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Thursday, November 29
From our walking weeks
by
Vassilis G.
on Thu 29 Nov 2007 12:04 PM EET
Monday, December 4
An ancient astronomical calculator
by
Vassilis G.
on Mon 04 Dec 2006 12:49 AM EET
The Athikythera Mechanism is a device discovered a century ago and only recently scietists have managed to solve the anigma of how it worked. It was used to calculate Eclipses and planetary motions. This can mean that the ancient Greeks of the hellinistic times were a lot more technologically advanced than we thought. We might need to rewrite the history of who really discovered gravity. Newton or Hypparchos two centuries BC? I found this very intersting. For more have a look at http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr I Wednesday, June 7
A Saint George's day Pilgrimage.....
by
Vassilis G.
on Wed 07 Jun 2006 03:29 PM EEST
A Saint George's day pilgrimage....
We travelled from our Hotel (The Mistral) for an hour on a dirt track, out along the Menies peninsular on the island of Crete. We had been invited by Nektarios a shepherd to join the local celebration for St. George's day. The roughly made car park was already begining to fill up with pick-up trucks and cars. People were gathered from the local town - men dressed in the traditional black. The field in which the chapel stood was filled with wild flowers and in particular red poppies. The chapel itself was a tiny building with a low door way.  We could hear the chanting from outside - and as we entered the tiny chapel the smell of incense hit us. It was a bit of a squeeze to fit us in but the people welcomed us, gave us candles etc. Two men were assisting the Priest, their beautiful voices reading the ancient Greek texts and prayers filled the chapel. ( We tried to supress giggles when they kept loosing their places and the priest had to keep coming and showing them the page etc.)Greek Orthodox liturgy is wonderfully symolic, sensory, and visual. The Priest with his white hair and beard, dressed in his cream robes, incense, candles, icons, coming and going. It was wonderful to be part of it. After a while the whole of the congregation moved outside under the tree where the priest continued the liturgy. An icon of St.George was placed by the door and the bell hanging from the tree was rung.  Bread was blessed and shared among those outside - sweet tasting bread. Wine and olive oil were placed with the bread on the tables and blessed too. The ordinary, staple foods of life blessed and made holy somehow. the men who were on the sidelines - sat around the garden tables which were being prepared for lunch, crossed themselves along with everyone else nearer the chapel. The almost instinctively knew which were the solemn moments and hushed their conversation to join the liturgy. The service continued for a little longer while we stood in the shade of the tree. The sun came out after quite a wet and chilly couple of days. The poppies seemed to shine as we soaked up the atmosphere. Tables were placed near us and lots of different foodstuffs were brought out. It is tradition after a service like this one to share small tokens of food - perhaps like the feeding of the five thousand. We were encouraged to join the queue to receive bread, cheese, lamb, sardines and wine (very strong local wine!) We took are places at the tables and shared together. Then, even though it was only 11.30 am, lunch arrived. Pilaf rice (rice cooked in the juices of the meat) and huge plated of lamb. I'm not sure if it was the atmosphere and the sunshine but that meal was one of the best I'd had in Crete! Wine was served from coke bottles with the tops cut off but went down very easily! We ate and drank until we couldn't eat anymore (and there was still massive amounts left!).  After lunch (and too much wine perhaps!) the barriers of language seems to fall as we chatted with the Greek families. I spoke to the Priest (who was aware of 'female' priests and John Calvin!) and had a long conversation with one of the men who had assisted the priest (below). He had been a barber for 30 years working for the US Navy at Souda Bay! Some of us shared in having a puff or two of the strawberry flavour 'hookah pipe'. We had brought with us a gift for Nektarios - What do you take a shepherd as a gift? A chain saw to help him with the pruning of olive trees! He is a very proud man and art first refused to accept our gift but English persistance paid off and it was gratefully received! It was probably the most splendid afternoon I'd spent that holiday in Crete! We said our farewells and thankyous and left. From here we hopped into the open back of the pick-up and travelled further along the dirt track out towards the coast. Crete is spectacular - and the view down to the bay was no exception. Gorgeous sands, clear blue sea - hidden away in a cove! Wow!
 Here we swam (not quite skinny dipping!) or sat on the beach! a perfect way to end a perfect day! Although the whole experience wasn't quite over yet! At the end of our holiday we arrived back to the Mistral to hear Nektarios was coming to visit! He arrived and brough with him a bucket filled with honey from the bees he kept!! After tasting jars were filled by Nektarios and Adonis (below).
Eveytime I have honey I will think of that wonderful day and the generosity of Nektarios, and the people of Crete! Thankyou to everyone at the Mistral for such a great day and fantastic holiday! See you next year! Monday, February 20
A day picking olives and wild greens in Kandanos
by
Vassilis G.
on Mon 20 Feb 2006 04:13 PM EET
A day picking olives and wild greens in Kandanos By Vassilis Gialamarakis Half way down to the south of Chania, on the way to Paleochora and more specifically in an area called Selino, there is the beautiful A few days before our visit, the weather had been really bad in Crete with heavy rain, cold and loads of snow up the
After making some quick arrangements of the day's schedule, we were shown an old olive orchard with huge trees with nets laid under them. We would start picking from there. The trees were very old and their trunks looked more like monuments from another era rather than parts of someone's producing crop. In Kandanos village there is a huge olive tree, like the famous one in Vouves, God knows how old, and it takes four men with their arms wide open to encircle its trunk, which is about The storm and winds had dropped many fresh olives on the nets for us to get. Olives must be large and deep blue in colour, in other words, ripe enough to be edible and of course good in taste. We had gone there with high expectations and could not wait to start the hard work of hand picking the best olives of western
The olives had fallen scattered in the nets making it very hard and time consuming to pick, as you have to bend over and move around all the time. After an hour of low efficiency, I began to lose my patience. You see, I am the typical modern type that wants everything to run efficiently and consider time to be of high value. However, this day was to be spent in the Cretan countryside, the old traditional way with my mother, in a slow but constant pace of work just like the way she grew up. My mother had the answer to my worries. We needed to gather the olives in large piles so we could sit down and work with them. But we could not lift the nets as they were sawed up together in a huge sheet covering the entire field. So, my mother disappeared off to the woods next to the field and a little later, she came back holding a few bunches of thyme she had cut there. Using a piece of wire from the fence, she made a broom to sweep the olives on the nets to the same direction to make piles. It did work, although hard work, and in the next two hours we had about 30 kilos. We were greedy though and determined to get more. We were quickly done with this olive grove and wanted more olives, since my brother Adonis, whose good friend and koumbaros is putting in for mare of Kandanos on the next elections in October 2006, had made it clear to us that, like all real villagers in Crete, he does not work on Sundays and had gone to mingle with his village friends. By the time I went to get Adonis, my mother, being a typical village woman born and raised in a village, had gone off to the field nearby with a knife and waist bag made of cloth to pick wild greens and radices, that we call "chorta". She had not stopped talking of the amounts of greens that grown in Kandanos on our way there the whole morning. And of course we should keep the whole expedition secret of her sister Artemisia, because had she found out we went for greens, she would definitely want her fair share! Just before noon we were off to Kampos, the area of Kandanos with the most olive trees. The landscape was amazing. The trees were loaded and absolutely stuffed with olives. This is a sight rarely seen on this variety of olives called "tsounati" in the Cretan dialect. This year is the best for olive oil that After a rather long conversation repeatedly refusing a lunch break at his house in the village, we left him with no other option but to go and let us accomplish the goal of the day, picking as many olives as we could. We started work quickly but the olives were too small for our purpose and unripe, green. We selected carefully as many large green ones as we could find from up the trees and not from the nets, with the view of making them cracked olives, known as "tsakistes", preserved in lemon juice and salted water. They are great eaten on their own or with bread and cheese or in salads or even to cook with them (using wild greens and olive oil, cuttle fish and fennel casserole). The snow-capped mountain across the valley was shining in the afternoon sun and the colours of the fields and village houses at the mountain were very bright. In the sight of such beauty, I thought that we are so lucky to be living in such a blessed place. The rest of the afternoon was spent wondering around the field gathering wild greens, different radish species, wild fennel, artichokes, and many more greens unknown to many people. They are weeds, as many would say but with great value for us. I kept picking the wrong ones and mother kept showing me the ones that we were after. They all looked the same to me! The next week's menu would be greens with something else every day cooked in different ways and of course "kalitsounia", which are greens and cheese pies and "marathopites" (fennel pies). Very few people realise the role of greens in Cretan diet, the healthiest diet in the world according to scientists and the study of 7 countries carried out by the American Rockefeler Foundation. When the results were published the international community was taken by surprise. The Cretans had the strongest hearts in the world, lived longer than any other people and cancerous and cardiovascular diseases were rare on Cretans, unlike in northern populations where heart diseases are a real threat. On the way back we were feeling absolutely exhausted, yet very pleased with our lovely day out, and of course the pick-up truck was full of the fruits of the earth. The mission did not end there though. We had to pass from our winter vegetable garden in Maleme where the expedition was completed. There we got our spinach, red beets, lettuce, fennel, parsley, radish and rocket. Chickens and rabbits were fed and one rooster was to be part of the meal for the following day. The next day the olives had to be checked again, all the bad ones should be taken out, then mixed with thick salt suitable for table olives. The salt comes from the western Sfinari and was given to me from Yiannis back in summer. Here is my father's task, since he has the patience to deal with all this! If you ever have the chance to go on a day like this, do not miss it for anything! It is a real tribute to the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Unfortunately it is only possible in winter and you need a Cretan like my mother Katerina, to take you around. How to make your own table olives The techniques of soaking the bitterness out of the olives and thus making them edible are ancient and very simple. The most famous method used today in western Alatsolies (black olives in salt) Olives of the "tsounati" variety are used for this recipe and they must be harvested late in winter so that they are ripe and with loads of olive oil in their flesh so as to be of rich taste. They are just washed well and then mixed with thick salt in a sack or basket or plastic container so that all the juices produced out of the flesh run out. The olives gradually wrinkle and they are turned around regularly so that the salt goes everywhere. They can last for quite a long time up to a year. They must be stored in a dark and cool place to preserve. Before serving they should be rinsed well from the salt. They are generally a starter and enjoyed with bread and cheese or in salads. Make your own olives “a’ Tsakistes (cracked olives) The same olives here are harvested in October or November while they are still green, unripe and with not much olive oil in their flesh, which is really bitter in taste. Then, the olives are beaten gently with a stone or wood cracking the flesh open but being careful not to touch the pit. Then they are soaked in large glass containers in a mixture of water, salt and lemon juice or bitter orange juice. The water mixture is changed every 10 days tasting the olives to see when they will turn sweet and edible. Then put loads of lemon juice in the water and various herbs if you like and cover with some olive oil on the top to stop the top ones from getting mouldy. These olives can be used in cooking or eaten on their own as a starter. Wash them gently and drain before serving with a bit of lemon juice and olive oil and if you like sprinkle them with coriander or rosemary. They do not preserve for very long maximum a year. My friend Eleni at Sfinari village told me that she uses sea water for her olives until the bitterness comes off and she does not crack her olives at all, which helps to keep longer.
The experience of spear gun Fishing with Nikos
by
Vassilis G.
on Mon 20 Feb 2006 04:07 PM EET
The experience of spear gun Fishing with Nikos by Vassilis Gialamarakis
After a kind invitation for spear gun fishing by my friend Nikos, I finally decided to join him on a hot summer day last July. His uncle Kostas would come too. We were to leave early in the morning as we had a one and half hour speed boat journey to Antikythera, the island they wanted to dive for fish. I was very excited about the whole expedition because I had heard so much about the fish in Antikythera and had seen all those huge fish caught by them in the past there, so was eager to share the experience. We had to take some small provisions with us for the whole day, some bread and water, and some ice for the fridge, but they were taking care of all that. I was concerned that will not last on the boat and in and out the sea for a whole day. I made sure I took a couple of large beach towels in case I wanted to rest on the boat, took sun cream and a hat and of course all the fishing gear, wetsuit, spear gun, mask and flippers, my rod and all the gadgets that go with it. Just after dawn we were off on Niko’s boat called Oduseus, a very powerful and fast brand new boat. We were to do a So far so good, but we have no spare engine and no navigation gear. Soon we will loose sight of the land and how are we supposed to find directions? Just go by experience? Are these guys absolutely sure? What happens if we are caught by night or really bad weather? Is the weather forecast we got absolutely reliable?
As we set off the cove of Sfinari onto the open sea the waves were high and long and the boat started to jump from one to the other making it hard for us to keep our balance on the boat. Soon I found myself scared and grabbed from the reels and handles to keep my balance. As the boat hit the waves I could feel it bending and it was really bad shock for my back. The others were used to this motion so they kept chatting about the wind and the sea signs. I went quiet and then thought to myself that I have a speed boat driving licence, was born in an island and I fish since I was a child, so must prove these guys that I am up to the task. The sea at the western I decided to change my head from those negative thoughts and take part in the conversation. Time passed quickly and about forty minutes later we saw the island and I felt better. Occasionally, we had to slow down as the waves and wind were splashing water all over us and in the boat. Had to hide the mobile phones in a dry spot and take all the stuff at the back where it would be more wind protected not blown out the boat. We saw some seabirds like seagulls but they were Antenes, quite different. They fly literally inches from the water and came around to check on us. It was a very beautiful sight seeing them flying. They were at their natural habitat and seemed to enjoy playing with the wind and waves. After nearly one and half hour bumping on high waves we finally got there. The island had a spectacular lighthouse on it’s south end and there seemed to be just a mountain path leading there. This is a very remote place. Antikithyra has only a few inhabitants (about 30) and it is pretty small with only one, rather small port unsafe when the sea is rough. The island is often cut off in the winter and any medical emergencies have to be dealt with by helicopter. The houses on the island looked old and I couldn’t spot any roads apart from a few near the port. Soon we found our destination, a small cove to stop and start fishing. The colours of the clear waters were fantastic. You could see the rock formations and different colours of the seaweeds. The sea further from the shore was deep blue. We dropped the anchor, secured the boat and quickly started to put on our wet suits. When we were all ready to dive, arrangements were made that they would take opposite directions following the shore line and in a couple of hours me and Nikos, who should stick together, would get the boat and find Uncle Kostas. Immediately after jumping in the water I saw a large scowl of Parrot fish just under the boat. I dived and tried to get close for a shot but they just disappeared in the rocks. Maybe my motion was too lively and scared them off. Apparently you have to swim gently in a fish like or mermaid-like manner I would say, so they take you as a fish and hopefully let you get close enough for a shot. All this takes practice though. I decided to follow Nikos. He knows what he is doing so that is a wise choice. He was off to the deep though and I knew I couldn’t dive there. I just wanted to see his technique and assist him if needed. He free dives up to 30, sometimes I was struggling to keep behind him and hoped that we would not go very far like this or I would be exhausted soon. I looked down and could hardly see the sea bottom. Too deep for my liking. Very scary experience not being able to see what is below you, just blue everywhere. No way would I ever go down there, even if I could, for all the fish in the world. Soon he stopped completely and was preparing to dive. I saw him staying absolutely still relaxing before diving down the deep. After around 5 minutes of no movement he took his snorkel off his mouth and dived vertically down. I was watching him go down deeper and deeper and could not believe it. What in the earth is this guy doing? I lost sight of him completely and just stayed there waiting. Then I decided to dive as deep as I could to see if I can spot him. I must have gone about 5 to I dived again and when I came up again I saw him coming up slowly. He must have been there for around 3 minutes! He explained that he went down to the bottom and grabbed a rock. Then, lifted up his body for a while so any sea bass which was around would move upwards to spot him as he is perceived as an invader and a threat. But by doing so the fish move around give away their presence, their position and their mood. Nikos would then swim slowly towards the fish judging their intentions at every second and act accordingly. With the spear gun pointed ahead and never looking directly at the fish eyes but pretending that you are a slow weird fish passing by you might get close enough for a shot? If the fish gets worried and does not allow you close it will disappear with a very fast move into a rock hole which is their home. You spot that hole and try plan B. In the rock the fish feels safe. The place is a labyrinth of holes and normally has more than one exit. Plan B means that you approach and look in the hole the fish went in from. Some bass is curious and will stay just in the rock entrance looking outside. If you are lucky then you have a clear shot but being careful not to allow this fish to disappear in the narrow rock hole with the spear on it and get stuck in there by opening its gills. Nikos explained to me that he had seen 2 fish one of them was huge but they were too clever to let him get close. He would try again though and try another trick of his. There are no fixed techniques for this anymore as the fish have adopted in the standard techniques and their reactions are unpredictable. A lot depends on the wind, water temperature, deep water currents, season, depth, time of day, the moon and god knows what else.
Before relaxing for another five minutes he told me to assist him on his next critical dive. He now wanted to stay longer down there. At his signal I was to grab him from his legs and push him down diving with him as deep as I could so he would get as deep as possible with the least effort, thus saving as much Oxygen as possible. I did my best and must have given him some I was waiting with excitement. Around 3 minutes later I saw the vague shape of his body swimming up and soon I could see him holding a huge bass of around 20 kilos!! Now this is fishing! This sight only was worth the effort. I just could not believe my eyes. We carried on for a couple of hours like this and soon I was too tired to follow him any further. I took the big fish and swam slowly back to the boat. I was so tired that sleep and resting had a new meaning for me. The rest of day passed at the same pace. I spend it on the boat though. Every two or three hours I was in charge of picking them up and taking the fish off them into the boat’s fridge with ice. They would come on the boat rest for half hour, drink water and sometimes eat a small piece of bread and back in the water. His uncle was successful too but with all sorts of smaller fish like sea bream, parrot fish one Octopus and some other very pretty fish. Nikos got one lobster about one kilo and some very large bream. By noon we had loads of fish. I tried my luck with my fishing rod but the results were rather disappointing. My troubles did not end up there though. I got seasick from the boats motion and fell asleep on the boat, then sunburn (despite all the sun cream). My hat was blown off from the wind into the sea and did not catch any fish! On the other hand they filled up a whole fridge and were laughing at me struggling. How would I face my wife now after 15 hours at sea, all red from the sunburn, with no catch and knackered from the trip? Around
Back at Sfinari Eleni had prepared a lovely Kakavia fish soup. God, we were all hungry! I will not forget the scene of Nikos appearing from the deep blue right under me just like Poseidon holding that huge brown sea bass. The experience was a unique one and the place we went was so pretty and out of this world. As for my wife, I was given some fish to take home but did not dare to say that I caught them. It did save my fishing reputation but taught me to stick to my lines and hooks in the shallows and leave the deep blue for the real divers. Wednesday, February 1
Ouzo The Spirit of Greece
by
Vassilis G.
on Wed 01 Feb 2006 09:33 PM EET
Ouzo The Spirit of
by Vassilis Gialamarakis Everyone who has been on holiday to Ouzo is related to good company and delicious Greek food in a local Kafeneion with a few karafakia of good Ouzo. But very few really know how this aperitif is really made.
Ouzo is a drink exclusively Greek The word ouzo cannot be translated and the most popular theory suggests that it came from the Italian words “uso a Marsilla” written on the casks of good Greek Tsipouro exported to A Turk called Anastas Bey in a Turnavos cafe was drinking a Tsipouro that was so good that he insisted that it was uso a Marcilla. The word Ouzo stayed from then on. The distillation process originally came from Country people were wise enough not to waste anything and used these leftovers. They put them in large containers to ferment from September to around November and then distilled them in small copper distillers and produced Tsipouro or Raki which is found now in every house and village Kafeneion. Ouzo is the evolution of that process but is very different from Tsipuro. It can contain herbs like aniseed (Pimpinella anisum), licorice, fennel (Foeniculum vulgare miller), cardamom, mastic, cinnamon, ginger, corn, coriander, cloves, mint or any mixture of the above. The main difference between Ouzo and other aniseed containing aperitifs is in the method Ouzo gets its aroma. In most other drinks they first extract the aromas from the seeds and then add it to the drink but in the case of Ouzo the plants seeds are being distilled with the dilution of alcohol and water. Here is the myth: Most people believe or like to believe, that Ouzo is still derived from grapes but this is not true. Good Ouzo is made from the distillation of a mixture of ethyl alcohol, water and the secret mixture of herbs that each Ouzo making family has from their forefathers. This ethyl alcohol is made on an industrial scale by one or two large distillers in Today, very few know that the ethyl alcohol used to make Ouzo is 97% clear and that means is of excellent quality. Ethyl alcohol derived from sugar cane diluted slowly in soft water is very close to Rum. But Ouzo is more than that. In a large hand made copper pot the mixture with herbs stays for hours and then is distilled slowly and with great care testing it constantly. The success of the Ouzo depends on so many factors like the shape and size of the copper distiller, the recipe used, the ease of the process (that is the speed of distillation) the quality of water used and many more. Today, there are about 200 Ouzo makers left in Also widely known are Ouzo 12, Ouzo MINI from Mitilene, Ouzo Babatzim from
Myths and reality around Ouzo Good Ouzo is very aromatic and very strong (according to legislation ouzo must be at least 37.5 vol) what the Greeks call a heavy taste. Today the most popular Ouzo in But again Ouzo is a personal choice which one derives after drinking many different brands and deciding for themselves. The art of drinking Ouzo Of course there is an art in drinking Ouzo. The most famous Greek aperitif is Enjoyed not straight but diluted with water. How much? As much as you like. When you put water into Ouzo it turns cloudy. Here is why: Anise oil and other essential oils dissolve and become invisible when mixed with conventional alcohol content, but as soon as the alcohol content is reduced, the essential oils transform into white crystals, which you cannot see through. Ouzo is famous for the hangover it causes but why is that? Simply because the people drink far too much of it quickly without watering it down. What causes the hangover is not the alcohol but the essential oils that are hard for the body to break down and get rid of. The secret of safe Ouzo drinking is what the Greeks do. It must be accompanied with the famous Greek Mezes and enjoyed slowly making sure that water is added. Mezes is nothing else but nibbles like Cretan rusk, olives, tomato, sardines, cucumber, Feta, pastrami, hard boiled egg, shrimp, and much more. How is it served Traditionally ouzo is served in a narrow and high glass and always accompanied with a glass of water and ice always with a plate of Mezedes.
What we do at the Mistral? We exclusively use Ouzo Faros (lighthouse in Greek) Manolakakis who is our next door neighbour in Chania and kindly provided us with all the inside information about this wonderful unique drink that is synonymous to The two brothers Giorgos and Eutixis are the fourth!!! generation Ouzo makers and their trade mark Faros goes back to 1884. Giorgos is a chemist and in charge of the distillation in the large very old copper distiller (see photo). The two brothers also make their own brandy and many liqueurs. A visit to their distillery in Chania is worth the effort for an Ouzo tasting and can be arranged. Ouzo used in cooking At the Mistral we put some in Tzatziki for flavour and aroma. It can be used very well in many seafood sauces and in the famous Greek Keftedakia Ouzomezes. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: Half a kilo of beef minced meat A quarter of a kilo bread white (not the core) wet it gently. 2 eggs 2 onions finely chopped 3 slices of garlic finely chopped bit of flour half a cup of ouzo salt, pepper, oregano Drain the wet bread and mix it all well for a while until we have a solid mixture. Leave for a while to marinate then make small balls of it put in flour and shallow fry. Serve hot and enjoy it with your Ouzo of course.
Thursday, November 24
The Canuckman's long voyage home (by Ian Hamilton-Canada)
by
Vassilis G.
on Thu 24 Nov 2005 01:02 PM EET
Greetings from Canada to all my Mistral friends,
Well, as I had promised some of you, here is the long, long awaited tale of my lengthy and problematic trip getting back home to Canada. I should have sent it sooner, but I had been seriously jet-lagged, and I had a ton of mail/e-mail/stuff/work to go through when I got home. Not to mention spending major, major catchup snuggling time with a certain lady. Ahem. Priorities, man, priorities. Anyway, here goes; Most of you were probably aware that I was originally scheduled to leave on the Wednesday morning, not Tuesday like the rest of you. Such was not to be, however. The first hint of trouble came as I was sunning by the pool on Tuesday afternoon. Kim called my name, I had a phone call. From Olympic Airways. My morning flight to Athens had been cancelled. There is a strike scheduled for tomorrow, on Wednesday. I was given a choice: wait until Wednesday night (which would probably mean missing my Lufthansa connections), or take one of the flights this very evening instead (which would mean spending the night in Athens, instead of the Mistral as planned). I chose the latter, taking the 8:30 PM flight, figuring I should get at least one leg of my journey done before the strike hits. I told Kim and Jo, and rushed up to my room to pack. So in the end, I left the Mistral on Tuesday, just like the rest of you. By the way, I turned down the Mistral's gift of olive oil and olives, Canadian Customs is notorious for not allowing agricultural products into the country. Pity. Anyway, Adonis drove Anne, Jez, and myself to the airport that evening. It was a quiet drive, we were all sad to be leaving (Tears? What tears? My eyeballs were sweating. Yeah, that's it. My eyeballs were sweating). At the airport, Adonis was parking the van and then said something about having coffee inside. But by the time I finished checking in, it was time to board. Olympic Airways was actually on time. Gosh. So I missed out on having coffee with Anne, Jez, & Adonis. Sorry Adonis. Next time. I got to the Athens airport, and went to the Olympic Airways counter, the one with a sign saying "Hotel Desk". I turned on my nice guy polite Canadian charm, explained my situation, and that I needed a hotel room for the night. The OA lady would not agree to pay for a hotel room, but she offered to send me to the hotel they use (75 Euros/night), and provide transport there and back to the airport in the morning. Okay fine, whatever, I'm too tired to argue. Waited along with other OA customers for transport to show up, OA lady explained that driver very busy. OA bus showed up, looking like an old Edmonton Transit bus in OA livery. Ugh. It was a half hour ride to a hotel called the Golden Sun, somewhere in Athens, a suburb called Glyfada, I believe. Turned out the rate was 55 Euros/night, special rate for OA customers. Okey dokey. At this point, I still hadn't had any supper yet, and it was closing in on midnight. The hotel's barmaid took pity on me and made me a ham and cheese sandwich, even though the bar was closing. I wolfed it down, went to my room (not a great room, but clean), and crashed. Next morning, the OA bus showed up a half an hour later than I'd asked. No problem, I had kind of anticipated that, and booked a time earlier than I'd needed. I'm the only passenger on the bus, too. Got to the Athens airport, and presented myself at the Lufthansa customer service counter, turning on the nice guy polite Canadian charm. I was informed that my afternoon flight was cancelled, and I was now re-scheduled to leave at 6:15. Tomorrow morning. Sigh. Another night in Athens. However, at least this time the airline was paying for my hotel and meals. Put me up at a hotel right at the airport. No transport needed this time. Posh place too, the Sofitel. Got vouchers for free lunch and dinner in the hotel's restaurant. Very good food too. And Kim and Jo, before you ask, no, I didn't go exploring the sights in Athens. All the public transit was on strike, so no buses or trains, only taxis were available. And I was running low on cash at that point (well, in Euros anyway), so I didn't want to chance a taxi. I would have liked to have seen the Acropolis too. Bummer. Oh well, next time. So I crashed in the hotel room and watched TV. Really nice soft bed too. Woke up to my second morning in Athens at 3 am to catch the 6 am flight. Had a really tough time dragging myself out of that nice soft bed at that ungodly hour. Did I mention that the bed was soft? Anyway, at the Lufthansa check-in counter, the lady would only give me the one boarding pass for the flight to Frankfurt. I would have to get the next two boarding passes when I got to Frankfurt. Okay fine, whatever. Got to Frankfurt, the Lufthansa lady told me I needed to go to the gate for my next flight and get my boarding passes there, since it was actually an Air Canada flight. One of those co-coded flights. Nearly got myself lost trying to find my next gate in this BHA (big honking airport). Found the Air Canada flight's gate, and nobody was there yet (well, no staff yet anyway), so I bummed around a duty-free shop for a bit, didn't buy anything. Come back to the gate, the staff are there now, and a biiiig lineup was forming. Well, the line of people who have boarding passes anyway. I join the smaller line leading to the desk, for people who don't have boarding passes, don't have seats assigned, need to change seating assignments, other problems, yada yada. This line's smaller but moving slowly. The big line is clipping along, but more people keep joining it. It's going to be a full plane. Oh boy. I get to the front of the line and turn on the nice guy polite Canadian charm. I explain my situation to the lady, and she looks me up in her computer. I'm not in there. Turns out the Lufthansa people in Athens hadn't bothered booking me in on my next two legs. Fortunately, I had all my paperwork with me, the original itinerary, the revised itinerary that'd been printed in Athens, my luggage tag, etc. The luggage tag showed that my bag was tagged to go to Edmonton via Frankfurt & Toronto. I joked to the lady that my luggage was tagged to go to Edmonton, but apparently I myself wasn't. She didn't show it, but I think she got a kick out of that. So she booked me in, and gave me a boarding pass for the Toronto to Edmonton flight, but couldn't give me one for this flight yet. The computers are little slow or something, so she couldn't get me a seat assignment yet. I had to stand over on the side and wait for her to call my name when she had a seat for me. After about ten minutes (which seemed like an eternity while watching all these other people board), she calls my name, she has a seat for me, asks if I want a window or aisle seat. I really don't care at this point, I'll take what I can get, I just want to get home. No, no, she says she'll get me a better seat. So I wait over on the side for another minute or so until she calls my name again. She's got me a seat and gives me my boarding pass. Finally. I get on the plane, and find that the seat she gave me really is a decent one. She had gotten me an aisle seat close to the front of the economy section, just three rows back from first class. This means I'll be among the first to get off the plane when it lands. And this is a huge plane too, an Airbus 330, eight seats to each row and gawd only knows how many rows. The people in the back will take ages to get off. A long flight, almost nine hours, and they showed two movies, Electra (not that good, don't waste your money renting that one) and Chariots of Fire (a classic that I hadn't seen before, very good). Got to Toronto, I'm now finally in my home country. Only a measly 3800 km to go. Went through Canadian Customs, now that was interesting. We got to a conveyor in the Customs area and retrieved our checked luggage, I suppose so they could search my entire luggage if they wanted. Then we went through Customs and dropped our checked bags back onto another conveyor, where hopefully it would end up on the right plane. Funny thing is, I never once saw them search anyone's luggage. Maybe I should have chanced smuggling in Vassilis's olive oil and olives after all. Although if I had, that would have meant I would have been searched for sure. Murphy's law, you know. (Hey Vas, any chance I could talk you into mailing me a supply of olive oil and olives?) Anyway, I walk through Toronto's BHA (big honking airport) and manage to find my next gate for my final leg to Edmonton. Had a couple of hours to kill, and I was hungry, so I had a burger at this restaurant there by my gate. I'm getting pretty tired at this point, it's been a long, long day, and it's not over yet. I board the plane to Edmonton, and found out just what kind of seat the lady in Frankfurt had given me. It's a window seat, in the emergency exit row. Score!! Leg room, baby, leg room. Sometimes that nice guy polite Canadian charm pays off. Anyway, at that point I figured out I had been awake for 21 hours straight. I tried to keep awake, but couldn't. I crashed, slept for the whole four hour flight to Edmonton. I woke up as we're landing in Edmonton. End of story, right? Nope, not quite. I collected my luggage from the carousel (Yay! It didn't get lost), and hail a taxi. If I had gotten home when I was originally scheduled to, the plan had been for my brother to pick me up at the airport. Since I'm a day late, he was now at work (he works 24 hour shifts), and couldn't pick me up. Hence the taxi. This driver must have been new on the job or something, I had to coach him on how to get to my brother's place. Which is normally not that hard a place to find. Yeesh. We're almost there, and then, with a sheepish look on his face, he informs me he forgot to turn on the meter. Oh boy. Anyway, we settle on $35.00 for the trip. When I left for Crete, the taxi from my brother's to the airport had cost me $40.00, including a small tip. Needless to say, this guy wasn't getting a tip. Anyway, I crashed on my brother's sofabed that night. Late the next morning, I started up my Subie that I had left parked at my brother's place. Started up on the first crank too, good old reliable Subie (pronounced Sue-bee, for you Brits. It's short for Subaru, natch). Drove the five hour drive back to Grande Prairie, uneventful drive, nice and sunny day too. So I made it back home to Grande Prairie late Friday afternoon, a day later than originally planned. Had dinner that night with the girlfriend, but called it an early night though. I was seriously jet-lagged. She's a very understanding lady. I've heard it said that jet lag is worse when you go west than when you go east. Having experienced it, I believe it. Thus ends the long and convoluted tale of the Canuckman's voyage home. You're probably wondering whether I would ever dare the perils of international air travel again, to return to Crete and the Mistral. Was it worth it? Short answer - you bet. Given the time and money, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Now I'll just have to talk my girlfriend into coming too. Anyway, now I'm off again on another trip, much shorter this time. I leave Wednesday and come back Sunday, for a pharmacy convention in Jasper. Only a four hour drive through beautiful mountainous country. I'm being put up in the poshest place in Jasper, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, one of the perks of being on the council for the Alberta College of Pharmacists. The scenery is going to be spectacular too, I've been in Jasper in the spring before. You Brits seriously don't know what you're missing. Heh. So when are you coming to visit Canada, eh? Yamas, Ian
Mistral Magic Still Working (by Pat Moran - Ireland)
by
Vassilis G.
on Thu 24 Nov 2005 12:55 PM EET
The next morning was a friendly response from Vassilis, saying that the new brochure was being printed and that I should receive same in the post within 10 days; 3 days later it arrived, I was totally smitten, both by the speed and the warm welcome from Vassilis, hoping I would be able to travel there this summer. I booked immediately, my first solo holiday, not knowing what to expect - but hoping I would fit in and make some new friends. I needn't have worried ... within an hour of arriving at the Mistral on 3rd May, I was disgusted that I hadn't taken the plunge by booking for 2 weeks! Jo was the first person I met at the bar, and we immediately became firm friends. Jo is married Nori and they both work long and hard to ensure that all guests are made feel welcome and happy. It is an ordeal for anyone travelling alone for the first time, but, believe me, you could not have chosen a better place to start off solo travelling. It's like being part of a large happy extended family. There is no pressure to join in with the many exciting trips and excursions; you are entirely free to spend the days and nights doing what you want - reading by either the front pool (nearer the bar for that freshly squeezed orange juice), or at the back new pool, where you can have complete peace and quiet (if that is what you want), or join in with the fun that is all around the Mistral - day and night. Behaving like children (which are not around at all) can be such fun - Free Willy in the front pool and limp Dick in the back pool, (although they both have been known to commute between both pools - depending on who is playing that day)!. There is a lovely new outdoor jacuzzi too, and the entire new block of superior rooms is gorgeous. Landscaped with great flowering plants, hidden lights, and little almost hidden paths around to the new rooms, or just for a stroll at night - trying to take a break from the bar or make room for a drink after mother Katerina's Greek banquets that are dinner each night. I was given a room on the second floor of the original hotel - perfect view of the beach and sea (which is only a short walk from the hotel), perfect view too of the bar and who is there. If you need an early night for whatever reason (I didn't obviously, I'm Irish)!, the balcony doors are tripple glazed and with closing the shutters, you won't hear a thing. I did manage to see over ! the superior rooms on the Tuesday (changeover day) and they are lovely, with double bed, fridge, bath, perfectly done out in every way, and quiet day and night. Everyone who took one of them was happy - until some of the guests realised that they weren't using their fridge at all, that a single bed was OK, and there was no time for a long leisurely soak in the bath - as they wanted to be where the fun was and this usually centres around the bar area in the evening, before and after dinner, and around the front pool. Treating yourself to a "posh" room was what people liked most, being pampered after a tough year, and the Beauty Salon is in the new block, too. Neck and back massages, stiff joints eased, pedicures and manicures to show off the newly acquired tans, seemed to be the most popular treatments. You can have your treatments done in the privacy of the indoor room, or outside under a canopy, in the fresh air, relaxing on the beauty bed - it's up to you to decide. There is at least one room at the front of the hotel which has 3 beds and lots more wardrobe space; if 2 or 3 friends want to share, this is ideal, although if the hotel isn't full, I think you can ask for that room anyway, so you can spread your things about! On the last day this week (that's another story about to be told)!, I discovered 2 bedrooms which have a bath too, both corner rooms, at the rate of the Standard Room, which is a bonus for me for next summer! Little treats on arrival are a nice touch. You buy your bottled water when you get there, and it's refilled with pure spring water either from the bar or the kitchen - free - for the rest of your holiday. This is great because in the heat or while walking or taking trips, you do find you are drinking lots of water, and cold water the morning-after-the-night-before is always useful! There are pretty free postcards at reception, so that even if you had not intended buying or posting any cards, you always find that once they are there for the taking, you end up writing to someone; Kim has stamps at reception and will post them for you as well. In your room, there is a little welcome card with a fresh flower; something most female guests take home, to use as a bookmark and remember the Mistral experience during the dreary winter months. The hotel has provided a "speedy" kettle with supplies of milk, coffee, teas and sugar in the bedrooms. ! This is very handy is you wake up early (the sun shining through my open window always blinded me with its intensity and heat at The enormous buffet-style breakfast is from 8 - There is a welcome meeting at 10.30 the first morning (Wednesday), hosted by Vass and Kim. A big map of Within 2 days of returning home to One word of advice is, if you do want to stay on for longer, it can work out very expensive flight-wise. You immediately lose out on your original return flight, and in my case, I lost the overnight hotel stay in Gatwick and the subsequent return flight back to
By being lucky enough to have now spent one month in On the Thursday there is! the best day out ever, at Sfinari to a fish restaurant. You leave about Vassilis will take you on a little history tour for 20 minutes, if you are interested. Then, after 2 hours there, you are driven to the family home of Yiannis for lunch, a long lunch of 3-4 hours. There is a long table set up under some trees beside the sea. Eleni, his wife, does all the cooking, and his son Nikos harpoons the fish, so depending on what he catches that day, that is the menu! All this fresh fish is lovingly laid out on ice, which the guests can inspect in the kitchen on arrival. Photos are in the restaurant of Nikos with his previous catch, all posted to the family by guests from all over the world. For anyone who doesn't like or can't eat fish, there is a choice of meats; even a vegetarian will have no problem - lots of salads, breads, sea grass, fruits, all washed down with copious amounts of wines, water, frappes, and more wines! It is such a beautiful setting that the time really goes so fast; the talk on the way home is of how we were going to face yet another Greek dinner at 8 that night! But somehow we managed to ... Some guests travelled into town on the Friday to do some shopping, and had a pleasant long lunch at the harbour, watching the world go by. It is the only place I've ever been to that being alone while eating does not matter. The family have a friend who has the "blue restaurant" by the harbour, and if you mention him or The Mistral, suddenly a welcome free drink will appear, and you are left alone for as long as you like, no pressure on ordering, eating, paying and going. 4 of us were there last week and even after the meal, another drink was offered "on the house" - not like being at home at all! There is "leather lane" a long narrow street full of shops vying for the sale of bags, shoes, purses, lovely souvenirs; every shop has something different and they are all so helpful, even if you aren't buying from them, they will recommend somewhere else for you to go. The shop which makes you leather boots within one week was crowded out; they measure your feet on a piece of paper, draw around your problem areas, you decide what you want, and for E150 you can have a new comfy pair of long leather boots to bring home! I can't give an idea of the prices in May because I didn't shop much, but this time, being the end of their season, everything was being sold off very cheaply. I found you didn't even have to haggle; clothes that were billowing in the breeze suddenly - like magic - were sold off so cheaply that guests bought their entire Christmas and birthday presents, for very little. There are numerous boat trips from the harbour, too. A yellow submarine (yes it is yellow) takes you out of the harbour for a trip; glass bottom boats are popular too, as is a 5 hour trip to two islands; it goes around one and then you have the chance to swim ashore to your very own treasure island for a while; if you don't swim, you can either stay on board or wade ashore - a big adventure. There are PADI driving courses too, and snorkelling so that you can see all the fish in the clean waters.
The little train trips are great - letting the train take the strain is marvellous when you are tired out, but still want to explore. There are many different trips, all leaving from the big hotel across the road from the Mistral. We took a gorge trip which gave us about 15 minutes to look at souvenir shops and have a cold drink. Twice we took the trip that brings you to the oldest olive tree on the island, 5000 years of history, where you have a short stop for photographs, ice creams, and admire the views. This same train then takes you to see raki being made, where you can drink as much of it as you like - warning ... it is not like a pint of Guinness, a small glass or two is more than enough! Free popcorn is provided, and the family let you share in their life, by playing with the family dogs, and trying to explain how important visits are to improving the quality of their lives. All along the route, you will have young children, teenagers, mums and dads and grannies waving at you, with the security that tourists bring to their future, it gives you a great feeling. The last stop on this trip is a visit to a church within a cave, where everything is unspoilt and left for the visitors to see and touch. Doves are hiding up in the rocks, and even the flash of the cameras doesn't phase them - they are used to it. Panoramic views from there over olive trees, spectacular sea views, and with the constantly changing skyline, it's essential that you remember a camera.
On my first week 20th September the Mistral was booked out - a total of 43 happy guests, making friends and enjoying themselves. We met Lara, a lovely lady on a 3 week Greek trip, ending up her holiday at the Mistral. She left the Each Friday there is a wine tasting and "nibbles" at 1.30 p.m. This is no ordinary wine tasting - and no ordinary "nibbles" either! You sit at a long table, outside if the weather is OK, and every type of wine is produced, and Vassilis explains the history of each one, and you must - not just try - but actually drink each one! Nibbles turns out to be the usual Cretan banquet, more and more plates of delicious foods keep on coming from the kitchen, with explanations of how they are cooked, Mum Katerina's vegetables are used from their garden, and even now at the end of the season, there is no waste - they just use whatever is left, and conjure up so many different ways of cooking and presenting it. This experience can take up to 2 hours, and then - it's not over yet - you have the chance to go into the kitchen, where Vassilis will teach you how to cook typical foods which we already had enjoyed. Starting off with large tomatoes and marrows already having had their flesh scooped out, he proceeds to show us how to stuff them, no garlic as it would kill the delicate flavour, just a bowl full of natural ingredients, their own olive oil, grated cucumbers, and Bena then finishes them off for our dinner that night! Next we are shown how to fill strips of fillo pastry with mint and soft goats cheese; everyone gets a turn, they are then fried, drizzled with honey, so you get to eat even more! Finally, recipes are given to you all to bring home and show off your new culinary skills! And you leave with a precious bottle of their own olive oil and - if they haven't run out at the end of the season - a jar of delicious black olives. On our last day, last Monday 10th October, the weather turned a bit gloomy, so Vassilis and Nori brought us up through the mountains to a restored village, no electricity, cooking done in a huge wood-burning oven, and all rooms fully booked out - including Christmas. We went to see Vass's aunt who had the key for the lovely little church, with fresco and ornate work; while the key was being found, she produced a tray of raki and chocolate fingers for all of us, which we duly devoured in her garden, full of lime and lemon trees. Her grandson, Yorghis was with her, and was a lovely little boy, totally bemused by us all taking photos of him and his granny! Then Nori took his passengers on a lovely drive to the village Milia, while Vassilis parked his bus and we all spent a lovely 2 hour walk up a mountain, slipping and sliding, watching a goat giving birth, collecting chestnuts for dinner at the Mistral that night, all the time being constantly informed of all the local customs, people and animals we met en route; even a large freshwater crab scuttling among the fallen chestnuts, was amusing! We all met up at the restaurant, where yet another "light" lunch was being prepared. We walked around the village, were shown the rooms where people stay, so much peace and quiet and time to think there - no wonder it's a very popular place to stay. Guests there can chop the wood, read from the large library, or do as little or as much as they want - a bit like the Mistral idea really. It's very isolated, which is even better, as batteries can be recharged for days at a time, or you can mix with other people from all! over the world. Lunch there - as usual - was a 2 hour feast, more and more typical Cretan foods were being produced, with explanations given as to their origins, again all washed down with wines, raki, more wine, delicious desserts, and coffees. Then a bloated/drunken stagger back down to Vass's bus, and home again!
Whether you like or dislike horses and grapes, a visit to the Riding Centre is a must. This centre offers an hours horse riding for E30, but Vass being Vass, managed to put together a very competitive price for us Mistralites, which included transport to and from the Centre, about an hour leisurely riding a horse up through the mountains with spectacular views (not wise or easy taking photographs from the top of a horse), but always Nori or Adonis are there too, armed with cameras, to capture your moment! There are I think, a total of 7 horses, which are so used to this daily trek, that they just amble up and back down again at their own pace. Riding hats are provided, experienced riders are given a suitable horse, and those who have never been on a horse before always get new found confidence on the return trip! This exciting event is accompanied by yet another gorgeous sex-on-legs man, who, while always ensuring that everybody is safe and comfortable, then puts on a little show of his expertise for entertainment purposes! We were so lucky to be there for the grape harvest which lasts about 2 weeks at this time of year. There is a big concrete pit with crates of grapes just waiting to be loaded into it. They sluice your feet and legs down first with a power hose, helpfully provide Greek music to get you into the mood, then you can dump in the grapes or just trample them - what fun this is, people slipping and sliding around, laughing, taking photos, with Adonis clutching us for dear life before some of us disappeared down the big gulley along with the grape juice! We never imagined we'd be included in something like this - you usually only see it in the movies. After being sluiced off again, we all headed back to the huge terrace and dining area, for another "light" lunch - hours of more delicious food, more wines, more raki, frappe and coffee. You can buy bottles of wine (! which we made earlier!), honey and raki to take home, but there's no pressure to do so. The owners are genuinely delighted to meet you, and are justifiably proud of what they have there. Each horse is carefully looked after, given their own stable and tackle, and you can ask for your one by name, too - mine was "Filippo" (so I ended up riding Phil two weeks running)!. There is so much to do based at the Mistral, and as the days go on, guests become braver about venturing out on their own. I walked the local beach one evening for 90 minutes, nobody else around, resting on a beach chair looking into the waves - a Shirley Valentine moment! The German cemetery is a l0 minute walk from the hotel and is well worth seeing, if only to bring it home to people the futility of war. There are over 4,000 German men buried there, some graves have 2 men in them, with a list of other Germans who had died there too, but who could not be buried in full; there is a long history of how their families coped before, during and since their deaths - one family lost 3 sons. The entire place is so well looked after, and if you climb up to the back of it, the views are spectacular, and the peace and quiet is wonderful. You think a lot while there, and can leave your own personal message in the visitors' book, too. There's no point in me going on and on about the whole Mistral experience - this is just a taste of what you can expect while there. Every time guests retu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
