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 37oC 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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