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NOVEMBER WEATHER ...
Wet quite regularly, with a taste of the real winter rains yet to come.. The first snow on the Omalos Mountain range arrived a few days before the end of the month - making the views to the east from our Cretan Vista base superb on the clear days.
Eric Rowe 
Super reliable resident wild flower expert.
Above: Eric
Rowe - has been helping identify our finds where names elude us for some
considerable time now. Originally a potter by trade Eric also has some esoteric
book titles on pottery to his name. If you find an un-named
flower in our galleries it is definitely not Eric's fault. Flower
Galleries.
Astratigos Village life... A letter..
Dear Brian,
Good morning from a rather damp and windy Crete. We have been having quite a lot of rain -which has caused the temperature to drop again. Omalos has been having lots of Snow so the mountains throughout Crete should be white for longer this year than last, so that's a bonus. Pam has also pointed out that I don't need to put the beer for your visit in the fridge now either, but my
version is that it will get warmer before you get here............
The tilers are here right now - the large bedroom is finished. It looks superb. They are currently in the corridor/loo/bathroom and should be finished no later than Saturday, maybe even tomorrow.
But I am a little unhappy with my gregarious Cretan team...
Taking the bull by the horns (or is that tilers by their cutters?), we had a staff meeting this morning. Commencing with my complaint about having to start the day in the middle of the night (8am) for four consecutive days in a row now. There was not a lot of progress, apart from half-smiles, knowing looks and a grunt or two, which didn't bode well for any progress I thought.
Pam contributed a bit about a pea she found on the floor - which she turned into an English lesson by asking
Nektarios if he understood that it was an esca'pea '. He did and the resulting mirth made me feel that my complaints were being ignored.
I then proffered that there seemed to be some favoritism occurring to my detriment. Every day both Michaelis and
Nektarios have Greek coffee, the accompanying glass of water and a prime selection of biscuits - delivered on a tray, whilst seated al our best table. All
I have is a mug of tepid Nescafe whilst sat at the old plastic table, with a plastic table cloth. The result of my
complaint? "Yes" said Nektarios - in a completely neutral voice, as if making an objective observation.
It was then agreed that Pam was correct in observing that they do the work!! Very helpful. The three cubic metres of sand I moved up our 3in1 lane to the house last Saturday are apparently
not countable....
To be constructive I asked if we should pay them tomorrow. "Yes" said the neutral
Nektarios. I decided to provoke things and said that in that case (at their rates) when they came tomorrow they should bring a pistol and a carbine.
I would then go to the bank and get the money!! Michaelis said to take a suitcase.. so I said maybe a big box - or even a cement sack would be better (for him).
Nektarios said I would end up in handcuffs...
Not to be outdone I said that I would wear a
balaclava... It was agreed (by them) that I would probably put it on
backwards and end up using the carabina (carbine) to make the cashier take money
from me!! Oafs. Serfs.... I need help here!
Retaliation. I decided to pick on Michaelis' door numbering. Having
removed the bedroom, toilet and bathroom doors, he said that he had numbered
them to facilitate replacement. I saw my chance... he had numbered
the loo number 1 and the bathroom number 2... "In England the loo is
number 2 - my visitors will pee in the shower - or even down the floor
drain" I said, feigning exasperation. "Yes" said Nektarios....
I increased the provocation, mistakenly picking on Pam's frangipani, currently
sitting outside on the porch looking half-dead. "and the frangipani
thinks that it's winter" I said, as if that explained my feeling that
things were not as I would have them. (I had also forgotten that I had
said that it was a good idea to place it where it stood). What I got then
was instant aggro from Pam... "What do you expect" she demanded - "it's
freezing cold out there with all that gale force wind going across the corner - YOU'VE
KNOCKED IT ON THE BLOOMING HEAD!!" Nektarios remained silent....
Brian, all I need now is for the drains to back up! But I'm not finished yet,
watch this space...
Picture Strip: Another look at the western side of the Omalos
(White) mountains..
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Site News.
German Language Version. Last month we said "Gudrun Harms, our German language translator has been making much progress of late and we are hopeful that the main site will soon be
available". Well, here is a surprise for even Gudrun - we have now
been offered server space to host the German language version on - free of
charge. With luck and a little hard work by me - your hard work on this
version will be on-line very soon. We are very much in your debt.
Getting Here.
For anyone interested in getting to Crete by car we have some interesting
variations on our regular theme planned -including via some of the more esoteric
Balkan countries and a couple of Italian cities - Venice and Rome for
example. If you are already here doing the trips in reverse is becoming
popular.. Or how about coming (or going) by rail?
Food and Drink.
Our next addition is in the pipes and no, it is not a recipe for mince pies - and I really do miss steak and kidney pudding!! Keep watching.
Books & Good Reading.
Still
growing rapidly and is now in need of it's own introductory page and index - which we are now addressing. It may be New Year though the reviews will keep coming and are currently added below (Rt hand Column). Two new reviews
last month and two in the pipes.
Photo Galleries. (See homepage links).
An addition to our flower galleries is in the offing - we currently have 3541 photographs of flowers that you can find here on the Rodopos peninsula. Not all different varieties of course! But we will be expanding this section of the site soon, certainly well before the next season for visiting enthusiasts, and adding much more detail - including locations you can search personally.
There are of course many other developments going on all the time - including new ones which I have to bite my tongue rather than reveal until opening day.
Are we listening, do we hear?
We are and we do. The continuously increasing numbers of visitors and complimentary e-mails seem to show that our visitors - 21,000 plus individual visits in our best month so far this year - appreciate our efforts.
Last month I confessed to being at a loss to understand the motives of
those who bombard with rubbish spam and viruses the e-mail of a free site, which
diverts any offered finance to sick and handicapped children, a bit difficult to
understand... Much of this has now stopped - Thank-you. But..
I still find it difficult. We do not compete with commercial sites and we
don't abuse the work of other people. Why then do the porn-pushers use our
guest book to add links to their own sites? Please, help us keep
our site kidsafe.
WEBMASTERS PLEASE
NOTE. If you have any of our work on your site without our consent - seek permission now.
__________________
Here's another Guest Book comment..........
Remote User:07 APR 2002
Time:17:46:46
comments: .....A very interesting and useful site. I would like to see more information on your experiences in buying (and renovating?) your home. What problems you had, what was easy - and impossible etc
Signed: Victor
Well, it really is good to know that someone other than me thinks well about the site and asks questions which are easy to answer.
What problems did we have? - All of them!
What was easy? - Nothing!
What was impossible? - Stopping laughing - is it hysteria?
(Sorry!- But I really enjoyed it...WB)
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MORE FUN & SERIOUS PLEASURE PLEASE!
To our visitors who have taken the time to tell us that they have found our site enjoyable/ informative/ helpful/ or otherwise complimented the site - very many thanks. We are trying very hard and it's really good to know that you like it". Besides, my wife notes that many of you are ladies! Please don't stop!!
GUEST BOOK LINK
NB. Please don't use the Guest Book to place website links - any URLs - or contact style messages, are automatically disabled/removed in the interests of minors. Questions can be sent to us privately at:
cretanvista.gr
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