| Friday 30th - Chilling out April 30th, 2010 Send this page address - CLICK HERE - to a friend ! |
| On our way to the shop we tried to avoid standing on thousands of ants - many carrying beasties, far larger than themselves, back to the nest. | 
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| We walked out of the village and down a narrow lane till we reached the house of another English friend who cultivates tomatoes. His father (82) answered the door and invited us in, apologising for his scant clothing as he'd just left the shower. He was quite charming, provided tea, biscuits, conversation and a tour of the garden. |
| We left the old man and headed downhill along a rocky track that is slated to become a bypass one day. | 
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| The track narrowed and was quite unstable, as rocks moved underfoot. | 
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| In the distance we could see the valley and "white mountains" - now almost devoid of snow. | 
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| We crossed the road leading to Vamos and approached the monument built by Vangellis. | 
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| View of monument from the rear. | 
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| View from the monument. | 
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| Seating areas surround it. | 
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| It says: 1999 Association Apokoronas. Owner - Vangellis Vlepakis the hermit. | 
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| Jenny, testing a seat. | 
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| On the way back we saw strange "dandelion clocks". These plants go straight from bud to "clock", without an intermediate flower stage. | 
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| In the afternoon we drove to Eleni's house and played "hunt the kittens". They have been missing for weeks. Eleni discovered the nest. The kittens have grown quite large. | 
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| Chilling out in the garden. It ain't half hot, Mum! | 
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| Christos goes to feed the chickens. | 
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| Saturday 1st - Orange May Day May 1st, 2010 |
| Jenny drove me to our friend's house at 9:30 am with a couple of crates then left. "Tomato Man" was already waiting and took us to collect Ian to go orange-picking on the far side of Xaniá. | 
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| While I was out, Jenny made a traditional May Day circle of flowers. | 
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| I chatted with Ian and the journey seemed to take no time at all. Soon we were in the orange grove picking the ripe fruit from the trees. | 
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| I clambered underneath a tree, reached up and started to pull fruit. | 
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| Close to the orange grove was a newish church next to a larger, ancient church. | 
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| We survey the ruins, which seem to be used now as an eating area. | 
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| On the way home we stopped briefly at Agias Lake. | 
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| In the afternoon, Jenny and I drove down the twisty road to our local taverna and had chicken souvlaki for lunch. We talked to a couple who are staying here for a holiday and Jenny wrote them a list of places to visit. |
| We returned home because we both had lots to do. I had to write an end-of-month news letter and answer customer enquiries via email. Sunday 2nd - Kalo Mina May 2nd, 2010 Kalo meena means "good month". This is the greeting at the start of a month - especially May which is the real beginning of summer when the nights, as well as the days, are warm (we hope!) |
| We had breakfast then drove to Georgioupolis and walked along the sea front to "The Oasis Bar". All the parasols are out, ready for the first big influx of tourists next week. | 
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| We looked around the "table-top sale" bazaar at "The Oasis Bar" and bought a plant and a wallpaper scraper (for scraping the electric oven glass top when things get spilt). We spoke to Eleni briefly then walked to the "Naos" café where we found our neighbours having orange juice. We ordered two teas from Georgia and had a chat with our friends. When they left, we chatted with another couple, who had just turned up. They live in Mathéss, next door to our other friends there. Just before 10pm we had to leave and drive home because we have to collect our friends at 10:30am and take them to their birthday lunch at the horsy taverna at Nippos. |
| The lunch went well, with salad to start with and a selection of cheese and meat "nibbles" to follow. | 
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| We arrived home shortly before 5pm, having dropped our friends at their home. It has been a very warm day with a cloudless sky. Jenny wanted to watch a TV programme but the interference on the picture was very bad so I went onto the roof and attempted to adjust the aerial for a better picture. However, its position was already optimal so I wasn't able to make any improvement. The problem is that the transmissions are still analogue and the signal that we want comes over a hill. However, there's a signal from the opposite direction bouncing back from the hill. Monday 3rd - Early Rise May 3rd, 2010 I awoke at 6:30am. Couldn't sleep again so I got dressed and came downstairs shortly after 7am. The sun is shining and it's 16'C outside; 19'C indoors. Jenny cleaned the house while I worked. We drove to Georgioupolis some time after 10am to have a late breakfast at the Naos. |
| We saw a lorry drive by with a large load. Georgina told us it was the new "periptero" (kiosk) so I ran into the square to look. Titos appears to be having new furniture. | 
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| The old kiosk is made of wood. The new one is (possibly) made of steel and has air-conditioning. | 
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| After lunch we went to the new supermarket and bought provisions. Then we drove to Eleni's and had a cup of tea and a chat. We left around 1pm because she was busy. Tuesday 4th - Laurence & Carol May 4th, 2010 We arose early and I did some work while Jenny rested on the balcony. Then I watched a recorded TV programme about the unpronounceable Volcano in Iceland. |
| At 11pm we took a walk around the village. The weather is warm - nearly 20'C in the shade but feels hot in the sunlight. Rethymnon is hidden by a heat haze across the bay. | 
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| 1pm. We just had lunch. Received a text message from Laurence & Carol to say that they are on board the 'plane at Manchester but take-off has been delayed by news of a strike at Irakleon! 2pm. The 'plane has taken off an hour and fifteen minutes later than scheduled. We'll probably leave between 3:30 and 4pm and make a detour to buy petrol. |
| We collected Laurence & Carol and had an uneventful journey back. The approach to Irakleon, largest city on Crete. | 
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| Didn't need petrol after all and the cheapest we saw was 1.63 Euros per litre. In the evening, we walked up the hill to have dinner at the "Meterizi" above the supermarket then returned here and went to bed! Wednesday 5th - Chilling Out in the Sun May 5th, 2010 Now (10am) it's 21'C in the shade and everyone is sitting on the veranda. |
| Caught a small scorpion trying to creep in. Held it with tweezers and threw it into the field. | 
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| We drove to Georgioupolis and I watched Jenny, Carol and Laurence playing in the sea, from the comfort of the waterfront café! | 
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| Chilling out (or cooking!) | 
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| I walked into town by myself. The new kiosk is already installed and operational. | 
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| As I passed the office of our agent, he called to me. He was sitting with Eleni and two customers. We discussed politics, briefly, and the collection of our old beds. Then I walked to the "Naos" cafeteria and had a frappé while Georgia and her family ate a lunch of fish which she'd cooked on a barbeque on the street. Jenny phoned to say they were ready to leave so I went back to the estate agent's office to check that Eleni had left, then we drove to her house. |
| We followed Christos across the road and watched as he fed our chickens. | 
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| The kittens were hiding in the garden. | 
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| The rabbit hutch in the fruit orchard. | 
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| We returned home and, at 5pm, drove to Vamos and joined our group of walkers for a 5km wander. | 
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| We inspected a small church. | 
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| The dog made light work of the walk. | 
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| Back at Vamos, twelve of us settled down for an evening meal at the taverna. Thursday 6th - More sun May 6th, 2010 10am and it's 22'C in the shade. Jenny has just driven to the shop because she needs to buy some provisions - too heavy to carry on foot. I have been working on my web site customer support system. At 11am we set off in the car for the Akrotiri peninsula, getting there via Souda. We visited a monastery where there was a museum and cats. Then we drove to another manastery (which was closed by now) and walked a long way down a stone path until I'd decided I'd had enough. We sat down while Laurence proceeded down the steep zig-zag to a third monastery. It took him just over 20 minutes to descend and return. On the way back we stopped at the Koukouvayia ("Owl") Music café and had desserts. As we approached Vamos, my mobile phone rang. It was the lady from the mattress shop in Xaniá to tell me (in Greek) that our foam mattresses were ready for collection. I thanked her and said I understood. We called at Aspaseea's shop to give her the details and money so that her husband, Stelios, can collect the mattresses for us when he goes to Xaniá. In the evening I worked while the other three chatted and played games. |
