Send this page address - CLICK HERE - to a friend !Friday 25th - Christmas! December 25th, 2009 |
| We awoke a little late because we had eaten and gone to bed late on the previous evening. However, the day began with a pleasant surprise when our eldest son invited us to join him and his wife's family via "Skype". We watched them opening Christmas presents and felt less lonely. Thanks, guys! | 
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| Tim sent me a book about weather prediction from cloud formations. Laurence sent me a book about wind turbines. I think I mentioned, previously, that Carl had sent us a food parcel. |
| Lots of people sent us cards, emails and "virtual cards". I'm sorry that we didn't have a chance to speak to everyone, but it was a busy day! | 
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| Jenny made a wonderful Turkey lunch. | 
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| The sky remained stubbornly overcast all day so the temperature was a mild 17 degrees. Although we didn't have any snow we could see snow on the mountains! | 
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| At 3pm I fell asleep for two hours. When I awoke, we drove to the house of Eleni and Christos where we spent a pleasant evening in the company of English residents and visitors from Athens. I learned a new Greek word but I'm not allowed to include it here because it's very rude!  Oh, I should mention that Cretans don't celebrate Christmas, although the influx of foreigners has meant that they sort of go through the motions and greet each other with "Kala Chreestouyenna" (to which the response is "Efhareestó, eh pieces" - thanks, me also.) Christmas Day is not a day for special celebration or giving presents. That happens in the New Year on (I believe) the Epiphany and also at Easter. Saturday 26th - Boxing Day December 26th, 2009 |
| Today is HOT so Jenny decided that we should go to the seaside for a paddle. Georgioupolis is only 15 minutes drive and is very pleasant, so we went there. | 
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| That tiny figure is Jenny taking a paddle. Apparently the water was quite warm. I remained on shore to look after the cameras. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!) | 
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| A couple of horse riders come past. The place is almost deserted, apart from a few Greek tourists with cameras. The temperature must be around 25 degrees C. | 
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| I had to go to the zaharoplasteeo for ice cream. The place was heaving with people - mostly visitors from Greece, I think. Athens tends to be colder in winter and many Greek residents have holiday homes here. Curiously, many Cretans go to Athens for winter! | 
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| We returned home so Jenny could put on dry clothes then drove to meet our friends. We all drove to Neo Horio to a taverna called "Apopsee" where a party had been arranged. | 
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| There was fun and games. | 
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| OK, maybe I've drunk enough wine. | 
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| 8pm and time to drive home. Or try to. | 
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| It's still warm. (Where did I park my car?) | 
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| We took a friend home but she had no key so we had to wait a few minutes for her husband to arrive in the second car. We went in for drinks and a chat. (I had coffee.) On the way home, I noticed that one of my headlights had stopped working. Sunday 27th - Breakfast December 27th, 2009 We drove to the "Naos" taverna in Georgioupolis for breakfast, as usual. We were supposed to be meeting our friends there but they sent a text to apologise that they had overslept. |
| We were held up for a short time by heavy traffic on the narrow main road. I had to pull over to let it pass. | 
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| At the "Naos" cafe we met Manolis. He seems to be generally treated like the "village idiot". Apparently he has some mental problems and has to be fed lots of tablets. He walks with a distinctly simian gait, hunched forward with jaw and belly protruding. However, we have found him nothing but pleasant. He replies politely when spoken to and even speaks a few words of English. This morning we greeted him and he explained that Georgia (the owner) had gone out but would be back in a minute. I apologised because I find it difficult to understand him (he has several teeth missing). But he speaks slowly and is happy to repeat. He even told me that I speak Greek very nicely. Apparently, he is not short of money and owns property from which he earns rent. After breakfast we drove to the nearby garage where I bought a new headlamp bulb, for three Euros, and fitted it myself. The proprietor was somewhat dismissive and didn't offer to help. However, I spoke only Greek to him. I didn't use the new word that I learned.* I was civil and polite and thanked him before we drove off. One day I will make him smile. I see this as a challenge. Wait till my Greek is more fluent! |
| Greek lesson *The rude word, I mean, which isn't quite "winker" and doesn't sound quite like "Malaga". However, I did learn another new word today. The word for "bulb" as used in an electric lamp is "globos". However, a smaller bulb, as used in a torch or car, is called "globaki". (You can make almost anything smaller by adding "AKI" to the word. So a cat, for example, is "Gata" but a kitten is "Gataki". Easy really, huh?) The verb "to change" is "allazo". So if you want to say "can you change the bulb" it is something like: "boreeteh na allazeteh to globaki?" |
| Well, it is after 1pm. The weather is cool today. My Christmas Present (from Jenny) weather clock still thinks it's raining (it isn't) and reckons it's 23 degrees outside with 65% relative humidity. However, the alcohol thermometer displays "only" 20 degrees - the same as indoors. The central heating thermostat is displaying 21.2 degrees. I don't know which to believe but it's not cold, despite being overcast! Monday 28th - An exciting Day! (Not) December 28th, 2009 Arose late when the 'phone rang at 9:30am. It was Eleni, informing me that she'd got our car tax application from Georgios' brother who got it from his accountant. Lord knows how it got there. We had a very late breakfast after I crawled up the hill for bread. I drove to Eleni's house, with a TV programme on USB memory stick that I'd promised her, and returned with the car tax document. I worked on the computer and watched some TV programmes. I emailed our accountant to ask about our car tax. He replied almost immediately to say that he'd just bought our tax "sticker" that morning and we could collect it. We had "lunch" at 3pm and our friends, Sue and Ken, turned up before we had cleared the table. We chatted for a while then they walked back home. By now it was extremely windy but still relatively warm. In the evening I watched more TV programmes on my monitor and Jenny watched TV in the bedroom. Tuesday 29th - Car tax December 29th, 2009 We had breakfast then drove to Vamos to buy petrol. Harrees' petrol station was closed till 10:30am so we continued to Kaleeves where we collected our car tax sticker from our accountant's sister's kiosk. Jenny wanted to do some shopping so we walked to the bookshop and bought some cards, then to a shop that sells kitchenware. Jenny bought a pair of ice cube trays for our 'fridge. I asked the shop assistant what she called an ice cube tray in Greek. It's "pagotheeki" which means "ice thing". |
| Greek Lesson The ending "theeki" basically means "thing" but most often means "cover", although, as in this instance, it can refer to some sort of tray. Another common word ending is "air" or "ee-air". It also means "thing" and usually refers to a container. It's used in words like "vaporeezatair", which refers to a vaporiser or, more specifically, to a perfume spray bottle. |
| On our way back to the car, our "highlight of the day" occurred. A greek lady stopped her car, wound down the window and asked "Yia Vamo?" (For Vamos?) Jenny and I replied in unison "eftheea!" (straight ahead). Now we are truly "locals"! We returned to Vamos and I got petrol while Jenny visited the English butcher next door to buy gammon. On our way home we called to visit Geoff and Derrick who live near Vamos. We stayed and ate cake, drank tea and chatted until well into the afternoon, then returned home for a late lunch. The weather remained warm and sunny until late afternoon, when it became overcast. My "weather clock" thinks it's 16.5'C outside now (10:30pm). It still thinks it's raining. (It isn't, but it might finally be right soon as rain is forecast.) Wednesday 30th - Birthday cards December 30th, 2009 Awoke early to a rising sun. We had breakfast indoors (still a bit chilly) but now (9:30am) my weather clock reckons it's 21 degrees C. outside. It also thinks it's raining (it isn't and it hasn't) so I'm taking its display with a pinch of salt. However, it's definitely warm and dry outside, and forecast to remain so for several days. Jenny has gone to the "shed" to empty the washing machine and hang out the clothes. Then we'll head for a Post Office to post some birthday cards. Since the locals celebrate "name days", instead of birthdays, real birthday cards can be bought only from shops specialising for foreign customers and these cards are horrendously expensive. However, they sell nice postcards with envelopes. So, if your birthday is coming up, and we've remembered, you'll be receiving a postcard! |
| I've been watching the "Car Pool" video "podcast" in which Robert Llewellyn gives a lift to famous people and interviews them while driving. | 
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| It's an interesting concept and only slightly less dangerous than the traditional Greek way of driving with a mobile phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other! | 
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| I recommend it (the "podcast" - not the Greek way of driving!) If you don't already have "iTunes" software, you can download it from Apple.com (free). Once you've installed and launched "iTunes", navigate to "iTunes Store" and find "Podcasts". Then search for Robert Llewellyn Carpool and click "subscribe" (also free). The "iTunes" software will allow you to download previous and future episodes. I'm sure you can figure it out for yourself. "iTunes" will put episodes onto your iPod, if you wish (provided you have a later iPod that handles video). Thursday 31st - Mist over Rethymnon December 31st, 2009 |
| It was still dark when we awoke but, by 9am, the air was warm and we had clear blue sky as the sun rose into it. | 
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| Across the bay, a strange white mist hung over Rethymnon. It must be smoke. | 
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| On my way to the shop I see a stray cat finishing its breakfast - scraps thrown down for it by somebody. There are countless wild cats. They breed unbelievably fast but live an average of only three years. Allegedly, an unofficial poisoning programme in some areas keeps the numbers down. | 
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| By 9:30am it's 25 degrees C. outside in the sunshine and I've just rolled down the hill from the shop. | 
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| At 11:30am we decided to drive to the seaside. The weather was too nice to waste! Click on the image. | 
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| The weather was calm. You can see the smoke hanging in the air. So we walked along the causeway to the tiny church. | 
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| You've seen it, previously, as a white dot on the horizon. Here it is. | 
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| Inside are colourful icons. | 
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| From the seaward side. | 
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| Back a bit more ... | 
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| Jenny has the obligatory paddle. Gosh, it's hot out here! | 
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| Jenny heads back. She's wearing sandals and makes slow progress, so I wait. | 
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| We returned home for lunch. We'll be awake late tonight so I had a siesta. When I awoke after 5pm, the moon had risen. It's a "blue moon" - a rare event where two full moons occur in one calendar month. | 
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| At 8pm we headed for the restaurant above the IN-KA supermarket. Several people were already there. We sat and talked, ate a buffet meal, drank a little wine... | 
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| At midnight, everyone crowded onto the balcony... | 
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| ...to watch the fireworks. Bangers were not required as the local lads fired bullets into the air. | 
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| Spectacular flames, accompanied by gunfire. | 
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| These contraptions appeared to be oil-burning lamps inside paper bag balloons. They rose slowly into the air, probably giving rise to several UFO reports! We were praying that they didn't descend into any dry, flammabe olive groves! | 
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| We headed home shortly before 2am (midnight in the UK). Before going to bed, I remembered to change the VAT rate back to 17.5% in my "shopping cart". Various people sent us text messages (thanks). I finally got to bed around 3am. |
