Monday 9th September Flying Sardines and all that

We slid down off the sledge and were safely water-borne last Thursday. We have been making our way back out to the Sporades - the weather is now perfect. Hot and sunny, but not too hot, the water is still warm, but the nights are thankfully cooler (under 25 deg C).

We want to see parts of the islands we missed with Sophie and Alastair in July. Have spent a couple of days off the little island of Tsoungria, between Skiathos and Skopelos. The island is uninhabited except for a few wild goats, rabbits and the odd polecat and flamingo. Two beautiful bays with beaches, and lots of trees: Aleppo pine, chestnut, cypress, olive and eucalyptus. The only structures were a pretty little chapel, beautifully maintained, atop a promontory separating the two beaches, and a deserted, ruined stone building that warranted a closer look.

It was large and built of lovely warm coloured stone - it would have made a great renovation project. Inside were big pottery storage urns sunk into the ground - as the design has not changed in centuries, they could have been Mycenian or 20th C (bets on 20th C!). Rusting steam-driven engines for presumably driving olive-pressing machines and pumps. There were vats, presses, stone baths and pipes. It was clear that this small island used to be full of olive groves. It was obviously more cost-effective to process the olives here and transport the oil than the raw materials. Sad to see it derelict - it would have made a very special house with the artefacts cleaned up and incorporated into the design.

It was here we had an evening show of silver sardines - at sunset, dozens leapt out of the water trying to escape a larger hungry fish. They rained down; 18 of them conveniently desposited themselves on our boat and were quickly consigned to the fridge. And barbecued & eaten the following evening - yum! Who needs to go fishing when they come to you?

It was here too that Richard showed his potential with a scalpel. Following the instructions given to him at the hospital in the UK and with the sharp tool they provided, he cut my stitches as close to my skin as possible - to avoid infection we were told. He did a sterling job, leaving my eye intact! The scar is looking quite neat and will hopefully fade in time. (The scalpel had a nifty curved bit at the end. R had wanted to keep it as a useful tool and use his Swiss Army knife on me instead. For once I put my foot down. But he can put the scalpel with his other "useful bits", now that it has fulfilled its proper function.)

Onwards now to pastures new. Til later.