Day Three of Hazel's holiday

Big Hello to Stefanos, Chloe and the Girls xxx

We had opted for a little retail therapy and a little beach time today which was topped off with a fish barbeque at home fa.bulously executed by John.  It is hard to believe we are nearly half way through Hazel's holiday - it is racing by and before we know it we will be at the airport saying our goodbyes.

We are starting the day with a swim before breakfast - Hazel is good because she does actually swim lengths in the pool- to be fair that is hardly onerous as the pool is small but I just like to bob around - the water is a fabulous temperature and it is a lovely place to cool down.

At night John takes out the inflatables and puts the cover on to (a) keep out the local insects and (b) keep in the heat it has accumulated.  Last night he had stacked the two 'big buoys' on top of one another and was taken aback when he lifted one off to find Charlie asleep in the other.  I am guess that when he crawled in it was damp and cool inside!  We did not disturb him - always best otherwise he whinges for food!

Pleased to say that Boris seems to be none the worse for whatever fate befell him the other day.  His wounds are healing nicely and his routine is back to normal which is a relief.  It is always a worry that one or other of the cats will end up getting locked in somewhere as they schlep their way around the neighbourhood - most nights we get a photograph from Persephone with Charlie in it snuggled up with them or eating something!  Fortunately most people are aware of our cats and check that they are not around when they lock up and go.

We had our regular breakfast of yoghurt and fruit and then set off down to Polis so that Hazel could check out the various craft shops in search of some little gifts for people back home.  We parked up in the rough car park and walked through out into the square.

We started in the shop where Sheila works which was beautifully air conditioned and so a welcome respite from the sun.  This is called That Nice Shop for anyone who is wishing to visit.

Hazel was taken by the unusual pictures that are created by photographs on wood (or something like that!)

Anyway this shop provided much food for thought but we decided we would go and investigate them all and make a decision and return on Saturday to make any purchases - that way Hazel would know how much room she had in her luggage and how much money she had left to spend!

The heat hit us as we emerged out into the sunshine and made our way through the square to look in the next shop which I have only recently discovered and is called Blue Oyster Unique Arts and Gifts in Polis Square

Although this is another hand-made craft shop it offers completely different things which is good as it gives the tourists (and locals) more choice.  Again there were some lovely things in there which took Hazel's eye so a return trip on Saturday is definitely on the cards.

When I went last week I met Drew and this time I met his wife Trish - our paths have crossed previously which is not unusual here on the island!  It is good to see new enterprises opening in Polis and to see some of the beautiful old buildings being given a new lease of life.

Last but not least we headed for The Arches which used to be run by my lovely friend Gillian and is now run by Janet who used to live in Droushia but now lives in Argaka.  Janet and her husband John were sheltering from the sun outside in some welcome shade.

This is yet another craft shop and again offers some different things to the other two and again Hazel spotted something she thought might be suitable for a gift so all three look like they might benefit from Hazel's gift shopping - we like to call it 'spreading the wealth' not that we have much!!!

So a successful mooch around Polis was followed by a slow drive along the coast taking in the sights until we reached our destination for the next couple of hours - Takkas Bay.

This is the last 'organised' bay before you get to the Baths of Aphrodite and by organised I mean that there is a life guard, beds and brollies, a taverna and toilets etc.

We opted to walk through the taverna and head for the far end of the beach where the conditions would be good for snorkeling as we had taken our full-face Tinky-Winky masks.  It was lovely at the beach although far too busy for my liking although Hazel thought it was reasonably quiet - quiet for me is when I am the only one there!!!

We snorkeled for a while although we have got to get the masks on without anything stopping them making a seal which can be hard if you have uncontrollable hair!  There were plenty of little fish around to see and the water was like a bath.

We decided to have a light snack for lunch before returning home - our light lunch of a 'small' salad, tsatsiki and village bread with a large bottle of water cost us 9 euros and it was really lovely.

We only managed a couple of hours on the beach as neither of us are great sun bathers and we were hot and sticky and salty so we packed up and headed home to have a cooling shower before going in the pool.

The sun, sea and heat had worn Hazel and I out so she went for a snooze in Wendy and Bill corner and I had a snooze floating around on a 'big buoy' catching a bit of sun.

It was lovely to have a quiet afternoon.

This evening it was all hands to the deck as Hazel was in charge of making the Greek Salad, John was cooking the fish and I was doing the potatoes.

We had a lovely fish barbeque - Hazel really enjoyed the selection of fish we gave her which included Sea Bream, Salmon, Shark, Crab and Prawns.