Rethymno
Scott-Free’s blog
Steve & Chris
Sun 14 Sep 2008 16:50
35:22.119N
24:28.918E
Motored 35 miles
along the coast to Rethymno. We had to keep a mile off the coast because
we were in a submarine exercise area and we put the radar on to see if we could
spot any. Sure enough, there were two contacts on the radar but little to
be seen on the water, suggesting something just below the surface. And
then, one surfaced enough to be seen through the bins, some distance off.
It kept its distance though, and then disappeared from view and the radar.
That was the extent of the excitement on this trip!
There was, however,
plenty of time to do the Times crossword and Su Doku (which we had treated
ourselves to at 3.25 euros!)
Not particularly
impressed with it here. The marina is very pleasant and quiet, and
apparently free of charge. The town, however, is a typical tourist resort
full of concrete dormitories, although to be fair they are not high rise.
It's half an hour's walk to the old venetian harbour in the old town which is a
little more appealing, but last night was packed solid and noisy. We
managed to find a taverna serving typical Cretan dishes and enjoyed Lamb with
figs which just fell off the bone and melted in the mouth.
It's not all bad
news re the tourism though - Steve easily found a bar with a telly this
afternoon to watch the Italian Grand Prix, and we've had free access to wireless
internet on the boat, so you can't have it all ways!
We also had a swim
off the nearby beach this afternoon and a stroll along the beach to get an ice
cream. Somehow we are still having difficulty getting away from the idea
that we are on holiday!
It's not all fun
though - the fridge decided to defrost itself overnight and wouldn't switch on
this morning, so we had to investigate what its problem was. In this heat
it would be difficult to manage without it. Having pulled out half the
saloon to get at the compressor, it became apparent that no cooling water was
being drawn up by the pump and the thermal cutout had done its job. On
checking the raw water filter, we found that the strainer was completely bunged
up with some kind of calcium deposit, almost like the furring on a kettle.
Once this was cleaned out (using our finest white wine vinegar!) the pump
promptly started drawing up water and the fridge was soon back up and
running. Sigh of relief and mental note to check the filter on a regular
basis! The G&T's had ice in as usual this evening, so all is
well.