Itisallgreek2me

Thursday morning in the Square – Spetses

10 days’ ago it was still very possible to go and sunbathe at the beach, followed by a refreshing dip in the sea.  Even when we took our short break to the island of Poros with Ray and Heather, the weather was kind to us, just as it had been almost every single day since my arrival here on 21 October.  Alas, this past week we have been caught up in a dramatic turn of events on the island.

It all began on Wednesday 13 November.  Awoke to a reasonable looking day, a light wind blowing with outbreaks of sunshine, ideal weather to hang out the washing I thought and feeling positive I would get it dry.  However, it was not long before the clouds began to roll in, followed by thunder and lightning … the skies opened and down came torrential rain.  That afternoon the weather was fair and by 2000 hours, Costas walked down to Delfinia where on Wednesday evenings he enjoys a few games of Pool with friends.  About an hour later, I followed … umbrella in hand – it was calm and mild with only minor precipitation.  Met up with the girls and other friends who had come to see Ray and Heather … they would be leaving on Friday to make their annual journey back to Aberdeen for the winter.  With the music resembling that played in Bar Spetsa, we happily talked and laughed a lot as we enjoyed our drinks and nibbles.

Outside a ferocious storm was brewing … thunder, fork lightning striking the sea and lighting up the sky, gale force winds and rain that became heavier and heavier.  From time to time Vagelis would go outside to release the rainwater collecting on top of the awnings … each time we were amused as he lifted up a chair to prod  the awning on its underside.  A handful of people had already left Delfinia, making their way home safely but those of us remaining would be in for the long haul.

What developed was an electrical storm, the likes of which Costas had never witnessed in his 26 years on the island.  With howling winds and torrential rain, we watched helplessly from the doorway as chairs, tables and all manner of things were swept in muddy water, down the main seafront road of the town and on to Agios Mammas beach.  With the water almost coming inside the door at Delfinia, we feared for the state of Bar Spetsa, however, there was nothing we could do.  Eventually Penny left on her quad and against all odds, somehow made it to a spot near their house up the hill, walking the last little bit of the way, then arriving home to find there was no electricity.

Eventually, around 0230 hours, with no let up in the thunder and lightning, the water receded enough for us to make our break and walk home, unsure what we would find on arrival.  Our little house is old, the original part having been built in 1895, the remainder at some later time.  The roof is old and really needs replacing, however, apparently this is something the landlady is not prepared to do and so when heavy rain is expected, we position pots, bowls and whatever else we can find, under all the known leaking spots throughout the house, to collect the water.  Costas had returned to the house once during the evening and all appeared fine.

The first place we checked was our bed … relieved to find it was dry.  As I always do anytime on returning home, I then went to turn on my computer which sat on the coffee table in our living room.  Nothing happened and to my horror, I found my computer was full of water!  A leak in a new place, in a line, directly across the couch and coffee table, exactly where I had always left my computer.  The upshot of this … we tried drying it out, however, no joy.  On Friday evening I visited our friends John and Julie to see if there was anything John could do for me or rather my computer.  Although my Acer PC Notebook is buggered, John has been able to retrieve everything off my hard drive and has set up and lent me a laptop to work on, for which I am most grateful.

There was very little sleep for either of us on Wednesday night as I worried about my computer and Costas worried about the state of Bar Spetsa.  On Thursday morning, Costas left the house to assess the damage at the Bar … fortunately, things there were much better than expected.  The muddy water had not entered much further than just beyond the bar itself and the necessary cleanup was minimal.  Other parts of the town did not fare so well, in particular, the main Square which lies a short 15 metres or so from our home.  There is a natural riverbed which runs through this part of town and some time in the past, non-thinking half wits have erected shops and restaurants over the stream, the path of which has been considerably narrowed as the water has still to make its way under the erected buildings and out to sea.  With all the mud and debris washed down from the hills, this waterway became blocked and had no-show of coping with the amount of water and so the water had nowhere else to go but through all the premises around the Square.

At Boggi a door caved in at the side and as the water rushed through this establishment and out through the front door, a young employee inside was lucky to escape with his life.  Clock Restaurant fared poorly as well … most of their outside tables and chairs were swept away and inside, the power of the surging waters upturned ovens and fridges.  Quarter, the pizza restaurant at the bottom end of the Square appears to have come off worst … peering in through broken windows, I could see where the level of the muddy waters had reached 1.5 – 2.0 meters up the walls.  A complete and utter disaster and let’s not forget, many of these businesses  had been struggling  anyway under the current economic climate here in Greece, with concerns of how they will be able to survive.  Some will have the means to start again … for others it will be the end of the road.

The massive cleanup began early on Thursday, continuing late into the night.  With hoses supplying only a trickle of water , we had no water at all at the house for more than 24 hours.  With people shovelling mud and very little in the way of machinery to help them.  Four days on and the cleanup continues … this will be a major setback here on our little island paradise.  It is now Sunday … last night when we were out at Paxni for dinner and later in Delfinia, I did hear that Spetses was declared a disaster area and that the State would pay for everything but this I cannot confirm.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 17th, 2013 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.