Boats and bits

Sunday was a nicely varied day. I finished off and uploaded a manuscript, the ‘boys’ were out and about in the morning, and in the afternoon, we hung out at Rainbow while the tennis played inside (on the TV, obviously). Later, we and visiting friends went to dinner at Georgio’s which, by the time we left, was more or less full up. That’s great news. It might have had something to do with a massive party who appeared from the harbour in the early evening. About 40 people, at least, arrived en masse and gathered at Lefteris’ kafeneion before some continued on up to explore the village while some stayed.

There was also a large yacht mooching around offshore. Apparently, this one was the 14^th largest private yacht in the world, although it’s actually a charter. It sleeps 22 guests, so I hate to think how many staff it has. The website for the charter company tells us that it has various amenities, the things none of us can do without today, WiFi, six jet skis and a helipad, ’cos I hate it when I get on a boat that doesn’t have a helipad. I think you have to supply your own helicopter and pilot though. And I have no idea how much it costs to rent because you have to make an enquiry before they give you a quote. A bit like shopping for jewellery in Bond Street; if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.

What’s more reasonable, though, is the trip bother-in-law was doing on Monday, heading to Panormitis with his friends for a look at the monastery. You can catch the bus from Yialos, just ask at Panormitis travel or any of the other travel agencies, and they will point you in the right direction. It’s a good way to see the hinterland of the island as well as Greece’s most important monastery dedicated to St Michael. When you are there, you can see the katholiki, the chapel, two museums and visit the café, taverna and beach, or just relax in the pebbled courtyard. Oh, and you won’t need a helicopter.

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Meanwhile…

If in doubt, talk about the weather. It was behaving oddly at the end of last week. One day the thermometer in the courtyard read 35 degrees in the shade, and the next day, 26. Mind you, it was windy, and I guess the wind was from the north. Sitting on the balcony, I had to wear a t-shirt, and it felt more like early October weather than mid-July. There were even some clouds about. The wind came, stayed a while and finally went over the weekend, leaving Sunday calmer and warmer, so I think, and hope, normal service has been resumed.

It’s anything but normal service in our house as my bother-in-law is staying for a few days. So far, that’s meant two meals dining out, more beer in the fridge than we’re used to, and more indulgence is planned for the next few days. Meanwhile, I am putting the finishing touches to the latest book, ‘Fallen Splendour’, and when that’s done, I will be able to return to Saddling, or to Clearwater, I’ve not decided yet. I may even take a day off to consider the options.

Down in the harbour, the gin palaces have been coming and going along with the Turkish gulets, cruise ships, day boats, taxi boats and fishing boats, and there’s the usual summer hive of activity. Up in the village, the evenings are busier in the square, and some day-trippers are managing to find us, there’s live music every Friday night at Giorgio’s (book early), and also at the Secret Garden (book early) where they also have an open mic night on a Monday. A new music venue is, apparently, to open this month by the playground, and all the other bars, cafes and tavernas (Zoi) are open for business as usual.

PS, ‘bother’ was intentional – inserts smiley wink.

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Please don’t

I saw this street sign in Split, Croatia last year. Can we have a couple up here in the village, please?

This is just a public service announcement really, and a polite request. I was sitting in the square on Thursday, quietly chatting to Neil and others, while some people were inside watching the tennis and others were outside the bar next door. Then this appeared…

One by one heads turned, and a couple of guys dashed out from inside to take a look, while the rest us exchanged glances and some rolled eyes. It’s not that we’re prudish up in the village, far from it, but we are in a village. We’re not down by the sea, we’re not a hotel foyer or a swimming pool, Horio is not a beach resort (global warming hasn’t reached that level yet), but it is a pretty old-fashioned, unspoiled, traditional and, above all, orthodox place to be. So, please, when you are exploring the village – and I can’t say this any more politely than this – put some f*****g clothes on you shameless hussy and… whatever the male equivalent of a hussy is. (See below.)

That’s got that out of my system. I tell you, I’ve seen worse, and I am referring to the bountifulness of the babe’s-booty here, but all the same… Yes, you think you have a lovely figure, and it’s worth showing off when you’re by the pool, but not when you’re wandering through an historic village street, passing people’s homes and, as you do in Horio, walking through two bars. I know some of the more desperate straight guys next door will probably be dreaming of this for the next few weeks, but for others, it just makes people uncomfortable and, the, um, bottom line is, it’s disrespectful. Now, I know you wouldn’t do this, you’d at least put on a sarong or even a tea towel, but you wouldn’t want your ass to be hanging out for all to see, would you?

[Re: Hussy. I just found out, rather alarmingly, that the origin of the word ‘hussy’ is from the Middle English word for ‘housewife.’ Sorry about that, ladies, but I expect those middle-Englanders still in existence and currently voting for your next yUK leader had something to do with it. And for the men, the urban dictionary equivalent is, excuse my language, a ‘pussbucket’, though at least the chap in the semi-nude parade was wearing decent shorts and didn’t have a belly like mine.]

Anyway, after that polite request to cover up, here are a few more photos of less attention-seeking scenery to see you through the weekend.

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An evening boat trip

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Pat and Hazel for the party on the Poseidon on Wednesday night, and to everyone who made it such a memorable night. Yiannis, Theodoros and the crew had already been out on a full day trip before turning the boat around and welcoming us aboard for an evening at Taviri. Great food, dancing and company – but not great photos, sorry about that.

Taviri is the small bay on Nimos, the island opposite Yialos. There’s not much there apart from a disused house used only by the goats, and a concrete jetty in need of repair, but don’t let that put you off. From there, you can see Turkey all around and over to the right after dark, the lights of Rhodes. The ferry came past after we’d arrived, heading back to Piraeus, but otherwise, there was very little boat activity, just long views of sea and coastline in the distance. The wind had been up to force four or five, but it settled down during the evening, making the trip back after dark much calmer than the one going out at sunset.

After that traditional group photo, we piled off the boat and caught a taxi after a couple of minutes’ wait, which is much easier than walking up the steps. It was, for me, a very late night and I’d been up and about since four in the morning which meant that yesterday, I didn’t wake up until half-five, half the day gone, and I wasn’t much in the mood for doing anything. We did, though, drag ourselves out to get some shopping and stopped for a frappe at Lefteris’ kafeneion on the way home, after which it was back to the desk for me and the final read-through of the latest story. You can book the Poseidon for private parties, just ask at the kiosk in Yialos, and I should also mention the other day-trip boat, the Maria, run by Lakis Travel. I’ve not been on it yet, but I have heard good reports. Perhaps when mother is here in September?

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Another non-morning

I did say I’d try and do more of a written blog today, but, tbh, I can’t get my head around it. I couldn’t even get my head around a walk yesterday morning. I discovered an issue with my Amazon account and book sales, checked and found that there are some payments missing. I had to trawl my Amazon reports and compare them to my bank statement, and then work out what was wrong. By the time I’d figured it all out and written them a long email with all the details of missing payments, my head was, as they say, done in. Which is why today, I am just bunging up a few images before going to sit in front of the fan in a dark room.

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