Greece on 42c to the Euro

Week ending Monday 1 December

Yes we are still swimming!... even if it is only to clean the waterline for the last time this year maybe!

Another busy week is behind us while we watch the international financial carnage continue to rip the stuffing out of the NZ dollar exchange rate. We rehash our budget for 2009 as our tenancy on Ngake Street comes up for renewal and we drop the rent to retain our tenants for another year.

Despite the double whammy we are still optimistic that we can continue with this life and will find ways of achieving our budget. We buy 500g of beef for 5 Euro and make a large pot of goulash with lentils - enough for 3x2 meals. A new toaster ensures we can make toast with yesterday's bread (1 Euro per loaf), local jams and honey jazzing it up for a high energy morning snack..mmm. (We stop blogging and make some right now...) Lots of fresh olive oil, tomatoes, Kos lettuce and cold meats make up our lunches, while hot soups and eggs fill in the gaps. A 1 Kg pot of yoghurt is Euro 3.30 when on special, closer to E 4 normally. The pork in Greece is very good as is the chicken and veges. We count the Euros as they go out and are in the process of building up an accurate picture of what food is costing us. We are using a plug in (electricity included in our marina costs) electric hotplate for cooking rather than the gas which is Euro 14 for a 4 kg bottle.

We are aware that everyone is affected as some of our British cruising friends talk in shocked tones about the Pound Sterling now at 1.2 to the Euro when it was x2 not so long ago.

Each day vanishes as we continue to work on the general maintenance on the boat while the weather stays warm between the regular gales that are now coming through from the south. We are becoming accustomed to changing the additional springs over from one side of the boat to another as the wind changes direction from the south to the north west and north east which brings in the ice from Turkey. The sound of the wind howling during the night makes us feel cosy not threatened.

In between the work on the boat we find time to spend with Werner and Hannah our German friends and neighbours who will be leaving this week, and Swedish Lars and Ingela from SY Baravara (in Kos Marina for 3 days on their way to Alanya) who take a photo of us for their website on their mobile phone and txt it straight to their blog - check it out on www.baravara.st.

The big surprise of the week is when Brits Andy and Brenda (see photo) from SY Deep Blue turn up here in Kos. We first meet them in Venice in early August as they are on the same marina as us. We have a great time catching up with them and take a bike ride with them today to Asklepion 4 km from Kos town. Asklepion, an amazing site on 3 massive terraces with panoramic views across to Turkey (see photo), with its origins in the 3rd century BC, housed the Medical School of Hippocrates. Kos is the birthplace of Hippocrates -known as the founder of modern medicine; the Hippocratic Oath originates from here. His holistic approach to medicine was based on clean air, good diet and healthy living including lots of exercise. Later we visit the deserted (presumably only at this time of the year?) International Hippocratic Centre and walk around the overgrown gardens containing all the species of herbs that Hippocrates used in his healing methods. (Some leaves go home for the pot!)

Of course we have been going out at night again, and there has been a little bit of socialising thrown in thanks to Werner and Hannah and also to our new friend Ian at the Yacht Club Cafe who runs a quiz night each week - we will be regulars (see photo). However, on Monday morning Andy and Brenda depart for Turkey and Wednesday we say farewell to Hannah and Werner (Werner has a new haircut thanks to the team on SY Matelot). We will be feeling very forlorn once these guys head out and leave us to mind the fort until early in 2009. However, there are lots of projects lined up and if the past 3 weeks is anything to go by, the time will certainly fly by.