Cretan Diary - Chapter 46

Friday 12th - Feeling Better

February 12th, 2010

Wow, it's been a short week! (Maybe because I spent most of it in bed?)

I went to bed early last night, slept soundly and awoke at 8am without an ache anywhere!

Jenny made breakfast then I drove to Vamos (the roadworks stretch even further now) to pay the phone and broadband bill and to visit the plumber's shop to find something that will fill the 5cm gap between the new bath and the wall.

I parked in the car park and walked to the OTE shop where I paid the bill with two 50 Euro notes and received some change. Then up the hill to the supermarket, where I found a box of "PG Tips" tea for Eleni. The shop owners were counting huge piles of cash at the till - it was spread right across the checkout counter - so I stood back and waited patiently. The daughter noticed my presence and hurried past her mother to reach the till. "Seegá seegá," I smiled in true Cretan fashion. (Slowly slowly.) She smiled back, appreciating my understanding.

I returned to the car and drove out of town towards the plumber's, noting that petrol was now 1.35 Euros per litre. I exchanged pleasantries with the ladies in the plumber's shop - some of it in Greek - and explained what I wanted. Georgia took me downstairs to look at plastic guttering. There was nothing really suitable and it was in 4 metre lengths anyway.

She took me back upstairs and suggested white plastic capped trunking for electric cable. The U-section trunking had holes in it but the actual capping would do the job, so I bought it. Georgia asked Georgios to cut off the length I required, which he did with a hacksaw blade and much vigour.

I bought some polyurethane filler-adhesive (which is what the plumber used around the bath) then drove to Eleni's house to hand over the box of tea bags.

She made me some coffee and we chatted about web sites, jobs and the state of the Greek economy (not good - in case you haven't heard the news this week).

Back home just after 11am, I fitted the piece of plastic at the rear of the bath so the water would drain back into the bath, instead of running down the wall and onto the floor.

The workmanship pretty well matches the rest of the job done by the plumber, so no rude comments, please!

I worked at the computer till 4pm then went for a walk, calling at a neighbour's house on the way back to ask if she wanted a lift to the quiz tonight. She'd had a busy day and decided she'd stay at home so I returned and informed Jenny. A phone call confirmed that we would collect our friends and take them to the quiz. Their neighbours are both now in England, so our team (including friends from Mathess) is reduced to six. That means two extra points!

I must mention, as the sun is about to go down, that it has been warm and sunny all day, although the wind picked up around 2pm and continues to blow hard, rattling the "spinning thing" on our somba chimney.

Our neighbour told us that it snows each year on February 13th. That would be tomorrow and it seems highly unlikely. Fingers crossed!

Jenny tells me she has spent the day ironing and writing letters. I feel guilty for not noticing. (I think I've persuaded her that it's "not Greek" to wash the car, as long as we can see out of the windows. The Greek way is to wait for rain or to pay for a car wash when they visit the city.)

At 6:30pm we collect David and Mary and drive to the taverna where we participate in the Friday "quiz night", preceded by a nice meal. It's fairly warm - 15'C outside.

Starters was the usual local salad, with greens, chopped figs, pomegranate seeds and some other sort of seed or kernels.

Also battered and fried mushrooms and aubergines.

Main meal (for me) was local greens ("horta") with lean pork.

After the quiz, we finished off with fresh fruit (slices of apple, orange, kiwi) and what appeared to be orange peel boiled in sugar - not to our taste!

My osteopath in the UK, contacted me via Skype as I was about to go to bed at 1:40am.

Saturday 13th - Dull and Windy

February 13th, 2010

This morning I feel dull and windy - like the weather. Jenny is cooking breakfast but I've just told her to stop because I'm still full from last night's meal. Need to go for a walk.

It'a a cool 12.5'C and overcast. Bugger.

There's a lot of noise from the builders outside. Here's a tip: when you move to your island paradise, don't expect peace and quiet. (We didn't - we did our research.)

State of the Greek Economy

People keep wibbling at me about this, so I suppose you are expecting some sort of comment or, perhaps, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, in true biblical fashion? Our current strategy is to transfer what little cash we have left in England, as we need it and the rates seem to peak in our favour, then withdrawing it from the Greek bank before they go bust. Somehow, a mattress seems to be so much safer and gives a higher rate of interest!

In the old days, if a government had lost 250 billion currency units, the relevant parties would have had their arms and legs tied to four horses, which were then given a good slap. Or, in true French style, they would have been given their heads in a nice wicker basket.

Nowadays there's no accountability. We just vote in someone else who will put things right by increasing our tax burden and asking us to produce receipts for any money we manage to keep for spending.

Historically, the Greek people have specialised in tax avoidance. They have it tuned to a fine art. As a result, they are accustomed to having more spending money than they have any right to expect.

In its turn, the government has awarded itself bonuses, pushed a lot of notes, furtively, into back pockets, and spent borrowed money on frivolous things. Nothing new, there.

The government has tried to claw some of its taxes back by adding a percentage to the electricity bill, based on the land area and other factors, such as how many cars and boats you own. This is nothing short of genius but doesn't solve the problem.

They need to kill the reliance on cash and force the population to use credit cards and cheques, so that the spending becomes visible and accountable.

I note a new move to make cash transactions above 1500 Euros illegal. No longer will we be able to take 150,000 Euros cash and buy a house. It will be interesting to see how this can be enforced or policed.

They need to increase tourism and exports. The country's assets are sunshine, sea, fruit, fresh water and limestone rock. Olive trees are seen as an asset but actually they are a liability. World olive oil production exceeds demand, so the earnings are low. You can only eat so much before your poo turns to tar. You can't run a car on the stuff.

Given the assets, I think they should use sunshine to generate electricity, and heat for steam boilers. The electricity can be sold to other countries and used locally to remove the reliance on imported oil. Limestone can be used to make cement - and it IS - lots, but very little is exported. Water, currently running down rivers and diluting the sea, could be collected and sold to countries that need it. Despite what people may think, there's no shortage of water on Crete.

Above all, tourism needs to be encouraged. Funnily enough, marching through the streets of Athens with banners, and increasing tax on petrol, does not encourage tourism.

(I'll never be a politician, will I?)

We took a walk to the shop - the long way round - and espied a butterfly.

11am I ate breakfast. Soon be lunch time.

Missed lunch! I took a nap and awoke at 4pm in time for evening dinner, which Jenny duly cooked. Fish, chips and beans for me. A nice healthy combination of protein and fibrous vegetables.

Watched TV direct from the UK via "Slingbox" during the evening. Now nearly midnight and outdoor temperature has fallen almost to 9 degrees C. My legs feel really cold so I'm going to fill a hot water bottle and snuggle up in bed!

Sunday 14th - Breakfast

February 14th, 2010

Today we'll go for breakfast as usual at the "Naos". I think that our friends from Mathess will be joining us and Eleni suggested that she and Christos might come - which will be a first. I'd better email her to see if they want a lift.

11pm. We were joined by all four at the Naos. Eleni and Christos had already eaten and had drinks only. They left and the four of us chatted for a while before deciding to go for a country walk. We returned to our car and drove behind our friends to their house.

We all went in their car to a village (Argyroupolis) where we began our walk. We arrived at a spring in a valley. I unblocked the water channel while the others gathered fruit from nearby trees.

This is an ancient burial site and the tombs are said to be several thousand years old.

We climbed up to the main road and walked back to the village.

The taverna had a huge glass tank of trout, which I omitted to photograph. The children watched gleefully as a waiter netted fish for the pot. (We didn't eat any.)

A favourite spot for cats.

After the meal, we returned to our friends' house, collected our car, and drove home in the dark.

Monday 15th - Clean Monday

February 15th, 2010

Today is a Bank Holiday, which the locals call "clean Monday". Traditionally, they bake large flat loaves and fly kites. We had breakfast then I walked up the hill to buy a special loaf from Aspaseea's shop. Jenny made tuna sandwiches for a picnic.

At 11:30 am I finished work and we drove to Eleni's house to drop off a computer memory stick with the final TV programme for Eleni's distance-learning course. Then we headed for Aptera, where kite flying was to take place.

We had to park near the entrance to the narrow lane and walk the rest of the way.

Kites could be seen flying in the distance.

It was clearly a popular event.

Musicians and dancers entertained the crowd. There was a food table near the castle.

A friend was flying a kite, which had cost fifteen Euros. (Shortly after this picture was taken, the string snapped and the kite fluttered into the valley, below.)

It was windy (obviously!) and chilly so we all decided to walk back to our cars and drive a short distance to the nearest taverna. We ate octopus, prawns and mushrooms.

I lent our friends from Mathess my Cosmote Internet USB "dongle" because their phone line is so bad that they can't get a connection.

I had to get back to work so we returned home. A series of emails awaited me, explaining that my youngest brother in England had visited our mother and discovered the reason her email wasn't working: Virgin Media had changed her broadband account and nobody had been to make the necessary changes on her computer. Anyway, he'd fixed it and her email is once again working.

We ate the "picnic" sandwiches for evening dinner.

Tuesday 16th - Web site design

February 16th, 2010

The snow on Mount Ida is receding. The outside temperature reached 15'c today but no higher. The sun kept us warm in the morning and Jenny drove to Vamos to post a package and fill the petrol tank.

When Jenny returned, I drove to Eleni's to discuss her new web site, leaving Jenny "spring cleaning" with doors and windows open. On my return, I created a web page for a new product to add to my site. That took quite a while as I had to gather pictures and information from several sources. I had several email discussions with suppliers and answered customer enquiries.

Jenny told me that our friends had emailed to say that my Internet "dongle" was working brilliantly.

Jenny made sandwiches for lunch then we took a long walk around the village, buying vegetables at the "Bio-Market" along the way. Many dogs greeted us by barking furiously, although our "favourite" dogs have been missing for a couple of days. (We still cross the road just in case!) A cockerel hooted at us. The sun was hidden by clouds and I wore a pullover AND a fleece. I'm turning Greek.

As we descended the lane, a dog barked through a fence and its owner looked up. He greeted us, first in Greek, then in German. He didn't speak English but he said he was Greek and spoke German. We stopped and chatted in both languages. He asked the usual questions: "where do you live?" "How long?" etc. He told us he had been employed as a croupier for several years but was now retired. He was holding a circular piece of eucalyptus wood with which, he told us, he was making a plate stand for his wife.

As we bade our farewells he asked us to wait, went into his house, and returned with a handful of fruit. We told him our names and he repeated them but he didn't tell us his.

Another dog barked as we descended the hill. It was our neighbour's. She came out and spoke to us, briefly. I didn't linger because the weight of vegetables AND fruit in the "sakoula" was stretching my arm.

Back home, I watched the recorded UK news then had a siesta. Jenny cooked and, after eating, I returned to updating my web site.

10pm. I've been watching David Attenborough while "chatting" to Eleni via Skype. Eleni has invited us for tea on Friday so we will miss the weekly quiz. To be honest, it hasn't been as good - or as well attended - as usual because our quizmaster has returned to England for a few weeks. The "standbys" do their best but aren't as good and have "done us out of points" for two weeks in a row.

Wednesday 17th - Warm and Windy

February 17th, 2010

We've had a howling wind all night but it's a warm wind and the outside temperature has risen to 18.5'C.

Geoff is repeating his walk of last week, today, but we have arranged to go to the C.I.C. luncheon at Episkopi. (C.I.C. = Crete International Community)

The "Kactus" taverna at Episkopi.

We were last to arrive.

Jenny's seafood risotto.

Roger's chicken risotto.

My rabbit with potato and cheese.

A STOP sign. We think Greece bought a job lot. They are stuck on posts - sometimes before roadworks where you certainly wouldn't be expected to stop. Many of them - like this one - have been used for target practice.

The temperature rose to 23'C, as the mist cleared, and remained warm until evening.

11:20pm. The outdoor temperature has fallen to 14'C. The locals tell us it will get colder in March.

Thursday 18th - Warm Walk

February 18th, 2010

We drove to Vrises and arrived in the car park at the same time as our friends from Mathess, with whom we had arranged to go for a walk. We set off from the town, following directions printed in a booklet. Our friend returned my Cosmote "Internet USB dongle" that I had lent her. Eleni phoned Jenny to ask if our Internet was working. Obviously we couldn't tell her anything more than the fact that it had been working before we left home that morning.

After about a kiliometre we reached a bridge, which appeared to have been renovated fairly recently, although part of it looked ancient.

We stopped to look at the stream that bubbled briskly beneath. The view of the clear water was marred by "fly tipping", which is prevalent here.

This isn't a headless lizard. It's hunting ants down a hole. A prod from me sent it scurrying down into the ants' burrow and out of sight!

Graphic designs on the roof and walls of the ancient church of the Holy Angels contrast sharply...

...with the modern accoutrements.

Back in the town, we all had lunch at a taverna overlooking the river. I had heard that there was an excellent car mechanic so I asked the waitress if she knew where I could find him.

"He ees my boyfriend!" she replied. "I weel call heem."

She made a phone call and told me that he would be there in twenty minutes. No problem; the weather was lovely and we had a table overlooking the river. After nineteen minutes the waitress came out to tell me that, unfortunately, her boyfriend was very busy and couldn't come. However, if we went out of town we would find another mechanic opposite the petrol station.

After the meal, we said goodbye to our friends and headed up the road. A sign depicting a petrol pump indicated that the garage was 500 metres away. Our feet were already sore so we returned to the car park and drove to the petrol station. The attendant told me that the mechanic I wanted was called Dimitris and was actually at the other side of the town, opposite the bakery!

So we drove back and found the garage. Dimitris couldn't speak a word of English but I managed to convey the necessary information that I would like him to change the oil and filters and to check everything else, as in a normal service. He took my phone number then handed me his card and asked me (so I thought) to ring him later, as he didn't know whether he could fit me in tomorrow (Friday) or Saturday. He asked me a question but I couldn't understand.

We called at Eleni's house on the way home to see if she needed to borrow my "Internet USB dongle". She didn't; she had made a phone call and her broadband was working once more.

In Seliá we saw a familiar figure. He is a local sheep farmer who has a rather odd face.

I worked at the computer and I was just about to phone the garage when my mobile phone rang. It was someone, calling on behalf of Dimitris, who spoke English. He said that Dimitris had wanted to know whether he should check the cam belt. I said yes, I wanted everything checked. I told him (in Greek) that the tyres and antifreeze were new. He replied, in English, that he was amazed I knew the Greek word for antifreeze! (Andeepseekteekó.) I thanked him and asked him to stress that I wanted synthetic engine oil, not ordinary, and that I realised it was expensive. He asked me to bring the car to the garage at 9am Friday.