Charging Across Europe

 August and September 2021

August and September will be the road trip: Greece, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, UK - and back - leaving on the ferry on the 4th, so this blog will be unavoidably delayed, probably until October.  Meanwhile, I will be posting riveting (!) details of our daily challenge to get enough charge in the car to go the distance on a special Instagram account:

ElectricRoadTripEurope

See you there!

July - Lots of Prep

 All of July 2021

July has been fearsomely hot, and we have done only the minimum of things that need to be done.  However, with our proposed trip across Europe starting in August, there has been quite a lot of preparation to do.

First task was to take the car to Athens for its delayed service (delayed due to lockdown travel restrictions).  We thought this would be a good test of our, and the car's, tolerance for two consecutive long days of travel.  Day one - we arrive in Athens, and drop off the car, then we found our AirBnB and went out for an evening meal.  Day two, we explored the newly opened archaeological dig area under the Acropolis Museum before picking up the car and heading home.

 

The drive back was uneventful, and we were not too exhausted by it all, so the trip is looking good.  This is the fabulous road bridge at Patras.

 

Dave has been making important preparations for our two night stop by Lake Lugano, sitting by the aircon (solar powered) and tying flies.  Who'd have thought we would both have a love of sparkly threads, feathers and beads!

 

Then we went out in the boat, to make sure we had some use of her and to get away from Nydri's excessive heat.  Lots of swimming, and exploring new locations, and we saw so many big loggerhead turtles - far more than ever before, we must have timed our trip with a migration route.  This is us on the island in the bay at Vonitsa, taking an evening walk to stretch our legs.

This is the life - chugging over in the dinghy to a restaurant on the seafront.  

Seven Islands Taverna in Ligia, Lefkada.  Very nice.

 

Back home, and we got up early to test the camping gear.  The tent went up okay, not too musty; the awning was too small, so we swapped it with the one from the boat - good to know in advance; the chairs work well, and the tea was properly supported on the chair tables: so it is all looking good.

 

We were slightly derailed one evening when we met up with Nim and Pete, and failed to avoid going to the Roadhouse.  Good music, a bit expensive, and Nim and I had to dance in the street as it wasn't allowed inside!

The 'dry run' at packing the car - this bit is crucial: if we can't get it all in (and most of it out each evening) then the trip is off.  In the event, it all seemed to go okay, even squashing in the paintings I'm taking as presents.

Wrapping up June

19 - 30 June 2021

So, we started making plans to drive our electric car across Europe to the UK.  Our car is a 2018 Nissan Leaf, which has a range of about 250 km between charges, however, to be on the safe side, we tend to look for a charger every 150-200 km (especially if there are mountains).  In miles, that means stopping about every 100 miles to charge.  This is not a problem for us, we don't have to rush, and we will be traveling through parts of the world we don't know and want to see.  And at our age, our bladders don't last as long as the car battery!

Initial plans involve taking the ferry to Ancona and then driving through Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Holland to sail from Rotterdam to Hull.  There are lots of Covid hoops to jump through, but currently the word is that travel is mostly okay.  It may be worse coming back, though.  We will camp our way along this route, taking about seven days.  What an adventure!

Today I had my second jab in Vasiliki, the most amazing element of which was seeing loads of these virulent green frogs in one of the streams that comes down to the beach.  

Bad news at the pond - one of the original gang of four goldfish was floating belly-up.  No sign what killed it, but it may just have grown too large for the overstuffed pond to sustain.  The only one remaining now is the one with long flowing tail and fins, which I am in the process of putting in a painting of the pond - so I hope it continues to survive.

 

Detail of 'By the Pond', work in progress.

Boaty Jaunt

 15 - 18 June 2021

Another mini-trip with the boat.  Liana was coming back to Lefkada, so we asked her to look after the house, cats and chickens once again, and off we went, Tuesday to Friday.  We didn't want to cover a lot of ground, just take it easy, so we headed for Kastos and Kalamos, and pottered around gently under sail, sometimes only making one knot, but loving the silence.

 The solar panel has finally arrived and been fitted, so we can run the fridge while sailing, hurrah!

 Kalamos off the starboard bow ...

 

Arrival in one-yacht bay, just in time for the evening goat parade along the coast.

 

 

 

Dave at the mast, tying up halyards so they don't clatter.

Next morning, in the water early, with the underwater camera, fun for me ...

 

While Dave does some proper jobs, like cleaning the propeller 

Kalamos Town selfie, back in familiar haunts

Last night 'at sea', on the beach in Porto Spilia.

Mid June

 8 - 14 June 2021

The pond has gone very clear, which is a good sign, it means the plants are able to process all the nutrients the fish are dumping in the water.  It will get harder as it gets hotter, however, but it’s nice to see a good start to the summer.

Three lily blooms at once, that’s a first!

Meanwhile, in the UK, where I can’t reach her, my Mum turned 90.  My brother took her out for a fancy lunch to celebrate.  After Dave and I are both fully jabbed and 14 days post-second shot, we will make our way over to the UK, hoping that the way will be open for us.

Dave and the Lefkas Shantymen performed for Brian’s memorial, and ended up in his brother’s pub, singing their hearts out all afternoon.

How lovely

The apricot harvest in its entirety.  This was a terribly poor year, just a few windfalls and a couple off the tree, but all needing bits cut out of them.  Last year we were overwhelmed with fruit and I had to make chutney with the excess.  Maybe it was too dry earlier in the spring.

Mixed Bag - Early June

 1 - 8 June 2021

The garden is terribly dry, usually we have had a deluge or two from thunderstorms in April and May, but this year there has been very little rain.  Garden chores are a pain, the grass is rough and dry underfoot, with sharp thistles ready to stab you in the ankle at every step.

But I made an effort to try to tidy up the beds, and collected in the dry broad bean pods for shelling, to keep the beans as seed stock for next year.  The internet said wait till they go dry and black on the stalks before picking.  That worked, as they were easier to crack out of the pods (with good gloves on) than they were to pod when fresh.

One evening we went to a recently reopened beachside restaurant, Pinewood in Nydri, and admired the view - very peaceful and quiet.

On another evening, in our garden, I looked up from turning on the watering hose and saw an unexpected aspect, including the cat gazing at the golden light spilling over the far end of the paving.  It looked just a little magical.

Friends of friends had organised a two hour yoga and meditation at a hotel over in Geni, so, despite being very out of practice I went along.  A beautiful session, but the yoga was a little strenuous for me.

Dave got his second jab, and was issued with a European Digital Covid Certificate.  One of us done, mine is at the end of the month.

Evidence that our precious ladybirds have migrated around the garden and are getting stuck into the aphids on the cabbages.  I hadn’t seen one since the hatching and was worried they might all have flown away

Talking of bugs, I saw this one on the apricot tree.  Large and unusual.

More podding, me doing more broad beans, while Dave stripped the popcorn cobs.  We then tried the popcorn and it was very good.  Who knew you could grow it!

Starting and finishing with flowers

 22 - 30 May 2021

Out of the blue, we got a call from a friend who was looking for somewhere to stay in Nydri, so we immediately offered the house, and she agreed to water the cats and feed the garden, while we made rapid plans for a few days away in the boat.

In the hedge, near the washing line, we are growing an incredible number of wild blackberries.  I wonder if I will get any, or just the magpies?

 

Another rapid-fire couple of paintings.  These are for a friend who has an obsession with the Moonflower - a rare jungle cactus that recently flowered for the first time at Cambridge Botanic Gardens.  She wanted one to keep and one to gift, so I made a very similar, if not identical, pair.  

[Moonflower I & II, Acrylic on Canvas Board, May 2021, 16x24cm]

With all the paintings finished, I was free to help get the boat ready.  I measured, and then Dave cut, glued and varnished these new shelves for the boat fridge - something else that had disappeared in the shipwreck.

I also measured and made a window covering for the heads, to give us a bit of privacy.  It is velcro'd up, and came down a couple of times, but then decided to stay up.  Slightly strange.

Off to sea we go.  But not without trauma.  We were to set off at midday, after reflexology therapies each.  Dave went to the pontoon early to get diesel delivered, but then found that screws in the top of the diesel tank had worked loose and fuel was flooding into the bilge.  By the time he had pumped it out and I had helped clean up, we were a little frazzled, missed our therapies and only good for puttering round to Sivota

Next day we had a long and fantastic sail over to Kioni, testing Dave's one-line reefing, which worked a treat.  Luckily Kioni was empty, as we found another problem with the new anchor chain extension, which was so twisty, it took us several goes to moor up.  At least it was a quiet time.

Later, I had a swim.  It was bone-chillingly cold, but very clear, and work has been done to make it easier to get in the sea near Kioni harbour.  Bracing.

 

The first evening was very blustery, and following hard on too many expresso martinis (one each!) resulted in a poor night's sleep, so we decided to stay put, and have a day exploring, which we have never done in Kioni before.

The lovely little coastal path we found on the walk round to the windmills at the head of the bay.

Back home, and very excited to see three waterlily flowers all blooming at once in the pond.  Wow!Also, the bougainvillea by the front door is in wild, majestic flower, another first.

 

That time of year

15 - 20 May 2021

Just as the grass gets knee high, and starts to seed, regular as clockwork, that's when the strimmer will break down.  We took it in for repairs, and were told it would be three weeks.  We put up with it for another week, until the grass was waist high and we were both sneezing, and went to buy another strimmer.  We will be a two-strimmer family and get a lot more done in future.  The new machine came with an extra battery and charger, too, so we are generally better equipped now, if poorer.  

Dave out early with the new machine, which is bigger and better balanced than the old one, and apparently much easier to use.

Much joy when we saw more than six ladybirds and several chrysalises not yet hatched.  These are all in the chopped down borage, so there must have been an egg-laying among it.  Very pleased indeed.

Another painting completed, this one was for my brother-in-law's mother who is confined to bed following a stroke, she asked for a copy of a photo of two family pets.

 

Dave completes work on re-rigging the mainsail reefing lines so that we can operate them from the cockpit.  He has decided that we need to focus on safety, now we are no longer young!

 

Another early start to get on with strimming

The row of vines in front of the water tanks are doing very well compared to last year.  Looking good.

Also the pomegranate tree.  Lots of flowers, and we are hopeful that at least one of them will hang on and become our first ever home-grown pomegranate.

 

An exercise in up-cycling.  When the boat sank, we lost our coasters to protect the varnish on the table, so I decided to try a technique I'd seen for making cloth ones.  You cut three old t-shirts into strips of fabric about one inch wide and plait the strips, then zigzag stitch out from the centre in a circle until you reach the size you want, and then tie off.  It sort of worked, although they are a bit lumpy (I forgot to take a photo!)