Cretan Vista Site News Archive August 2011

Cretanvista Site News & Reviews - August 2011 Issue 104

No links to sites with adult content accepted.

AUGUST WEATHER..... Some like it hot! Very hot!! The 30's and 40's (and we don't mean the year!) were very much on the cards as things got very much warmer. But then perhaps that is our 'Raison d'être'. Best to stay out of the sun unless well protected...

  Current Chania Webcam             Current Cretan Weather Link
           _____________________________
                                    Flasback to the past....

Beaten and broken. Our dream house in the sun really did look like this. But then we improved it!!! Cursor over Image

_____________________________

Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. XV
(Continued from July - Previous click here).

At the end the last episode...
....After a lifetime of work we had reached retirement in the middle of what had seemed like an avalanche of perpetual problems. Well, we had taken them all on, beaten them down, and now it was our turn. Our dream was so close to being reality that nothing, but nothing, could stop us now.

We were home and dry, all bar the shouting - weren't we?....?.........

It was, however one looked at the existing situation, time to assess. Time to take full stock of the situation and the point we were at, particularly as we were about to return for our first holiday since our arrival in Crete some eight months or so before. And what a trip that had been. We had arrived around the middle of April 1994 and it was now December....

So where were we now? What would we have to achieve before it became clear whether we were in our hoped-for paradise, or were destined to continue free-falling in one of those dreadful without-end personal nightmares?

We had arrived after an eventful and very enjoyable 7day trip, our not too young Nissan Bluebird stuffed to the gills with things that we had felt we would need to complete our house-build successfully, and three adults - including Pam, myself and our builder and old friend PJ. Three ferry boat rides and 2500 miles or so across Europe.

We had, during that first eight months or so, managed to complete the new shell of the front-house, complete with roof. It was still minus several windows and a couple of doorways, and was still awaiting an electricity supply - although the conduits were installed - and there were still a number of other outstanding jobs. There were still no floor tiles and wooden floor in the first floor gallery, one new ceiling and a floor in the old house was still required. Plus several other jobs before we could lay claim to our own personal utopia.

Spending was undoubtedly going over budget. We had spent, in total, somewhere in the region of £80,000 - maybe approaching £90,000 - perhaps at least 60% more than our agent had originally estimated, although (we hoped) that was nearly the end of that. ...

PJ, after achieving far more than we thought possible or had any right to expect, had completed all that he had set out to do and much more besides, and had returned home to his nearest and dearest via a ferry boat to Athens and thence to the UK by the appropriately named 'Magic Bus'! He was, we understood, in a somewhat 'aromatic' state after four days on board the bus, which only had toilet stops!

Our agent had reverted to being only an agent after an 'agreement with PJ that everything worked better that way, which was probably as well as PJ apparently still wanted a word with him...

We had, during the first eight months, nine personal visitors! (None were from the police). PJ's family - his wife Judith, daughter Rebecca and son Peter came out in June, staying at the Castelia Apartments near Tavronitis. We all, including Pam and myself, joined them there for an overnight stay - manna from heaven! No building dust! Cold beer! Prepared food! A swimming pool! No work. A day off.... Now that was an achievement. And sheer bravery on the part of PJ's family, who could well have chosen Majorca... Judith returned later to sample Pamela's House herself - and, a personal friend, has returned almost yearly ever since. Victoria Cross stuff...

Three of our visitors, Dorothy, Joan and Louise age before beauty in ascending (or descending - you choose!) order - secretarial staff from our old college, also spent a few days with us and organized our first Anglo/Cretan party to celebrate the successful opening of the house. Festivities, food and a bar! Mostly by candle, kerosene and torchlight! Either that or they were visiting members of an off-course SAS team who were determined not to lose.. Either way a superb first for which we were deeply indebted....

Our final visitors for the year were Bob and Hilary MacDonald again very good old friends, with two of their friends, Ernie and wife Jackie, all, holidaying in Rethymno, who took time out to sample a visit to the oncoming Pamela's house. They risked an over night stop and took us all to Yiorgo's Taverna in Rodopou for one of Stella's superb omelets!

So, where were we now? Well, it seemed a very simple answer. We had made it. We had made our retirement successfully, by no means a simple matter itself. We had made the trip over, and all that entailed, again successfully. We had, under PJ's management and severely personal effort, completed (well, almost) the front house, the last major part of the project, successfully. We had received our first personal friends successfully. We had made many new friends, especially Cretan ones, successfully.

We were home and dry, all bar the shouting - weren't we?....?

Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. Is condensed from the book 'Pamela's House' - in current preparation... Continued in September...

In the News Reviews...
Wife of police chief...
Tilemachos Pantagakis, from the Messara region of Crete was fatally stabbed while visiting an apartment that they rented out to a 35-year-old woman, who had complained to them that she was being harassed by a neighbour. Both the police chief and the complainant sustained serious knife injuries.

A 43-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killing and knife assaults...
                                                     Link to Story.

Zoniana in the news again...
Zoniana, one of the Cretan villages often reported as 'notoriously lawless' was back in the news in late August as police again faced resistance when attempting to arrest cannabis growers on the 21st of the month.

During the current affray a police chief had reportedly slapped a junior officer in an attempt to stop him riling unruly villagers. In November 2007 a police convoy was involved in an armed ambush by villagers during a police raid. In November 2010 28 people were convicted in connection with the raid, which left one policeman handicapped after being shot in the head.
                                                      Link to Story

But the story wasn't quite finished...
As August 30th 2011 saw more than 100 police and special services officers in further raids scouring local mountains for cannabis plantations...
Link to Story

And nor was violence on Crete...
As seven Britons were arrested in connection with a riot in a bar in Malia, another reportedly 'infamous' area. Four Britons were arrested after threatening with a knife - and another person reportedly in possession of a a stun-gun...
                                                    Link to Story .

Plus, an arrest and murder charge...
Following the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Yiannis Rousakis during an organized brawl on Crete. The 24-year-old was arrested and charged with the murder and forming a criminal organisation - he denied fighting with Rusakis....
                                                     Link to Story.

Plus still on Crete...
Two Albanian nationals were arrested when a pioce search revealed 75.8 grams of cocaine and two handguns at their residence. They were both charged......
                                                     Link to Story.

And more arrests...
Were made on Crete when 17-year old and 30-year old males from Iraklion were charges with possession and trafficking drugs (cannabis), and a 56-year old man from Rethymnon was discoverd in possession of eight kilos of the drug...
                                                     Link to Story.

But things didn't stop there...
As three Britons were arrested on robbery charges...
                                                     Link to Story.

There was a fatal shooting...
When a 72-year old shot and fatally wounded his son-in-law in front of his daughter in a Cretan village, reportedly after a quarrel...
                                                     Link to Story.

A tourist found dead...
At Livadi beach, Bali, Rethymno, when A Frech tourist was found dead in the sea, presumably from drowning or another medical condition..
                                                     Link to Story.

Another cannabis plantation detected...
At Sfinari, Chania prefecture, where police arrested three men, two local and an Albanian, in connection with the cultivation of 304 cannabis plants..
                                                     Link to Story.

A migrant-laden boat intercepted...
Containing 67 illegal immigrants, 66 Eygyptians and a Libyan a mile off the coast at Paleochora. The boat was apparently attempting to reach Italy. Five occupants of the craft were identified as smugglers and were to be sent to court...
                                                     Link to Story.

And, if that wasn't sufficient...
A 51-year-old Chania man was arrested on drug and gun possession charges...
                                                    Link to Story.

And, very sadly, a 10 year old tourist drowns...
At the same Bali beach on which had earlier claimed the life of a French tourist (reported above)...
                                                     Link to Story.

Quick Link - Discovery...
Of a Minoan stone seal...                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.
                      _________________

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 large cream and green affair sporting two apartments two balconies and a small pool at the front . Live in Astratigos maybe?

.

HOLIDAY VILLAS...
Another local owner has carried out some superb traditional renovations in Astratigos and has renovated what was once his own accommodation - maybe for your holidays! Book and check availability at:-
Crete-escapes.com

In Kolimbari - right on the beach near the tavernas, is:-

The Grand Bay Beach Hotel

Visit Interdynamic's website.

______________

http://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:
Most recent earthquakes in Greece - LINK

Local List of Note in August - Link - only four of any significance (above 3.5ML):

07 August: 3.6.0 ML, 05.31am: Epicentre 71 km S Ierápetra (pop 12,536)
                                                                                                         Link to Story.

12 August: 4.3.0 ML, 12.35pm: Epicentre 95 km SE Ierápetra (pop 12,536)
                                                                                                         Link to Story.

14 August: 4.4.0 ML, 06.49am: Epicentre 66 km SW Palaiokhóra (pop 2,372)
                                                                                                         Link to Story.

25 August: 3.6.0 ML, 08.05am: Epicentre 13 km N Sitía (pop 8,707)
                                                                                                         Link to Story.

Although earthquakes most certainly are a common feature of life in Greece. It is however, unusual for deaths, injuries and or damage to buildings to occur, which could lead to a false sense of security.

The author of a ten year study at the National Technical University of Athens says that Greece is sitting waiting for the next major earthquake without doing anything to mitigate it's effects. (Our italics).
                                                                                                                                        Link to Report.

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 have also called upon the government to institute checks on old bridges in Greece. Link (Item6.)
                                            _______________________________

A Little Extra (Current) News - 'Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe' (continued) MARK II....
Having attempted to cover the conundrum of itch cream sizes in July, I was becoming more confident in answering 'Ye olde Curiosity shoppe' type puzzles which living here in Crete sometimes present, so I was perhaps overconfident when I approached the EEC cash flow problem! Yes, I was quite confident that I could point out the source of the problem and suggest a solution, even though the rest of the EEC - no, the rest of the world - seemed to have had not the foggiest about the happenings...

Well, I thought, better to start at the top, and if even Jeremy Clarkson, driver of most of the word's most fabulous cars - which seem to cost more than all the money in the world combined didn't know the answer, then I was at the top. All that was needed now was a little newspaper style forensic journalist investigation and this would most definitely be a scoop - front page stuff. Esther Ranson was going to be a bit miffed about missing this one too. Tough....

So lets start with the problem - Greece seems to have borrowed more money than was wise. That doesn't seem to have been unusual anywhere else, even Tesco encourage borrowing - they even have, I believe, their own very worthy credit card. As does almost everyone else in the western world. You can probably pay by credit card at the north pole (a couple of bearskins maybe?). Nothing unusual there....

What about printers? Some of the biggest names in the whole world are out there, all claiming that their products will make exact replicas of anything, at speeds that would make your eyes water. Problem solved. Get a credit card. Get a printer with it. Print some money. Spend it. Be home in time for tea! No sweat.

But then a problem arose, some people had apparently been doing that and had been arrested and put into prison for it. Something called 'counterfeiting'. I obviously didn't understand - I would have to dig deeper...

Then we received a bill from the Greek tax man (or woman - it didn't say). Something about Greece being in so much debt that we all had to cough up in a whip-round - which might, or might not, do the trick. Mine was 'only' 860 Euros. Something called 'Solidarity Tax'. I was puzzled, having never heard of it. We had always paid our taxes in full and without quibble. I was a fully paid up member, I thought....

When we first came to Greece we bought and paid for a ruined house. We then renovated it. Solicitors, architects, builders merchants, agents, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all. Considerable hard work and more than a little money. We imported a car, then replaced it later with a new one - the cost of the original import was equal to the second hand price of the original car (which was already mine!) the price of the replacement far more than would have been the case in the UK. Then there was the annual road tax, insurance, maintenance et al - all paid for with money from the UK, all pre taxed. Add to this the VAT on everything - food, electricity, gas et al used here in Greece and we paid for everything with our own money imported from the UK. Any health care paid here is reclaimed by Greece. Free money.....

'Free money' is my euphemism - meaning that the money is free to Greece. Greece did nothing to earn it - we simply brought in our own hard earned cash, exchanged, banked and spent a not unreasonable sum of it here. Pre-paid of all UK tax. Any tax which falls due here in addition has to be paid here, which seems fair enough. Since we are basically long-term holiday makers that puts us in the same boat as the short-term variety, who have to pay taxes on VAT etc on their holiday money. The difference lies in the amounts - in close on 18 years we have brought into Greece around £300,000 - £400,000, maybe much more. We don't take money out. Our regular trips to the UK are paid for from the UK, as are any other holidays. In short we have brought, and still bring, far more money into Greece than even the most enthusiastic short term holiday maker, but have now additional taxes being levied, in the words of one accountant, 'to help Greece'... We should surely be given concessions, not have to pay extra taxes for handing Greece 'Free Money' because we stay for longer than short-term holiday makers....

We are in the EEC - economic or not.....

Kalos Ithate Stin Kriti.
WB. Cretanvista. Bringing the sunshine, keeping the rain off!
                                                 ________________________________

Site Content:- Last Change - additions to Wildflower galleries.

Notices.

We are still undertaking our upgrade of the site. Changes here have left some pages outdated - new houses; hotels; supermarkets; roads and all. But it all takes time; please bear with us.

**Our 2012 Cretanvista Calendars are now in preparation - publishing soon!

Contacting Cretanvista..
We have now discontinued all direct email links. If you see an email address please ignore it.

Photo Galleries...
Calendar Photo Galleries:
A new one every year for the past decade! The 2010 Calendar gallery is complete and online now.. The 2009 calendar topic was 'Wild Flowers of Crete' (after our wild flower galleries) and the result was superb! Which is why we followed up the theme in 2010. And again in 2011! Because of our success we have already produced our 2012 wild flower calendar format (and our other themes continue), but of course that is not available until later in the year. But we can reprint any issue with the next year's dates - whatever year that happens to be! Have a look at the 2011 wild flowers calendar Link.

Wild Flower Gallery - Now at 360 different wild flower photographs online - plus dozens in preparation - Galleries 13 - 15 are open. 360 flowers online. Gallery 16 is developing - which will mean 384 online.. Plus we have added more reference information on redesigned pages - with more photos of each specimen to follow later. You may find an occasional duplicate, which we are keeping for the moment as the actual photographs will be different and will be used in a later planned re-organization of the galleries.

We are now well en-route to putting the first 50% of our target 1020 individual flowers on-line. But it all takes time. First find the flower (hopefully in full bloom); then get the photographs (sounds easy); put the photographs on-line (simply work); with basic information on each, making certain that it is accurate...

If you know the location of a rare flower please don't hesitate to help us photograph - we wont reveal your information to anyone else.

Please note also that All flower galleries have now been successfully re-coded to eliminate a bug which affected some Firefox browser versions. All the information will remain online at Cretanvista. With the advent of ipods, ipads, Blackberry's and other gizmos it will be much easier to take Cretanvista galleries on your field trips - and all the information that goes with them. **Your Amazon Kindle will display cretanvista perfectly.

Wildlife Gallery - the first two pages - 48 unique photographs, including some rare specimens of the Cretan fauna. Some is quite beautiful, some a bit scary/creepy, but all now add to our wildlife page and the ornithology gallery pages. Remember that it is always worth checking where you walk or sit before you do! Start here.

Chania Photo Gallery.
Our Chania photograph galleries commenced 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 - it's worth it. Start here.

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.

Cretan Art and crafts - Weaving pages...
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. The weaving tends to take the time right now..

Our very first nature gallery...
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.

GENERAL: There are now 37 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 wildlife gallery; the wild flowers; Chania; Mhlia (Milia) traditional village; etc.. etc...

Our improvements continue. We sincerely hope that you notice little - apart from increased enjoyment and ease of use. Keep visiting - your presence is what make all worthwhile.

________________________________

	Living in Crete by Carol Palioudakis OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK! Price £9.50 GBP
	Amazon.co.uk & Selected Cretan bookstores

________________________________