Cretan Diary - Chapter 52

Friday 26th - A Visit to the Dentist

March 26th, 2010

We had breakfast then drove to Georgioupolis. The pharmacy had clearly just opened and a lady was sweeping behind the counter. She ignored me for a while then looked up. In my best Greek I explained about the prescription and the apparent need for an additional document. She confirmed this and showed me an actual piece of paper which, she said, was like the document I needed to obtain from the doctor. I commented that Xaniá was a long way to go for another piece of paper and she replied very quickly, in Greek, with a look that was intended to kill. Amongst the words were a couple that I took to mean "any doctor" so I'll try to see a doctor before I go to the dentist this afternoon. I also have to remember to call at the Post Office to send a present to my Mum.

It's going to be a warm, sunny day, with painful intervals.

I phoned the urologist in Xaniá and explained the problem with the prescription. He made sympathetic noises and told me to go to Vamos Health Centre and ask for Dr Mario Vatsakis. "He knows me. He might fill out the forrm forr you."

I didn't like the sound of "might" but what the heck!

I drove to Vamos, leaving Jenny to do some gardening. A number of earth-moving vehicles blocked the road but someone in front of me honked and we were allowed to pass. I wish we hadn't paid for the car wash yesterday. This is like driving through a swamp.

I squeezed into one of the few empty spaces in the Health Centre car park. "I'd like to see doctor Mario Vatsakis, please," I told the receptionist in Greek. She directed me left, up a corridor, and said something which was obviously "take the something door on the (left/right?)." I followed my nose and found a waiting room with half a dozen bored-looking occupants. There was a door on each side labelled "Doctor" (in Greek).

The door on the right opened and a very large young lady trundled out, holding her back, and followed by three other people who appeared to be family members. I get the impression that it's traditional to visit the doctor with as many family members as you can gather at short notice, so that they can all describe the symptoms and advise the doctor what to prescribe.

A man in a white coat appeared, waved his arms and shouted "STRIKE!"

A woman pushed past him and he went inside, closing the door. A man appeared and went inside. Maybe it was her husband. There ensued a lot of muffled shouting inside, punctuated occasionally by "STRIKE!"

The man sitting next to me was clearly not Cretan. He was English or German. However, I didn't engage him in conversation because I was practising "I need another document for antibiotics, please" in my head, in Greek.

The door on the right opened and the couple came out and went away. The English/German next to me stood up and spoke one word (which I didn't hear) to the white-coated doctor who reacted by flapping his arms like a demented goose and shouting "STRIKE!" The man next to me darted down the corridor like a startled rabbit and vanished.

White-coat stared at me and said "oreeste?"

I told him in my best Greek that I was waiting to see Doctor Mario Vatsakis. White-coat pointed to the door on my left while simultaneously turning to an elderly man and saying "oreeste?"

At this point another white-coated man appeared from the corridor, flapping his arms and shouting lots of sentences interspersed with "STRIKE!" (If I was forced to guess, I reckon he was saying: "why are you still seeing patients? We're supposed to be on strike. Why are you all waiting here? we're on STRIKE! We won't see you today!")

Like brer rabbit (or was it brer fox?) in the briar patch, I decided to lie low and say nuffin.

The large young lady with the bad back and family entourage reappeared and entered the room on the right - taking advantage of the still-open door. They were followed by two doctors and the door shut.

I practised "I need another document for antibiotics, please" in my head, in Greek, and "I am not in a hurry, honest" - the latter in English, trying to convince myself that time was not of the essence.

I will not bore you, dear diary reader, with the similar events of the next half hour. Suffice to say that eventually I managed to get through the door on my left, to be greeted by a white-coated man who shouted (not unexpectedly) "STRIKE!"

I had prepared myself for this and smiled pleasantly at him. He motioned me to sit down. "Oreeste?"

I explained in my best Greek that I needed "another documentation for my anteevioteeká". He stared at me with a puzzled expression. I explained that "I leeve here from only six month so my Greek he is not very well".

That got his attention. "What you warnt?"

I handed him the prescription, with the note on the little bright green sticker. I repeated my phrase about wanting another documentation.

He looked exasperated and stared pleadingly at his white-coated female assistant. I think her command of English was as good as my command of Greek, but she could read, and she did so. She took the prescription from my hand and read the little green note to the doctor.

"WE STRIKE!" he assured me, in English.

"Sorry, I did not it he knows," I apologised, in Greek.

He sighed and asked the girl where the document pad was. She shrugged. He began to upend piles of paper. He pulled out a pad and gave an exclamation of delight, quickly followed by a sigh when he discovered it was the wrong one. Finally he found the right one and began to scribble furiously upon it. I noticed that the carbon paper had fallen out. I said nothing.

Having completed this exercise, he tore out the top white slip and discovered the blank pink slip below. He sighed and scribbled again. Then he handed both slips to me and turned away. I took this as a dismissal but really wanted to be friendly to this poor man, and to show that I appreciated his efforts. I thanked him gushingly and asked what I owed (knowing that this is a free service). He just nodded. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Teepota," he affirmed ("nothing").

"Oh, OK, thank you again for your help," (in Greek).

I left, while I was winning, and headed for the corridor. Behind me someone shouted "STRIKE!" The whole episode reminded me of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and I half expected the Red Queen to appear, shouting "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

I drove to the centre of Vamos and parked in the car park. In the pharmacy I handed the prescription and the white and pink slips across the counter. "I'd like to buy the antiviotiká," in Greek. The assistant read every word on the documents then turned to another lady (I knew what was coming) and said in Greek: "There are two signatures from different doctors?"

To my relief, the other lady merely shrugged, so I was handed the antibiotics. They cost 35 Euros!

I drove home over the muddy expanse that used to be a road. Work is progressing, however. The concrete borders appear to be nearing completion so we may see tarmac any day now.

Back home, I made a sandwich for lunch and checked my emails. At 1:15pm Jenny handed me 70 Euros and asked me to call at the furniture shop on my way to the dentist Vamos. In fact the furniture shop isn't exactly "on the way" so I set off immediately, handed over the money at the shop, and reached Vamos with only 7 minutes to spare.

I sat in the dentist's waiting room and who should appear from "the chair" but our good friend, Petros! He had returned because his temporary filling had fallen out. We greeted each other then the dentist called me in. It was somewhat strange to be treated by a dentist on his own, with no receptionist or assistant. However, all went well and I left with a new filling and one 50 Euro note less.

I called at our friend's house in the village, to drop off her slow cooker, which Jenny had borrowed to cook the beef stifado.

Back home I did more work on the computer then took a nap from 5pm till 6:15. At 6:30pm we left to go to the Friday night meal and quiz. Our team didn't win.

Saturday 27th - Jenny goes to Town

March 27th, 2010

Today Jenny is going to Xaniá with her friend to visit an art exhibition. I shall probably go to Eleni's house to discuss business and web sites.

A day in Chania - Jenny

We had arranged to visit an art exhibition being given by friends of hers at the Mosque at the harbour. We were invited to the opening day for free wine and canapes, but the weather was awful and all the shops were closed, so we rearranged our visit. After parking the car our first stop was the fruit and vegetable market, about a ten minute walk from the town centre. The market was a lively place and really popular. We practised reading the names on unfamiliar fruit and were amazed how much cheaper the produce was than in the shops. The fruit stalls also sold snails; they are a popular meal at this time of year (Lent) as they can be eaten by people who are fasting. As well as fruit stalls there were cheese stalls and fish stalls. Recognising fish you know is a problem for me, but I was surprised to find it IS getting easier. I found the ones Christos had cooked for us, and the red headless ones sold in the supermarket. We saw sardines. (No, they don't come in tins here.)

Behind the fruit stalls is the clothes market. My friend looked at curtain material and I bought a T-shirt. We returned our goodies to the car, vowing to give in to old age and buy a shopping trolley, later, so we can take advantage of oranges at 30 cents a kilo and huge carrier bags of potatoes for a euro without struggling to carry them.

We had to walk through town to get to the harbour for the exhibition, window shopping a little on the way. We admired the pictures, but were not tempted to buy anything. This did not stop friends offering us a glass of wine, which we drank outside in the sunshine. They recommended a good, cheap place for lunch.

First we had to go to the indoor market to see our friend, Antoinette, for a snack to go with the wine! My friend also wanted some glace ginger and was very disappointed when Antoinette said she has been having difficulty getting it! We ate free figs, and bought some dates and we were given a free bag of sesame covered peanuts to share! A little more shopping, then lunch.

The little pavement taverna was full when we got there, but the proprietor moved some people on so we could sit down. We ate herb pies made by his mother and drank lemonade. There was literally only the 3 tables on the pavement and a serving window, so no toilets. We decided to go to "The Red Bicycle" for another drink so we could use their toilet. My friend hadn't been there since they got their new, push-button plastic-covered toilet seat, and was keen to play!

By the time we had eaten, most of the shops were closed, so it was time to come home. The rest of the list will have to wait for another day.

It has been a lovely, warm, sunny day. I had lunch with Eleni and Christos, while Jenny was out, then drove them down the lane to the curious "museum" field, which I mentioned previously.

There was a man there whom Christos greeted like a long-lost friend. His name is Georgios and he has built the oven (which is in the shape of a snail) for family parties. The wire-frame "room" will be covered by vines and has a table and chairs inside.

Back in the village, the workmen arrived promptly and got straight to work, constructing a roof from timber.

A house up our lane is now occupied by a Russian family of seven. They use it as a holiday home. Aspaseea is pleased because they spend money at her shop and eat in her restaurant upstairs.

The Irish couple have returned and moved into their yellow bungalow just up our lane.

Sunday 28th - A Narrow Escape!

March 28th, 2010

I arose early - well, late, actually because I'd forgotten to set my watch an hour forwards. Jenny insists that she was up at 6:35am. It was 10am before we'd finished breakfast and we'd arranged to meet our friends at noon to guide them to Argyroupoli.

So, I had almost two hours to spend at the computer before we left.

When we reached the house of our friends, their neighbours were still at church. We waited ten minutes until they arrived then set off in a convoy to Georgioupolis where we joined the National Road. It was a clear, sunny day but extremely windy.

On arrival at Argyroupoli, we met more friends, then climbed the steps and took a look at the waterfalls and the tiny church that is built into a cave.

How many people can you fit into a tiny cave-church?

About this many!

Then we went to the taverna. Here's a picture of how it was back in February when we went there. Note the stone columns on the right. These support roller blinds of clear plastic, which are pulled down on windy days.

The waitress came and pulled several tables together to seat the ten of us. She brought a single menu and tried to ascertain what we wanted to order. She spoke very little English so I was asked to help. I stood up from my chair close to a stone column and moved towards the end of the table to look at the menu. We agreed to have a "mezethes" meal (a mixture of various small dishes). Jenny stood up and came closer to see. We asked for a salad then there was a shout and I saw Pat disappear under the table. I had no idea what was happening until someone said "the column has collapsed! I turned round to see Jenny on the floor and others trapped under a mass of plastic and steel. A strong gust of wind had hit the plastic blinds and the force of it had brought down a stone pillar. Tables and chairs behind me were smashed and the floor was littered with plates, glasses and bread, which the waiter must have just set down.

Several men appeared as if by magic and helped everyone to their feet. Pat was lifted out, uninjured, as were the others.

The column had caught Jenny's elbow and hip. The waitress treated the grazes with tincture of iodine.

Everyone else escaped without apparent injury.

Jenny and I rescued our cameras (undamaged) from the wreckage.

Two men set to work dismantling the remains of the roller blinds.

That large stone cube is what hit Jenny!

We all moved up the stairs but it was extremely windy and the trees were waving around. We decided to go indoors for comfort and safety.

Our friend was limping because of his previously damaged knee, but the taverna owners clearly thought he'd been injured by the column. We didn't enlighten them.

The "mezethes" meal was brought to us quickly, with profuse apologies from the staff. Raki was brought because I said Jenny needed it (and she did - she looked quite shaken, as well as in pain). I gave her one of my Nurofen capsules and someone provided a paracetamol.

We ordered lamb and pork, with chips, for the main meal. This was also brought quickly and with more apologies, plus the assurance that we'd be charged nothing for the meal. It was on the house!

Apart from the fact that Jenny and her friend were in pain, the meal was a good one and we had a lively conversation. The taverna quickly filled with local people and smoke. You all know my feelings about that! So Jenny and I decided to leave early. We had planned to show the others around the village but this was impossible now, as Jenny was having difficulty in walking.

Sue (ex-nurse) advised Jenny to go straight to the Health Centre in Vamos. But Jenny (ex-physiotherapist) knew better and we drove to Eleni's house instead.

When we arrived, we saw Christos skinning a large cockerel that was tied to a branch. I didn't take a photo for you (sorry). Use your imagination.

We went inside and greeted Eleni who explained that the cockerel was a bad-tempered old bird, which had attacked Christos one time too many! He had whacked it with a stick and, while it was stunned, they had decided to finish it off to stock their freezer.

"Etsee eena ee zöe." (Such is life.)

Eleni and Christos had hatched up a plan whereby Jenny could keep chickens after all. (This had originally been the plan when we were looking to buy "Arthur's House" in Likotinara.) Christos was going to buy some chickens. If we paid for additional chickens and made a contribution towards grain, he would keep our chickens and give us fresh eggs whenever available. He would even kill them for meat when they became too old to lay. Jenny was delighted and agreed immediately.

After drinks of tea, we drove home and Jenny took a warm bath. She has a purple bruise as big as a saucer on her hip. She won't let me post a photo here so, again, you'll have to use your imagination. It's not pretty, unless you like combinations of purple, pink and yellow.

7:30pm. I'm going to watch some recorded TV programmes. I forgot to record the Grand Prix (darn) so I'll record the highlights and watch that tomorrow. Don't tell me who won.

Monday 29th - A Busy Day

March 29th, 2010

Jenny awoke early and limped to the bath. She took tablets to dull the pain. Later, we walked to the supermarket. There we saw "Costas the radio". Since a car accident, he has some mental problems and is on a strict regime of tablets and injections to keep him stable. He carries a small transistor radio everywhere but had been banned from playing it in the caffeinio. A couple of weeks ago I gave him a set of earphones and new batteries. He was delighted and, next time he saw us at the caffeinio, insisted on buying us a drink each. He told us that the government's austerity measures meant that he would be receiving less money and he didn't know how he would pay for the drugs that he and his mother needed.

Today he was buying replacement blades for his shaver. I say "buying" but he was actually asking for credit, since he had no money. Jill, the English shop assistant, wrote his debt in a notebook. It seems that putting things "on the slate" like this is very common.

We returned home the long way round, making a detour round the village. On the way, we met Costas, again, who stopped us to wave a fistful of bank notes and tell us excitedly that he'd just received his government hand-out and was now going to pay all his bills. Costas speaks no English and shouts very loudly, with much frothing at the mouth. We stood back and listened. We understood the gist of what he was shouting but probably missed some finer details!

I worked at the computer all day, fending lots of questions from would-be customers.

Carl "Skyped" us and told us that his car insurors had increased their offer by £1000 and he had accepted it. He plans to buy back his car to sell the parts. He can get it for £125 plus £30 + VAT for the transport lorry. He should get several hundred for the parts.

In the evening, we walked to the house of our friends in the village, where we were joined by our friends from Mathess.

Despite the sunshine, I was shivering! There was a really chilly breeze.

We walked to the taverna in the square, where the choice of food was "gyros". This is basically "kebab" meat with chips and yoghurt in a conical tortilla wrap. We tried it first in Athens. It's OK for an occasional treat but you couldn't live on it.

Everyone except Mike walked back to our friends' house to play cards. Mike walked home.

Tuesday 30th - Another Busy Day

March 30th, 2010

More emails from would-be customers, plus a few from customers with questions and complaints. Also, I did some work on Eleni's main web site. I've taken over from the man in England who was doing it, because he has no time to spare. I'm beginning to see why! I'm organising it so that it will be quicker/simpler to update in the future.

I finished off my monthly newsletter, which I'll upload tomorrow. Just need to do some final checking.

Received a 'phone call from a carrier company driver who spoke English quite well. He has a package for me and he'll be here this afternoon. I asked him to leave it at Aspaseea's supermarket and described where to find it, when he asked.

Just before ten a.m., Jenny walked up the hill to meet her friend near the cheese factory. At 10am Eleni arrived to discuss changes to her web site. She had a headache and asked for an aspirin. I gave her a sachet of soluble aspirin in a glass of water. You can't buy "dispersible" aspirin tablets in Greece.

At lunchtime we drove to Georgioupolis and parked near the river. We walked through the town to the new supermarket and had a good look to see what new stock had been added. They have decaffeinated coffee but no decaf tea. Jenny bought a tin of pineapple rings and a pack of "Digestive" biscuits, which, she said, she needed for a recipe. We left the shopping in the car then walked round the town via the sea front to see what was newly open. Anna's supermarket is now open again, and many tavernas are being repainted so I guess the town will be up and running within the next week or two. Several "summer residents" have returned, as evidenced by the number of hire cars around.

We drove to Eleni's house and gave her cash so that Christos can buy chickens and grain for us. He will keep them on his land but we'll get free eggs if and when they lay. Eleni was sitting outside with a magazine. She said she still had a headache and was relaxing away from the computer. A friend of Christos arrived, just as Christos appeared from his siesta. They chatted then Eleni and Christos went inside to get drinks and left us with the friend, who spoke no English. He chatted about the weather. We understood most of what he said and were able to make suitable responses.

My phone rang as we were about to leave. It was the van driver. He had just dropped my parcel at the supermarket. What service!

Back home, I continued with my web site work and customer emails. Shortly before 8 pm we remembered that we hadn't collected the package so I walked to the supermarket and back. I arrived home just as it was becoming dark, and Jenny had the dinner ready.

After dinner I watched recorded TV programmes, including "Lark Rise to Candleford" and the highlights of the Australian Grand Prix.

Wednesday 31st - Gales

March 31st, 2010

My watch displays Wednesday 1st. I pushed some buttons and discovered that it was set to month 5 (May). I corrected it.

Jenny cooked breakfast. I ate it and - oops, I haven't taken my antibiotics yet!

Jenny is beating Digestive Biscuits in a polythene bag. I don't know what they did to deserve that!

Jenny's (I'm starting every sentence with her name!) bruises have spread outwards in a purple-yellow haze, making her look like a war-painted african native - a very pale one! The bruises still hurt a lot. She winces when anything touches them. Even getting out of the car is painful. But she just gets on and doesn't complain.

Now I must upload my newsletter then do some more work on Eleni's web site, before the customer enquiries start to roll in. The sky is overcast but the sun is trying to break through. The temperature is 21 degrees C. indoors and outdoors. Jenny is speaking to her friend on the 'phone. Her husband, and our friends from Mathess, all flew to England last night, so she is alone. She appears to be having computer problems. It's a PC running "Windows" so I can't help.

Workmen on the new house were showing their usual disregard for safety.

Around 10am, Eleni "skyped" us to comment on the high wind. Outside our house it was 22 degrees and a light breeze was blowing.

Within minutes, however, the wind increased dramatically and I could see our bougainvillea-draped pagoda leaning back and forth.

The workmen weren't phased by this.

Afternoon: Jenny made me a sandwich then startled me by knocking my glass bowl of pudding onto the tiled kitchen floor, where it smashed to smithereens. I picked up my camera to take a photo. She didn't seem too pleased about this and went off to eat her own pudding, leaving me to clean up the mess. later she let me have half her pudding.

We drove to Eleni's to take some fruit peel because she planned to make "hot cross buns".

On the wall, a lizard skittered back and forth.

"We leave them alone because they eat flies and spiders", commented Eleni.

We chatted and drank tea, then returned so I could carry on with my work. Customers' emails have been driving me crazy this week!

Jenny boiled up oranges and sugar to make marmalade, and cooked a nice mild chili meal with mince, rice and kidney beans.

I spent the evening working at the computer and watching recorded TV, as usual.

Thursday 1st - Red Egg Day

April 1st, 2010

"Kalo meena" (literally - "Happy month").

Eleni "skyped" to say that she was making a start on the "hot cross buns". I have lots of web site alterations to do.

On our way back from the supermarket, we came across some of the locals who had escaped from a field. They were cutting a neighbours lawn.

The roof is almost complete on the new house and nobody has fallen off it, yet.

On April 1st the Greeks traditionally hard-boil eggs and dye them red. They are then incorporated into a special bread loaf, in the shape of a rabbit or conventional loaf shape, or the eggs are simply left as they are. On Sunday, all red eggs will be eaten at the family Easter meal.

2:30pm. Sue arrived to collect Jenny*, while I remain behind to work.

In fact I really feel like skiving! I've done a lot today and the weather is perfect. It's 21'C in the shade and the sky is a hazy blue. But I'll just have a little nap first.

I didn't nap for long. I took a long walk around the village, shouting "kalo meena" at everyone I passed.

Jenny arrived back shortly after I did. Her friend was with her. We ate some of Jenny's lovely lemon cheesecake, made with mostly natural ingredients, plus crushed Digestive biscuits.

After the friend left, Jenny cooked dinner - shepherds pie - very British!

I did some work on the web site and made a mistake on a script. I couldn't find what I'd done wrong so I had to ask my Internet Service Provider to sort it out. Apparently it was something very simple because he fixed it in just five minutes!

Jenny found an email from my Mum. She was thanking us for the "body lotion" that I'd posted to her. In fact it was a soap dispenser, so I must 'phone her before she spreads it around and develops a rash!

Jenny went upstairs to watch TV, recorded on our new Hard Drive recorder. The satellite signal is better in the bedroom because the cable run is short.

I kept trying to 'phone Mum via "Skype" from 8pm onwards. Finally she answered after 9pm (UK time). She'd been out a a "church do for Easter". I told her that I'd sent soap and we chatted for nearly an hour.

Now it's after midnight, here, so I'm off to bed.