We arrived in Paleochora midday Monday, and all seemed well! Obviously more tourists than in May, flags out for Nautical Week and the apartment suffering only from over-rampant bougainvilla on the balcony!
We even managed to get the Sunday papers that are unheard-of in Kissamos!
So we set off on bikes and Ruth was hailed by dress-shop John, who wondered what we would be doing for refreshments in the new circumstances! This was how we heard of the sad demise of the kantina at the end of the sandy beach.
We had seen the current keepers doing some necessary renovations back in May and they had said they wanted to open fairly soon. In fact they opened around 9th June. Recently muscular Nikos had had a disgreement with non-English speaking Giorgos and left. Stakis (known to many as the Lebanese Lethario) began work there on Saturday. Sunday had been a busy day with Vicky's family having a celebation, Mike and Gail recently arrived and so on.
At around 5.30 pm a fire started on the road behind. The general consensus is that it was a discarded cigarette that set it off - although sunshine on glass is another possibility.
The high and changeable wind seems to have created a fire storm which engulfed the whole kantina. Customers fled and others on the beach were moved on by the police. Barry's twins and John and Cricket's girls were rushed away from the rock-pool leaving everything behind for later collection. Up on the heights of Panorama it was not clear where the centre of the fire was located and there were fears for the lower houses. Then a loud explosion took place - presumably a gas cylinder at the kantina - although some embellishments refer to wartime mines!! The fire crew took 45 minutes to get to the scene (it was Sunday!) but there was nothing to be saved. Fortunately no-one was hurt, but the area is now blackened and smelly!
The much-valued loo is still standing, but with no-one to tend it the Blue Flag status of that end of the beach is compomised. Giorgos and wife had paid out for the season's rent and lost everything! Any ideas that this was not an accident collapse under anlaysis. Just some terrible luck!
There are this year many more sunbeds at that end of the beach, so enterprising mobile drinks merchants could coin it in! Meanwhile it's rapidly warming tinnies, or a trek back to Jetee and Zygos!