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!