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JANUARY WEATHER
..... Cold. Wet. Windy.
Stormy. Absolutely miserable, keep your head down weather. Except for those
few beautiful sunny mornings with clear blue skies and temperatures reaching late
20C - early 30C on protected balconies... Late January was becoming early
spring!
Chania Webcam
Current Cretan Weather Link
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Astratigos Village House in
1990..
Astratigos Village Life - A place in the sun! Story below..
See picture
panel - center below.
Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some..
We first arrived here in
Astratigos in the late 80's, about 21 years ago - almost unbelievable when we
think back now.
The house we bought here was a Venetian ruin. Perhaps
a better way to put that was a ruin with a few surviving Venetian bits -
which would have looked good had they been better! Tucked away up a rough cement
surfaced track from the village plateia, running between close-set village houses. That we had arrived
at all seemed like a miracle - or a nightmare, depending upon one's personal
outlook at the time..
The Miracle was finding the house in the first place. No TV programmes ('A place
in the Sun' - or anywhere else!) to show us what was available. No, we found our
'place in the sun' long before that. When we first arrived all those years ago
almost nothing was available. Oh, there were plenty of empty houses. Many in
ruins. But nothing seemed to be for sale. But then, wanting something I couldn't
have had always been my forte... When I was attempting to grow up my mother's
considered opinion was that I was something of a connoisseur in that department!
Being told nothing was available simply caused me to try to find it - something
available that is!
Cretan families, we were told, kept their property to hand down within their families - even when
it was falling into disrepair and ruin, which the one we eventually bought
most certainly was, no holds barred. Hardly any holds at all in reality - not sticking
together anyway.. It was already falling down.
But the dream lingered, from the day we had first met Cretan people, eaten their
food and shared their hospitality, there was no turning back. I wanted one! But
how to get one...
Being already married with a family, and not being of a religious conviction
which would allow the acquisition of further wives, there was no way I could
acquire another wife who could make me a born again Cretan. I settled for a
house... Besides, my wife was on my side - we would buy a place for our
retirement. Sheep, donkeys, goats, Cretan people, Cretan food, Cretan wine,
Cretan life in the sun. Feta cheese and olives! Little did we know....
First, the house. Having spent three holidays searching, and becoming
increasingly enamored the further from 'civilisation' we got, we got precisely
nowhere! A blank! We eventually asked Kate Secker, who ran (still does) the holiday villas
we used on Crete. Through Kate we found our (derelict) villa.. All we had to do
now was to buy it. Our dream had begun. Or so we thought..
But first we had to see it - out in the wilds of Astratigos, the base of the
Rodopos Peninsula.
In truth we nearly didn't even get that far. Once off the
coast road we had to climb the
unfenced, pot-holed, in-name only road that led first precariously along the shoreline,
sometimes 200 feet or so below, twisting up from Kolimbari to Afrata. The views
were spectacular - especially those straight down into the sea on the blind
bends. Driving on the right gave me an excellent view! After reaching the Afrata
Village boundary
on the road to Astratigos even the tarmac stopped.. It became a wide twisting
rutted track whose loose gravel surface was brushing the door sills of our
rented car!
We were wondering if we should see someone - maybe air-sea rescue - or a
psychiatrist perhaps, to get another opinion...
About
£20.000 to buy - maybe another
£20.000 to create our dream, Kate's contact had said. We could probably get
private psychiatric treatment for less than that - being in the game I could
probably get a discount!
Twenty grand (in 1991) for a ruin 2500 miles or so away across Europe, on an island which
was still the front-line of that continent, where the military commander would
have to give us permission to buy... And another twenty grand to create our
dream. In a village with no shops, no tavernas, only a few people and even less
habitable dwellings - and with absolutely no possibility of ever taking our bags
without leaving our cash behind because of currency restrictions....
We found Astratigos at the end of the track- more difficult then, before a small church was built in
the square, when that area looked more like a patch of rough grass. We found the
agent, which is another story entirely.
We saw several ruins we didn't want, and then the house in question - which we
decidedly did want, ruin or no...
But before the dream, the people. If they didn't want us there we had resolved
at the very beginning to leave. To forget it.. Now to meet some of them... Let the
dream, or nightmare, commence...
(Continued next month..) |
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In the News.
Chania bombers sought...
Police seek perpetrator/s of an early hours firebomb attack on the main
post office in Chania. No injuries were involved.
(Item
6)
Link to
Story.
But burglars caught...
After a spate of more than 30 robberies by three Chania men, all in
their twenties, in Nomos Iraklion over the preceding two months, police
finally caught their men..
(Item 2)
Link to Story.
But in Agia Marina....
A wood and
straw matting beach bar burned down. The bar was closed for the winter.
(Item 6)
Link to Story.
Demonstrating farmers, however, were...
Totally unmoved in their position on poor prices for their products.
National Roads were blocked and Iraklion Airport cancelled 20 flights as
farmers invaded the runways.
Link to Story.
Escalation of the action by farmers...
Occurred when they rejected a proposed 500 Million euro aid package..
The demonstrations covered the whole of Greece.
Link to Story.
Which by the end of the month...
Had reached deadlock. Even after Kostas Karamanlis, the Prime Minister,
had issued a personal appeal...
Link to Story.
But then, almost a breakthrough...
Some farmers accepted the deal, but then an EU spanner landed in the
works and some farmers, including those on Crete, continued protests and
blockades which seem set to continue into February..
Link to Story.
Child 'Pornsters', however, are not safe...
As Chania police made clear by commencing the questioning of a 29 year
old photographer suspected of being involved in the production of child
pornography..
(item 3)
Link to
Story.
Likewise - a crackdown in Athens...
Resulted in a number of people appearing in court, being remanded and
being sought in connection with child pornography investigations.
(item
2)
Link to
Story.
And in the likeness of Robin Hood...
In what is becoming something of a fad across Greece, including Crete, young
people raided an open supermarket in Iraklion, stealing goods which they
gave to passers by!
(Item
5)
Link to
Story.
Whilst others continue...
What seems to have become a somewhat common pastime - driving their cars
and passengers into harbours accidentally. This one ended well... Some
don't...
(Item 6)
Link to
Story.
According to a ballistics report...
Alexis Grigoropoulos was killed by the ricochet of the police bullet
which ended his life...
(Item
1)
Link to
Story.
Alexis Grigoropoulos....
A memorial service for Alexis - the 15 year old boy fatally shot by a
police bullet in Athens during public disturbances on December 6th 2008..
Link to
Story.
New Democracy abstains...
Ruling party abstained from a crucial parliamentary vote on the Vatopedi
Monastery land scandal...
Link to
Story.
But - some there some good news...
Not for the first time in Greece - a kidnap victim is freed after the ransom
is paid...
Link to
Story.
And a Greek tanker sees-off pirates...
With a little help with the help of water jets, aircraft and a helicopter...
Link to
Story.
But, all is still not well....
As January sees a young police officer in a critical condition after
being shot twice...
Link to
Story.
And even Nuns need cash....
Although acquiring other people's via the tax office is perhaps not the
way of the light...
Link to
Story.
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