15 days

15 days without a DS. 16 tomorrow. Our mechanic is popping back and forth to Athens as his health is in a sorry way and so he cannot dedicate much time to fixing her. We have begun to suspect that her problem may be beyond his considerable skills as well as being beyond his current availability.

Living without a car in the countryside is tough but walking back and forth to the shops is getting us both pretty fit and even my arthritic hip/spine/pelvis is benefitting. I wouldn't do it from choice but it is probably good for my cardio-vascular system too. Traipsing up the hill with two fully laden bags between us in the pissing rain is hardly enjoyable but it is edifying. We now know every wild flower between here and the strip. We know which fruits have set. We know how the tomatoes and potatoes are coming along as well as the grapes and the chicory. We've even struck up a new acquaintanceship with an elderly German couple whose house we pass on the route down to the strip by the wiggly road.

Yesterday we crumbled and hired a car - a very ugly car I must add - a Suzuki Wagon R - from Yasser at Alianthos and caught up on some bulky cupboard stuffing - water from Mathes, wine and beer from Lidls, coffee and dog food from Rethymnon. We shall probably have to continue hiring a car once evry week or ten days until Betty comes home but outside of that we intend to cntinue adjusting to life without easy access to a car. It's just another challenge and we always rise to challenges.

Besides - as the old Turkish proverb says "No journey is long when you travel with a friend".