NewsJune03

Cretanvista Site & Local News - JUNE 1st 2003 Issue 6
No links to sites with adult content accepted	MAY WEATHER WAS... Apart from a couple of storms late in the month, absolutely gorgeous. But beware, the sun in this part of the world can be very dangerous.. Battle of Crete Anniversary Battle of Crete - Maleme Copyright - Cretanvista.gr Picture: 2003 is the 62nd Anniversary of the WW II Battle of Crete. On 21st May 1941 German forces invaded Crete from the air - gaining their first real foothold on the airfield at Maleme (almost picture centre) using crack Alpine paratroops. A now dwindling number of Veterans of both sides visit each year to commemorate the battle... And no doubt to pay homage to their comrades who died here. Now buried in the Allied war graves cemetery at Souda Bay and German War cemetery at Maleme. Our picture is from the 60th Anniversary.... Click Picture to enlarge. Countryside Page...A Few days... Will be online in a few days time - around the 12th or 14th June. The first flower galleries will follow not too long afterwards and we have a small number of photographs of our local fauna which we hope will attract the interest of those who are more interested in wildlife of a more mobile kind. And yes, there will be a couple of butterfly photographs - but I promise nothing - they don't seem to keep still for long. Meanwhile. Work on getting the results onto our site/s is still under serious pressure time-wise. It really is a catch 22! Time we spend out on photography is doubled with identification and preparing the pictures for the web. Getting the pages themselves up is the easy part, and when we do........ And when we do... We are working hard on the problem of flowers we cannot identify readily. Even though we have expert help. There has been a suggestion that we could place the photographs of these flowers on a special page to seek visitor suggestions - we may do this. Opinions welcome. Still Waiting ...BUT... Our next new major addition - page and gallery - gathers olives and makes oil with the Kolimbari Co-op.. Right now it is still gathering a little dust!! Please don't despair - We broke off developing the page - very briefly we thought, because of sudden unexpected opportunities... The wild flowers we broke off to photograph are now rapidly disappearing as the Island heats up. Unexpected Opportunities.... Are now mainly for the driving days out page, but these too are slowing a little - the last, a re-visit to Mhlia traditional village being about ten days ago. New information regarding possible days out - including another possible cruise whilst you are on Crete, is arriving rapidly. A voyage to Santorini perhaps? You can do it in a day! Bird Watching. Paul Smith's page has received donations of bird photographs from Gerald Rozemier - a visiting enthusiast from Holland - and his wife. Promises of more were made by another visiting enthusiast at Astratigos recently. We are very grateful and it is highly likely that a gallery will be started and linked to his page fairly soon. The picture strip: Our news reports arrive somewhat late the day - maybe 11pm. I read them the day after at about 9am. The one I was reading on 1st June at 9am said that there was a partial solar eclipse - moon obscuring part of the sun - between dawn and about 7am.... a couple of hours earlier! I did record the last one in 1999 though.... using a pair of binoculars on a tripod. We soon had the image focused - with the aid of the hem of a visitors dress when the screen fell over!! Thank you Hilary MacDonald - you are welcome here anytime.... A real sport!	Holiday Makers arrive.... Whilst we seem to be getting our fair share of holiday makers on the hillsides between Kolimbari and Rodopos, there don't seem to be vast numbers either in Kolimbari or in Chania itself. Of those we have seen, two groups were particularly noticeable. The first, a young woman on a push scooter - yes, the type you might have played with as a child (just very much larger) was literally 'scooting' up the hill between Afrata and Astratigos, followed closely by a male cyclist! The second, two short-sporting shirtless gentlemen wearing bandana's on their heads and roller blades on their feet literally 'Roller bladed' past me - against the traffic flow - on the hard shoulder of my side of the main highway between the Gerani and Tavronitis junctions.... An extremely dangerous stretch which has claimed several lives. On both occasions, regrettably, I had a moving car - not a camera - in my hands. Anyone out there have a photograph? Or two.... ________________________ The major earthquake in Algeria on the evening of May 21 caused serious damage to our ISP Otenet's cables under the Mediterranean - causing a temporary break in internet services. The quake itself killed over 2000 people....... ________________________
NEW Accommodation in Astratigos... OPEN. The first house on the left as you enter Astratigos - a magnificent cream and green affair sporting two balconies and a small pool at the front contains two holiday apartments. Sadly the renovation blocked the main views of Chania from the ground floor at cretanvista, but on the plus side a ruin has regained life and you can now stay in Astratigos. The New hotel in Kolimbari is, we believe open... If you want information visit:- The Grand Bay Beach Hotel at Interdynamic's website
FERRY SERVICES Both ANEK and Blue Star Ferries have car ferry services between Souda Bay and Piraeus. Although an obvious competitor to the resident Anek Lines the Blue Star service times do not conflict from Souda. Anek currently leaves at 8.30pm whilst Blue Star leave at 11.30pm.
SUMMER WEATHER Crete is in summer mode. If you have a holiday booked - the only brolleys you are likely to need is one to keep the sun off! ROAD SAFETY Following a series of fatal accidents involving heavy goods vehicles and passenger coaches in Greece the Traffic Police are unlikely to overlook traffic violations of any kind. In some areas they test erring drivers not only for alcohol but also drugs. Although there have been recent reductions in Road accidents and deaths Greece is still bottom of the EU league table *Motorcyclists - the alcohol limit here is almost Nil.. Don't drink.		MORE FUN & SERIOUS PLEASURE PLEASE! I offer no apologies for again repeating the next paragraph - which seems to have taken root on the news page!..... "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!!' ___________________ Here's another recent Guest Book comment.......... Remote User:26 AUG 2002 Time:20:52:45 comments: What a wonderful website, pity I didn't find it before I visited your island. I cannot wait to return to both the island and your website - brings back such warm memories of a truly good holiday! Perhaps we will meet in the future! Efharisto Barbara (Swansea) *My wife says Barbara doesn't know me!!!.. That proves my innocence... ...(Sorry!- I really enjoyed it... WB. ____________________
Kid-safe. Free. Unbiased. Innovating. Informational.. Cretanvista! Mirror Sites at:- www.cretanvista.co.uk www.cretanvista.com www.cretanvista.info COPYRIGHT All material on the site is strictly copyright. Any use in mass distribution - in print or on websites for example, needs our consent. All the material on the site is original and represents considerable time; effort and no little expense.		Ex - Gt Ormond Street Hospital... Recent visitors to Astratigos. Anne & Terry Jenner (centre and right) shared our Easter Lamb barbeque with us - forty five years or so after Anne trained with cretanvista's own Pam Burgess (left) at the world famous Children's Hospital in London. From 1957 - 1960 and subsequently at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. Recognise anyone...?

Well, that's about it for now.....
I hope that this page and the information and news given is proving useful. If there is anything that you would like to see - particularly if you would like a picture included - please let me know. I enjoy photography and will willingly take and publish a picture of something that I know interests you if it is in this area. I can't mail photographs - but will certainly send a file by e-mail (free) if asked.

E-Mail Requests..
I 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. There is fuller comment in previous issues of CV News.

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.

Book Reviews.
Because each book review is original - we steal nothing from the book covers or the reviews of others - it takes a little longer to deal with each. No point our reviewing the reviews when what readers really want to know about is the content! 'Books and good reading'.

View Cretanvista Calendar Photos 2003

Bird Watchers.
Paul Smiths bird watching diary page is becoming much more popular as the word spreads. It may well be the foremost bird watchers diary for this part of Crete. We are keen to hear of your bird watching experiences here but please - only by email unless otherwise agreed.
mailto:Webmaster@cretanvista.gr

Book Reviews.
The last recent review - 'Moments of Cretan Nature' by Anastasios Sakoulis, (ISBN: 960-91979-0-6) "Stigmotipa Tis Kritikis Freesis" in Greek - is a super book with some magnificent photographs. Our review is accompanied by a small photo gallery - our first review to do so. Our site pictures (from the book) are, we think, nice! The printed pictures in the book are in almost all cases very much bigger, nicer!

Books and Good Reading - Moments in Cretan Nature

Reviews in Preparation...
'Eleni' by Nicolas Gage. Published by Harvill - (ISBN 1 86046 346 0) first published 1983. Reprinted.

This is his true story of a son seeking to avenge his mothers murder by Elas Guerillas during the Greek civil war. It is real. It is compelling. It is harrowing in the extreme. It reveals the Greek psych as nothing I have ever read. But, unless you have no feelings, it could haunt you forever...... 'Eleni' (in preparation).

Can this be you.....or yours?
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?

      Walking group outside IN.KA supermarket Kolimbari crossroads.

             Kolimbari - Near Chania 19th May 2003
      Outside INKA supermarket & Hotel Rose Marie

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