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Paros Shepherd Newsletter - June 03Published 15 July 03
Hello Everyone,
Summer has come with a vengeance....only 2 days worth of
extreme heat, but enough to make me realise how truly blessed we are with
nearly constant sea breezes. Not only do they keep the mosquitoes
away, but I think of it as "natural air-conditioning" without
having to pay the electric bills!
The first part of June we were still sleeping with a blanket,
and maybe the balcony door open for fresh air. Then overnight,
literally, we threw off the blankets, AND the top sheet, opened the
balcony door, leaving the curtains open. The change was so quick, it stunned
us. 90 degrees during the day and 75 degrees at night. . .
Of course the doors being opened all night meant that we
now go to sleep with cricket serenades, which in its crescendos
actually sounds like a squeaky motor that you wish someone would oil!
(You know, too much of a good thing is often not so nice, ....etc.)
Warm weather also means lots of interesting bugs and insects...such as
cicadas concerts all day long (more squeaky parts that need oiling),
katydids that more or less "swoosh" their sounds in spurts which I
liken to a spray can going off. The only quiet night time creature is
the little baby lizard which looks like a salamander. He quietly runs
all over the balcony ceiling eating all the bugs caught in the spider
webs, so I like him! Of course ants, ants, ants all over the place,
but a quick sweep relocates them from my floor to the great out of doors.
(heartless creature that I am!). And so it goes, on and on and on.
Actually, it is not nearly as bad as I am making it sound.....but it IS part
of life in Greece.
To get off the bug subject, perhaps a mention of the
wonderful sea? The first part of the month it slowly, slowly started
to warm up, and now is perfection--sometimes cool with warm currents
and sometimes warm with cool currents. Agia Irini, the beach below us,
continues to be our favourite. The winter storms deposited a lot more
sand that has covered up the rocks, so swimming there is pure pleasure.
What is nice about "our" beach, is no matter which way the wind
blows, one of the beaches (there are 2 within the cove) is always sheltered
and enjoyable. One of the beaches continues to have it's taverna open,
so a beer or an ouzo is another nice way to relax when you are tired of
relaxing on the beach, or relaxing in the water! The key word here is:
RELAXING!!! I don't know what I would do if I had to re-enter the
world of hustle and bustle in a big city. I just don't plan to ever do
that again, ever. I wouldn't survive.
Last week I went to a small market out in the country as
opposed to the supermarket in town. It was worth the trip. On
the way home, I saw a herd of goats coming down the road. I stopped my
scooter more or less to watch, but also because it seemed more
respectful than to try to blast my way through. A very old man
and his equally ancient wife were slowly herding the goats while riding on
a very slow and noisy "garden tractor type" scooter!
They were the most wizened couple I have ever seen outside of a movie, all
dressed in black, with brown faces etched in lines that spoke of a long life
in the sun without sunscreen or sunglasses! They seemed timeless and
the entire scene seemed perfectly natural. I think they appreciated my
stopping and letting them surround me with their flock; they actually beamed
toothless smiles at me when passing. I found the experience quite
rewarding....for a moment I felt I had travelled back in time when herding
goats was a big part of life here. The older farmers today almost seem
like foreigners on their very own land....because tourism has changed their
lives in a very big way. Our neighbour herds his goats on his
sparkling new Honda bicycle with 22 Speeds! Can goats run that fast?
As I said, things are a-changing!!
Speaking of changes...some good ones are the roads.
After the winter flooding, you can imagine the condition of the roads...they
were bad before, now they are REALLY bad! Outrageously sized
potholes that do a lot of damage to vehicles, scooters especially. One
can only shake their heads in wonder at how bad does a road have to be
before it gets fixed? Well, I know...PRETTY BAD! However, this
past month real effort has been made to correct this. While
appreciating the effort, now I have to wonder at their paving
techniques!!!!!! No resurfacing is done, just patchwork. The
idea is to throw in some asphalt, and move on. Therefore, when it
hardens, what you now have are ridges so high it feels like you have hit a
curb head on! It is truly unbelievable. To anyone watching,
scooter riders must appear a bit "tipsy" because we have to
aim our bikes between the patches, going all over the road!
These "improvements" have become an obstacle course. Maybe
it is a conspiracy between the bicycle repair shops and the road improvement
company?! Paros has hired a new mayor who is taking his job
seriously....enforcing the "no seatbelts and no helmet" laws.
The police sit in roadside traps to catch anyone they choose to pull over -
the lady before me without any helmet goes through, and I get stopped!
Usually it is only a warning....but the fine is stiff, so I now wear my
helmet. Also roadside crews are picking up plastic bottles that the
wind blows all over....and lines for no parking are being painted (and
enforced) around the port area.
I have to laugh, because last year I did park my scooter next
to 1,000,000 other scooters at the port. A couple hours later, when I
went back, a policeman had just given me a ticket...what was amazing is that
9,999,998 scooters had moved! (I still do not
understand how they all knew the moment to move to avoid getting a ticket!)
Anyway, I asked the policeman WHY I was getting a ticket, to which he
replied, "You can't park where there is a yellow line". I
looked down and saw no yellow line. I looked in each direction, and
saw no yellow line. Completely perplexed and a little defiantly, I
then remarked, "There is no yellow line here!".
He looked down, and around, and then straight at me and said,
"Well, there should be!" And strutted off!
Ah-h-h-h, I had just had one of those amusing and also irritating Greek
experience! Our new mayor has now had yellow lines painted, and no
arguments allowed! Where is Greece headed? We are loosing
our charm!
This month we have enjoyed guests from Canada, Australia,
Ireland, England, Holland, Belgium and several from the States (New
Jersey, Texas, and Minnesota). It is encouraging to know people from
the States feel good about travelling again. We are looking forward to
a very busy July, and a crazier August! We often eat dinner with our
guests out in the aloni, which is a huge circle in the garden. It is a
word that means "threshing circle". In the old farms, that
is where the threshing was done, so today's modern buildings often build
such a circle and use it as a place to gather, etc. Ours overlooks the
sea, and Antiparos (the island across the way - 5 minutes by ferry), so
late evening dinners there are wonderful for watching sunsets and catching evening
breezes. During the day, it bakes in the sun. Two pine trees
beside it lend some cooling shade as well as being a habitat for birds and
cicadas.
One of the dinners I serve and is well received is Briam.
It is entirely vegetarian, but some grilled sausages make a nice side
dish. This is an easy recipe, so if you can find the ingredients, give
it a try. It is also a very popular dish at tavernas with beer or an
ouzo.
Briam Serves 5 - 6
1 kilo (2 lbs 4 oz) potatoes
2 - 3 medium sized courgettes (zucchini)
2 medium sized aubergine (eggplant)
3 - 4 medium sized tomatoes, chopped - (I also add a can
of chopped tomatoes)
2 - 3 green peppers, cut into rounds
2 - 3 onions, cut into rounds
2 teacups olive oil (2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon fresh mint, finely chopped
Some parsley, chopped
Feta cheese
Salt-Pepper
Wash the vegetables, remove the stem ends of the courgette,
the aubergines and the peppers and peel the potatoes and onions. Then
cut them into thick slices and place them in a baking or glass Pyrex dish.
(Layer or mix).
Add the tomatoes, the parsley, the mint, the oil, salt and
pepper and bake in a medium oven for about 90 minutes.
Serve warm with Feta cheese over the top.
Serve olives on the side.
From The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking
Until next time,
Yassis,
Karin
a brief P.S. from Michael:
We have received several
enquiries about 2004. That is still a big question mark because of the
impact of the Summer Olympics in Athens. The only thing we know for
sure is that there will be no accommodations available in and around Athens
in mid August. They are bringing in 30 some cruise ships to supplement
the hotel supply. Also about 15,000 private homes will have rooms
available. We expect a lot of those Athenians on Paros.
The official dates for the
Olympics are 13-29 August. But there are many trial and
preliminary events scheduled from April onward. So. as usual, the best
time to visit Greece will probably be June or late September. If you
are sports fan, check out your favourite sport's schedule and maybe plan a
trip to coincide with a preliminary event. The process to obtain
tickets to Olympic events has already started and is very complicated.
All in all we expect an
exciting 2004 and will keep you informed as we learn more.
For those who want more,
here are a few links.
The Official Site: http://www.athens2004.com/
As usual Matt Barrett does an outstanding job writting about impact on
Athens: http://www.greecetravel.com/2004olympics/
A good unofficial site by afficiandos is: http://janecky.com/olympics/index.html
Please feel free to
email and ask any questions about travel to Paros and Greece, remember--We
love to share our piece of paradise!
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