Spoiler warning: If you want to discover for yourself abandon now!
Greyrocks is halfway through the Paleo stay and at a
krassi/tsikoudia/musical evening at Monica's a few days ago we met resident James, who introduced himself as a reader of this very blog! (Are we into double figures now?). He reminded us that the annual update on the state of the village has not been published, so here we go:
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| The new "prom" at the July Red Moon |
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| "Someone should sort this!" |
Most striking of all the changes is the construction of a low wall the length of the stony-side promenade and a widened and (rather oddly) delineated pavement. It is a thing of beauty giving the possibility of sitting comfortably all the way along and great for children to walk along. There are little gaps at intervals and some water taps. The street lamps are, however, rather "over-speced" so the low rate of operational status is probably a good thing! It means that the site of Ruth's great downfall last year is no longer evident!
Much less welcome, and allegedly a consequence - in some convoluted way - is the enforced removal of semi-permanent canopies from restaurants and bars along the same thoroughfare. It has been overseen by the Port Police, involves serious fines and is deeply resented by (obviously) the owners, by many tourists who feel the nature of the area has been spoiled, and by the mayor who has tried to intervene.
In the town itself there have been paving improvements in several side streets
There are definitely fewer than reported last year! Only the combined premises of Balladeer bar and Glaros restaurant comes to mind. The site is key (adjacent to the ferry) and the whole lot had been demolished when we arrived. There is now mysterious construction work in train. Watch this space! Following on from last year we can report that Dionysos remains firmly closed and the short-lived trendy place next to Votsalo has become a shop (see below). Papagallo has fallen from grace with Greyrocks following the sudden departure of Suzie as chef. She is now back at Atoli and that is working well. with the Thursday buffet a great feature!
We have a completely new traditional taverna in the Old Town (close to where the pelican once lived), It is named Aunt's Taverna and as yet is is not being much used!
At Akrogiali (Stavros) there is transformation! Greyrocks has been eating there since the first visit in 1988. The heir apparent - Stelios - has left for Cyprus and now a new owner oversees a new team whilst Stavros stands in the street for a few hours each evening greeting. The interior has been modernised and the menu tweaked. Consensus is that it is not as good as it used to be, and the "ambience" is different - largely as a result of the serving of gyros and other pitta.
Pantelis has a new raised courtyard and is full most nights.
The ouzeri with a strange name in the main street between pharmacy and small supermarket has also considerably expanded and has tables in the evening up to the crossroads.
Finally and at last the old Fortezza has re-opened as the Kastro! The place has a dark history and was also open for a few years as the Variety bar during which there were tragic incidents. Now members of the original family have invested serious money and intend to have a bar on one level and a restaurant on the other, The views are spectacular, but it is barely finished and reports are mixed.
There has been little change since last year, except that on the main sandy beach there is an expansion of tables and chairs as annexes of the
tavernas across the road (Palm Tree, Veggera and Atoli), and attempts have been made to contain sand drift and clouds with a fence (which was itself brought down recently by wind!)
The Blue Flags arrived in mid-July. This year only the two large beaches in the town got the award (Pacchia Ammos - the "Sandy" - to the west, and Chaldiki - the "Stony"- to the east) One again Limnaki (Greyrocks' beach) failed for lack of amenities, such as lifeguards, toilets and disabled access. To mark its boundary with the awarded section a rather amateur wood and card notice was been placed near the shore and it promptly fell down and lies on the sand!
The flock of Chinese masseuses has increased and from the frequent blasts of the aroma of embrocation they are getting business.
"The Club" near the campsite is operating seriously this season - as Pearl Cavo - with live music twice a week. Veggera has also had some bands and a couple of beach parties, and Greyrocks has been to three rock gigs at Atoli which were excellent! The Jetee has hosted some significant acts aimed at Greek youth and in the distinctly "naff" zone. Combined with causing traffic chaos and charging ludicrous prices for beer they have endeared themselves to neither residents nor punters.
The Chess Tournament happened again with a few days' notice, there was singing and playing and dancing by the community groups down by the Skala, and a British wedding with eighty guests (or rather the associated hen party!) caused a stir!
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| Lula is classier than this! |
Out on the streets there is nightly music by a strolling duo - Athenian we think - of skill and good manners. The Romanian accordionist is regularly about, and there have been few other musicians. (One Argentinian impressed Greyrocks but disappeared!) Some young Cretan dancers in normal dress and with impressive leaping have been about from time to time.
Whilst in Chania Bob had seen an act that had delighted Greyrocks over several years and he asked if they would be coming down South. They said they would and duly did, although the main dancer is in fact the sister of the original! Unfortunately there is no photo, but this is the idea (The female dressed as a male tango dancer performs with Lula, a full sized doll tartily dressed and attached to the legs with Velcro!) Ingenious - but to some a bit freaky!
Most significant is the retirement of Mr Vlisidis and the transfer of the
supermarket to the Cretan chain INKA. It means somewhat more stock and two tills but it is rather cramped. Greyrocks has their loyalty card and thus visits to Petrakis are a rare event!
One of the Chinese clothes shops has closed but on the stony prom a new- apparently good - women's clothes shop has opened. Other boutiques have been smartened up and we now have a pet shop!
- Tourist flow and traffic issues!
The village seems to be having a good year in terms of tourism. During Greyrocks' first few weeks you couldn't move for Norwegians and we heard tell of regulars who said they wouldn't be back because they were fed up with hearing nothing but their own language. Of course they are good spenders! The next wave was Italians and then Greeks, which is just about to wane. German, Irish, British and French numbers remain stable and less prone to fluctuation.
Traffic problems continue to grow: the main ones being un-silenced two-wheeled things being ridden madly by youngsters, and Greek cars being parked absolutely anywhere the drivers fancy! The police do nothing and there is allegedly a torrent of complaints about it on Facebook!
But: Hey mustn't grumble!
We met them from the Chania bus on the second of a series of very windy days. As there were several more it was some time before we were in the sea together, and that was on a day out with car seeking shelter. Killing three birds with one stone we visited Houmas, which is strictly in Gramenon. This has worked its way up in just a few years to being Number 1 for the town on TripAdvisor, so we were happy to have a long and delicious lunch on their terrace. It is a serious contender for the nuptials so we cased the joint, and it has sunbeds round a sheltered sandy bay, so we snoozed, read and swam through the afternoon.
