 |
| Our Mountain ... view from the terrace |
There has been a gap of several weeks
since our last update. In the intervening weeks, there have been
journeys back to the UK, family time, sparkling UK weather and the
odd reversal of returning from the UK to Crete taking off in bright
sparkling sunshine and landing through overcast layers of gloom and
cold wind and rain at the airport in Heraklion. There had been lots
going on in England, a fitting day of ceremony, reunion and sharing memories at Dad's funeral. Easter weekend and time to get to a church round
the corner, wonderful catchup time with one daughter from New Zealand
and our son from the UK, brothers, larger family and lastly a bit of retail
therapy thrown in for good measure. As always, my suitcase had quite
a lot of extra goods and chattels, so my jumpers were posted back to
Crete to make room for it all on the flight home.
On the minus side, I had also managed
to acquire an abscess under a back tooth and a pulled muscle in my
back, so driving back round the mountains from the airport was not
easy, but I was glad to get back home again and think about cooking
up a storm in the new kitchen. I still can't quite believe that this
could be MY space yet. Carefully wrapped in soft layers, I brought back a small painting of my mother's and this has been hung up in the Cook's corner of the kitchen where all the baking equipment is stowed. I am hoping that my Mum's inspiration will spur me on to better cakes!
Back in the village, preparations were
beginning for Greek Easter the following weekend. Lots of sweeping,
mopping and tidying so that processions around the village would be
able to see all the front door steps in a good light. Barbecue pits were being dug out and preparations made for the lamb cooked over charcoal after the long weeks of Lenten fasting and lots of wonderful feasts. Bells tolled
on Good Friday, the sun came out briefly on Easter Sunday and things
began to get a bit more hopeful that this long drawn out winter here
would finally come to an end. Loud firecrackers and gunshots kept us awake at midnight and next door's dog was not happy about it. We have had a few days lovely
sunshine, but the winds are strong and there is a nip in the air
still. Lots of tourists have been in evidence and now, hardened to
all the layers needed to get through the damp winters, people in sun
dresses, short shorts and skimpy tee shirts look very, very foreign!
We still have our cardigans and jumpers on but there have been some
brave souls on their holidays splashing about in the sea in Panormo.
I can wait a while yet.
In addition to Art School and Makers –
regularly weekly groups to get busy, a small choir has also started
to meet and we have lots of fun trying out pieces like Ode to Joy,
the Blue Danube and various two or three part melodies with a mixture
of pan-European and American friends. We are all enjoying the experience
and expanding our repertoire week by week.
 |
| A giant mandolin left behind from Carnivali! |
We have had a good week medically:
I've managed to get to the dentist, K has got two MRI scans done (two
hours in a metal tube!) and I have managed to get some painkillers
for my back. This is all in preparation for the drive down to the
South of Crete this weekend for an archaeology jaunt to look at Agia
Triada. We discussed it briefly a year or so back when the group
toured Phaestos and it is close to there, but we will be staying at
Matala. Matala is the place where hippies lived in the seaside caves
back in the 1960s. Fortunately, we have a hotel booked! We hear
that the road down to the south is a bit dodgy after the winter
landslides and lots of pot holes make it tricky. Indeed one of our
number flipped his car upside-down on a bit of muddy road driving
back from Easter Lunch, but was fortunately perfectly OK and simply
opened the door and scrambled out. We were all much relieved but the
car was a write off. The roads here are pretty daunting with lots of
large pot holes, rocks from overhanging cliffs and mad drivers, so we
will be taking things at a steady pace tomorrow.
Crete is still waiting for the good
weather to begin properly, but I have seen lots of walkers in the
hills and wayside paths admiring the beautiful spring flowers –
orchids, tulips, anemones, lupins … large fields of them growing
totally wild in the higher reaches. We hope to be able to stop for a
spell to see them on our journey tomorrow. Time will tell.
More exciting chapters to follow next
week ...
