Kalithea, Vamvakopoulo

This is a very revealing image of the village-like suburb of Hania where I live, just 4km out of the town centre (which is, of course, the Agora). The trees are typical of the area - citrus and olive. The field and garden irrigation taps are common all over the province - they are always found on the side of the road (they aren't the ones that supply us with household water). The houses are a mish mash of old and new. On the left hand side, there is a cheaply built box house with an unfinished apartment on top (maybe for a child to inherit at a later age, or as an investment). On the right hand side there's a newly built house with Italian style arches. Most houses have an iron water deposit on the terrace (the flat roof of the house). A few of the older houses have a tiled roof, superseded by newer building methods. There's even a flag flapping in the wind (Greeks are very patriotic) on the right hand side.

My house is a little further up the hill, where I have a great view of the town, right up to the sea. Come on over for a visit, and I'll treat you to a cup of coffee.

I wish you a good winter

The school holidays have officially come to an end. Schools in Greece start up again today after a long three-month summer break. This may sound rather late to many of you, but that's got nothing to do with me; ask the government why Greek children go back to school in the iddle of September. I also can't understand why teachers get 12 weeks away from school in the summer (not to mention the 2-week Easter and 2-week Christmas breaks), and still complain that they are underpaid.

When people in Greece come back to school or work after the long summer vacation, they wish each other Καλό χειμώνα (kalo heemona), which means "I wish you a good winter."



Snow does not fall often in Hania. We do not really understand the phenomenon, as it falls very rarely. When it's snowing, everyone treats the moment as a happy hour. The fractures clinic at the local hospital has a field day trying to cope with the numbers of idiots who go out into the snow without the right footwear, while insurance agents lay claim after claim for crashed cars. But when it does snow here, it is a real treat.

This photo was taken on February 13 2004 when my neighbourhood (my house is the one on the right) was covered in snow - the only time we have ever had such a heavy snowfall in my town since I have been living here (for the last 15 years). But I wasn't there to see it (my neighbour took the photo). I was on a Singapore Airlines flight heading to Athens, when suddenly we were informed that we were going to land in Thessaloniki instead, because the airport in Athens was closed to all flights due to the heavy snowfall. As we flew over the country, we noticed that icebergs had sprouted in the sea - at least, that's what the Greek islands looked like after they were covered in snow.

We landed in Thessaloniki, capital of Macedonia, with the sun shining brightly. It did seem a sort of paradox that Athens (as well as Hania) was covered in snow, while the north of Greece, always colder than the south, had no snow. I'd never been to Thessaloniki before, so I thought my family could do some exploring there. We were wearing the summer clothes we had travelled with on our two-month journey to the Antipodes. My sister was to bring our winter coats with her when she picked us up at Athens airport, which of course was not going to happen now. We left the airplane in great excitement.

To our dismay, it was freezing: -8 degrees Celsius. Bright sunlight, no snow, freezing temperatures. We were taken to Kempinski Hotel for the night (yes, it was very grand, thank you Singapore Airlines), and there we stayed, not venturing outdoors, not even onto the balcony. We left the next morning, slightly dazed, feeling an opportunity lost to the elements.

Nice view

For some people, choosing a place to live is all about what kind of view they have from their house. I was very lucky in that I had a 'high' view from most places I lived in. When I lived in Mt Victoria (Wellington, New Zealand), I could see all the hills of Kelburn and the Aro Valley suburbs, with the colourful cute little box houses. The dome of the Greek Orthodox Church was also visible from my bedroom, and even though I was half hour's walk from the Victoria University library, I knew which floors were still open for late night study.

Now where I live in Hania, despite the dirty grey terrace of an unfinished house just down the road, every day I can see when the ferry boat from Athens has come into Souda Bay, and I can play a game with the children by asking them if they can see it moving away from the port at night. Eventually, they'll be able to name the ship that is in port, as I can now - this one is the ANEK Lines ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS, a former cruise ship which has been superseded by newer ships. Even at night, it is visible, with a long row of lights, so you can track it for a good fifteen minutes as it starts moving away from the harbour and into the dark sea. Maybe this is why the suburb that I live in is called Kalithea (= nice view), Vamvakopoulo.

Camera critters: kids

Some people might call this kid 'cute'; others will think 'delicious'.

Goat and kid in Vamvakopoulo, Hania.

Olive tree

This olive tree is very old. It must be close to 100. It's located in an olive grove not far from my home, among many other very old trees just like it.