shops that are open, everything looks pretty much as usual. Except, of course, we don’t see the concern and frustration of those with businesses which must continue to pay their regular bills and debts with no income and not much chance of the usual income in the coming months. The latest I heard on that was the PM was to make an official speech soon, but there’s talk of some tourism reopening towards the end of May – I may have misread/heard, so don’t quote me on it.

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Meanwhile

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, the plants continue to struggle on. Because of Easter and bank holidays, our intake of water was restricted. Usually, it comes in on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but last Wednesday was the last time the mains feed was turned on, Friday and Monday being holidays. We have been restricting ourselves as we only have a small tank, so the washing pile had built up, and the garden left mainly un-watered. Until yesterday when the feed was on again, and we were able to top up and relax. Often, when there’s a bank holiday and no water on the Monday, it comes in the next day instead, and that’s what’s happened this week, which is good news. So, we were able to water the plants today (some of which look rather forlorn, and I’m not sure if that’s what they are meant to look like at this time of year), and the washing machine is churning away. So, for today’s news from a tiny part of Symi, here is an update on the courtyard.

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