Cretan Vista Site News Archive August 2012

Cretanvista Site News & Reviews - August 2012 Issue 116

No links to sites with adult content accepted.

AUGUST WEATHER..... Heat wave; heat wave; heat wave. There wasn't much else one could say to describe it. We have been there before, hot weather is not unusual on Crete in summer, but this really was something to behold. From inside with the air-can on...

Current Chania Webcam Current Cretan Weather Link

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ANEK Lines El Venizelos at Patra.

ANEK Lines 'El Venizelos' at Piraeus 2012
BIG. Maybe bigger than it looks, but easy peasy for boarding motorists and lorries, and the service was of the very best - read below.

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Astratigos Village Life.... Travelers Tales.. XVIV

.... I avoid gate 3 (because it is always closed) and cajole and sometimes bully my way to gate 8 - which has always worked for me. The port police officer glances at our ticket and says, in fluent Greek, 'you want Gate 3 - you can't enter here - go back out and around the harbour'. I paled as I looked at the grid-locked but moving Piraeus traffic that I will have to cross and join to get back to gate 3!......

'Lonely Planet' III....
I was overheated, sweating, hyper-hyped, and angry that within a few hundred yards of my destination I was being told that I had to go back outside the port and fight my way back around the horrendous Piraeus loop to a gate that was always closed! But arguing with port police is a no-no. Doesn't work. Better just to do it and, and - I had once attended stock-car racing at Belle-Vue Stadium in Manchester. Maybe I could remember the basics.....

Continuing to display the signs and symptoms of a pending coronary I turned for the exit. And there it was, the worst possible nightmare and rapidly deteriorating. Traffic Lights! A traffic cop (police sergeant) attempting to control the traffic - against the lights. His 'go' was everyone else's opposite - no go! He had stopped, by some miracle (or madness), the three lanes of traffic from my immediate left, but the lanes opposite, from both opposite and the T junction right, were moving rapidly en-mass and not leaving gaps. Perhaps a better description would have been 'not taking prisoners'....

The police sergeant was in imminent danger of being run down and resembled a walking coronary himself - 'go, go'!! He was yelling and gesticulating madly at me - whist standing directly in my path only a few feet away. It was going to be one of us (probably several in a mangled pile of smoking steel and dead bodies) - and it wasn't going to be me!! I went! Shouting back at him "Get out the f.... way then" as I aimed directly at him and the still not giving way opposing traffic - and crossed directly and smartly, aiming directly for the closed stream whist executing a perfect left turn - and awaiting (for several instants) the 'BANG' and the screams...

The distances between 'me and them' was, I still believe, the thickness of the paint on our car. How the cop managed to get clear is known only to god - but he (the cop - not God!) had told me to do it. My version was that if I had to die I would do so whilst shouting 'Geronimo' and charging! In the event I just held my breath and charged and dripped sweat. But I did not wee, honest....

Round the dock we went, alternation between heavy accelerator and brakes being the order of the day, until I reached Gate 3. It was open! I had to cross left through the opposing traffic - but my lights were green and my way clear. We were in without pausing. A few hundred yards and we were outside the ANEK lines check-in. The El Venizelos had not yet arrived. It would be at least a couple of hours before we were able to board. But I was an excited schoolboy again - this was a first for us, having never been near the boat let alone on it - all I knew was that it was big, and I wanted a go....

So we spent the next couple of hours in the torpid heat of Piraeus harbour watching the world go by, which included watching a couple of gentlemen in a rather beat up sports saloon bearing racing logos remove what appeared to be an abandoned car from the dock behind us. The latter had it's wiring harness apparently half ripped out - but these two spent 30 minutes or so what seemed to be 'hot wiring' it, did a jump start and went away with one car each! Mind the 'hot wired' car looked remarkably like one of those Belle-Vue stock-cars after an event. And I couldn't help but wonder how far they would get before the police took an interest. But then the harbour police were probably grateful to see it gone....

There were several other distractions - or attractions - depending on ones personal outlook. The (probably illegal) traders who seem to inhabit the area attempted constantly to sell everyone who stood still everything - watches; binoculars; brolley's; torches; telescopes et al. Everything, I took delight in explaining, that I already had! Not one offered the use of a personal toilet. Now that was becoming something that I would have been willing to pay for...

And then, gliding backwards slowly towards the dock loading ramp, was our boat. El Venizelos from Chania. And back then there, we hoped, with our good selves and our CRV on board. The boat looked vast. It is vast. I sincerely hoped that if we were directed to the upper garage it would not be too upper! I needn't have worried - we were directed downwards - into the very bowels of the boat. We were well below the waterline I thought - if we get holed for any reason the car and precious contents - packed so carefully in the UK, were goners! But I couldn't think of a way of getting everything into our cabin!

Down, seemingly into the depths of beyond. The garage was bright, and compartmentalized into four car sections. The central doorway to each seemed to be at right-angles to the next. Rubix Cube style. It was very tight entering and exiting, but the loader was superb - not the more often seen panic and excitement we were used to. Smooth. Smiling. Very definite but never pushy. We appreciated that. Last time we were on 'a boat in the bowels' the car in front had balked at, so to speak, at the last fence. The German passengers had refused to go further and threatened to get off the boat if any attempts to make them do so were made.... That loader had simply told them to do just that, and picked the next car (ours!) to load. We never saw them again, but I have often wondered how they managed to maneuver their car out...

The boat really was vast. The corridors seemed to stretch into infinity, but, as on all boats that we have ever travelled on, finding ones way around was simple. Just follow the signs and remember, if nothing else, the number of your garage. As things turned out we saw the reception; the route to our cabin; the route to the bar (and the bar!); the route to the restaurant (and the restaurant!); the route back to the bar (and the bar again); and our cabin.

The bar was packed and, (we had never known this on a Greek boat before), amazingly well staffed by very attentive waiters. The service was amazingly quick - the tills must have been on the point of overheating!

It was all very easy. We docked in Souda Bay on time. Our journey, at least this one, complete.

In the News Reviews...
Some like it hot....
And in Greece generally, and Crete being no exception, the blazing sunshine saw many seeking cooler ways - one of which is the mega-fountain - where cool, water is rocketed upwards from jets set into public play areas. It then falls down like giant rain. Got one? Want one? It won't fit in the garage....
                                                   Link to Story.

Oil and gas from Crete?..
'Preliminary estimates by the (Greek) Environment Ministry' suggest a total of 26 billion barrels in the Ionian Sea and Northern Aegean. 'An area south of Crete looks particularly promising'...
                                                   Link to Story.

But August is a bad month...
For fires. In Greece as a whole and Crete specifically. Especially where arson is suspected, as in the case of fires starting in the Viannos area of southern Rethymno on Crete ...
                                                   Link to Story.

It was also a bad month...
For four Indians who ended up in hospital in Rethymno with knife wounds following an attack at a bus stop on their way to work. Their assailants were thought to be Greek according to the Indians. The police were not ruling out the possibility of the attack being made by other Indians with whom they were in dispute...
                                                    Link to Story.

And bad for the thirteen people...
Arrested, including an officer of EKAM (Police Force Special Services Unit) who were arrested in simultaneous raids in Greek cities on charges of dealing in child pornography. One of the cities was identified as being on Crete...
                                                   Link to Story.

Plus, possibly good news for Crete...
And other parts of Greece some projects which will generate growth for the economy from the fast-track process, including solar energy in Thessaly, central and eastern Greece, and gold-mining at Perama seem to be gaining ground. Also headed to for fast-tracking is the Minoan Group (UK) project at Cavo Sidero on Crete - golf courses, villages and luxury hotels...
                                                  Link to Story.

There are a total of sixteen...
Projects being addressed by foreign investors throughout Greece listed, including the up till now controversial Cavo Sidero on Crete...
                                                   Link to Story.

Though taxation problems persist...
And in one effort to overcome them Greece has recently signed a deal on double taxation which should help to prevent dodging using Swiss bank accounts...
                                                    Link to Story.

But having said that...
An ekathimerini report headlines 'More than 1,000 people face legal action over farming pensions' saying that the details of more than 1,000 people who may have been claiming farmers pensions illegally has been forwarded to a prosecutor by the Labour Ministry...
                                                    Link to Story.

Plus - even tourists may become innocently ...
Involved in tax avoidance, as SDOE claims that over half island businesses dodge taxes. An SDOE report made following inspections said that more than 55% were involved in tax violation such as failure to issue receipts....
                                                    Link to Story.

And sometimes local people...
Become involved, as in this incident on the Island of Hydra where riot police had to be taken to the island in order to transfer a restaurateur being taken to Athens to face charges of tax evasion. Some local people attempted to prevent police transferring the man to Athens, which provoked a strong very political response ...
                                                    Link to Story.

Back to the British Museum...
Where officials denied that a plan to return fragments of the Parthenon (Acropolis) Marbles had been formulated, as had been suggested by the director of the Acropolis museum earlier. But it isn't just the British Museum which has parts of the marbles - Copenhagen, Munich, Paris, the Vatican and Vienna all have parts which could be returned...
                                                    Link to Story.

And back at the Acropolis...
On another subject some superb news. The Lewis Cup, originally won by Spyros Louis - winner of the marathon at the first-ever Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, is to go on display at the Acropolis Museum from August 28th..

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which won the auction for the cup at Christie's for 514,250 GB pounds agreed to display the cup until it's own Arts Centre is competed in 2015. The foundation had promised to make the cup accessible to the public.
                                                    Link to Story.

And at Iraklio archeological museum...
Two halls were about to reopen to the public along with free guided tours by specialists on specified days...
                                                    Link to Story.

Plus, staying on the brighter side...
Cookery writer Fiona Faulkner 'in search of inspiration for her new cookbook', ended up on western Crete, where she found that 'Traditional Cretan cuisine is based on cheese, grains, fruits and vegetables - the freshness and quality of which is incredible'. None of which is news to those of us who live here Fiona, send us a copy and we will publish a review. Crete: island of herbs and honey. Fiona Falkner.
                                                                Link.
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	Amazon.co.uk & Selected Cretan bookstores Living in Crete by Carol Palioudakis OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK! Price £9.50 GBP
Amazon.co.uk & Selected Cretan bookstores

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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 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.

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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?

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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.

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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

There were 43 local earthquakes in August - Link - Only 1 of any significance: (ML4.0 & above).

07 Aug: 4.5 ML, 10.48:22am: Crete. Epicentre 93 km SW Ayía galíni (pop 1,369).
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). There are certain existing buildings considered to be at risk from major earthquakes. These buildings, which include a number of schools, are being investigated with the objective of safety. Engineers have also called upon the government to institute checks on old bridges in Greece.
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A Little Extra (Current) News - '...well, maybe?!!'....
Staying with the ever recurring subject of Greece; The Troika; Austerity; Austerity; Austerity - I came across this superb (to my mind!) piece of humour - to which I add a link below in an effort to help dispel some of the doom and gloom which many in Greece must share, having been mentally clubbed over the head repeatedly, no - incessantly, with what seems to be a garden spade! Well, perhaps you deserve a break. Have a look at this article and related U-Tube video from 'Keep Talking Greece". A site publishing 'Greek News in English, Blog, Wit & Drama'. Link (To return here just close the link on your browser)..

But, don't ever think that the economic situation in Greece is in any way humorous - it is anything but. With employment levels in July running at 21.5% - 54.2% of which is among the young, the idea of imposing continuing and perhaps increasingly severe austerity measures appears an impossible nightmare. At least among the working population - or should the at be 'wanting to work population'? How can further austerity be imposed upon those who cannot earn? Those who have no employment. Link

Is there anything more to be said? Personally, I don't think so. The time for procrastination and prevarication must by now be long gone. Either the EEC and International lenders, one, the other or both, help Greece through the crisis or they don't. As an English expatriate I cannot help but feel that, someone may be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Like a number of my countrymen, we have brought, and continue to bring, a not inconsiderable amount of money into Greece which would otherwise not be here. The majority have also, I suspect, had to pay extra taxes - the 'solidarity' tax is but one example.

A number of expatriates have already left Greece, because, I believe, they are no longer happy with the economic situation here. Some would undoubtedly do so but are trapped, unable to leave because they would need to sell their homes here in order to move back to the UK - and are unable to do so. For others, the continued uncertainty about what may happen if the situation worsens causes serious anxieties. The presence alone of expatriates results in additional income for Greece, to say nothing of the effects on tourism of spreading our goodwill or, if we leave, of not doing so....

We, like our Greek friends, need a resolution to the current crisis almost as badly as they do.

It is time for the Troika to deliver the goods - or not - and end the uncertainty....

Last month my personal opinion on the economic situation was that "Whatever happens next, if Europe fails Greece, we may all be asking Alexis Tsipras for the way forward" - I stand by that right now. But there is an addition that I have heard. If there is no resolution and Alexis Tsipras and SYRIZA become the leading party in Greece, then The Golden Dawn will surely follow - and then we can all go home. It seems not beyond the realms of reason...Link

On a completely different subject...
The world has, without doubt, shrunk so far in recent years that it seems almost impossible that when we first started renovating our home here we were told that it would be around four years to a telephone fitted. The nearest public telephone was at Afrata, the next village towards Kolimbari - where a couple local taverna's - Kali Kardia and Roxannies' could arrange a call almost immediately if asked. You paid at the end of your call but since the telephones were in tavernas you had to share your call with anyone who happened to be there! Often accompanied by the cacophony of their ancient TV sets (we never sleep!) the rattle of crockery and cutlery and background noise of the customers. Best to shout so that the person you were calling (and everyone else) could hear! In order to obtain privacy and a quiet call one had to drive the 5Km to Kolimbari post office or Ote, the telephone office (in working hours). The best spot was outside the post office, where a single private call box stood outside 24/7 - and took telephone cards - obtainable almost everywhere...

But one year later we had our telephone. A couple of years after that we had our (dial-up) expensive and dodgy internet. A couple of years later we had cable broadband! And at the point how the world shrank and shrank!! Mobile telephones; Skype (I can call the UK for nearly nothing); satellite TV; et al.... Right now, at this very moment, I am watching Ryanair Flight RYR 7609 - it is just over Venice en route to Stanstead airport (UK) from Chania (Crete). I daresay that if I knew someone on board with a laptop we would have no problem communicating directly now - in real time! As I type the flight has moved to the border between the Italian and Swiss Alps - heading up towards Zurich and Basle - but the communications remain. And that goes for almost anywhere else - trains and boats and planes - anywhere, any time. Eh' and the Kolimbari telephone box has been modernised!! Here's the tune - Click...

Perhaps, after the direct video link (including sound) via one's computer with possibly built in camera, (Apple Ipad etc. etc. etc. which seems to have direct anything and everything and at a touch of it's screen), one of the most fascinating must be the Google earth program, which seems to be able to take any user to any designated spot on planet earth so effectively that in the more developed countries one can practically see through the net curtains!! Not in real-time video (yet), but how long will it be, I wonder, that having arrived at someone's front door on Google earth we will be able to knock on it - or ring the doorbell - and when it opens a real-time 3-D conversation will ensue - in full, glorious colour. Just be sure that you have the right door!

Kalos Ithate Stin Kriti.
WB. Cretanvista. Bringing the sunshine, keeping the rain off!
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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 all issued - Apologies! But you can always see them on our website :-
Link or browse the entire on-line wildflower galleries here.

Contacting Cretanvista..
We have now discontinued all direct email links. Our is here - Contact Link

Photo Galleries...
Calendar Photo Galleries:
A new one every year for the past decade! The 2012 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. Cretanvista probably has the widest range of calendar galleries available in Crete. But we can reprint any issue with the any year's dates - whatever year that happens to be! Have a look at the 2012 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 are adding 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 - albeit in monochrome.

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.

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	Hotel - Taverna Lefka Kolimbari
	Offers - Unsere Preise - Οι προσφορές

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