What's new? (Beware:Full of spoilers!)

Greyrocks has been in the village for a month now and the annual rundown on changes is long overdue! So we put to one side the most significant feature - the Greek economic crisis - and offer a list with no claim that it is exhaustive. Readers who would prefer to discover things for themselves should switch off now!

Fixtures and Fittings (but for how long?)

Over the winter a set of new park-style benches has been sited at key viewpoints on both beachside roads. Along with these on the Sandy Beach side Gerhard - the sculptor from Kondouras - has added five more of his oeuvres. This makes for an interesting stroll down from  the Kastello to the Petrakis supermarket. It is not clear whether they will stay or are part of the Art Season which is the development after two annual Art "Weeks".

In an attempt to stop ridiculous parking on the Palm Tree Road a line of small bollards has been placed a short distance from the pavement. It works but a fair few have fallen victim to the legendary local driving habits!

Amina H in Istanbul

And we have had a mystery ship! Since Greyrocks arrived there had been a large cargo vessel anchored some way out from Limnaki beach. In fact was there much longer than that, having left Istanbul at the end of March.The gossip is that it holds grain of some sort and there is an ongoing dispute. It was identifiable on LiveShips as the Amina H; but on Thursday there it was:- gone. Not on the web and not on the horizon! Later it was discovered (online, of course) in Souda Bay. Although not beautiful it had  been useful as a weather-vane, shifting direction with the wind!

And on the subject of wind and things gone, something has been done to the public toilets at the Sandy Beach, which have exuded nasty niffs through as many summers as Greyrocks can remember and now don't! Is this another achievement of the new mayor?

There has been a normal level of retail use changes. Notable additions are a new beauty and massage parlour in what was the video rental place. It is run by Greek Americans, and Ruth let the masseur loose on her knee injury to good effect. Also on the Palm Tree Road there is a rather posh baby- and child-wear shop, a pretty tasteless T-shirt shop, a pavement juice and coffee kiosk as part of the old pool-hall/internet café, a more regularly open 1-Euro shop and the final closure of the very old kafenion nearby. On Fridays a Vodaphone trailer shop sits outside Petrakis. The third and barely-functioning pharmacy near the bus station has closed and is now the site of a funeral parlour. Ruth mistook this for a florists and talked about basil plants! Down on the Stony Prom the amusement arcade has doubled in width, and there is a sort of Play Zone in what was the Sunrise Bar!

Beach Conditions

With so many things awry it is great to report that this vital part of Greyrocks' life is in good nick! The sandshifters - both mechanical and natural - have been at work and the entry to the sea where it matters to us is better than for several years, and the little rock pool near the cantina has once again become a hub for families with children. There is now a relatively smooth wide path down from the centre car park:- a legacy of sand shifting, and Greyrocks has established its lair where it was last year under the tree. This is right next to Yiannis the new sunbed man, and so it appeared at least tolerated - if not official and there have so far been no incidents! Yiannis is in fact a former neighbour and he runs a tight sunbed ship! He supervises almost full-time so there is none of the free-loading and silly reservation that was possible previously with the over-stretched Tony. His domain runs from the kids' rock-pool beyond the cantina to the new path down from the car park. With the exception of two consecutive days in late June there have been ample beds everyday and often quite a few empty ones. He is also open to proper advance bookings! On busy days such as those mentioned and likely to happen as August looms a problem is the absence of Block A:- the twenty or so sets of beds in front of the bungalows! No-one wanted to have the contract at the price and thus there is a wide expanse of clear beach which looks like the cordon sanitaire between the textile community and the rest! Along the back of the beach however a line of trees has been planted giving the prospect of good shade in years to come.

Meanwhile the "town" end of the beach is set up for a very busy summer with - it seems - the density of sunbeds that appalled Greyrocks last year. The very large parasols at the back also now have new luxury upholstered sunbeds, and some of the minor bars have placed tables and chairs at the back of the beach. Last week the Blue Flag was raised. The municipality has three beaches listed for the season but the actual flags have taken time to arrive. The others are the stony beach and one at Gramenon. Nothing for Anidri (Giali Skari) though! As an aside we were shocked to read that our Chania bolt-hole of Nea Hora has had its 2015 one withdrawn!

The cantina at our end (Limnaki) has been slightly expanded and is operating much as last year, although Yiannis (cousin of Yiannis!) is now a proud husband and father following Tanya giving birth to a daughter. The baby has not yet been seen at the cantina itself as almost as soon as the forty days had elapsed it became too windy and then too hot.

Food and Drink

"What d'ya want?"

As expected there are some changes in what is on offer by way of tavernas and other restaurants. Dionysos on the main street which was barely open last season is now permanently closed, as is the bar/ pastry shop in the old OTE office. Skala did not open for the start of the season and its prospects looked bleak:- the reason being cited was the loss of trade to the new bakery opposite particularly when Skala had live music. It then did open fairly recently as a bar. (Last night Greyrocks briefly sampled the place when the KKE held a celebration by the harbour of the fall of the colonels, which involved souvlaki, speeches and some very good lyra/laouto  music) The loss of a live music venue  was compounded by the death during the year of Giorgos from Atoli. Although still operating it is not until this week that we have seen signs of the live rock music that was such an attraction. It is serving food but Suzie from there is now cooking at Papagalos, which is on course to be a Greyrocks favourite. It is located where Tassos had his Seagull until a few years ago and renovations started last season with some limited late operation. No expense has been spared with permanent roofing and floor, strong blinds and good planting. There are also about eight caged birds some of which are occasionally at liberty and some of whom can be persuaded to "talk". The main menu is straightforward and there are plenty of varied daily dishes with Suzie's imprint!



An apt name ,but it's Finikas now!

Gentrification of the village continues with two new "wine bar" experiences. One is in the reception area of the Hotel Polydoros on the Palm Tree Road. Whilst the rooms have been there since the year dot there was nothing but space below. Now we have Monika's Garden running through from street to ..yes.. a garden! As yet untried by Greyrocks it is said to be a peaceful haven. The second is not exactly new but an extension:- Finikas is the preferred name now for the Palm Tree. Also a very popular and cheap daytime spot since early days and run by a delightful family it now continues into the evening serving very good wine and food from a short and changing menu. The style and quality of the food is reminiscent of the Anidri Schoolhouse (see several previous enthusiastic Greyrocks references). That means fresh local ingredients with interesting sauces, good provision for veggies and modern presentation. It is rightly getting some good reviews, but failing somewhat in the re-branding!

The newest full restaurant is Angelos, which has opened very recently at the entry to the old town:- next to Aristeas and where old Fotis used to sit with his wood sculptures. It is run by a former partner at Porto Fino, and is -again - on the Greyrocks "to do" list! The development has had a knock-on effect of closing some street seating at Pantelis, which has itself expanded further back up the little lane that is its main territory.

As usual Greyrocks intends to help the village economy more widely by spreading around its dining choices amongst the many possibilities, but ends up going to the same much-loved half-dozen. "Must try harder!"


 

Limping Down the Road Again!



"Not with these knees!"

Here is the retrospective on stuff other than the Greek Crisis that has engaged Greyrocks since landing in Heraklion after dark on 17th June. We had booked in to a hotel close to what is known as Bus Station B and spent the evening in its top floor bar wallowing in cheap(ish) Greek wine, Greek traffic noise and Greek summer night weather. How different from Bristol! Next morning somehow Ruth and the wheelie bags were steered to the bus which was going all the way to Matala and was initially almost empty save for a dozen Matala-type folk a third of our age! The hotel in Matala itself had been booked for almost a year, but to start from Friday - not Thursday, so the plan was to get off early in Pitsidia, which we remember as a mellow and genuinely alternative small village. We had a room booked but little idea where it was. The town of Moires has little to commend it, but it is a major bus junction. We arrived there with a double seat each and the glow of believing coming a day early was very wise. A few festival-bound Italians got on, we waited and a bus arrived with another bunch of assorted nationality from Agia Galini . Some had to stand! Then after another wait another bus (from Rethymnon) arrived and dozens more travellers with tents, cool boxes, all manner of musical instruments, dreadlocks,  bed rolls, etc! Greyrocks slunk into window seats and speculated about how we would ever get out and be united with our luggage in Pitsidia given the state of Ruth's knees; but we did and went straight to the bus-stop kafenion for a much needed beer or two. (It ad been almost three hours!) It emerged that our room was not at all nearby and that no taxi driver could or would get us there so the nice owner came out and got us! Highly recommended for an inland stay - if you have a car! We hobbled to the only real option for a meal and next day were given a lift all the way to our Matala hotel, where we were greeted effusively and given a small but beautifully appointed room, (which we were told we could also have had the previous night if we had asked!)

This was the fifth Matala Festival and Greyrocks has been at them all. Its reputation has spread and it is widely advertised. It has been run by a variety of set-ups and the flavour evolves, so that it is now a BEACH festival, rather than a HIPPIE Revival one. This has changed the line-up from bands playing old stuff to anyone that will come! Tribute bans are still there: this year The Doors and Pink Floyd as before, and a brilliant solo Italian Neil Young who was on the village square stage, but the rest was not really what Greyrocks wanted: especially the Saturday night offering  - as last year of Tonis Sfinos whose vast popularity with Greeks of all ages remains a complete mystery! It was good to see a number of new Greek bands who could rock if not with anything remarkable in their repertoire!

There were far fewer street stalls this time and it is starting to become difficult to know where to eat and drink as at peak times there simply isn't the capacity. A further disappointment came when we met up with the Kalyves crowd (which grows exponentially by the year) at The Lions and found Giorgos the mellow waiter had moved on! After several litres of red wine we all came to the conclusion that it was being watered down, so the place lost its long-held status as viewing spot of choice! No good substitute has yet been found! Also as a would-be feminist hippie Ruth finds the interpretation of "flower power" as bands of tarty made-up schoolgirls in bikinis with a bit of body-paint and a commercial artificial garland doing "selfies" a bit galling - but, hey!- that's grumpy old woman for you!


This ATM or the whole nation?

But this was Greyrocks' first couple of days in Greece for the season so it was time to chill out! There is one ATM in Matala so we thought we would pay a casual visit on Friday before it got busy. This is what we found! Not a panic for Greyrocks but the idea of three days of many thousands of visitors and no cash to be spent was
grim. The mayor, or whoever must have thought so too, as relief was soon there in the form of a G4 van, and it kept coming for the weekend! Ruth queued up soon after the first replenishment with German-speakers and forgetting all about "Peace and Love" sounded off about whose fault it all was! Not Greyrocks' finest moment and she was duly rebuked for lack of karma!

On Monday morning tight plans were made for an early arrival at the bus stop to guarantee a seat for the long journey back to Heraklion. These were thwarted by a change of buses at the last minute and Bob had to grovel to join Ruth on the over-crowded bus! That was his karma rather poked for a couple of hours! (And a Greyrocks decision that we are too old for this Malarkey and will definitely bring the car next year!)

We took a cab back to Bus Station A and a bus to Chania passing through some cloud then stayed overnight in a central Chania hotel. Our diligent reader will know that getting a Chinese meal in the city is a treat which has given grief in the past (see last year in particular) but we were sure we knew what to do this time! It has closed! What is the problem??
So we ended up in a very nice place and R enjoyed a perfect kleftiko instead!
Next morning we toured the bike shops of Chania in search of a cheap or second-hand bike for Ruth and failed; but we got the midday bus and although it stopped at every pile of goat dung we did eventually make it to our little paradise of Paleo!

 

 

 

GrExit!

The Kandanos baker's statement on Sunday!

Today we acknowledge two GrExits;- one historic and one that may have to be:

1. First, yesterday was the eighth anniversary of Greyrocks' Exit from the UK! The year has been the most complicated and harrowing of them all! It does not even merit a pie chart to show where we spent the time, and Greyrocks will probably suspend the practice of publishing one, for the last six months has been "all over the place" and often separated! Suffice to pour another glass of aspro krassi and toast tomorrow (avrio) which can - as the song says - "only get better!"


2. Second, we are still basking in the "no" vote delivered on Sunday! Many is the heated debate Greyrocks has had with everyone from a Cretan waiter to the BBC Radio correspondent in Athens! For those who don't know (Come on, catch up!) the Οχί shown here means "No!" and our summer nome of Chania  in Crete voted 72per cent for this! Greyrocks' position is that:

• Greek oligarchs and high-earning professionals have - for decades - evaded taxes with impunity
• Working Greeks have an understandable tendency to relatively minor financial and legal  infringement on the back of this which gets them a bad reputation
• Germany has never paid reparations for its evil during WW2, and has lent money for reckless defence projects for its own benefit. It even helped pay for post-war reconstruction of Germany! (and Merkel is a bully!)
• Greece was admitted to the EU too soon and to the Euro-zone at a silly entry date and level for political reasons
• All sorts of institutions have continued to lend to Greece irresponsibly
• Austerity as a mantra throughout Europe is a discredited invention of the neo-cons and will in time be exposed as such. Greece has suffered particularly badly from it!
• Greek politics has been dominated by self-serving - and nigh-on corrupt - people on both sides who have failed to address all these issues (The saddest case being PASOK whose resemblance to the UK Labour Party in terms of moral weakness and nasty former leader is striking!)
• Greece is at the front-line of immigration and getting precious little help from the EU
• The USA ignores the sins of Turkey for its own reasons
• Greece has a proud ancient history with incalculable contribution to Western culture and is being humiliated by philistines. (Did someone mention the Parthenon marbles?)

Three contributions have warmed the hearts of Greyrocks in this respect:

• The UK Independent newspaper's article using an old Monty Python sketch
• A German homage to the late-lamented Yanis Varoufakis recommended by Olga
• A Dutch rap we encountered by accident  - Enjoy!

We were so incensed by a pre-referendum report from Athens by Mark Mardell that we have entered into a complaints procedure with the BBC. So far just platitudes back but watch this space!

Here the atmosphere is strange! As yet Greyrocks as (albeit long-term and loyal) tourists can get cash and spend it on almost anything we might want, but there is less tourism than usual for this time of year - perhaps as people with hire cars are not coming this far off the North coast given some pressure on fuel. The fishermen are not going out as much - if at all- so there is less fresh fish around but this has always been a bit of any issue here with some pretence over what is, indeed, fresh and or/really local! Some brands of cigarettes and some medication are allegedly in short supply, and for Greeks the cash economy is less fluid day by day.

  This is a waiting game! Siga, siga!