Trouble afoot in Kritsa

After touch and go decision whether to make a trip to Crete due to Alan's moderate but cumulative health issues we decided to go ahead.  A short notice booking via Monarch proved very economical at less than £200 each.  I can’t remember getting a fare that good in the past and we were definitely aided by our lack of fixed dates and flexibility over airports – resulting in us using Birmingham for the first, but hopefully not last, time

Arriving late August gave us a week to unwind and settle in before Chris and Gary arrived – unfortunately, this coincided with Alan’s foot “exploding”.  An adventure we could have done without was learning how to use the hospital system - basically, you wave your EHIC card and push in. 

The first time was in the evening and from leaving home to being seen, having a prescription dispensed and getting home again only took 2.5 hours – imagine that in the UK!!

The second time was mid morning on a Monday and after waiting 45 mins a Dr took a look and said “Go to Dermatology via the main reception.”  The receptionist said there were no free appointments so we asked if we could go the next day – the reply was, “No, go today and wait” – we did so and still Chris & Gary, for lunch.  Shame they didn’t have a magic wand just ointment and more antibiotics.  We need to be patient now, as the cream has to be applied for 20 days...

Poor Alan doesn’t know what’s worse no driving, no swimming or no alcohol. That said, we did have a good break when Chris and Gary were staying with us for 2 weeks but we left Alan home alone sometimes.  

Our x 2 night stay away to Plakias was good fun; our excellent accommodation was right by the beach and only a short walk from the tavernas.  On our first night we were amused by waddling geese that walked along the beach and road without a care heading for the taverna that obviously frequently feeds them.
“Take a gander in here!”

The short boat trip to Prevelli beach means you get the most amazing view of the palm-clad river crossing the beach.  A walk up the river to the foot of the gorge is beautiful and as the fire scorched trees, have returned to green glory it shows just how good nature is at righting man made wrongs.

During the drive home we paused where the road goes through a dramatic gorge and enjoyed a flying display by obliging Griffon Vultures.  Then we had a refreshing stop at Spilli to taste the water gushing from the Venetian fountains.

Apart from a visit to the south coast we used very local beaches and tavernas when not eating at home.  This is where I should add a BIG thank you to Gary for sharing the driving - thank goodness it is the car that is insured out here and not the driver!

In the week since Chris & Gary left us, Alan has stayed on the balcony with his foot up and open to the air to give it the best opportunity to heal.  It may not have been how he hoped to spend his time but a seat in the shade overlooking olive groves and mountains is better than staring at four walls in Swindon!

Kicking our heels in Agios Nikolaos

The day did not start well - a flat tyre argh!

Once that was sorted we were able to leave the car as planned for a thorough clean before we wrap it in it's "pajamas" for the 8 - 10 weeks we are in the UK.

This gave us four hours to wander around Agios Nikolaos to enjoy cold lemonade at one end and lunch at the other - a nice way to spend our last day.

Now, off to do ironing and cleaning to leave the house ready for us next time.......

Chronia Polla (Χρονια Πολλα) Rodanthe

Today is the name day for all women and girls named Rodanthe.  To "celebrate" we took a walk to the Secret Plateau and the site of the battle in which Rodanthe, the heroine of my story died.

I will soon need to write the key battle chapter at the end of the book so I wanted the area to be fresh in my mind before we set off for the UK.

Another way to celebrate this day is to show this photo of Nigel at work in his studio on a figure of a young girl sat working at her crochet - in my version of the story this scene occurs whilst Rodanthe was at school.

Legal driver

After our marathon at the car registration office our last instruction was to return a week later on Fri (31st May) to collect the registration document.  Erring on the side of caution we left it until after the weekend and went yesterday.  We were out of the office again in less than 15 mins - fantastic.  Mind you, after all of this we will never complain about the DVLA!!

The green card proudly held in the photo is the registration document.

Today I let Alan drive us to the bookshop in Elounda, where I had an exciting €40 credit to spend in return for the large box of books we took in last week.

My kindle charger was accidentally left behind in the UK so it is good to have real books in my hands again.

This is the good life!

Last night we enjoyed an evening on Hilary and Phil’s balcony with Phil’s Mum and his sister Rita the birthday girl, plus Ken.  After a good game of girl’s v boys Trivial Pursuits which the girls won (hooray) we had a BBQ supper.

So today we decided to walk off some calories in the foothills of the Thripti Mountains above Kavousi.  Looking out from our balcony we have a good view of this area so it was good to get close up.

We first did this walk on 5^th November 2003.  As this picture shows it was a wet start to the walk on that occasion.

This steep shale mountainside looks like it could landslide at any moment but the ancient path that crosses it is still intact.

A small church provided us shelter from the rain last time – today it was a place of welcome shade.  Last time when we exited the church I snapped this rainbow.

 Today's view was bright the sunny view.

Prompting us to decide we deserved a lazy afternoon on the beach.....

Hot Force 6 Gale

The hot south wind blew all night getting more violent towards dawn.  It was 30c on the balcony at 5.00 a.m.

It was not so bad down in Agios Nikolaos and the market was in full swing without too much trouble.  Back in Kritsa it was still gusting but is calming down.  The trouble is the air is now so full of sand and dust there is a grey smog blanketing everything.

From the balcony it looks like this:

It should look like this

We want our mountains back!!

Inspiring rock pools

I have had "writers block" regarding the penultimate chapter for the second part of the book for ages.  I have started and discarded it several times before abandoning it to start the re writing process.  My thoughts were that if I made significant alternations in the re write I would get an idea to overcome the "blockage!

The solution came yesterday when we went to Sitia further along the coast to the East.

The road side was so colourful with pink and white oleander, yellow broom and lots of fresh green trees and after a look around the shops and harbour we enjoyed a paddle the length of the very long sandy beach.

At the far end are many rock pools where the water was exceptionally warm and one was deep enough for a very pleasant swim.

After a picnic lunch Alan had a doze in the shade of tamerisk trees and I continued paddling.  Sat on a rock, thinking back over the story without really knowing I was doing so, I started to feed bread to small fish caught in the pools.  This reminded me of a clever seagull we had seen last year in Agios Nikolaos.  This bird did not greedily snatch up pieces of bread thrown to him as you would expect.  Instead he waited until several fish were nibbling the bread and then he struck, catching a fish.  This was no accident, he did it several times.

That little memory was a key - If I go back and fit it into the story I wont need the chapter I'm struggling with, yippee!

This picture of Sitia was taken in 2008 when accompanied by David we arrived by boat from Agios Nikolaos and then took the bus home.  Shame. the boat option is no longer available.

Good morning Sunday!

Awoke before 5.30 a.m. so made the most of the dawn.

I waited poised for ages to get the first chimes of the day at 6.00 a.m but missed the first chime by seconds

From pitch dark to daylight in 45 mins

Then after a full English listening to the church service via the tanoy and a couple of hours of cleanliness is next to godliness we went up to Kathero for a fabulous walk and picnic.

I had a lesson on how to drive down a zig zag mountain road - a white knuckle drive.  No, not me Alan - he thinks he will drive next time!

How many days does it take to buy a car?

In our case it was twenty.

Thanks to a great Facebook page called "For Sale and Wanted in Crete", we learned about several cars for sale but after seeing the well cared for gleaming Skoda Fabia on Marie’s drive we decided not to view any others.  We couldn’t believe it was so easy...

 Imagine the jokes a few years ago if you bought a Skoda!  Now a very reputable brand.

To buy the car we needed a resident permit and this entailed two visits to the police station, a copy of our passport and x 3 photos – all much easier than expected.

To sell the car Marie needed all the documents you would expect including proof of final payment from the dealer she bought the car from.  It was this document that caused the delay and considerable stress for Marie who is about to leave the country – we were OK enjoying bus travel.

Eventually the elusive document arrived by courier so we all set off to Heraklion to the office dealing with the change of car ownership.

Alan was not daft saying the car should be in my name – this meant he could sit in bewilderment and watch the two hour pantomime.  Marie speaks perfect Greek and said everyone was very helpful during each step of the process and we both knew we were in for a long haul so we chatted and laughed as we went from one queue to the next at the various different “windows” and stages:

• Found out we need to queue for window 11 but just before our turn a helpful lady explains to Maria the her slim pile of documents will not be enough
• Go to man in kiosk for guidance
• Go to buy photo copies of every conceivable document, passport etc
• Go to automatic machine to pay the transfer charge
• Go back to window 11 for form check
• Go to window 3 for senior person to check
• Go back to window 11 to receive slip of paper to take to window 12
• Go back to window 11 where the file for the car has miraculously appeared.  
• Watch as the man carefully puts the papers in order and applies the staple gun. Then, the best sound in a Greek office, the satisfying “Kerunch” as the bureaucrat pushes down hard with their official stamp before applying their squiggly signature.

I finally received a temporary form of ownership with instructions to return to window 11 in one week to pick up document...  All completed without a single computer.

Out into the delightful fresh air and off to Hersonissos to sort out insurance – a delightful computerised office, printed out policy there and then.  We will keep in touch by email and can transfer next year’s payment electronically if we are not in Crete – FAB U LOUS!!

Now all we needed was a receipt acceptable to the accountant for next year’s tax return.  They have an office in each town similar to CAB in the UK so in we went.  We each completed a form for our “oath” that we sold/bought the car and passed them to the man behind the glass who applied four different stamps, so it must be VERY official.

Now, where shall we go today?

Kritsotopoula by the bus stop

In a shady square by the main bus stop of Kritsa is a bust of Rodanthe, the heroine of the story I am writing.

Disguised as a young man, she joined the rebels and it was only when she fell, fatally wounded that her secret was discovered.  The premise of my version of the story is to build a credible foundation to keep her safe as a young man during her many adventures

We will never know the truth, so perhaps the echoes I feel in the village and surrounding area, are guiding me in the right direction.

My best translation of the information plate below Rodanthe is:

Rodanthe Kritsotopoula

Daughter of the First (senior) Pappas of Kritsa, 

who heroically fought against the Turks in the two day battle of 1823

Any better translation will be received gratefully.

http://clicktotweet.com/W62fS

Question – why is the slope from shore to water in a marina called a slipway?

The buses in Crete are more like coaches and are “almost” reliable.  As our intention to buy a car is still "work in progress" we are using the buses almost daily.

Today we returned to Agios Nikolaos for a day on a sandy beach right by the marina – the town has various beaches that are all quite different.  A nearby LED display confirmed the temperate as 27c.  As the picture of Alan having a swim shows it was a still wave free day.

On leaving the beach to walk to the bus Alan complained about the amount of sand in his Crocs so decided to paddle in the shallow water at the end of the marina.

We now know it is called a slipway because he did..... Luckily his money dried quickly so we could enjoy an ice cream whilst waiting for his shorts to dry enough to sit on the bus.

There is such a thing as a free lunch

After a good walk with Hilary and Phil yesterday, up on the old path to Kathero and then down the side of the largest cypress forest in Europe, we decided a visit to the beach was in order today.

Preparing to go I found €7.00 in my swim bag from last year so fab, we could spend that on sun loungers and parasol on the beach. 

Then whilst waiting for the bus I found €4.50 on a bench.

Once at the beach we found a few sun loungers had been put out but there are so few tourists they were not bothering to employ someone to make a charge.

We had a nice snack in a shady beach bar and declared it had no calories in it as in theory it was a free lunch!

Hairdryer wind

Imagine, wind so strong it literally bowls you along but it brings a temperature of 30c at 9.30 a.m.- not nice!

A mere trifle

Waste not want not.....

The last of the finger shaped Easter cakes had become too dry to eat but they put me in mind of trifle sponges so, voila.

Recipe:

8 Koulourakia biscuits 
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
Two peeled oranges cut to remove pith, sliced and segmented - catch all the juice in the process
I shot glass of Metaxa
1 pack of instant custard (from English shop or carried in luggage as an essential)
I box of cookling cream from Lidl
6 Strawberries

Method:

1. Halve Koulourakia  and line a dish
2. Mix orange rind, juice and pieces with Metaxa and pour over Koulourakia 
3. Make custard as per directions then pour over fruit.
4. Pour cream over once custard is cool
5. Decorate with strawberries and put in fridge to "set"

Serve with a flourish and accept praise and wonder from husband!

12th May - Kritsotopoula remembered

View www.facebook.com/pages/Kritsotopoula

for photos of the Kritsotopoula remembrance service

Break Away

Thurs 9^th May

In the foothills of the Psiloritis Mountains is a village called Kato Asites and above this is really fabulous holiday accommodation and restaurant, the venue for what was probably the last Explore Crete dinner (the forum on Explore Crete is closed).  Click here for their website – it explains it better than I can -   http://www.earino.gr/en/

Our accommodation was over two floors with a garden and balcony and is so well equipped that a longer stay would better do it justice – there was even a washing machine in the bathroom next to the bath tub.

The restaurant is a favourite of Ros who lives locally and kindly arranged the meet up.  A wonderful meal was enjoyed by all especially the carnivores who feasted on hunks of roast lamb.

The next morning we took a walk around the area and only 0.5 km away was the beautiful monastery dedicated to Saint George.  It is a tranquil setting and we only saw one monk busy tending animals.

Apart from this a group of children played near the spring and were delighted to teach me to say Agios Georgious – they were highly amused at my inability to produced the required guttural sound.

The black sky on the photo below shows the white building off so well..........

Our walk was in sunshine and the threatened downpour did not catch us.

Holy Bread Pudding!

Mon 6^th May Easter Monday 

Three local ladies very generously gave us chunks of communion bread from an Easter service.  This sweet bread has a bun like texture and taste but unfortunately it was dry.  In the past we have enjoyed it toasted but it looked like this quantity would go to waste, until I thought of bread pudding.  Oh how Alan loves me!

Young Kritsotopoula's memory of an explosive event

Visit Kritsotopoula's Face book page - new Friends welcome!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kritsotopoula/578569575495354?ref=tn_tnmn

Kalo Pascha - Happy Easter

I need to work out how to change the time setting as this post is actually on Sunday 5th May

“MY” new car is a Skoda Fabia – please remember Skoda jokes are so yesterday!

Alan’s new washing machine is a Whirlpool – a local company offered a same day delivery service, we wouldn’t get that in the UK.  Due to being en route to look at the car we opted for delivery next week.

We have bought the car from a Swedish lady who is moving lock stock and barrel back to Sweden.  I found out about the car via a really useful page for buyers/sellers on Facebook – after I posted a notice to say I was looking for a car we had several very high quality responses so I am bound to use it again.  

This is the site if you want to use it www.facebook.com/groups/181649568578125/

Here in Greece it is the Orthodox Easter, the most important religious festival of the year.  If you like peace and quiet never visit Crete at Easter.

Good Friday evening we joined the congregation outside of the large church near our house.  At the end of the service a flower decked bier was carried three times around the outside of the church by bearers wearing national costume, heralded by choir boys banging on iron bars to scare away the devil and followed by the service participants.  After this, the parade went along the high street to meet up with similar processions from another two churches.  “Our” church had the best decorated bier, illuminated from the inside by a clever light – but, in my opinion, the light adorned crucifix at the head of the procession was a bit over the top!

Easter Mystery - What gets about 30 men with large pick up trucks to Lidl at opening time on Easter Saturday?  Answer - a ridiculous "when its gone its gone offer" on packs of 24 dumpy beers.  We joined this throng by accident just keen to stock the larder and wondered what on earth was going on.  Of course once we realised, Alan deemed it impossible to have a trolley without at least one pack - it worked out that each beer was equivalent to 15p.  The till queues snaked the length of the shop but as most of the shoppers only had a trolley full of beer we were actually served quite quickly.  Can you imagine the men being so keen to do the shopping if their wives said that Lidl had a fantastic offer on eggs?

The evening of Easter Saturday we went to the lake in Agios Nikolaos to see the spectacular celebrations.  It was so moving to see the lake edge thronged with people holding candles waiting for the Church congregations to arrive.  The Pappas took to the lakeside stage to complete the service and by each person with a lit candle lighting the one held by their neighbour a ring of light flowed around the lake.  At midnight the Pappas announced “Christos Anestis”, (Christ has Risen) and this was the cue for fireworks to light up the sky and explosions to shake the ground.  A clever device set a ball of fire from the cliff top down to ignite a “Judas” suspended from his gibbet placed on a raft in the centre of the lake – this was soaked in flammable liquid so the flames were immediate and intense. 

Alan enjoys the generosity of the local ladies who share Easter cakes and I enjoy the opportunity to invite them in the house to demonstrate just how bad my Greek is.  This year I gambled on such gifts and didn’t buy any Easter cakes, a good move as after four such gifts I am running out of containers to keep them in!

This week has been far warmer than we could have expected so today we went to a beach and exposed the white flesh – of course I should have tried harder on that diet!  The water was warmer than we expected so had a swim too.
More seasonal weather is expected by the end of next week so perhaps I will get to wear my walking boots.

Meanwhile, to those in the UK, enjoy May Bank holiday.

Our easy Jet flight was just that - being able to pre book a seat gave us those vial extra extra inches!  Waltzing through arrivals with just hand luggage was a breeze.
Time for Alan to have his first frappe whilst we waited for the bus to Agios Nikolaos, sitting in warm sunshine was no problem.
Arriving in Agios Nikolaos 45 mins before the next bust to Kritsa gave me time for a few bits of food shopping whilst Alan enjoyed a second frappe and bought the bus tickets.  Really good system now with an electronic departure board showing the times of bus departures and what number bus to get.
We found a seat in the suprisingly crowded bus but I didn't recognise the face of one Kritsa bound passenger - even if I didn't know them I would have expected to recognise at least one.  Argh like sheep we had followed people onto the wrong bus.  We realised this just as the Kritsa bus pulled away - the air conditioned taxi was very enjoyable!

Home at last, the house had wintered well and with 24 hours it looked like we hadn't been away - all the time we were cleaning away the bright ginger sand coating over the windows and balcony we kept a wary eye on the water meter, determined not to run the tank dry this time and so far, we have water.

This is the fabulous stone relief created by Nigel Ratcliffe, the English sculptor who lives in Kritsa.  It pictures the death of Rodanthe, heroine of the Cretan rebels and it is placed a few km outside of Kritsa at the 1823 battle site.  The story of Kritsotopoula (as Rodanthe is now remembered) is captured poems and songs and also gives a name to the main street of Kritsa.

By choosing to retell the story in a novel I hope to bring the fabulous story to a completely new audience.

Tentative start

I don't want to be a luddite but I do feel that I am getting left behind -  I still use my mobile for making phone call - DOH! So, I have decided to use Google+ and a blog to dip my toe in the water of speedy communications.

Feels a bit odd, writing to myself but if I get some interaction it will spur me on.  Today was a good time to start as I had several hours to literally sit and do nothing except browse on the internet etc.