And here is where yesterday's river flows into the sea - right before the little rocky island of Lazaretta; the little white building is a church, which is probably honored on a saint's day, so there will be a little feast held there once a year.

The bridge over Kladissos river, on the outskirts of town. It pours into the sea at Nea Hora. These cars are headed west of the town.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to All!

Rainbows are always an uplifting sight! This one showed itself by the town beach at Nea Hora.

The garden shed - it's definitely a man's world in there!

The fresh produce store - hardly anything is organic, but it is all local.

Is it a twig? No!
Is it a turd? No!
It's a carob pod.

"Don't mind me, I'm just parking some sand here in the middle of the road because I need to use it to build something in the adjacent field, but I'm not ready to do the job just yet, so until I do, you'll just have to put up with it here..."

When earth is dug up in order to prepare the ground for a building project, the soil and rocks need to be moved or stored in some way. This fenced off property does just that: the soil is very fertile so it is sold to people who want to add it to their garden, and the rocks and stones make good value building materials for houses and decorative fences.

Mind the gap.

Public roadworks - part of the new sewerage system.

An old stone wall, acting as borders denoting land ownership. These are being replaced by ugly concrete and iron fences, so that one day, most traces of our past will be erased.

The urban sprawl is evident, not only from afar in the rural suburb where I live, but right around me, as evidenced by the unfinished building projects and the new houses.

Freshly harvested goat manure, ready to be spread over the garden...

An old-fashioned hydrant for quick water supply when we need it, close to my house.

Cretan symbols: blue skies, blue seas and olive trees.

Disused nets under an old olive tree.

Documentation of dakos traps on the trunk of an olive tree, recording the date and number of dakos flies caught - the only problem was that the traps were missing...

These have suddenly sprouted right around the rural district of Hania, but no one seems to be using them yet...

Beehives...

... in amongst the olive groves.

NEPO = water; we deliver.

Disused water truck close to my home.

Plateia Dikastirion on a very wet day.

(I'm standing in front of the district court of Hania)

The obvious signs of development in amongst the olive groves...

The pinks and blues of dusk on an early winter's night...

Here are some young Cretans going to school, located in a village: looks like fun, doesn't it?
The main building is not actually visible here; the visible building with the triangular roof is the original school building which is used by the kindergarteners.

Rain

It's been very wet as of late in Hania. Last night, we had thunder and lightning, power cuts and 5 hours of non-stop downpours. And in the usual fashion for Hania, today has started off very bright and sunny...

Snow

Finally, snow on our mountains.
Winter is here.

An iconic symbol of Hania. We had taken a little boat trip round the harbour and I managed to catch a shot of the lighthouse from a different angle than the norm...

A calm sea on an autumn day, 5km southwest of the town...

Green fingers...

This cafe owner is about to deliver some refreshments to his customers (office and shop workers). The tray is the typical method used in the inner parts of the city by traditional kafeneia and refreshment bars which do deliveries.

The most important thing to note about this man is that he looks cheerful - his face is always smiling whenever I see him.

Have I ever shown you the interior of the typical Greek government office?

I much prefer my olives scenery...

Dusk - the view from my house, not without the touch of a human hand - it was very difficult to get a large shot without electricity wires and poles making their appearance...

Another olive photo, this time, an olive grove at dusk...

I just LOVE looking at this sea of olive trees on the hills near my house...

One of the most hideous fashions to hit my village: advertising an event like a birthday party or baptism with a bunch of balloons tied to the fences in the neighbourhood - pray tell me: WHY???

A very gnarled olive tree trunk, in a healthy olive grove near my house.

A view of the buildings by the Venetian harbour in Hania.

A cool evening at a hotel seaside cafe by Ayious Apostolous beach.

After our holiday in the north of Greece, we came back home to sodden earth, heavy rain and a garden full of rotting vegetables!

If you've ever wondered what a Greek schoolroom looks like, here's a look at into a junior high school class. Most classrooms right around the country look just like this one and maybe worse. Greek schools start the new academic year today.

This is the closest I get to luxury: I stay overnight in Iraklio (two hours away from hania) twice a year for work-related purposes and we are always put up for the night in this luxury hotel. I have always appreciated being able to experience of having breakfast by the pool, especially since the rest of my stay in that place is spent working until nightfall.

This disused minaret, a remnant of Ottoman rule found in the town centre, for some reason always makes me think of Rapunzel and her golden hair.

The red light district is just along this street to the left of the alleyway along the brick facade. I found the ladies having a little rest in front of this house before they got ready to tackle the evening trade.

A view of the sea across the road from the disused Turkish fountains. The benches in a previous post are to the right of the fort.

Right across from the benches in yesterday's photo is a former Turkish fountain, now disused and in crumbling ruins. It must have been for cleaning the hands and feet before and after Moslem prayer times.

Watch out for splashing waves!
Benches by the seafront at Koum Kapi

This fabulous oak tree is growing in the middle of the outdoor dining area of a taverna in Armenoi, Hania.
It provides natural much-needed shade during the summer, and when the wind breezes through the trees, it's like a natural form of air-conditioning.

Autumn is nearing in Hania. The weather has definitely cooled down, although there could be anotehr heatwave coming at any time in the near future.

This bicycle hasn't been used in a while. It's probably been left here (at MAICh, a graduate school for agriculture students in Hania) by a former student, to be used by a new student next year. All the leaves will start going red soon, which will show up the autumn flavour of the season really well.

The good life; a relaxing scene at Falasarna.