3^rd December 2010

We were up bright and early so as not to miss the ferry over to Kardamena that leaves at 07h30. Carmen (Charisma) had also set her alarm clock. We set off for Mandraki and arrived in such good time that our car was the first on board. The ferry takes few cars and places are at a premium in particular on a Friday it would seem when one of the cars was parked in the access to the saloon (see picture). The ferry trip was short andin no time it seemed we were on our way to shop. Svein needed some special hinges for the new table so we stopped off at every stainless steel store and chandler on the island. We had no luck as we only found 2 and he needed 4. As it is winter the shops are not restocking so we shall order from the internet. Having no success here we continued into Kos town to look for some special shoes for Caryn and to visit the optician. The shoe search was also a failure (will order them from the internet) and to boot Caryn managed to fall over in the street damaging her new glasses. Next stop the optician who very kindly repaired the glasses and also gave her a bottle of cold water to stop the swelling and brusing on her cheek. With the glasses repaired with great efficiency and Carmen having successfully bought the clothes she wanted we headed off for the first of the food shops. We quickly visited Carrefour and bought what we all needed from there and then went to the Chinese shop next door but here found nothing to buy. We then headed off to Lidl and stocked up (as it have been 5 weeks since the last big shop) including some goodies for Xmas. After here we started making our way back to Kardamena with a quick stop at the AB supermarket to get mascarpon cheese for the Tiramisu. On arriving at Kardamena we finished off the shopping by stocking up on tobacco for Svein and then ate a well deserved lunch whilst we waited for the ferry departure. Again safely on board we left for Nisyros but the shopping was too much for Svein so he recovered by sleeping all the way. Carmen and Caryn watched the sun setting over the sea. We reached the boats late evening and unloaded the car. Everything was stored and we found room for all. We finished the evening by enjoying a filet mignon in cream and mushroom sauce which was the perfect ending to an exhausting but enjoyable day bar the fall.

2^nd December 2010

Our new leds arrived last week and Svein has been busy changing the bulbs in all our lamps. It makes a great deal of difference for both reading and the batteries as those already installed are equal to one of the old lamps.

We duly visited the Coast guards on 1^st December but are no wiser as to the reason as the boss was not in the office and will not be there for another week.

We are following with interest the weather forecasts over Europe and are very glad that we are out of it. We have had strong winds but the temperatures are still up in the 20s which is greatly appreciated.

It is a race against time now for Svein to edit the DVD but he is hard at it and we should be able to send them out shortly. As a result the table for the mizzen has taken a bit of a back seat.

Tomorrow we take the ferry to Kardamena on Kos to have an outing and to stock up. Yesterday in Mandraki we had the nasty surprise of not being able to buy meat in either of the butchers. We must remember not to shop on a Wednesday!!!!