THERA, FIRA AND VOLCANIC DUST AND ASHES

I achieved a life long ambition when I visited Santorini with friends last week and saw for myself the black volcanic sand on the beaches and the picturesque domes and steeples built into the volcanic rock of the island. My tablet, camera and phone were all full of pictures which I will have a struggle to download successfully.

We had tickets for the high speed ferry which left Heraklion at about 9.00 a.m and reached Fira Old Harbour a couple of hours later. A transfer bus took us to our hotel, which through some fluke of good luck had been upgraded and we were delighted to be staying at a super place, with rooms around a lovely swimming pool serving good breakfasts and having the most helpful of staff. We couldn't recommend it enough. It was just far enough out of town along a flat, well paved road to give us a pleasant walk each morning looking over the Caldera.

Fira was a pleasant, but very busy place. Most of the up-market hotels and jewellery shops were there and obviously catered for cruise tourists who were there for a very short time and had no real concept of how much a euro was worth. Forsaking the gold shops offering items “For you, I make a special price” (!!!) and other clothes shops selling jewel encrusted flip flops at eye popping cost, we pressed on to find the bus station and work out how to get to the various spots we needed around the island.

Consequently, we found ourselves queuing for the 10.00 bus the following morning so that we could be at the Akrotiri Archeological site for 11.00 where Eugenia our lovely guide was waiting for us. It was a brilliant morning; the site covered a few acres – well roofed with firm walkways just above all the escavations. Real two storey houses, identifiable public buildings, streets, workshops, houses with furniture all preserved by tons and tons and tons and tons of volcanic ash. We walked through the town, it had indoor plumbing, it had a bank, of sorts – all amazingly cosmopolitan and sophisticated for 1700 BC. Remains of trees had been carbon dated to pin down the date of the immense earthquake and volcanic eruption which disrupted and had a detrimental effect on many of the civilisations and communities around the Mediterranean. No portable, valuable items were found or human remains. It appears that the inhabitants had managed to pack their valuables and get away from the town. There were several layers of buildings on top of each other indicating that there had been minor earthquakes and rebuilding prior to the big catastrophe which caused so much destruction.

We met up with some friends after our tour for lunch by the sea and had a marvellous meal of sea food spaghetti with conversation and discussion about the highs and lows of living in Santorini. Our hosts had bought a cave house at Red Beach and had worked and fitted out the interior with modern technology and coatings to a very high standard. I am ashamed to admit that this is the day that I forgot my camera and am also a bit worried that photos might be infringing some kind of publishing/copyright laws particularly of the artifacts in the museum.  

The next day we visited the Museum in Fira which was a jewel. It had enough wonderful and beautifully conceived ceramics, frescos (showing all the lovely colours of the various earth colours from round and about) – no jewellery in evidence. Well preserved furniture, beds, chairs, cooking utensils and metal working tools were displayed and labelled perfectly. The museum was just the right size with enough to see without being overwhelming. I would like to revisit some day!

A few of us jumped on a bus after this and made our way to Kamari – taking a trip down memory lane since my friends had first visited there 30 years earlier and were agog to see that it had changed so radically and they had problems recognising anything. We had a splendid walk along the water side looking at all the plush hotels being fitted up ready for the new season and picking up pumice stones from the beach of black sand. A cursory check later confirmed that we could not easily afford to stay in any the hotels for more than a day or two!  We thought that the 26 euros was money well spent the next day on a boat trip to see the Volcano, swim in hot pools and have a sea food lunch in a fishing village on the far side of the Caldera lake.

A trip to Oia is compulsory! We discovered that the bus service was brilliant and very good value to get about the island. The bus drivers seemed to cope with the narrow roads, obstructions and manoeuvring very skillfully and we were all amused when a young American tourist had parked her hired beach buggy on a corner which had jammed up the entire town. Hooting, shouting and general chaos reined! Most people go to Oia at sunset to take photographs of the sun setting, but we decided that we had masses of photos of Greek sunsets, so we went there on our last morning in Santorini (having packed our cases and paid our hotel bill) to eat Lolita's ice creams. I haven't eaten ice cream for a few months since gastric problems and ate two cartons in one morning! It was fabulous. Incidentally, Demitri who works there is looking for a wife – or so the notice on the wall says – so we paid for our indulgent fare and hoped that he would find one soon!

A rocky ferry trip home – in stormy seas and inhaling strong fumes of diesel - was a bit gruesome, or it might have been the ice cream, but we managed to get back on dry land and feel immediately OK for the drive back home.

Back in the village, there is more dust to clear up and Easter to prepare for. The villagers are all on a very strict fast during their Holy Week. No milk, no fat, no meat, - possibly vegetables and sea food are all that is allowed. They will certainly be ready to enjoy their Easter feast on Sunday.

Kallo Pascha!

PLASTER DUST

 

A clearer day today!

 We are back in harness and coping with southern winds bringing African dust to clothe all our work tops and floors, while gritting our eyes and giving us horrible colds and coughs, if we venture out in it. Fortunately, a weather forecast foretold the arrival of the second batch and we shut the doors and shutters overnight to at least keep the house as dust free as possible. We couldn't see the hills or the mountains – or even the sea in Panormo; it was as if someone had hung up a large grey horse blanket all around us.

A brief inspection showed that there was a little damage after the first really howling gales which I just missed, but which broke one of the struts of the pergola, several plant pots and left a rim of peculiar dust in the upstairs rooms through the walls and roof. I wondered if we had got wordworm (horrors with all the large wooden beams of the roof) but a quick inspection by Rik the Builder assured us that we were OK. I bought a couple of cans of wordworm spray – just in case – and with a bit of difficulty at the very top of the ladder and masked up, aimed a few shots in the direction of the would-be problem to be on the safe side.

The old minaret has lost its scaffolding and been restored

It took a couple of days for the sky to clear and the weather is beginning to get hot. We are nearly ready for the winter to summer changeover to take place. I am hanging on to my winter woollies for just a week or two longer so that it is one clear process instead of a scramble. Our Internet service is now so intermittant that it has proved difficult to post our blogs and we have to strike while the iron is hot. We keep complaining to the phone company and are promised something better but it has not changed yet.

However, the swallows have arrived and have ejected the all year-round sparrows from their usual spots in the trees and wires and they are pecking about on our front step. We can hear loud chattering of swallows from morning to night and watch their aerobatics as they chase insects and swoop on stray cats who venture too close to their nests. The vine on the front railings has lots of fresh green leaves and little fruit already and has needed spraying for many days, but the wind is just too strong to tackle it so far.

Easter candles for children to take to Church

In the town, the shops are preparing for Greek Easter – late this year – and the hotels and tavernas are filling up with lots of tourists for this year. We have bought our Spring plants and just need some help getting large terra cotta pots up the stairs so that we can plant some lovely jasmine and other plants which are waiting in the front porch along with sacks of potting compost and good earth for a nice growing mixture. (We hope!)

We have not one, but two of the family in plaster recently. Sister Anna after a fall had an enormous plaster cast on her leg which was too heavy to get up and down stairs and has made life really difficult for the time being. Then she went into hospital following a check up and the possibility of an operation. Fortunately, she came out of hospital with a leg brace instead of the op, but not allowed to put any weight on it. It took 2-3 days to get the hospital exit papers so she was stuck there betwixt and between. With friends and neighbours, she is just about coping in her house on three floors by enlisting help so that all she needs is on the middle floor or within arms reach of the bed. Life has been awkward for her and she can't wait for the next hospital visit to see if she can get more use of the leg. Meanwhile, in NZ, the youngest grandchild had his elbow in plaster for a short while!

Sadly, the broken leg meant that Anna was not able to come on the trip she had organised to Santorini with friends in April. It was planned to happen just before Greek Easter and prior to high season when all the cruise ships call there. However, Ma Crozier was booked and still made the journey by high speed ferry. The party had three blissful days in Santorini looking at the Akrotiri archeological workings, visiting the Museum in Fera, doing lots of walking around the town and beaches. There will be lots more about Santorini in the next post and pictures of our adventures.

INTREPID TRAVELS

I have recaptured my keyboard after a long break and having achieved the cherished dream of getting to see all the family living in New Zealand. Apologies for the break in transmission but it was worth it.

After a longish journey out to Auckland via London, I was horribly tired and jet-lagged for well over a week after getting there. The daughters had hatched lots of plans for my stay, which were crammed in around school and nursery drop offs, Mainly Music (music & dancing for toddlers held in churches) a bewildering clutch of meetings, greetings and tearful goodbyes, lost shoes, lunch boxes and after-school activities. I couldn't keep up! In the end it seemed best to just play follow-my-leader and try to slot into what, by Cretan standards, was a very full regime.  

The standard of living in Auckland is very high. That is not to say that there aren't places where people find it hard to keep up with it or that poverty doesn't exist, but I found the cafes, restaurants and shops all very full and busy whilst the evidence of very heavy traffic, industry and commerce buzzing in a way I haven't seen it for DECADES in the UK or in Greece, quite encouraging. New Zealand is a "positively can do" country and everything seems possible.

Early in my stay, a short boat trip from Devonport quay on the North Shore got us to Waihiki Island in less than an hour and it was like arriving at a holiday destination with brighter sunshine than on the coast and lots of pretty vineyards in evidence. We had a table booked at Cable Bay Vineyard and in the fine weather, it was absolutely packed. People from the bar had spilled out onto stretch-out bean bags on the bright green lawns outside.   At the same time, the more formal restaurant was fully booked while young waiting staff were racing to get everyone beautifully served. It was a lovely place for a special celebration and I am not surprised that many people choose Waihiki vineyards as wedding venues. I pulled out my sunhat and made sure that I had some sunscreen because it is very easy to get badly burned in NZ even on a cloudy day … through holes in the ozone layer.

We had a birthday party for daughter Kate which fell on a Saturday, and it was good to meet up with lots of her friends and neighbours around a firepit with drinks and nibbles.  It was planned to be a simple format but still seemed to take an enormous amount of energy and shifting about in preparation.

As I had never had a chance to meet the youngest grandson, Spencer, it was great to be there for his birthday too. He had no less than three celebrations! In the morning, we all met at the Sky Tower and were taken up in the high speed lift to one viewing platform where a noticeboard informed us that bungee jumpers would be planning to take a dive in the next 10 minutes. I was not quick enough to catch a photo of them as they flashed past the windows to a target on the pavement down at street level. I certainly wasn't tempted to have a go! We sat down for lovely coffee and special ice cream "with sprinkles".  After Spencer's nap, there was a tea party with his cousins as a dress rehearsal for the Dinosaur party planned for the following Saturday! Needless to say the big event was wonderful and noisy in equal measures with lots of tears, tantrums and smiles – but great to be with them and take photos of musical statues, whacking a pinata, an awesome cake, dinosaur sandwiches (shapes, not content!) - darling daughter looked exhausted after all this partying!

Each weekend seemed to be filled with barbecues and parties, we spent a lovely day while the weather was good down at the beach making sandcastles and I got to know the kindergarden and school quite well. On the Thursday before Easter, I was invited to "Grandparents Day".  This was interesting:  we looked at all our grandchildren's work and projects, were shown round the classroom, played games together and ended up having "Morning Tea" in the school hall rounded off by two Maori songs and a blessing.  It was good to be there and I felt sorry for children who had no grandparents present on the morning.  My stay finished at Easter weekend while we flew down to Wellington to meet up with more friends and filled the weekend with windy Wellington pursuits! Swimming with juniors, down to the beach and round the playground a few times, the Te Papa Museum, lots of visits to the Warehouse (New Zealand's inexpensive clothes/household/toy/drugstore emporium on a large scale) before flying back to Auckland on Monday teatime in time to catch NZ1 from Auckland to London via Los Angeles later on that night! Five flights in the space of 72 hours is some sort of travelling and I need to live very quietly for a while after all these carbon emissions and juddering jet lag!

 A stopover in London was a dreadful shock to the system after all the treats of NZ.   I found people serving in the hotel were not exactly welcoming or helpful and the next morning the taxi driver dropped me off at Terminal 2, far away from the trolley stack with four pieces of luggage, despite my polite request for help to get a trolley. He just took the money and zoomed off. I was lucky that the driver of the car behind him noticed my problem as I struggled to move all pieces at the same time or leave half the luggage while taking the rest towards a trolley … anyway, I made it and didn't miss my plane. What a shame we don't have porters any more when so many people need jobs. I have decided not to go to London again unless I really, really need to - it was grim.

In Crete, lovely Grigoris (our friend/taxi driver) awaited my flight and took care of all my luggage, with good manners, a smile and kind welcome. I think that the Kiwis and the Cretans have certain things in common and they still remember how to smile! Hooray, it is nearly summer time, and so great to be back in our village. A box of Milk Tray for Angeliki (who loves English chocolate) provoked an apron full of eggs and a heavy bag of oranges and lemons in return. Recent stormy winds from Africa had brought inches of sand, dust and pesky "microbes" giving people colds and flu, so poor K was feeling a bit sorry for himself with a horrible cough to get rid of.  I am busy searching NZ cooking sites for frittata, pie and quiche recipes to utilise all the eggs! Happy Days and Kalo mina!