Sunday 14 July 2024

Life in the Heat

 It's hot today.  Very hot.  It was hot yesterday and it will be extremely hot till July 21st and possibly even later in the month.  We learn to live with it, live without aircondition as much as possible and survive.  This too shall pass.

Nights so far have been bearable with open windows, mosquito screens, and a fan.  We sit out on the balcony at night watching TV, greek 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' till 10pm and possibly a film or European athletic matches.  We have a fan out on the balcony as well but it blows warm air till around 10.30 when finally it seems to get a tad cooler.

I drink litres of homemade sugarfree icetea and K drinks water by the gallon, along with his wine and raki.

Aircondition has to be turned on for the afternoon siesta.   By midday the house, inside and out, is a furnace.  We keep cool from around 2 till 5, inside our one cooled down room and then go down to the beach till 8 or 9.  The only way to cool down a body is to dip it in the sea.  Even if the sea is warm, as it is now, it brings relief.  The core temperature of the body is lowered considerably and we once again feel like human beings.  We are lucky living on an island near the sea.

Tomorrow there will be a power cut from 9am till 2pm so we will have to change our routine.  I'll have to get up a little earlier, water the garden, tidy the house, which is of course full of dust.  We don't close windows even if we are going out shopping or down to the beach.  I doubt if anyone has the energy to burgle us at the moment.  We lock the doors and leave the windows and shutters open with flimsy fly screens.  It's a joke really.

Tomorrow I'll make a couple of flasks of coffee and put them in the chilly bin (cooler) along with a bottle of water, a couple of beers for K and some ice packs, and we'll head to the beach.  I suppose he'll want a sandwich too.  I can manage that but not much else




Our spot under the trees.  
I sit and read.  
K finds a local to talk with.  He learns all the gossip and tells quite a bit of his own.  I wonder if the others embellish as much as he does.  He loves story telling.

I keep my nose in my book and mutter 'yes, of course dear, that's the way it was', trying not to roll my eyes, when I'm asked for confirmation.

Sometimes a group of be-hatted friends stand out in the sea for hours, feet just touching bottom,  discussing fishing and the navy and heaven knows what. 

 I can hear the murmur of voices, the bleating of goats amongst the pine trees on the rocky slopes opposite and laughter echoing from the yachts anchored in the Bay. 

Blessed peace.
So far no noisy quad bikes. 
Touch wood. 
And only happily splashing young children. 

I swim when I arrive, do a slow breaststroke across the bay and back. Then I spend the rest of the time drying out. I hate sitting in wet togs but there's no where to change.
I hang my towel on a branch of the tree hanging out over the water. It's amazing how fast it dries. Togs (bathers, swimsuit) take longer. 

We come home a little tired. I'm sleeping much better lately despite the heat. 






23 comments:

  1. Gosh. I would definitely be getting up really early and trying to have a siesta in the afternoon. Even though it is mad hot there. I still think you live in your own paradise Linda.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those lazy hazy days of summer are wonderful. But these crazy red hot days are not. And the island is full of visitors. I'm in a very bad temper a lot of the time. Island paradise pssshaw.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just cannot imagine living in that heat. It seems so impossible to me. I start to wilt at 20C!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 20o would be perfect. Add another for us now. It's sweltering

      Delete
  4. Too hot to trot eh Linda.....😏

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's the part about Summer I don't 'miss - the humidity and sticking to furniture. i hope you are dipping in that lovely water to cool down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank goodness for the beach 5 minutes away

      Delete
  6. Such temperatures sound horrendous and I know I could definitely not handle them. I hope they don't go on for too long and you are soon able to function more normally again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'd think I would have got used to these summers by now. It's not the first time we've had these temperatures. But they're just going on and on

      Delete
  7. Your spot on the beach looks ideal. I don't do well in heat and find it easier to warm up in cold than cool down in excessive heat. Have just cancelled today's walk as the rain and wind watches have proved correct.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That spot gets a bit crowded at times but they're all locals and friends. It's the only part of the beach with any shade. We bring our own chairs and always get a patch of shade

      Delete
  8. I love your little spot. When camping in the summer. We would put our chairs in the shallow river and sit there with our feed in the water. It worked rather well. Cold drinks in the esky and shade. What more would you need.
    Currently we are having very cold weather from the Antarctic with snow forecast in the mountains. Me I’m rugged up inside keeping warm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Having your feet in the water makes a big difference. The wee waves come around our feet and it's very refreshing.
      Rugged up and keeping warm is definitely the way to go in Antarctic weather!

      Delete
  9. The heat... my daughter managed to survive Athens but they are finding Rome to be unbearable at the moment. Add crowds to that mix and hell is how she described it the other day. Enjoy your time by the water, that at least sounds wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's so hot on Athens they close the Acropolis for siesta too lol. I wouldn't want to wander around any big city in July or August.
      I hope she gets better temperatures and crowds for the rest of the trip. August in Europe is even worse. Everyone including the natives are on holiday

      Delete
  10. I've always found it strange how people wade out into the sea, and just stand there up to their knees in water, but never swimming. Maybe the can't swim?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, they do it here too and I know they can swim. Got to suspect that some are having a long pee . But others stay there for ages, just standing. I did ask a neighbour of ours why he didn't go further out and swim. He said he was adding to his suntan .

      Delete
  11. Here it is very similar, this heat every day, I would so like a sea close by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Being able to swim would make such a difference Yael. It really cools you down

      Delete
  12. Some who have never lived it might regard that as some kind of idyll. My cycling group were discussing temperature yesterday as we tootled about in about 16 degrees and a slight breeze (slightly chilly on he arms - just how I like it). They were complaining it was cold, and I analysed how I felt - yes I could sense cool but that seemed comfortable.... not like the days I wilted into the hammock chair on our Piraeus balcony, too hot to even cross the road and the rocks to get to the sea. Like you say - it will pass.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rocks must have been burning hot. Not the best place to reach, except at 7am, probably along with some of your elderly neighbours.

      Delete
  13. Wonderful way to spend the day.

    ReplyDelete