Four near misses

 We are safely enjoying Paleochora and intend to continue to do so until our Schengen 90 days expire! Getting here was not quite the joyride we had hoped - but more of that later! Our obsessive news-grazing and our chats with old friends has led to the realisation that we have been lucky!

1. The horrific fire on Cyprus began as we left the island!

 

The previous post refers to the fires during the heatwave of our final week; but they were nothing compared to that declared the worst since 1974. Four Egyptian labourers lost their lives in this one as they abandoned their vehicle and ran in the wrong direction.

2. We also missed the fire in Kakodiki and the consequences!

Our taxi journey from the airport was at night so we didn't see much, but we did see a fire engine in a layby and this led to Giorgos telling us more about the fire that had happened a few days before. It was one of many on Crete during the heatwave, but the one that most affected Paleo with its damage to property, and resultant power cuts:- one of which was all day and evening on a "scorcher"!

3. We passed through Chania airport with ease!

After the Petri dish that was Paphos Airport, and a surprisingly full flight we got through Passport Control and received the necessary (gritted teeth!) stamp. We approached the health control point and were waved through without scanning of QR codes on either our Greek entry forms or our EU vaccination certificates. It was only in conversations over the next few days that we realised that we had been lucky not to be tested. Two British couples whom we have met here every year for a very long time (one of which is Sue and Brian Joicey) told us of their desperation to come despite the (then) rules that would catch them on return. Both had arrived on sparsely occupied flights from England and every passenger had been tested!

4. We are not on Fuerteventura! 

A lovely place we are proud to call "home", but the Covid data went "viral" almost as soon as we left!

It has been on Spanish Level 2 for a couple of weeks, and Tenerife is threatened with Level 4! There is no-one in the hospital with Covid and the number of deaths (13 in a population of 123 000) has not changed for months, but this is not good! As ever the blame is centring on our town of Corralejo and the young. Last night there was a gathering of around 300 in the Atlantico Centre and "goings-on" on Waikiki Beach!