Day 7: Hotoussa, Greece

 

Village House, Hotoussa

29 December 2025

Another foggy morning that cleared to a glorious Winter's Day! I think we are very fortunate with the weather at the moment.

It was obviously colder overnight than we've experienced before. It got down to freezing, because there was frost on the grass and ice on the car windscreen. I felt for all the dogs and cats outside (including little Booboo, who I've discovered has been left behind! I have now gone off that couple, who seemed so friendly and hospitable the other day.)

We went to Tripoli (again) this morning to do mundane things like visit a hardware store, an electronics store and also the Water Board - to try and change the water bill into Jim's name. He couldn't do it when he actually bought the house because they said the water bill wasn't due and you couldn't change anything between bills. What an odd system! 

Jim assured me that Greek bureaucracy was a nightmare, but this task turned out to be relatively painless. It involved going to the Water Board, going away to make photocopies of the property title (as they refused to make copies there), going back and then being sent to three different offices in the building to have three different bits of the job done. But, we finally completed the task - except for one part that we have to go home and do online. We'll see how it goes, but Jim was happy with how much he got done.

We stopped and had a light brunch at a cafe on the main square - and sat in the sun to watch the passersby while we ate. Very pleasant.

We decided we'd cook dinner for a change, so stopped at the supermarket and bought a free-range chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, some olives and some cheese. I was interested to see that there was a large delicatessen at the supermarket, with one counter dedicated solely to feta cheese - obviously an important part of Greek life! The fresh food at the supermarket here is actually very good. We stopped at a nearby bakery to buy fresh bread - the one thing you don't get at the supermarket.

We came home and prepared the chicken and potatoes and put them in the oven. (Jim's uncle has left the essential items in the house - pots, pans, plates etc, plus salt, pepper, oil, oregano, vinegar and a few other spices.) It's interesting how easy it was to cook a delicious dinner.

We had the front door open while cooking, as the weather was so pleasant and gradually our six feline friends from yesterday turned up. I suppose the smell of roast chicken wafting through the village was too much to resist. One of the skinny dogs was also hanging around the edge of the yard.

After eating, I took some of the leftovers out and tried to distribute them evenly - which wasn't easy as some of the cats were determined to get as much as possible. I made sure the dog got some pieces all to himself. The cats hung around for a good couple of hours afterwards and I'm sure they'll be back tomorrow for more. We have created a problem, I see.