Disappearing snow

The snow on the Lefka Ori has almost but disappeared.



This shows how hot it has been all of a sudden for the past two weeks. Even though the snow fell very late this season, and there was a lot of rainfall, other years have seen snow stay on the mountains until mid-June, which is still a month away.

Postcard from Crete

A postcard view of Greek spring time: whitewash, stone walls and wildflowers growing in amongst the rocks. Summer is only round the corner...

Menu board

Konaki Restaurant by the old harbour was sporting this mantinada:

"What you are going to eat, my friend,
In the company of the Lyre,
Staka and Wedding pilaf rice
Which is the Greek Viagra."

(Please excuse me for the out of focus photo)

Graveyard

The beautiful Byzantine church of St Nicholas in Kiriakoselia, a village in the Apokoronas region, retains a small very well kept cemetery within its yards. The village itself has almost been wiped off the map, but the graves are still lovingly tended by the families whose ancestors are buried here. The actual church was built in the middle of the 10th centruy, and is one of the most intact remnants of this time period in Greece.

The most notable part of this particular family tomb is the photographs of the older generation, wearing the trdaditional Cretan costume. The fact that these people were photographed shows their important status in the society of the time.

Greek tombs are never very elaborate. They usually state only the names and dates of the deceased and contain a small closed box where photos, candles and incense can be placed, as well as oil for lighting a lamp in memory of the dead. The handles on this tomb are there simply to make it easier to lift the marble to add another member of the family when it is their turn...

Coffee with a view but not a smell

Enjoying a cappuccino and a good book at Koum Kapi.

The housing settlement on the promontory in the left hand side of the photo is relatively new. The houses in this area, called Koumbeli, are very modern, nearly all of them less than 15 years old. It is considered a rather posh area, mainly due to the middle-class (and above) residents.

It is also the smelliest area in Hania; there are days when the 150 privileged people who live there cannot open their windows due to the retching stink that pervades the air. Koumbeli is located just above the waste management plant where the waste of the whole town is 'cleaned' before being thrown into the sea...