Cretan Vista Site News Archive May 2008

Cretanvista Site News & Reviews - May 2008 Issue 63
No links to sites with adult content accepted.	MAY WEATHER ..... Superb - although sometimes very, very, windy. Occasional blips with sudden passing storm-clouds. Welcome cool early mornings and night-times, but some very hot days and rapidly rising general temperatures. Current Cretan Weather Link. _____________________________ A Taste of Cretan Wildlife Swallowtail07 ©Burgess@ Cretanvista Swallowtail Butterfly - Papilio machaon... enjoying the summer blooms in the very hot Cretan sunshine. Just one specimen of the fauna to be found in the unspoilt countryside. Wildlife Gallery. Astratigos Village Life.... 'Beans'... 'It's a bit steep'... The first time I had used that phrase used to describe the 1in3 slope that led to the gateway of the ruined Venetian house that was eventually to become our home on Crete, it was being used by the gentleman in the process of selling the property to us. He couldn't have been talking about the (seemingly at the time) very agreeable price - so he had to have been referring to the slope up which we were proceeding. I didn't think it was at all bad, but then I was 18 years or so younger and wearing shorts, T shirt and sandals and carrying nothing heavier than a camera at the time... 'Heat?' What heat? What did he think I came here for. Sissy! Now the words were all my own, 18 years down the line, dressed suitably for the job in hand (supermarket weekly shop) - shirt, long trousers, socks and shoes and I was carrying six shopping bags which weighed at least forty pounds between them. I could tell that by the way the thin plastic was stretching whilst the handles attempted to remove the fingers holding them. Mine! And that slope seemed to increase it's steepness with every step. Wiping the sweat from one's brow would be sissy! And in any case, if you have ever tried that whilst laden with shopping bags with contents about to escape all over the floor - and a rapidly increasing (1in2 now!!) slope whilst wearing unsuitable hiking clothes in 38^oC heat... Well, you know that you should stop.. STOP??!! On that slope with that weight, any attempt to stop would result in instant acceleration in the reverse direction. Backwards and downwards.... At least then I would then be on the same level as the hospital!! It was then, as I arrived at the house, that I saw Papa Yiannis... Village religious leader, second only to the village Priest himself. A man of the earth. He was in our 'garden' - then a no-mans land of tangled growth and intermingled building materials with scattered spots of what could have once been soil between. We were similarly attired - the only difference being that he wasn't sweating and puffed! But then there was an age difference - he was at least 25 years older - maybe pensioners don't sweat.. Yiannis was wielding what appeared to be a WWII trenching tool (but which is actually a Cretan spade - a cross between hoe and spade, with the blade at right angles to the shaft) with which he was gouging neat lines, about an inch deep. 'Gigantes' he announced, 'you need gigantes'. I certainly needed something - maybe a couple of giants would be a good idea - they could help with the bags. What I definitely did not need right then was a spot of gardening!! But Yiannis was determined - he was locked out, his son had taken the key and would not be back for some time. Meanwhile, he was here to spend his waiting time starting our new garden - no debate! 'Not my department' I replied (being highly proficient in the art of procrastination) 'you need Pam'.... It did no good... Yiannis became the embodiment of concentration as he carefully trenched each new row, and then selected what appeared to be a dried bean from his pocket and placed it eye up in the trench - each one about six inches from it's neighbour. Each step explained carefully and extensively in Greek to his commandeered (maybe that should be press ganged!) pupils. Greek School was never like this. We had just physically hauled our weekly shopping up the 'It's a bit steep' 1in3 slope on a stupefyingly hot day, already congratulating ourselves on the successful completion of another 'Mission Impossible' - even if we were about to drop dead from heat exhaustion, only to be confronted with a Greek language lesson on the finer points of planting beans (Gigantes) in building rubble - by a Cretan warrior who had spent much of WWII in Albania capturing Italian soldiers who had been trying to kill him!! No good attempting that option then! Besides, his history indicated that the outcome of such an attempt would be my becoming a Prisoner of War... Dig trenches, plant beans - either way! How long, I wondered, did it take to plant a bean? I had heard stories about people wandering, waterless, across deserts in blazing sunshine losing track of time... Our bean patch was only about twelve feet by three. With each bean around six inches from the next and each row a foot from it's neighbour that was 3 rows with 24 beans in each - only 72 beans altogether. Why were we still here a good two hours later if we had only to plant 72 beans? Was each a case of Jack and the Beanstalk with the giant already in each one?! Had we lost track of time in the searing heat? Become disorientated? Mad? Was the barking a dog?... Yianis planted methodically on, bean from pocket, eye up, pause... Bean from pocket... Stellios, the guilty son, appeared. He had some English and a very acute sense of humour. 'Problema?' he enquired, with a broad grin.. 'Yes', I replied 'you! - You locked your father out'.. The grin widened - 'No' he said, 'key in door - door just closed. Father forgot spectacles - bad sight'. And then, as he dissolved into laughter, he asked - 'Why you plant beans upside down'?.....	In the News and News Reviews... Test of Time... Cretans in the Middle East preserve culture, language and traditions... a story which must contain a clear message for the rest of us. Link to Story. Chania student dies in brawl... Young man dies after being stabbed in a brawl outside a restaurant.... (Item 3) Link to Story. And police charge suspect.... Just days after the brawl which cost the 21 year old Chania student his life, the police charged a 30 year old from Mylopotamus region... (Item 7) Link to Story. But Chania has other dangers... As mechanical digger strikes 'something hard' whilst excavating hole for sewer pipes... Link to Story. And gambling goes on, and on, and... Aristotle said the world was made up of four elements. Earth Fire, Air and Water.. He missed the fifth, 'Gambling' and a sixth 'Computers'. But then he wasn't from Crete... (Item 10) Link to Story. Cretan Gun crime too... On and on... A very old way of settling arguments. In this case fortunately for all concerned, not fatal.. (Item 9)Link to Story. Plus a retired Cretan MP... Has been reportedly charged with 'harboring a criminal and forcing another to commit a crime'.. (Item 1)Link to Story. Plus Chania has other woes too ... 'Super-fueled warehouse fires and dynamite fishermen... (Item 8) Link to Story. And another ATM machine bites the dust... This one in Iraklion - well that's where it went missing from! It was the latest in an ever growing list.. (Item 5) Link to Story. Blue flags for Crete... As Greece takes second place out of 40 nations. Greece now has 430 blue flagged beaches.... Link to story. Missing Cretan farmer tragedy.... Apparently losing control of his motor scooter and plunging into a ravine near the village of Sassalo... (item 7) Link to story. Cruise ship damaged exiting Iraklion.... Carrying 870 passengers and 407 crew the Louis Group owned 'Aquamarine' cruise ship damaged its hull whilst exiting Iraklion harbour bound for Santorini. It later docked safely on Milos. Comparison was inevitably made with another Louis cruise ship, the 'Sea Diamond' which was damaged and sank approaching Santorini last year. The latter has yet to be salvaged. (item 1) Link to story. Meanwhile, yet more Cavo Sidero project... Protest now includes two foreign academics Jennifer Moody (American), Oliver Rackham (UK) both of whom know Crete and it's fauna and flora well, are adding their own petition to the voices raised against the project... (item 2) Link to story. But Crete may yet get more golf links... As Aegean Airlines hosts it's 3rd ProAm International golf tournament. What Greece needs, apparently, are 46 - rather than the current six - courses (Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises). The President of Aegean Airlines says that golf course are eco-friendly... Link to Story. Food for thought.... As Greek pensioners reportedly scrambled for vegetables symbolically thrown away by farmers who can't sell them for prices with which to sustain themselves. The pensioners apparently can't afford to buy them.... Link to Story. Scales of Justice? Maybe..Not.. Air travellers beware... Link to story. And Finally.... Reported originally by the UK Guardian Newspaper, Andy Pagg, a 34 year old Briton who apparently drove a truck to Timbuktu on factory reject chocolate (!) is planning a two week rally from London - Athens... 30 cars - powered by waste cooking oil scrounged from European restaurants. The main driver requirement being (possibly) 'the ability to explain to a Croation kebab-shop owner that you need his grease'.... Sounds a bit slippery to me - or maybe it's just fish oil ?!! Link to Story. ________________________ COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT All of the material produced by Cretanvista is copyright and belongs to someone who has spent time, effort and money to produce it. We are often willing to allow the use of our material for personal (non-commercial) purposes. For example our calendar photographs can be used to reproduce the pictures for your own individual calendars, or to hang on granny's bedroom wall. We will however, take action against anyone we discover using our materials in any mass distribution exercise, especially for financial gain, unless specifically authorized by us and we are acknowledged as the source in the reproduction. ________________________ The Cretanvista Review of Carol Palioudaki's 'Cool Guide to Living in Crete' (A gold mine of information) is, like the book, available now. Out Now - Get it at www.livingincrete.net ________________________
FREE... Cretanvista is a free site. We accept neither cash nor gratuities and sell nothing. We don't carry paid for advertising. But we do try to give you information which you might want to know about. Accommodation in Astratigos - For rent/Sale again.... The first house on the left as you enter Astratigos from Afrata - a magnificent cream and green affair sporting two apartments two balconies and a small pool at the front and containing two holiday apartments. Live in Astratigos maybe? . TWO HOLIDAY VILLAS... .. Another local owner has carried out some superb traditional renovation on a ruined house - and has renovated what was his own accommodation - maybe for your holidays! Book and check availability at:- Holiday-rentals.com In Kolimbari - right on the beach near the tavernas:- The Grand Bay Beach Hotel Visit Interdynamic's website. ______________ www.provencebeyond.com Well worth a visit if you are interested in France, especially the southern parts.
FERRY SERVICES. SOUDA BAY - PIRAEUS (Chania-Athens). ANEK LINES operate daily return sailings. Souda - Piraeus 21.00Hrs 05.30Hrs Piraeus - Souda 21.00Hrs 05.30Hrs PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHECK TIMETABLES WITH THE COMPANIES OR THEIR AGENTS. WEBSITE LINKS
Moving to Crete? Get Sound Practical Advice for free.. 'Notes on Greece' is a British Embassy publication which gives information on matters relating to Greece. Obtaining a copy first hand from the British Consulate in Iraklion (Heraklion) will ensure that you have the most recent edition - and professional contacts with up-to-date and wide ranging knowledge on matters relating to Crete. Contact the consulate via:- :crete@british-consulate.gr An e-mail copy is available as a Microsoft word file - a very fast email of very useful information.

Earthquake activity in April: Almost nil again in Greece in May - the quietest month we have seen for a very long time...

11 Apr:   5.6 Richter Scale, 11.53mm. Undersea epicentre 225Km
              south-west of Athens.
                                                               (item 5) Link to Story.

But - earthquakes are a common feature of life in Greece and rarely cause damage or injury to people.

Recent comment has centered upon reassuring that whilst another Athens (1999) 'quake is unlikely (Link), a Tsunami caused by a 'quake occurs every 136 years Link to story.

However, scientists have recently suggested that Greece should assess it's Tsunami readiness Link to story. A Tsunami warning system is estimated to be ready by 2011 Link to story.

States in the Balkan region are now cooperating in sharing information. Link To Story.

There are certain existing buildings considered to be at risk from major earthquakes. Link to story. These buildings, which include a number of schools, are being investigated with the objective of safety. Link to story. Engineers are also calling upon the government to institute checks on old bridges in Greece. Link (Item6.)
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A Little Extra News.... Private Conversations...
Summer is undoubtedly here once again - which may make our own website motto - 'Bringing the sunshine, keeping the rain off...' seem just a little out of tune - especially when one reads the 37^oC and rising outside temperature at 1.52pm. Humidity 37%. But who cares about the lack of rain when we have so much water?

Surrounded by the tantalizing 'wine dark sea' of Homer's 'Odyssey' - (enough water to drown in) the stuff is everywhere. Surrounding the entire island; supermarket shelves are bulging with the stuff in plastic containers, glass bottles and aluminum cans (good for Alzheimer's - or is that Alka Seltzer) in all sizes from 18 litres to nil. It's everywhere! From mini-markets to McDonalds. Tea; Coffee; Sprite; Gazoza; Lemonada; Portokaladia et al - ad infinitessimo... Beer; wine; spirits; even the milk - it is everywhere - even in the swimming pools!

Swimming pools? Well, yes, swimming pools... But why do you want a swimming pool? Well, to swim in... But can't you swim in the sea? Well, yes - but that's full of 'stuff'... Stuff? Well, you know 'stuff'... Not 'stuff' from people surely - not wee and poo! Well, I'm not saying that, but.... and it's deep!! Oh, I see.... OK, what do you fill the pool with. Well, water from the mains supply of course. Isn't that wasteful? Oh no, there's plenty of water - Greece is even exporting it to Cyprus! OK, so there are no problems, no shortages? Well, not here. Some areas in Greece have a reduced supply - but they handle that by rationing. Rationing? Water-rationing? Well, yes, in a way - the water company in Messini asked residents not to take any for household use from 9am - noon and 6pm to 9pm, but there is no ban. You mean they have full use outside those hours? Well, yes, probably.... Probably? Well, yes, 'probably'. Did you know that The Kalamata water resources association and municipal authorities are worried that the residents of Kalamata, Messini, Thuria, Arios and Avia will run out of water - and will be unable to flush their toilets? Well, yes - (but don't blame us) their tourism authority (POTA) has authorized two developments - one with 142 private swimming and several public pools, and another with at least 123 private and several public pools, we only have one... OK. Did you know that Greece has some of the cleanest beaches in the western world? Oh yes - 430 isn't it? Correct. Did you know that several are next to the two projects just mentioned? Well, no, but tourists are entitled to privileges aren't they? Did you know that tourists wee in the pool water, just like other people? Well, yes, but the pool water is cleaned isn't it? What with? Well, Electric pumps and filters - the best stuff. Oh, I see. But is there never an electricity shortage? Well, yes, some areas are asked not to use electricity for air conditioning between 11am and 3pm in the day and there are some power cuts to villages. Did you know that a lot of Greece's electricity comes from hydro electric dams and the water levels are low? Well, yes, but the Greek government has apparently asked the generators to suspend operations for a period to conserve water. But doesn't cleaning the pools with electric pumps increase the problem - like a vicious circle? Well, it could, but if the electricity is off one can always go to the beach - cool drinks there too.. Did you know that the idea of water rationing for all has been floated? Well, yes, but areas with good supplies will get priority. You mean areas with pools? Tourist areas? Well, yes, but we need the water more than a small village with no pools don't we? And did you know that areas with good supplies are often getting it from bore holes? Well no, but does it matter? Not right now, but using bores causes the eventual ingress of sea water polluting clear water supplies and surrounding land. Well, no, I didn't know that, but then I suppose we could always fill the pool with filtered sea water - what a good idea - maybe we should do it now - coming? Not yet, you go on - I fancy a dip in my pool!!...

YOU have a pool?!! Yes, that big one beyond the beach.... I think that private pools may be a criminal waste of precious fresh water.

Water water, everywhere, and not a drop to .......

Cretanvista - Bringing the sunshine, keeping the rain off...
Kalos Ilthate Stin Kriti
WB.
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Site News:
We are now into our fifth month of a major upgrading of the entire site. There is still some way to go. Our new bird watching page remains unavoidably delayed. Changes in Cretan life itself have left some pages outdated - new houses; hotels; supermarkets; roads and all. Our book reviews are a back-logged, but will be added to again quite soon. Updates continue, and we do, of course, have some new content already here, not least this (monthly) page, which is where things usually appear first!

Photo Galleries...
Calendar Photo Galleries:
A new one every year! 2008 Calendar gallery is complete and online now.. The 2008 calendar topic finally became 'Wild Flowers of Crete' and the result superb! Sorry, there are no calendars left..... But we are reprinting the issue with next year's dates! Link.

Wildlife Gallery - the first two pages - the first 48 unique photographs, including some rare specimens of the Cretan fauna. Some of is quite beautiful, some a bit scary/creepy, but all now add to our wildlife page and the ornithology gallery pages. Not all sun, sea and sand maybe, but everything depicted really is here. Always worth checking where you walk or sit! Start here.

Chania Photo Gallery.
Our long planned Chania photograph galleries commence with a presentation from Klaus Dieter Thill, whose photographs of some old buildings in the area of the Venetian Harbour show a little of what we all sometimes miss. Have a look. Start here.

Klaus will be adding a little text in the near future, but the gallery itself has been uploaded for appraisal. Do have a look, especially if you are familiar with Chania - you might just see that which you so far have not!

Miniature Chapels of Crete Gallery.
Klaus-Dieter Thill - author of Minaturkapellen auf Krista, a printed photo album detailing some of those enigmatic roadside shrines of Crete, has now contributed the first page of his Chania on-line gallery. Klaus has supplied photographs for this gallery which is about to go on-line here at Cretanvista. Our review of the printed book - which we have already - is still planned. Klaus is still not keen on that, as the book is not publicly available, but we hope still to persuade him!

Cretan Art and crafts - Weaving pages...
The first full project - start to finish! A beautiful traditional loom producing beautiful products. And much more to follow. Weaving is in full swing and natural dyes are being made up and the photographs taken to add to this section. We will be adding our pages on our new looms, equipment and new projects started as soon as we can.

Wild Flower Gallery - Now at 288 different wild flowers - and another 24 - and... We are now adding much reference information on redesigned pages - these are going online right now. The revisions include more detailed references on each page, with more photos of each specimen to follow. We will be publishing our book wild flower book - but all the information will remain on line. Still free. With the advent of new ipods, Blackberry's and other gizmos - it will be easy to take Cretan vista on your field trips.

Bird Galleries: Gallery Page 5 still developing...
A short delay in the supply chain (apologies) has been overcome, and we can now proceed. One supply seems to have been discontinued without notice, but we still have a small stock - and a new supply has now been secured.

Our very first nature gallery... remains the best...
Contributed by Anastasios Sakoulis, whose book on Cretan wildlife Moments of Cretan Nature is also on our site as a book review. Anastasios contributed 18 pictures of birds for addition to a gallery some time ago now. We will attach these to our bird-watching pages as soon as possible.

Another Gallery Still in the offing...
The Naturally...Crete a second gallery by Anastasios, is still in the works - still long overdue and causing a couple of headaches because of colour match problems but it is progressing and will be worth the effort. If you can't wait. the book of the same name is readily available from bookstores.

GENERAL: There are now 17 galleries featuring aspects of Cretan life, including sunrise and sunset pictures; Souda Bay War Cemetery; the gallery of magnificent wild-life pictures by Anastasios Sakoulis; our own new wildlife gallery; the wild flowers; Chania; Mhlia (Milia) traditional village; etc.. etc... etc.... And we have not even nearly started further new galleries for which the photography is now complete, including a WWII Museum Gallery - watch this space!!

Creating our galleries entails a vast amount of work and is expensive on expertise, time, effort and not least money. Projects must be chosen; locations reached; photographs taken; pages developed... A great deal of printing is also involved. Why? Well... if (for example) you have never been horizontal with a camera taking wild life pictures - it's a bit difficult to explain, but...

...27000 plus (and rising) monthly unique visitor figures to Cretanvista websites were achieved last year. Reward in itself.
Taking nothing for granted, we are all hard at work - working on updates and getting out and about - obtaining the new information and photographs we need to keep Cretanvista well to the forefront of websites about Crete. We treasure our visitors...Really!
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E-Mail Requests..
We receive some brilliant e-mails - really - and they are very welcome. But sometimes there is no acknowledgement that our answer has been received. We don't mind, but worry occasionally that someone may not have received an answer from us and think the worse of us! We will ALWAYS reply to e-mail so please, if you have mailed us and not received an answer - resend your mail - we didn't get it or have somehow overlooked it. Our response time is usually within 48 hours.

Personal Information..
We have been asked in the past to help locate people. We would love to be able to assist but regret that are unable to do this.

Questions and Answers..
Quite a lot of questions are received here at Cretanvista and, as with e-mails and other forms of communication, we do our best to supply valid answers. We never respond "Off the Top of our Heads" but always research the answer - even if we already have one (things change) before passing the information on. We provide links to appropriate alternative sources where we have them. The answers are given with the proviso that recipients are responsible for any action taken by them.

Guest Book. CLOSED. E-mail links are accepted. Website URL, Bulletin board and chat-room style links are not. Website links are removed automatically to prevent inclusion of sites without agreement.

The Cretan Vista Calendar Photos - Birds.
We are trying to build a specialist calendar of birds - whilst we are building our own library photographs - contributions are always welcome. They will always be acknowledged and copyright will remain your own. (Please email us before sending pictures).

Bird Watchers Extra Note - Paul Smith "Birdwatching".

We have been working extremely hard attempting to fill the huge gap left by Paul Smith's death last year. There is now reason to believe that we have succeeded in our quest.

Paul was a highly competent and often uncompromising diarist - even attempting to find another expert to fill his spot was, to say the least, a little daunting.

We now believe that, without revealing at this stage precisely who will, more than likely, be taking up the reins - it looks certain to be an acknowledged expert. Still a further delay.

mailto:Webmaster@cretanvista.gr

Best Books..
Check out our easy to use 'Book Shelves' containing all our book reviews. Just point the mouse and left click in the boxes below. Bookshelf 3 is the latest....

BookShelf1

BookShelf2

BookShelf3

More reviews are in preparation, but meanwhile, summer being on the way, perhaps re-visiting an established favourite is in order..

Countryside Book Reviews.... Possibly the best Nature...

Moments of Cretan Nature
Anastasios Sakoulis

The 'Bookshelf' links (yellow) above contain all books.
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Can this be you..... or yours... or mine?.. This Month - Wilf B.
Every so often when I am out and about taking photographs I come across someone who could be you - or something which could be yours (or theirs!!). Maybe passing in the opposite direction on a full tandem bicycle (yes, that happened); an unattended car with foreign plates; something which catches my eye and leaves me not knowing......... Either there was no one to ask or they were moving too quickly! I thought that perhaps site visitors might like to see or be able to help identify one or two 'unknowns' which have left me wondering who, or what I have missed.   Can this be you?

                  Michael Saunders, Author of 'Ella'. April 2007 North West Crete.

                      Afrata-Kolimbari road - 4th April 2007
                                    Well known author?

Until next month, best wishes from here on Crete. WB