I had a lovely time with Katja and Patrick – catching up with daily draws (attempting to paint water) chatting to Katja about a wide range of subjects (she’s a great conversationalist with a vast English vocabulary) and just chilling. We discuss everything from “the brain” and Milgram experiments to the inevitable topic of the Brexit vote, football (congrats to Germany and, oh dear, England) and favourite films. Patrick turns out to be a fan of “Black Adder” and we all love Marvel Comic Films. We establish a “sit near the water and get hot, jump into sea to cool off” routine – the sun is so hot, that my bathing costume is almost completely dry in minutes.
That night, Patrick and Katja prepare supper – rice and vegetables. It’s so good to have vegetables as the main dish, instead of an afterthought or garnish for a great slab of meat.
The 5* campsite is spotlessly clean and swept and provides most things (at a cost!) so I managed to catch up with the laundry too. We played cards (Uno) and watched green lizards skitter amongst the rocks by the tent and hooded crows flap around the pine trees.
The second day was much like the first, but Patrick inflated their kayak and we took that out on the fairly flat and safe sea for an explore – past the naturist beach and the dog beach (which is small and sandy). The most dangerous thing is the sun, and I manage to get burnt in a few places the suncream missed. Blissful holiday mode with this hot weather set to continue for at least the next week. It feels Mediterranean, with olive trees, crunchy grass and wild herbs growing and dust underfoot. In the evening, we all went out for a meal in the campsite restaurant.
It was a fabulous break and I thank Katja and Patrick for letting me interrupt their holiday and camp out in their big tent. I hope Alan the Suncamp man didn’t give them too much hassle. Katja’s parting gift – some insect repellent (I have only the Deet stuff I was saving for Asia and am getting eaten up by various bugs) – always really thoughtful.