"Beware the Ides of September!"

Greyrocks has commented frequently on the fact that September in Paleochora is different - and in many ways welcome! However, it is also a fact that the weather record is patchy, with some shockingly "bad" days. Ruth's records show that these are usually around the middle of the month!

The view of the Nea Chora from Portes

Our month started started with the last few days of Chloë and Jack's stay, and our travelling with them as far as Chania when they moved on. As previously reported we visited the Charma brewery on the way! We were to stay two nights on the Nea Chora, and began with the late lunch with Chloë  and Jack. They remembered the restaurant Portes as being in the old town. We remembered it as on the Nea Chora. Their website was unclear, so some confusion happened, but it was so good that Greyrocks went back there two days later just before leaving Chania. We had a delightful stay, taking advantage of very easy entry into a warm sea, absence of wind and a Chinese restaurant. When we came to take the afternoon back there was a very small rain shower at the highest point.

We returned to find that a handful of old friends had arrived, and a new social whirl began - and Ruth was out of action for a day with a throat problem, and shortly thereafter most tourists were stopped in their beach-ward tracks by three days of  extreme wind. Numerous beach umbrellas were blown into the sea, bits of the primary school roof came off and restaurants with indoor tables did very well! Greyrocks made a short escape by going with Olga to Houmas for a sheltered beach, short bathe in a calm sea, and - of course - a superb lunch! High winds did return for a few days later in the month, but as sunbathing conditions resumed the September sunbed crisis loomed, with tales of bad-tempered exchanges between naturist tourists and Yiannis the Sunbed of his son Manolis - now helping out. Once again September meant sharing "our tree", and Manolis was heard explaining to a couple that we were "good people" who had lived in his house and had been using the tree thus for many years!

More recently on the climatic front we had the events of 24th. There was the threat of rain throughout the preceding week, and the humidity crept up, and in the morning the sky was a very nasty colour. By the evening it hadn't happened, but folk carried umbrellas as they went out to eat, and once more the places with indoor tables had a good night, but still no rain! We  chose to revisit Pasefaei, where we would have had cover if necessary. (Most of the gigantic and delicious pork shank was taken away to form sandwiches!) The impact of the looming storm turned out to be an evening with around thirty tiny power cuts of a few seconds - caused by the humidity shorting in the village and up in the mountains where it was definitely raining!

After all the excitement of this - and the Thomas Cook debacle - there is now calm and serenity. This was the sunset on 27th as viewed whilst we were waiting to eat at Finikas.

Goodbye, September!

Art and Music: Less is more??

Greyrocks has had only half the "normal" time in Paleo, but the art and music offering has diminished much more than that in quantity! And Brexit can't be blamed for that. It must be climate change!

2007 or 2019? 

By the time we made our way to the Limnaki cantina for the first time Arvid had taken up residence and was hosting late afternoon jamming sessions as he has since records began! With up to eight players at any time, and a loyal audience this did no harm at all to the drinks profit! There was no chance of Ruth walking back along the beach in the dark, so we missed the several occasions when there was still action late into the evening and heads were sore next day! Amongst the participants for a week or so were Rainer's boys, Felix and Lucas, whom we saw perform their first ever busking many years ago, and now work in TV/Music in Berlin. (Their Dad - a regular - was absent this year with a broken leg!) Noreen was persuaded to sing a few times, and the ebb and flow of participants added variety!

Come the evening there seems to have been a clear-out of the less welcome street musicians. The aged Albanian with unidentified wind instrument no longer tours, confining himself to sleeping on or near the Sandy Beach pavement - and on one occasion projectile vomiting a metre from Ruth! Similarly there have been no paraded children and adolescents "playing" or "dancing" with their father. The regulars have been the players of general Greek favourites who stay at the campsite and work almost every night. This year we have seen a very talented trio - including a woman - all on string instruments, and  - separately - Costas with his bouzouki (as at the wedding party last year). Unfortunately he has taken to using a backing track!

Other performers have been the Romanian accordion player, (much less frequently than in other years), a couple of classical guitar player visits, a troupe of Spanish dancers with fire that we had seen a few days before in Chania, and a delightful appearance at Eva's leaving meal. A jolly young woman bounced into The Wave and asked if she could perform, She sang several songs, whilst playing her ukulele and dancing! Delighted - we asked for more, but after that she was never seen again!

We also think there has not been as much folk song and dance this year! There was a three day festival which involved troupes from all over the island touring other centres. We saw some of the dancing both on the stage near Scala and in the street, and then discovered that quite a few of them were staying in accommodation above us - at well over the specified number. A very noisy departure!

Then there are the gigs in bars/kafenions. The former Monica's - now going under the name of Giorgo's- gets very little custom most nights, but has had some huge crowds when there is live music. The regular player is John from Drapanias, who is not to everyone's taste, but Greyrocks likes the repertoire - all lyrics fully memorised - and the radical slant! Fortunately Mats has been able to join him each time for a few weeks on steel guitar, as has Petra with her Latin and or Baez songs. In due course regulars Chris and Jann (Shades of Gray) arrived. Part of their stay was with family so we saw a bit less of them, but their appearances at Giorgo's, were very crowded as usual,

Greyrocks was also invited to join the minibus trip up to Azogires for an evening of their music at the Alpha taverna arranged by Lucky, who is a real fan! Whilst they were setting up there was time for wandering round the village, consuming "Sofia's world famous Omelette", and looking round Gail's gallery, although she has now relocated to Scotland! Some of the village inhabitants and tourists showed up, and it was a very jolly raki-fuelled evening, We moved inside when it became a bit dog-dominated, but vowed to return = as indeed we did - read-on!

But what Greyrocks was craving was rock bands! Eva told us that we had missed Flush Royale at least twice whilst in France, and that the band with overlapping personnel: Change House had also been around. On three occasions there were fairly convincing rumours, but nothing materialised other than a gig at Scala -  unannounced as is their wont there! And just as we were despairing Flush Royale played Atoli, Almost all of the Yia-yia Club was in town and we had a superb time with dancing that suggested the need for a defibrillator.  Greyrocks even hit the floor when Hotel California was dedicated to us as "that wonderful couple"! When the band finished we were treated to a performance of exotic dancing by Margarita - the  82-year old Norwegian we have known for many summers!

Chris and Jann were booked to play again in Azogires to mark the end of the Art Festival. We wanted to see the exhibition so went instead on our own in the afternoon by taxi, and found it in the "hotel" where there was also a workshop with flour dough being run by Julie, whom we also known for years, so there was much reminiscence. The range of work on display was striking and included a handful by each of Olga and  Shelagh:- Ruth's Scrabble mates! Such talent! We stayed at the Alpha for a few beers and a chat with Lucky and watched chaotic preparations for the showing of a short film. Lucky and his new wife Rebecca were proudly introducing baby Sofia Our taxi arrived before the film was shown, so we will never know if it was worth the confusion!

The Art Flow Gallery in Paleochora has been very busy with short seasons, one of which interested Greyrocks  particularly. It was paintings by refugees in the Greek camps, who are supported by a charity in ways that include art therapy. It was a very moving experience, especially reading the accompanying biographies,  and we have since donated!

Something like Normality resumes!

"Cosmo" - Hangout for a good many nights!

It was "All Change" ten days into Greyrocks' truncated summer stay, as we were due to move to the usual little apartment on the same day as Chloë and Jack would land at midnight in Heraklion.
Complicated texts were sent giving instructions for finding the studio we thought we would still be occupying and telling them not to disturb us at 4 am. (To Greyrocks' disapproval they had ordered a taxi for the entire journey!). However, on the morning in question we were told we could move there and then, so we did - and sent a new text to tell them to leave their luggage outside the usual apartment. By the time we had been for a meal and moved on to Cosmo the idea of staying up to meet them took over and when the sent a message to say they were close we replied that they should dump their bags and then meet us there! So it was a 3.30 rendezvous and for Greyrocks a 5.30 bedtime! The new arrivals went for strolls, purchase of goodies at the commercial bakery and an eventual check-in to their room.

An old Houmas specials board

If you use Facebook (which we do not!) you can see details of various "jollies" which Chloë and Jack enjoyed without us - such as walking the Anidri Triangle, and overnighting in Loutro - as well as some we shared. Search for Chloë using both parental surnames!  Early on they helped us retrieve our sunbeds and other stuff from storage, so we were able to get one of the sunbeds down to "our" tree for Bob to use. Ruth had not - at this point - managed to sit down on one, so that did not join its partner for a week or so! On two occasions we four eschewed the sandy beach and took a taxi through the chaotic roadworks to Houmas in Gramenon, where we could enter the sea easily in a sheltered bay and also choose from the wonderful menu. On the first occasion Ruth managed several "firsts":- getting down onto and up from a sunbed with the aid of a parasol pole, getting into and out from the sea with human support, and doing shoulder exercises resembling swimming!

There were some windy days, so we thought it was timely to have some time in Chania, and planned to join the kids as they left for Rethymnon after ten days. We booked a taxi to take us all to the Cretan Brewery inland from Platanias on the North coast. There we paid to taste five beers - including two seasonal brews. We followed this with a chosen full glass each and some very pleasant mezes.

We could not book a tour, but we could look from outside onto the various tanks, after a while the"wally-trolley" arrived from Platanias and disgorged fifty or so Skandis, who were given a reduced range to taste, but a fuller exposition. When they had gone we ordered a taxi to take us into Chania. Chloë and Jack went to leave their luggage at the bus station and visit the market, whilst we were dropped off fairly near Nea Chora and our hotel. We planned to meet at Portes for late lunch, which did happen, but not without confusion (see next post), and after a long and very pleasant meal they left for their onward journey. A good spell together. Next meeting is planned for Goa in December!