Clean Monday

Yet another week has flown by, does time really pass this quickly or just as one gets older?

We were in Agios Nikolaos standing around talking to some friends and a small Albanian boy came along on his bike. He knows our friends, his name is Remmy and he is 10 years old, we had seen him many times before. He is very proud of his bike, which he got for Christmas and is as least three sizes too big. I remembered I had my phrase book in our bag and I showed him a picture of a bike and a car with the parts identified in both Greek and English. We had several minutes discussing the various parts, him telling me in Greek me telling him the English. He was very interested and asked if he could have the book. I told him I needed the book but Ashley would scan it into the computer and print out the two pages for him. That night Ashley spent nearly three hours and the next day we drove into Agios Nikolaos to find Remmy. As we pulled up we could see Remmy walking towards us waving happily. I gave him the print out for which he thanked us and he folded it very carefully and put it safely in his pocket. While we were with Remmy some friends joined us, they had walked down from the nearby village where they live. We offered them a lift back and we spent an enjoyable afternoon chatting and admiring their beautiful village home.

The cement has now been pumped into the iron for the roof support, which means in a few days the roof can be started. The electrician has been back and only the top floor is left to be finished and we now have stairs that lead up to the bedrooms. The plasterers have started putting the first coat on the inside of the house this is dark grey and looks like cement which makes everything look dull; they should finish it Tuesday as Monday is a Greek holiday, Clean Monday!

Before Lent, here in Greece, it’s carnival time for three weeks when children dress up in fancy dress and there are parties and dancing. The Monday following the last Sunday of the carnival is Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. Clean Monday is so called as in olden times it was the day when housewives cleaned their kitchen utensils to rid them of any trace of carnival food. Traditionally at this time families and friends go to the mountains and seaside resorts and the children fly kites.

On holiday Monday we had to go into Kalamata unexpectedly. We received a text message from a friend who wanted us to pick her up in Kalamata, as she had been in the UK for two weeks, and had just returned. It was a beautiful day and we went in as soon as we were ready. We walked along the sea front watching families enjoying themselves flying their kites, or trying to is more like it. There was quite a swell on the sea and several people were caught out by the waves while they were concentrating on their kite flying, and got a little wet around the ankles.

Snow

How quickly the weather changes here. We had about three days last week when it would have been possible to sunbathe on the beach, in fact some friends of ours did. The next day when it rained continuously, then on the next we had snow. Many of the plants here have been lost to the frost as we had two or three very cold nights. Apparently the last time this part of Greece experienced such low temperatures was about thirty-two years ago.

The house is making good progress with all outside walls built to roof level. This morning I walked alone along the coastal path to Ag. Nik. as Ashley was feeling a bit under the weather. The men were fixing the iron around the inside of the uppermost stonework this will be filled with cement and support the roof. Upstairs the dividing walls are almost complete, this makes the space look totally different. Now is the time to think about where would be best for the bed and the wardrobes. I spent some time standing in the rooms trying to decide but I couldn’t. There is so much to think about, we keep thinking we have the switches and plug points right, then we remember something else. Where will the outside light be switched from? Where are the radiators going? Probably over the plug points! There are bound to be mistakes.

Renewed Interest

Wow! What happened? Something we certainly never intended, it appears we have picked up a new set of followers. This is due to the web site being published, thanks to a dear friend, on a very popular chat board. As a result we have received many positive emails encouraging us to keep the diary going. The thing is now, how much of lives do we share, what attention to detail do we include?

Should we tell of our frequent walks up the Neochori road where our little four-legged friend waits patiently for us, and probably every other person who passes, to join us on our jaunts? ‘Bob’, we named him after our friend Bob who is also mad keen on walking, is a young, brown, crossbred dog. (We will take a photo of him for the gallery). He has a problem with one of his front paws and since we have known him has always limped. Perhaps I’ll mention the time when I was waving frantically at a very persistent large fly who was finding my hair very attractive, which turned out to be a bee and I got a nasty sting. Or maybe even the nasty shock I got this morning when I put on a pair of shorts that I hadn’t worn for three months and found they were far too tight to wear. I wouldn’t have minded so much but previously this particular pair had been much too big. I told Ashley that it couldn’t possibly be the cake and chocolate I have everyday, or the olive oil that we consume by the gallon (sorry, litre). I think I must be swelling in the heat!

Anyway on we go. If it gets too mundane please let us know.

The weather has been excellent and wanting to take advantage of the good weather
‘o kalos kairos’ we have been out walking and site seeing. The Greeks say these are the Halcyon Days when the birds mate and lay their eggs. These beautifully warm days usually come in January but this year a bit later. Today the 7th February the temperature has been in the 70’s, as were the previous two days, but alas, we have been told that tomorrow it will change.

One day we walked to Agios Dimitrios and further towards Trachila. At Agios Dimitrios we spent some time on the stony beach taking photos of the sea washing over the pebbles. Not a soul around, the sun was shinning we sat and had our lunch on a make shift bench beside the road to Trachila, gazing out over the sea, enjoying the solitude.

Another day we took the car (photo now in the gallery by popular request) and drove out to explore the area above Kardymili. We had explored this area previously with friends, but decided we would like another look at the ruins of the ‘Yellow Tower’ (photo in gallery) and try to complete the loop to return to Stoupa via Saidona. This was impossible on our previous visit, as the rains had washed part of the road away.

The drive took us through Prastio, past Lakos and Exochori, eventually arriving at the ‘Yellow Tower’. Unfortunately we have been unable to find any information on the Tower. A truck made its way round the gorge to Saidona and we decided the road must now be passable. It was a bit rough and you could see where the landslides had been. We managed to complete the loop, although I was a little nervous. Once there, we strolled around Saidona in the sunshine taking in the beautiful views and nodding our Kalimeras’ to all we met.

Yet another day we drove south to Gythio with friends, having only visited Limeni on the west coast previously we were keen to see the east coast. We travelled through Langada and Itilo to Limeni where we stopped for a short time. Limeni is quite a popular spot in the summer months because of its large beautiful bay where the sea shelves very gently. As the shallow water gets very warm this makes it ideal for swimming, other than this there isn’t much else there.

Continuing south we drove through Areopolis, a small town on this coastline and well worth another trip to explore at a later date. Here we turned inland for Kotronas, which is on the eastern coast of the peninsular. At Kotronas we strolled up and down the beautiful sandy beach and spent some time in the old church with frescos dating back to1892. After lunch we journeyed on, northbound now, through Skoutari and finally to our destination of Gythio, the doorway to the Inner Mani. The landscape had been noticeably different as we journeyed south, less olive trees and the mountains more barren. Gythio, with its’ very attractive, tall, three-story pastel coloured houses along the long coast road, at first glance looked rather Venetian. From here at the port you can catch the ferry to places like Crete, Rhodes and the Island of Kythera.

We explored the town and found the ancient Roman theatre that is situated of all places next to the army barracks. Needless to say, we didn’t dare take any pictures.

Before we started our journey home we found a small café for coffee and cake. Yet another example of the Greek hospitality, for the cake they said, “ no charge” as it was another customer’s Name Day. Now I’ll attempt to explain Name Days, Greek names usually coincide with those of saints. Every Saint has at least one Saints Day a year and on that day if your name is the same as the Saint you celebrate in a similar way to how birthdays are celebrated in the UK. The difference is here in Greece Name Days are more important than birthdays. Your friends buy you gifts, you buy cakes for them and everyone celebrates. I’ll just point out here my Name Day is 21st May.

We had a lovely chat with a Greek gentleman who enquired if we were American. He spoke perfect English, which he said he had learnt in just one year in New York. He told us he had been in the navy and had no choice but to learn quickly as the language was needed for his work. Definitely no chance of us learning Greek in just one year!