Linzé's Mischief: 4 September 2016

Almost every morning this past week, I sat on the stairs of the time share apartment in Club Mykonos. I had my journal on my lap, a cup of coffee close by, and a view to die for. Most mornings it was a sunny view of the ocean, but the last few days a thick fog rested over the resort.
I am not a water baby - the Atlantic ocean is way too cold for me anyway - so my time was mostly spent musing about my editing, and watching people.
The complex of apartments was built in the rough shape of a horseshoe, with the open end right on the beach. Our apartment was about a 100 meters away from the beach. At times the waves crashing over the rocks were so loud that I had to go inside and close the door just to be able to think.
Early mornings were the most interesting. As I sat and observed the world, I noticed men holding a cup of coffee (I presume) were also out on their balconies (the complex has two floors of apartments) enjoying the sea air. Sometimes I saw a family having breakfast together, but never a woman. Maybe they were sleeping late or were busy inside. I found that odd.
Since Francois is an early riser and prefers the early morning light for landscape photography, I think he woke the seagulls when he did his daily walkabout. I saw some of his photographs - stunning!
If I made it to my observation post before 9 am, I spotted more photographers as they made their way to the building where the Congress presentations were held. They carried name tags to identify them - that's how I knew they were photographers. Some even had cameras with them!

The resort has two of these large chess sets and one of them was within my line of sight. It was fascinating to watch people, teenagers mostly, play the game. They must have been bored to tears if resorting to playing a game where you had to apply your brain and not your reaction time. Of course, one game was about the limit of what they could manage, and then they were off to where the wi-fi connectivity was more reliable.
The beach wasn't suitable for swimming, too many rocks, and no lifeguard. It didn't deter the odd parent and toddler to build a sandcastle, though. During our visit, the tide came in during the morning, so playtime was fairly limited.
One morning I walked around the harbour. It is not suited for commercial shipping, but judging by the number of sail- and motorised boats, it is a popular venue for people enjoying boating. They offered tourist trips on a catamaran (a rather big one to my ignorant mind) out into the bay area.

Commercial shipping made use of the harbour at Saldanha Bay a little further up the coast. We could see a tanker of some kind waiting its turn on the open sea.
On my hike around the harbour, I came across a fisherman standing on the rocks next to the harbour wall. Judging by the look on his face, he hadn't had much success that morning. Come to think about it, I think the only successful fishermen had been the reed cormorants who came in their hundreds for a quick lunch, before flying off to search for dinner somewhere else.
I didn't attend the Congress of the Photographic Society, although Francois registered me to make my meals easier to manage. Judging by the comments during the awards banquet (I did mention I was there for the food) it would seem that the photographers had the time of their lives. The speakers were well received and lots of new friends were made.
Congratulations to all the award winners, and a special mention goes to Francois (aka Hubby) for receiving his APSSA in print photography. (Photo on Instagram)

PS: I managed to edit the prologue and four chapters of my next novel. Not as much as I had planned, but considering all the rewrites, not bad for five days' work.