My time so far in Hania
By Helen Grubner. Filed in Uncategorized |
The Harbour, Hania, Crete
Firstly, let me tell you all – my followers out there – I understand how much you will have been suffering these last few days with no updated blogs and photographs, however, I want you to know that I have been suffering equally, if not more! You see, not only do my friends Antonia and Vassilis not have the Internet at their home, which means I’m also having to go cold turkey, I have not been very well.
I was fortunate to get a lift here from Kastelli with Antonia on Sunday night. Monday dawned extremely hot, 27 degrees C at 0930 hours when I left the house to walk to the harbour, 33 degrees C by the time I returned for lunch at 1200 hours. I found a Restaurant/Cafe/Bar at the harbour with Happy Hour from 0900 to 1200 hours, a small beer only 1.50 Euro. I am not sure what temperature we reached that day, however, it was very uncomfortable weather. Antonia and Vassilis’ son Bill came by early evening with his wife Rena to see if he could do anything about getting me connected to the Internet, alas, no luck. Antonia and I had our compulsory cappuccino around 1800 hours and a light meal later – Dakos (Paximadi – rusks, softened with water and tomato juice, topped with tomato, myzithra – soft white cheese and rigani) finished with fresh fruit. Having found the heat of the day to be very tiring, took a sleeping tablet, lay on top of the bed with the door on to the balcony wide open and drifted off into slumber land.
Tuesday morning, after Antonia had made a big dish of my favourite Greek sweet – Galaktoboureko (custard between 2 layers of phyllo pastry with syrup poured over), she and I set off for the beach where I had my first swim of the year in these beautiful clean, clear blue waters. Returned for lunch and our siesta from which I awoke with a sore throat which developed into a full on head cold, most unpleasant in the current weather conditions. Without realising it, my body must have become thoroughly chilled on Monday night. No need to worry, I am slowly but surely coming right.
I first met Antonia and Vassilis in Melbourne way back in the early 1980’s when Costas was there with me. Antonia was originally from Kastelli and went to school with one of Costas’ sisters. Here in Hania they have a building supplies yard where Vassilis also maintains a vegetable garden, olive and fruit trees and he keeps an assortment of livestock – chickens, goats, bees and a horse (more on the latter later). On Tuesday he slaughtered a small goat, that’s fine, yesterday we had roast goat with potatoes and salad which was delicious. However, Antonia spent 3 hours cleaning the goat’s intestines and another hour it’s feet – for what reason you may ask? Well, these will also be cooked and eaten at some stage – not for me. I know the intestines are traditionally made into a soup at Easter – when people have been through hard times such as they have during the wars and so on here on Crete – nothing is wasted.
Wednesday began with a visit to Antonia’s daughter Mary who needed help with colouring her hair, an opportunity to go on line but only briefly. Wednesday is also the day for the weekly Street Market and so that was our next stop. Very glad I am not driving around here on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, it is hair raising – Greeks are renowned for being short on patience. In the afternoon visited a friend who has villas with swimming pool and a restaurant attached – from there to a small beach nearby for my second swim.
We had stopped at the building supplies yard on the way to drop off lunch for Vassilis and called in again on our way back. According to Vassilis his horse was sick and it was ‘matiasmeni’, i.e. someone with evil eyes had looked at it and cast a spell and made it sick. Some Greeks believe in this and to ward off the evil eyes, they say you can wear a small decorative blue eye on a bracelet or chain etc. Actually, Billy the wee dog at Anna’s in Kastelli has one on his collar. Anyway, we had to take away the rope from the horse to be blessed and now the horse should be okay!
Spent yesterday recovering and today much the same. I came with Antonia to the beach then walked and looked for an Internet Cafe nearby. Rapped to find one and better still, nothing to pay as I have my own computer. So good to be able to write a blog again when like all of my followers I was close to suffering withdrawal. My plans are to catch the earliest bus at 0730 hours on Monday to Omalos to walk the Samaria Gorge, a boat from Agia Roumeli to Hora Sfakion where I will stay 3 nights then a bus back to Hania. On Saturday 12 June, I will be on a bus to Iraklion to catch the 1350 hours ferry boat to the island of Karpathos. As much as I have enjoyed spending time with family and friends here on Crete, I am truly looking forward to getting back to some real travelling, free to experience whatever comes my way.