On Tuesday, we finally became the owners of a house in Greece but more of that later.
Earlier in the week, we were invited to join Hans, Hanneke, Peter, Hidde, Michali and Inge for a picnic in the hills above Myrtos. Everyone contributed some food and drink and although the weather was still warm at the coast, we were warned to wrap up warm because we were going up to a plateau at 1,300 metres – roughly the height of Ben Nevis.
The climb up (in the car!) took the best part of an hour and the last part was on dirt roads so we were glad that three additional folk had pulled out at the last minute and we did not have to take our little car.
Finally, we arrived in a dry hollow in the hills with a small church and a barbecue place and precious little else except an incongruous sprinklered field where some sort of green vegetable or herb was being grown – no not that sort of herb!
Apparently, Michali’s father had built the church back in the 1960’s when working on a water irrigation project.
Wood was collected from under the trees and a fire was soon going in the barbecue pit and before long we were tucking into sausages, pork steaks, salad and baked potatoes. Delicious!
But the sun, which had been shining brightly when we arrived, was soon hidden behind a thick veil of cloud and the temperature dropped dramatically, to the extent that every stitch of additional clothing that we had brought was hastily donned.
Games were suggested and there were takers for both bat and ball and frisby!
It was a great place and we had a lovely time but we were glad to get down to a village and have a warming coffee on their terrace back in the sun!
So Wednesday arrived and we duly trotted off to the bank to get the money. This was a somewhat shambolic occasion as we met Maria, an elderly lady who runs one of the tavernas in Kavousi. She was keen to know when we were moving and when we explained (in Greek) that we were buying the house that very day, she got quite excited and insisted on following us around whilst she gabbled away. Eventually as we were trying to sign the bank cheques, she found someone who could speak English and it became apparent that what she was trying to do was to invite us for a coffee to celebrate! We haven’t been yet but we will.
Then it was off to Agios Nikolaos to meet our lawyer and the notary for the signing of the contract. In fact, there were quite a number of folk gathered there as the vendors; lawyer was there together with someone who had their power of attourney and Yiannis from the Estate Agency. It soon became clear that nearly everyone was there on grounds of self-interest. After the formalities, they would be paid – in cash!
We had turned up clutching two cheques ( two complicated to explain why) plus a bundle of cash, like E7,000. We had already taken over E6,200 in cash for purchase tax the week before. Everyone wants to be paid in cash so it does not go through their books and therefore they do not pay tax on it! If the notary and the lawyers are all playing the same game, what hope for the Greek economy?
Still, they had to wait whilst the notary droned through the contract which was conveyed to us from her laptop to giant screens on the walls of the room – very hi-tech and very un-Greek! Then George, our lawyer, translated it into English for our benefit and finally we signed it, with a round of congratulations from one and all.
Then, they got round to doling out the dosh. At one stage there were four of them all counting out 50 and 100 euro notes as they divi-ed up our cash between them! Given the skill and speed with which the counting was carried out, this was clearly something which was not new to any of them!
We were knackered but we owned a house – so we went and had a look at it!
The next day, bright and early, we met Heidi and Manu who are going to paint the inside for us before we move in.
Manu had decided that the ceiling, in what will be our bedroom, needs to come down because it is unstable. He was hoping that this would be relatively simple. It wasn’t! Two hours later it seemed to us, as though the day before we had bought a house and now, we were demolishing it!
A day further on, you can appreciate the wisdom of what he was suggesting but the place is still a mess, full of dust and no painting has yet been done!
Still, the plumber has been and the kitchen sink works and we have a new tap and except for the fact that I had to fish a dead rat out of the loo, otherwise all seems to be well!
And last night, Hans and Hanneke came over to Kato Spiti to celebrate with champagne etc.
Today at the new house, we had a visit from an English neighbour (an art historian) who introduced us to two Americans (who may be in archaeology), so clearly there are other English speakers in the village. In a way this is good but we want to improve our Greek! Still, our closest neighbour is a Greek lady aged 91 so she told me (in Greek) yesterday and she seems happy to chat away to me in Greek all day, so perhaps it might work. I offered to teach her English in return which amused her no end!
For you animal lovers out there, we have become the official guardians of a mother cat and her four kittens. Rather belatedly, we have got to know some German neighbours at the end of our lane and when they returned home at the end of last week, they asked us if we would feed the family of cats! Well, we have been diligently doing so for the last week but although the food is generally being eaten, we now see nothing of the mother or her kittens! Still they were very sweet when they were there and no, Bonnie has been nowhere near them!
I am now ratting out of the house re-furbishment process with a long-arranged trip to Scotland and England for nine days, leaving poor Sheila to deal with builders, neighbours and a kleptomaniac Greek – more on this in a future posting perhaps,
John
The guy in charge, John Papadakis, was an engaging fellow who made the subject extremely interesting even though basically, we were just looking at a pile of stones. Contrary to Evans’ view however, they now think that the building here was some kind of administrative centre for ‘harvesting’ the products of the mountains for the benefit of the bulk of the population who lived on the coastal plain below.
Anyone who has been to Crete will have seen any number of shrines by the side of the road or in remote spots, usually with a tiny ‘room’ so that a candle can be lit to the Saint to whom the shrine is dedicated. It has been Michali’s hobby for over thirty years to record and photograph these ‘iconostasi’ and he has been trying to get his book on the subject published for some time. Finally it has happened and last night saw the launch.
I told Cathy and Bruce that it was in the 1990’s with Graham and Rosie but John informed me that it had taken place at least a decade before and only with him! Oh dear, my memory! In fact the only thing I was right about that trip 30 years ago was that I was very sick getting there in the bus on a very windy road! This time I was fine and Cathy, Bruce and I set off in good spirits with lots of other people. 
So after two interesting and active days in Hania , we drove to Heraklion, stopping off at Rethymnon, the other large town on the north coast. It too is a beautiful city and as Bruce likes Venetian fortresses, he was in for a treat. The fortress is huge but size isn’t everything. Apparently the Turks attacked in 1646 and invaded 22 days later! John seems to have found something interesting down there!
Of course, we all know now that Bayern Munich eventually won but roared on from the south-east coast of Crete, Dortmund gave a good account of themselves and hardly deserved to lose – hence the title!
Now having put Rosie and Mike on the bus in Ierapetra yesterday morning, we are back to our normal lives here. That said, there are more houses to look at this week, the car to be serviced and the dog booked in for her annual boosters at the vet. Today, I went to the bank and tried unsuccessfully to get some forms required by the taxman, so a further attempt is required for that. Thus, even though we do spend a lot of time on the beach in the sun (or sea) and in Sheila’s case, at the tennis court, there is still a lot to be done, including learning Greek, which is what I need to do now!
We went into the church and lit and a candle and made a wish.
the south coast. Elounda, which is the main gateway to the island, was transformed from the one we had seen in the winter. And when we arrived in our small boat from Plaka, we realised that in addition to the interest in the island, we could indulge in some people watching!
We also found some new things to do. Ierapetra is somewhere we shop to some extent and I play tennis but we don’t normally pay it much attention. But the sea front is very attractive.
So I had very little information to offer on the Saturday when we walked along towards the harbour and discovered for the first time that the Venetian fort, near the harbour, was open. 
We then walked in the old part of Ierapetra where the roads are very narrow and there are nicely painted houses with flowers outside.
We then turned off the E4 but hope one day to come back and walk to the next village Chrisopighi. But on the next path, there were more flowers to admire, some familiar and some which looked familiar but in fact you couldn’t tell the time with these lookalike dandelions.
The next day, there was some manual work to be done. Our water comes to us in a black plastic pipe and should be under the road surface. However a vehicle taking concrete to a nearby building had unearthed our pipe. So our neighbour Walter and his son, John and Mark were all on duty to bury the pipe. Good job done!
Last weekend was the Greek Orthodox Church Easter. We dipped into the occasion in a couple of ways. Our neighbours, Walter and Brigitte, invited us for a drink on Saturday evening. They are delightful and very interesting people. They had been to a religious procession on Good Friday and were going to the celebration of the Resurrection at a small village called Makrilia near Ierapetra. John and I joined them. The village and the church were lovely. We did not have to wait long before the priest in a very beautiful red robe lit his candle and soon everyone with their candles walked out of the church. Above is a very bad picture of the priest as he walked outside! 
There was an alternative attraction nearby as some very noisy bombs and fireworks were let off by the local youths. Our Greek tutor Nikos told us that young people make these and it is best to be well away from them as people lose limbs every year. They certainly were loud!
There were painted red eggs on the table, apparently symbolising the blood of Christ. 
The next day we took Liz to Myrtos and then on to Tertsa for lunch at the beachside taverna, followed by some time on the beach and in the sea.
A Year in Crete 