THE TREES ARE DANCING!

Jolly holidays being over for this year, we seemed to be ever so busy catching up with friends who had been otherwise engaged over the Summer season with lots of house guests. We know how much Greece needs this valuable revenue, but it is lovely when the crowds thin out a bit and we can enjoy the outside space and amenities with a bit more peace and quiet again.  We have conveniently forgotten that we were just such tourists, not so long ago and twice as annoying!

A chum from K's school days and his wife - Geoff and Karen arrived in Panormo having spent a few interesting days close to the Venetian harbour in Chania and were keen to enjoy all that Panormo had to offer. Great enthusiasts of seafood, we were a bit disappointed that many of the fishing boats had been lifted out of the harbour and the dish of the day will now come via the freezer! We had a terrific rainstorm which cooled the temperatures right down and washed lots of dust and earth down the gorges into the sea. Geoff and Karen being keen walkers had found their way to the local Klados Winery and brought back some lovely bottles which ended up as a gift to us as they couldn't get them into their suitcases. How lovely! We will save them for a special occasion.

Feeling the need for some walking and exercise, a few friends decided to walk the Milli Gorge, which is quite close by on the way to Rethymno, and not too demanding (usually!). There were three of us in the expedition, all wearing outdoor trainers and carrying backpacks as we parked one car at the bottom and were given a lift to the top by a helpful friend. Off we set in high spirits enjoying the shady trees, waterfalls and the lovely sound of running water down in the stream in the bottom of the gorge, but something was wrong. The track seemed very demanding and it didn't look anything like the path I had taken a year or two back. Somehow, we had taken a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the stream scrambling over felled trees, blocked in by fallen rocks, being scratched by ghastly brambles and creepers and after a goodly while we realised that we were not going to meet the proper track any time soon and we had to scramble back up all the muddy slopes, climb back through all the brambles, tip toe across stepping stones in the water and find out where we had blundered. There is a small taverna at each end of the gorge and so we decamped back to the beginning, ordered a coffee, sussed out the conveniences and having “limbered up”, looked at the map! We started all over again an hour later! The new path was fenced all the way, had three bridges, lots of deserted churches, buildings, caves and a mill and made a lovely morning walk in the hot sunshine counterbalanced by the cool shady trees and stony donkey tracks down the stream. It was a great morning, but I was so stiff the next day! My shoulder still hasn't recovered from my Tarzan swing from an overhanging branch to try and scramble over a huge rock and down a very muddy slope.

The cooler nights mean that one sheet on the bed is no longer enough and we have been experimenting with add ons delaying the big decision of hauling out all the winter clothes and bedding from their hidey holes and doing the big swap over. What with lots of gatherings, meals out, coffees at Vinzi's overlooking the harbour in Panormo, the house has become extremely neglected and in need of a thorough clean, sort out and tidy. The exterior has had its waterproof coat of paint and the log pile is back in the porch. It must soon be Winter again.  Boo!

The electric power has been off for most of today after bouts of heavy rain and thunderstorms. K and I were amused to hear from  the locals in the cafeneon turning up soaked to the skin having braved torrents of water up to the ankles and hoping for a nice, hot cafedaki* - maybe even a raki*.  On being greeted with exclamations of “What Weather!”, one man said “Its horrible for us … but the trees are dancing!”. A picture to capture anyone's imagination and a cursory glance at the groves all around tells me that it is going to be a great year for olives and other fruits.

We were agog this morning to hear the most appalling, scary din coming from nearby. It sounded like the War of the Worlds had begun with a loud bleeping, metallic clanking, shouting, screeching and a cacophony which would have frightened the boldest of soldiers. Worried that a battle had begun, quite without our knowing, we gingerly peeped out of the corner of the front door to see whatever was being destroyed in the road outside. Not our car, please? Down in the little square a Bobcat bulldozery thing was pulling a telegraph pole chained to the back of it and was trying to manoeuvre it round a corner towards an even bigger bulldozery crane thing further down the road. My grandsons would have LOVED it! What a noise! This explained the lack of power all day (just as there was a slot of fine weather to get some washing dry … but no electrics!). The local authority were replacing telegraph poles and once we had taken a look at the old ones, we could see why. They were completely rotted through at the bottom. This was definitely a job which needed doing before the winter storms. Just think of the damage one of those huge tree trunks could do in a small village!

It is Oxi Day tomorrow, so we will see whether it will stay dry for the schoolchildren on parade out side the school in the big square.

Keep warm and dry, wherever you are! 

Just in case you didn't know:
*Cafedaki - a small Greek coffee
*Raki - the local hooch distilled from all the residue of the grape vines after winemaking