CV News Archive September 2004

Cretanvista Site & Local News - September 30th 2004 Issue 20
No links to sites with adult content accepted	SEPTEMBER WEATHER ... Fabulous all the way. Click on any weather service information link and you will get some super .giff images of a smiling sun, sometimes a cloud or two and temperature readings. Get yourself over here and you can have the real thing - but in August bring lots of sun cream and a big hat! Bathing suit and walking boots. Deborah & Steve Gilbert American Visitors to Afrata Above: Steve and Deborah Gilbert on their annual pilgrimage to Crete. Seen here at the Kalia Kardia Taverna in Afrata with their hosts Yiorgia and Kostas. Lt to Rt: Steve, Yiorgia, Deborah, and Kostas. The kournelli stifado was good too - we should know, we shared it!! Click Picture or here to enlarge. Astratigos Village life... Grapes. Staphylia. Fruit of the vine. Fine wines. Good food. A few glasses of the hard stuff - Free! (At least locally). Grow your own. (A mistake if you live in a village). Come the end of September collect your bounty - harvest your grapes. (A task in-itself). Put them all into your 'Patitiri' and, having gathered a few helpful friends, crush them by bare-foot treading in a special arrangement of Greek dancing in a confined space... Oh, and do remember that you will need to collect the results of your labours and select suitable methods of storage or disposal - as the wine, food and later spirits. Oh, and do remember that the very final remains can be fed to the (Hic!) sheep and goats. (Ever wondered why genuine Greek yoghurt is so popular, Greek cheeses so fine?... for the Cretan equivalents add 'so very fine'). The reason is the 40% proof sheep and goat's milk from which they are made. "No officer, I have not been drinking - a glass of milk maybe...(Hic!)...." We heard a pick-up in the lane several times very early in the morning. Before 10am anyway. My wife said the trips had started about 7am. It was Adonis, our neighbour Katina's adult son, his own son and a nephew. They were gathering their annual grape crop from the fields and placing them in the press by the house. A concrete box in which they would tread them - and yes, we were welcome with our cameras. Very welcome. "Take off your shoes and socks - jump in!!" "Better not" I said "my feet will turn your wine sour"... "Wash them first in this" said another visitor "then it is OK". I didn't know what "this" was but I preferred to keep my feet where my mother first placed them - on the end of my legs! Besides Greek dancing with a camera might provide some interesting shots, but they would probably have been of my feet! What I wanted (and got) was a photo gallery. The treading went on, and on, and on. The Must flowed into the catchment area. "How much was there"? At the end of the day - "maybe 1000 - 2000Kg" thought Adonis, suddenly abandoning his Cretan farmer disguise for what appeared to be a mad-scientist kit and checking the specific gravity of the wine to be. His mother and visiting sister meanwhile lit a wood fire between two old rocks and balanced a 25 litre cooking pot on top. They filled it with some of the Must - filtered in - starting to make Mustalevria. A Greek sweetmeat rather like set jam containing Almonds and spices. Very nice - but it would take a while - the 25 litres had to boil down to 5 before the cooks could start to intervene.. It was 5pm before we left. The Must was being first-barreled and would be left to ferment before being racked off. The mustalevria cooks were still boiling the Must. It was a whole day gone. We had our pictures. We had managed to decline the following feast on mis-understood grounds of my rising blood pressure (Fine wines, good food, a little Tsikouthia, maybe a taste of mustalevria - well, it may be all in the mind but isn't it nice?!) And we still had our own grapes to gather..... Oh, and "do remember to take with you the grapes (10 Kilos) and wine (2 litres) on the wall by the door - they are for you! The mustalevria will follow tomorrow"... Picture Strip: We had intended to bring back the picture strip this month and indeed have managed to do so just in time to show a couple of shots of that magnificent if over-abundant fruit being converted into food and wine. We are assured that we will be included when the remains of the treading are taken to the still to make Tsikouthia! Preview here.	_______________ 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 _______________ Well Met!! All the way from The Netherlands Simone and Willem Ter Voert We met this super couple briefly as they climbed up the track from Balos Bay, on the Gramvousa peninsula. We e-mailed the photo's - hope that you have them. Click Photo to Enlarge. _______________ __________________ Here's another Guest Book comment.......... Remote User:20 OCT 2003 Time:19:49:28 comments: .....Nothing, there were no comments! Signed: There was no signature either.... Well..... Isn't it quiet right now!! 'Schhssss'... Schhssss? Maybe it was someone from Schweppes!! (Sorry!- But I really enjoyed it...WB) ____________________ Maybe not so funny for the captain....* But well, you do have to grin maybe just a little when you read that the captain of a Romanian registered ship carrying corn crashed into a Greek hillside. Because the captain was on the 'phone...... I've heard of big telephone bills, but one as big as a sea-going corn carrier must be enough to make even the insurance company wince - especially when the captain admits that he was not paying attention because he was on the 'phone!! But he had put the ship on auto-pilot while he made the call... Link to Story
House FOR SALE... 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. If you are looking for a house in Crete here is a private sale in SPILIA by an English couple - a house and an attached apartment suitable for holiday letting. No Agents involved. We know this couple - have a look on the following link.. www.crete-house-sale.com Accommodation in Astratigos FOR RENT.... For rent - the first house on the left as you enter Astratigos from Afrata - a magnificent cream and green affair sporting two balconies and a small pool at the front and containing two holiday apartments - is now for rent. Winter in Astratigos maybe? Tel: 00 30 28240 222243. You can see inside at: www.villa-astratigos.co.uk 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 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 Chania at 9.00pm whilst Blue Star leave at 11.30pm. WEBSITE LINKS
Moving to Crete - Practical Advice.. '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. COPYRIGHT All material on the site is strictly copyright. Any use in mass distribution - in print or on websites for example, needs our consent. Please respect!		_________________ Olympic Games Websites The links within the official Olympic websites (Olympic and paralympic) seem to have changed a little with the start of the Paralympics. The site links still take you to the appropriate home page - but take care check that you are on the correct page before continuing to click. The left hand column on the home page has the main links - read it carefully. Olympic Lost Property.. If, like me, your best (hand made by your wife) sweater is (hopefully) still at Athens International Airport - or anywhere else en-route to or from the Olympics Games sites - try the official site link . Greek wines. Items concerning Greek wines continue to appear in the press, both Greek and international. A very good article in Ekathimerini this month seems to give a slightly different slant on our current article on Astratigos Village life (opposite). It includes the making of Pomegranate liqueur and a basic recipe for Grenadine - pomegranate syrup used in cocktails...... pass that shaker! Read Story.

Earthquakes. Wobbling Still.....

Earthquake activity in Greece seems a bit less than usual. There were only two reports of note reported during September, down from four last month:-

22 Sept: 3.9 Richter Scale 6.51am - southeast of Thessaloniki. The epicenter was reported to be between Polygyros and Arnaia. Link to story.

26 Sept: 4.7 Richter Scale 06.00am - 50 km northeast of Athens. The undersea epicenter was reported to have been between the the island of Evia and the mainland. Link to story.

Earthquakes are a common feature of life in Greece and rarely cause any damage*. The problem is that the ones that do are unpredictable. However, at least one professor believes that there will be at least 4 major quakes in the future. Story Link.

*But sometimes damage does occur - residents of the village of Loutra, Alexandropolis, northern Greece have just been awarded 3 million euros to repair damage caused by a 'quake in June 2004. Link to Story.

Link to original Loutra story.
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A little site news...

Paul Smith, our site bird-watcher extraordinaire has (at last) listened to reason and obtained his first internet connection - and an up-to-the-minute computer to go with it .....

Paul has been contributing his page regularly with almost clockwork precision, since August 2001. Three years worth of regular monthly sightings here in north west Crete, lifted directly from his own diary.

We have never counted the number of sightings he has reported, or lots of other facts and figures he has accumulated.   E-mail - paulsmith@cretanvista.gr
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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 to be used for personal purposes. For example our calendar photographs can be used to reproduce the pictures for your own calendars or to hang on granny's bedroom wall.

We will however, take action against anyone we discover using in our materials in any mass distribution exercise, especially for financial gain, unless specifically authorised by us and we are acknowledged as the source in the reproduction.

It's so easy to ask...... And we always trace our work...

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In the News...

At the end of last month's 'In the News' I said   "I'm off to watch the paralympic opening ceremony! If you miss it don't worry, it will be replayed for years to come!"

True to form, the Athens Paralympic Games 2004 became one of the best in the history of these games. The paralympics were first introduced in the Rome Olympics in 1960. And how they have grown - 19 Events; 3846 athletes; 136 competing countries. And maybe hidden by being obvious - every one of the competitors has had to become a gold medallist in overcoming disability just to get there. Read Story.

The BBC shamed the reluctance of other broadcasting networks and broadcast the first ever live coverage of the paralympics. Pity American networks (and presumably others) felt that there was insufficient interest to buy broadcast rights. Link to story.

Road Safety. This month has not been a happy one for road safety in this part of the world, the most dangerous in the EU according to Eurostat figures. The worst news was perhaps another crash involving a lorry and coach which left 7 teenagers dead, and another 26 15 - 16 year-olds and 4 teachers injured on a school trip to see the paralympics. The site of the accident was a notorious stretch of road Near Asproneri, northwest of Athens on Sept 27th. The planned festivities of the paralympic closing ceremony were cancelled and the whole of Greece held a day National mourning on 29th September. Link to story.

And it did not, sadly, end there: Three German holiday-makers lost their lives after their jeep veered into a small truck on the highway between Iraklion (Heraklion) and Agios Nikolaos on Crete. Three other cars were involved and four other people injured. Link to Story.

The Greek Orthodox Church suffered too.... With the tragic death of Patriarch Petros of Alexandria and All of Africa and four other senior Orthodox clerics, when the Chinook helicopter carrying his delegation on a visit to Mt Athos crashed into the sea. His body was recovered and was buried at the Church of St George in Cairo on the evening of September 15th. Another very sad loss... Link to story. mpa story link.

*The Patriarchs temporary successor is Bishop Petros of Ethiopa.

But on a lighter (or is that 'higher') note....
Cretan agriculture is still cropping well, but the planters keep making a hash of it... 15 pot plant(ations) in the prefecture of Chania in just one year... It used to be guns but maybe it's a case of 'Make peace, not war'....    Link to Story.

And another Greek record broken - by a Greek again..
By the same Greek actually! 25 year old Thanae Varveri broke her own previous free diving (swim downwards) of 35 metres, upping it to 37.5 metres on Sept 10th. No flippers, weights, masks etc. 37.5 metres = around 114.3 feet straight down, off Kalymnos. No air - best not to try it at home! Link to news clip.
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Well, that's about it for now.....
Late again, but then, going on past performance, that must mean that the news is probably, perhaps, about on time. The equivalent of the Greek word 'esos' - maybe!!

There seem to have been a great many distractions this month - including several trips out gathering information and photographs for the site.

Our book reviews are also increasing in number and popularity and much to the surprise of our reviewer Ann Lisney, an old friend from her school days (more than a couple of years ago I understand!) recognised her from her from her photograph in the May/June issue of CVNews.

One of the biggest problems with the September (current) page is the sheer amount of news. Quite a lot of it tragic. The school siege in Beslan, Russia, included televised scenes of children running from the carnage which for me brought back memories of other children hurt by fighting adults, whoever is at fault....

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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.

Guest Book. 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.

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
(2004 Calendar Photos en- route) We have still not yet decided this years format or theme. Certainly we have enough photographs to choose from - and we are also, in addition, trying to build a specialist calendar of birds - photographs are always welcome. (Please email us first).

Bird Watchers.
Paul Smiths' bird watching diary page remains very popular and hopefully Paul is well into his September 2004 diary. We are sincerely indebted to visitors who have supplied photographs. Currently we are displaying these in CVNews, (no room again this month). Hopefully we will receive enough to start a gallery of Cretan sightings.

We would have liked to have found space to add a little about the bird deaths at Lake Koroneia in Northern Greece - estimates at up to 15000 bird deaths - cause as yet unverified. For now we only have a link. Read Story.

mailto:Webmaster@cretanvista.gr

Book Review News. Newly Completed..

'Who Pays The Ferryman' - Michael J. Bird - vintage 1993 maybe, but, like the TV series from the book and fine wine, what a vintage! A first rate story based on Crete, love and the Cretan vendetta. Read the review.

Recently completed.
*'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. Real. Compelling. Harrowing in the extreme. Revealing the Greek psych as nothing I have ever read. But, unless you have no feelings, it could haunt you forever...... Read the review.

EDITOR: The review, preparation interrupted by my illness, was, as promised, completed by our reviewer Ann Lisney. The real-life climax, when Nicolas Cage finally tracks down and confronts the man he holds responsible for the murder of his mother, is left totally for the reader. Superb. Don't miss this.

*'Patouchas' - Ioannis Kondylakis. Kondylakis died in 1920 but his story of the rites of passage from uncouth shepherd youth to civilised villager has become a classic. Cretan throughout. Read the review

Making a Garden on a Greek Hillside - Jaqueline Tyrwhitt - Isn't this just what we all want to do?! Superb plant detail. The story of buying a plot; building a house: moving in; making a garden; Greek life - feastings, fastings, festivals and name days are a real bonus. Read the review.

Land of Crete - George Meis. Brilliant photography, superb artwork. Beautiful photographic genius from George Meis. Unfortunately we can't show you as we have yet to receive permission to publish a few pictures. But watch this space...   Read the review.

Still the Best Nature - '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 - with permission) are, we think, nice! The printed pictures in the book are in almost all cases very much bigger, nicer!

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.   Was this yours?



      Afrata, below Taverna Minora, North West Crete

  Too late - it's scrap now.. Manufacturer/Year Unknown
    (Information is gratefully received and databased)

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