Pastures new

In the last few weeks, we have had good friends to stay and have used the opportunity to visit some of our favourite spots such as Gournia and Spinalonga. But during this time, we went to some places I have never been to before. Matala and Agia Galini  are tourist resorts on the south coast of Crete and Itanos is an ancient city in the north east of the island.

Annie, Gideon and I decided to have a couple of days away from Ferma, leaving John and Bonnie at home.  Our programme was a mixture of visiting ancient sites such as Phaestos and Gortys, taking in Matala to find out if the hippies are still there and then stay in Agia Galini which had been recommended by friends. Phaestos and Gortys were as wonderful as I remember them.

John told me I had been to Matala before but I have no recollection of the visit!!!  So it was with some interest that I drove down the very smart road to the small village.  I was very shocked by the number of cars there and the obvious signs of tourism and found myself first backing out of a shopping area which had clearly no parking and then trying to get into a car park that had no spaces and finally having to retreat to parking on the road some distance from the beach. Not a great start! However once out of the car, I enjoyed my visit immensely.

We laughed a lot at the various signs of ‘hippie’ history

and we thought it a hoot that one of the tavernas was called Akuna Matata.  That needed a photograph!

Then there was the shopping.  There was some nice, local stuff. but not all.

Annie asked about the origin of a particular pair of shoes. She was told by the shop assistant in a very resigned voice that it was ‘China, like everything else’.  Annie didn’t buy them! There were a group of older people with long hair and a guitar, sitting on the beach. But my overall picture of Matela is of a lovely beach, with many tourists and fantastic caves.

I could understand why it was and is such an attraction.  And now for a brief interlude to listen to Joni Mitchell!

We drove on to Agia Galini.  Γαληνη means calm and quiet and I think that would have been the case fifty years ago.  But now, even at the beginning of October, it was quite busy and again, the first impression was of unmitigated tourism and a mild panic that I wouldn’t be able to park the car.  The town is built on a hill and when we finally reached the bottom of it,  I saw with some relief that there was nowhere else to go but to a public car park beside the harbour.

Hans and Hanneke had recommended the Hotel Akteon and we looked up the hill and there it was.  While it was pretty basic, it had a wonderful view of the harbour and the best Greek breakfast you could ever wish for, consisting of thick yoghurt, honey, the freshest bread you can get, great coffee and orange juice.

The first thing we did was to have a beer at a taverna which looked over the harbour.

The waiter gave Annie and Gideon a typed sheet of words to learn in Greek and Gideon speedily replied by teaching the waiter a few words of Swahili. I think the learning and cultural exchange went well because a raki swiftly followed!

Annie’s ‘Rough Guide to Crete’ came up trumps as she chose a recommended restaurant, Omar,

and I ate the best fish souvlaki, enjoyed a wonderful view and discussed the state of the Greek economy with my friends!

In the morning we admired  the sandy beach and investigated a new statue and a public area where there might be small events.  The statue was of Daedelus and Icarus and it appeared that this was the spot where Icarus started his ill fated flight to escape from King Minos and the labyrinth but the information very limited.

I looked on websites when I came back to see if I could find out the background to this new tourist attraction but failed dismally.  But there were great views from it.

We wandered round the town in the evening and the morning and although I would have hated to be there in August, I liked the harbour, the beach, the friendly tavernas and the hotel.

I was also just amazed by how the town was fitted into a small area on a hill and felt that there must have been an organised approached to its development. It was with some reluctance I left there and hope to go back someday.

Mairi and Norman arrived in Heraklion from Edinburgh and then stayed in Agios Nikolaos for a couple of days. We picked them up from there last Monday. Before we drove here we enjoyed a coffee and a spectacular view.

Their visit is recorded on a film, produced by Mairi to the sound track of Zorba the Greek.  It is a great reminder of their trip. I haven’t yet had any offers to appear in any other film yet but early days!

We had a day out to the north east tip of the island.  First we went to Toplou monastery, then carried onto Vai beach which is surrounded by palm trees and known as the setting for a ‘Bounty’ advert. The sand and setting are very beautiful and again at this time of year it is not so crowded. But still, when we went there last week we were charged for parking which is rare!

We carried on to itanos which is 3 kms to the north of Vai.  It has three wonderful beaches and is the site of a settlement that goes back to Minoan times, through the Hellenistic years, the Byzantine era and finally was destroyed in the 15th century, after attacks by pirates.

To begin with, it was in conflict with its neighbours, Praisos and Ieraptera over a dispute about who owned the temple of Zeus in the nearby town of Paleokastro but Praisos was defeated and then Itanos started to trade with Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Libya and surrounding towns. and prospered.

The site of Itanos covers more than 16,000 square metres.  Frederico Halberr, the Italian archaeologist, who excavated the palace at Phaistos also started unearthing this settlement, built on 3 hills and for the past 7 years a coalition of European researchers have been studying the site but excavation is still pretty limited and clearly much still could be found.  On one of the hills there is a small necropolis where ancient graves were found and artifacts found there are now in Siteia museum.  On another hill, we looked at a basilica from Dorian times with many fallen columns and we found a stone base marked with circular motifs.

Interestingly, I read that the west of Crete is slowly elevating upwards, while the east of the island is slowly sinking (6-8 metres in the last 200 years) due to earth quakes and that the harbor of itanos has now sunk into the sea. There are stones from the ancient town, even on the beach and in the sea.

It is a beautiful and isolated spot and it is hard to believe that there was a thriving city there for so many years.  I just loved it. We drove on towards the very northeastern tip, passing some vans parked on beautiful isolated beaches (hippies from Matala?)

but eventually turned back because there was a sign saying we could go no further.

On a more practical note, given the information above, you will be glad to know that John has found earthquake insurance cover for our new house. I will not go into detail on this except to say that it wasn’t easy to get it!    And more good news is that it looks like we could be proud owners of the house in Kavousi by a week on Wednesday and will be moving to pastures new!  So I am beginning to get excited about this and hope to have more news in the next posting.

Sheila

Back on the bikes!

The weather turned somewhat colder a day or so ago, so we decided to dust off the bikes, pump up the tyres and take to the road – well in this case the Motorway (as we call the dirt road skirting the base of the hill behind our house).

Bonnie ran along beside us as usual but we now go very slowly because she is beginning to show her age and we also don’t go as far as we used to with her. So although we made slow progress, it was good to be back in the saddle and as always up there, the views of Ferma were stunning.

We said goodbye to Annie and Gid on Sunday. They headed off to Heraklion for a few days sightseeing before the complicated journey back to Tanzania.

 I see that Annie was online this morning, so assume they made it! We had a great time with them, they were model guests and it was fun being able to show them how we live our new life. They were very adventurous as regards exploring Ierapetra on their own and even managed to ferret out probably the only Swahili speaking Greek in this part of Crete!

Sheila will be writing a separate post on the trip she took to Agia Galini with them and having had a sneak preview of the pictures, you so have a real treat to look forward to, especially if you were a hippy in the ’60’s!

On their last night, they took us to the fish restaurant in Koutsounari where we shared a giant plate of ‘mixed fish’. It defeated us in the end but was an amazing combination of taste, texture and shape. It was somewhere we have been meaning to go to for ages and definitely did not disappoint.

On Sunday, Peter (looking down in the photo below) and Hidde took us (and the extended gang) on a walk around Myrtos. It was extremely hot but the views from the top of the hill were well worth the effort and the swim afterwards was both cooling and we thought, well-deserved!

Sheila finally managed to organise a tennis doubles match with Hans, Brigitte and Jens making up the numbers. In the event, it did not prove to be entirely successful because Hans injured his elbow but it did reinforce Sheila’s views that she would like to get a regular doubles group together here.

Our new Greek lessons are proving both interesting and stimulating and at last, we are being forced into speaking more, asking questions and responding to questions being asked of us. We are also learning lots of new vocabulary (because we are effectively tested on it each lesson), which is good and we now belatedly have the course books which look interesting. The group is beginning to come together (three German, one Dutch and ourselves) and as we are all at roughly the same stage, no one is bored or feeling left behind, which is good. Maria, our teacher is not so interested as Nikos, in correcting mistakes – she just wants you to speak (and write) and providing she can understand you, then she is happy, just picking up on obvious mistakes and where she does not understand.

We have also said goodbye this week, to Walter and Brigitte and their friends Jens, Annie and Willi, who returned to Germany today. It is rather sad because we will not see Walter and Brigitte again until April by which time of course, we will hopefully be in our new house. So, we will no longer be neighbours and life will be different but we have had fun times together this summer and many memories to treasure. To celebrate their last evening, the usual gang joined them at Captain Yianni’s in Monasteraki for supper and a good time was had by all.

We seem finally to be making some progress on the house purchase. There was a hitch last week when there seemed to be a problem over access but this appears now to have been resolved in a classic Greek way by agreeing that if it has not been a problem in the known past, then it is unlikely to be one in the future! Now we have a new problem relating to earthquake insurance (pretty important here in Crete) but I won’t even begin to bore you with the details! We are hoping that everything will be resolved by the end of the month and that Manu and Heidi can paint the inside and sort out the ceiling in the main bedroom, which will allow us to move in after I get back from the UK in late November.

Now, we look forward to the arrival of Mairi and Norman who will be in Crete next week and with us for a few days. Mairi is one of our regular Blog readers and regularly comments on anything which she finds of interest in our ramblings. She has already let us know that she hopes we will continue with it after our year is up in November. The jury is still out on this but my view is that these things have a natural shelf life and that it might be good to call a halt once we are in our new home and take it from there. In the meantime, there is Greek to learn and the sea is still warm enough to enjoy and of course, much needs to be organised regarding the move to Kavousi.

So, we are busy but the tourists are gradually disappearing and it’s time to get out the jumpers! And to get back on the bikes.

John

A Tanzanian Tango

Annie and Gideon arrived from Tanzania for their much-anticipated visit, ten days or so ago and we have been busily engaged showing them the sights, having fun and celebrating Sheila’s birthday in the meantime. Today they have all gone off for a two-day trip along the South Coast to Agia Galini, leaving me free to catch up on blog postings (which have been sadly lacking of late), cleaning the house and looking after Bonnie, although all I have done so far is to soak up the late summer sun on the terrace!

For the week or so before Annie and Gid’s arrival, Sheila had been busy arranging her trip to Argentina to see Rosie early in the New Year. For various reasons (mainly to do with Bonnie), I decided a while ago that I would not go, so Sheila is going out with our friend, Jane, from London. The itinerary has now expanded to include Chile (north and south) as well as Rio in Brazil, so I am beginning to regret my decision!

Also of course, it would have been good to see Rosie but it sounds like she may be back in Europe soon after anyway, so hopefully, I will see her either here or in London. It was her birthday last weekend and although we never did get to Skype, she sounds in good form, had a fine party by all accounts and is continuing to enjoy her job.

The weather held up very nicely for the first few days of A and G’s stay and we were able to enjoy a walk in the hills and trips to the beach and swimming in the still warm sea. The visit to the Green Beach at Makrigialos, followed by a late lunch at the taverna there, was particularly good.

However, it was a bit of a surprise to find that Gid does not like being out in the sun, which we pallid white folk might find a tad odd for a man from Africa!

So he took up residence under the shade of a strategically placed beachside tree, while the rest of us took in the rays!

In the evening, Walter, who is back from Germany for a short stay, came over for a drink with his friend Willi and the raki and gin bottles took a bit of a hammering!

Later in the week we went to Siteia to visit the archaeological museum which was surprisingly good, even though information is sadly lacking on a number of the exhibits and we took the opportunity to visit the local branch of Dixon’s to look at vacuum cleaners (!) and also took a tour round the Venetian Fortress before having lunch on the prom.

Sadly, the weather then took a turn for the worse with an unseasonal taste of winter accompanied by a cold, north wind, grey skies and with temperatures falling by about ten degrees! Still, it was good weather to visit Spinalonga, which we did last Friday and as usual, it was a moving experience. It was interesting to see how much refurbishment work has been carried out over the summer and whilst the toilets have now been opened (pretty necessary given the numbers who visit – thousands each day), the café is still not finished. It’s hard to fathom as this is bound to be a gold mine and would surely finance the rebuilding, without further assistance from the hard-pressed Greek Treasury. That’s Greece for you!

Fortunately, the weather has now returned to normal with wall to wall blue sky and wonderful warm sunshine just in time for Sheila’s birthday on Sunday. After a champagne breakfast, we went to Xerokambos for the day, taking A & G with us as well as Hans and Hanneke.

After a visit to the historic village of Etia on the way …..

we then had a walk to our favourite beach (no time to swim).

Then, it was off to the Dolphin taverna for goat roasted on a spit, which we had ordered specially in Gid’s honour.

As it turned out, Michali had only been able to get a lamb but that was fine and the meat was wonderful, served up with chips and beer. We ate with our fingers, Tanzanian style and a great time was had by all.

Eleni then served up ice cream and cake with some sparklers, to celebrate the great day and we wound our way back to Ferma, well-fed and happy after a day to remember.

But the celebrations did not end there because later in the evening, Walter and Brigitta (who had arrived from Germany with three more friends on Friday), came over for a celebratory drink with Walter and all the friends in tow as well, plus another bottle of champagne. It made nine in our small sitting room but we managed and again the gin and raki bottles took another hammering!

Yesterday, we took A & G over to see the house in Kavousi. Walter and Brigitta wanted to see it too, so they came as well with their guests. The purpose of the visit was also to show Manu (who is going to do some work on the house for us), what needed to be done. He duly turned up with his girlfriend, Heidi, so all together some eleven of us walked through the door, much to the surprise of the agent, Wanda! It looks as though we will take possession early in November but we will probably continue to rent here until December to give us time to have the place painted and for our belongings to arrive from Scotland.

Then we went to the plateia for a coffee where Sofia was very pleased to see us and made mezedes which sort of did for lunch. We then showed A & G ‘our’ new beach at Tholos and went on to the Minoan site at Gournia because we thought they had not had an archaeological ‘fix’ for a few days!

While all this has been going on, we have started our new Greek lessons. These are funded by the EU (so they are free to us) and we go twice a week for three hours per session. This being Greece, however, nothing is quite what it seems. The organiser, Manolis, did not have enough numbers to run both a beginners’ and an improvers’ course, so he has signed everyone up as improvers but split the class and the time between the two groups. This is good for us because our group of improvers is small (six) and we can more easily manage two sessions, what with visitors and house buying, to say nothing of tennis! We are part of the plot, so to speak because we have to sign that we have been to all the classes but it works for everyone, so who cares? Our teacher is a young Greek woman, Maria, who is taking us back through basic grammar whilst encouraging conversation and writing and so far it is meeting our needs and we are enjoying it.

So it continues to be a tough life here but we struggle on!

John