Halfway but it's almost full circle!

Yesterday was Day 50 of Greyrocks' 2020 stay in Crete, and thus the halfway point; but bizarrely it felt as if we were back at the beginning. The weather has been very good with plenty of beach time and very attractive sea, but up until Sunday the town (village) and beach would be described as busy. On Limnaki beach there had been a weekend of full sunbed occupation, plenty of bathers - some with inflatables - and the cantina full all day and noisy with big family groups. We strolled down there yesterday at midday and it was as quiet as it had been in the first half of July, but more striking as back then far fewer umbrellas ans beds had been installed! It seems to be the Skandies that are missing! Also views are changing on "September Brits", with known cancellations and an announcement that self-isolation will be necessary on return being a very real fear. Ruth has been tracking the moving average of Greek daily infection numbers, and it is not looking good!

Then mid-afternoon Chloë rises from her sunbed to report an incoming alert on her phone about "new restrictions". They apply only to the prefecture of Chania and have started this morning at 6 am and will be in force until the end of the month.

The new measures

• Gatherings of more than 9 people are prohibited
• The maximum number of people per table in restaurants is 4, unless they are first-degree relatives in which case up to 6 people are allowed
• Mandatory use of mask indoors and outdoors
• Suspension of any kind of events
• Bars and Tavernas are closed from 12:00 pm until 7:00 am..

This last measure is significant in that the previous run of midnight curfews in Athens and holiday areas (see last post) expired on Sunday night, and Ruth had spent time trying to establish whether it was to be extended!

Last week there was a "Gavdos scare" with two suspected cases on the island where hygiene can be dodgy and non-conformity is the norm, but they proved to be negative. Daily cases within the prefecture have been running within the range 0 to 4, so this imposition based on (as of Sunday) 33 cases for a resident population of around 80,000 seems a bit excessive!

We four are going up the mountain today to Azogires to clear our heads!

A glut of pumpkins, frogs and mice???

The week of exits, entrances, a new curfew 

and the dreaded 15th!

On 12th we said "Goodbye and Kalo Taxidi" to Chris and Penny from York, who had been in town for ten days, and "Hello and Kalos Irthate" to Chloë, Jack and three friends who are still here.
There had been an initial problem over the arrival by bus from Chania of Chris and Penny. On a Sunday there was - then - just a single bus in each direction per day! We sat at the delightful Mantos to wait and a bus arrived - rather early we thought! A crowd disembarked but not our friends! The mystery was solved when we received a message that they were just leaving Kandanos! An extra bus had been arranged leaving 20 minutes after the initial one.They thought they were on the express but something had upset that!

Dig that crazy train-themed mask!

We largely spent the days separately with them preferring to swim from sunbeds on the town beach, but we did two day trips together: first by taxi to Houmas where the sea was perfect and the lunch well up to standard, plus another taxi trip to Azogires on a very windy day. It was so windy, in fact, that it was difficult to walk, so Ruth copped out of a walk to the waterfall. This turned out to be wise as the others returned to the Alpha in a state of shock and relief that there were no major injuries. After lunch a more reasonable walk took place and we visited the little gallery. Lucky was in fine form and adoring of both wife and daughter! 

The last night of Chris and Penny's stay coincided with the first "midnight curfew", A tougher one had just been introduced on the island of Poros, but this was for much of Greece -although not initially Athens - and required all bars and restaurants to be clear of customers by 12 pm (until 7 am), It was to stay in force until 23rd, but has now been extended. We four ate that evening at the Palm Tree so were just a little way from the "crossroads of chaos".  We took a short exploratory walk in the final hour and saw that places were crammed. Third Eye let us have a round of drinks and we left on time with others in evidence on the homeward trek!

The next night was - therefore - going to be a challenge! The five "kids" were due to arrive by taxi from the port at Souda somewhat after midnight! After seeing Chris and Penny off on the bus to Chania we ate at Maria's to collect keys and went home to prepare a bag of drinks and snacks and then took it over to the stony side . We arrived just after the taxi! We (the family) sat on the wall in the light of the moon with plastic glasses and heard about their time in Athens.

Chloë has a list of things to do and places to visit and we are working our way through it - particularly as the other three have left this morning! She is also super-cautious on the Co-vid front! Unfortunate as the holiday weekend started very soon after arrival! A couple of places where we might have spent late evenings are so unacceptably full at the moment that even Greyrocks baulks at going to them. It is the weekend effect heightened by Greek visitors for the holiday, a sense that a heavy lockdown is around the corner and desperation created by the curfew. After the town bell sounds there is a flood of "the young" down to the sandy beach via the periptero which stays open until 2 am, and what the Spanish call botellones happen - unfortunately leaving mess for the beach boys to clear in the morning!

The "haj" down Palm Tree Road was most striking on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the "Dreaded 15th". As the date approached there was speculation that the influx of people would only last until Monday, but we are still experiencing it in terms of crowded cheaper restaurants and appalling parking manners! We have never seen so many cars in town with Y or Z number plates! 

A technical glitch!

Not many barely-competent bloggers get a Cambridge professor sorting out their technical messes, but Greyrocks did, so a big Thank You to Johnny:- have another Mythos!
If you could not access the restaurant list in the penultimate post, try again  - it is now a pdf file and more phone-friendly!
(And Atoli has since started opening in the evening when demand is evident!)