I recently read a very good blog post about Crete during the winter time (click here to see for yourself). The only thing that surprised me was the temperatures that Mr. Kretaner (not sure if that’s his real name) says he experiences during the winter months, as they seemed to be regularly 4-5ºC below what we experience here in the Ierapetra area. Mind you, on close re-reading I seem to have missed this comment first time around, which probably accounts for it; he says, and I quote: “Are there any regions of Crete that remain relatively warm throughout the winter? The southern coast tends to be warmer in winter. I’m particularly fond of spots like Plakias or Ierapetra. They’re sheltered from northern winds and get more sunshine.” That will account for it then, I see on further research that he lives in Elounda, towards the north of the island.

It’s all been happening this past week or so. Stelios, the master carpenter, was here for two days with his trusty helper Niko, and they were constructing a new section of fence behind our sun terrace. The previous fencing was becoming riddled with dry rot and the way it had been constructed allowed people from above and behind (where there’s a sort of ‘mound’ of ground that’s not used for very much) to peep through the slats at us. Not that there’s anyone up there very often, but it has been known and, since that’s the area where we have our outdoor shower and we tend to use it several times a day in high summer, it wasn’t all that ideal really. So now we have a brand new fence, this time white rather than stained wood, and it’s made that area totally private. We’re well chuffed with the result…

We’ve been trying to get a few walks in but, up until about a week ago the weather had been very changeable and you could risk getting a kilometre or so from home only to get rained on pretty heavily, which kind of thwarted our attempts at getting some good, healthy, brisk walking done. For the past few days though, it’s been ruddy marvellous, with temperatures cresting the 20-21ºC mark a few times, ideal weather, too, for a spot of outdoor work, which was why Stelios was able to schedule in the construction of the fence. It’s heartrending to watch the fires in L.A. and almost as distressing to see the cold temperatures being experience in the UK and much of Northern Europe, where the minus temperatures have meant that travel has been severely affected, according to the TV news. I continue to wonder at why the majority of houses in the US seem to be made of wood though.

The other day, when we were managing to do a short walk, we came home passing Manoli’s house, he who is close enough to ninety years of age as to be able to feel its breath. Well, there he was, stood outside his front door, small mirror hanging on the house wall, having a shave with one of those cut throat razors. You know the type, they must have been the ones used by Sweeney Todd I suppose, and one slip with one of those blades and it would be curtains, know what I mean?

Manolis was stood with his back to us, walking frame between himself and the wall, dragging the blade cross his wizened cheeks. The mirror was so badly stained as to resemble a map of the local rural area, but he was getting on with the job anyway. We didn’t hail him, even though it went against the grain, because we both had visions of being responsible for our elderly neighbour having slit his own throat in surprise. We wouldn’t want that on our conscience, so we’ll hopefully catch up with him, and his smooth-as-silk cheeks, when we drop into Angla’i’a and Giorgo’s for coffee in the next few days. Manolis has an uncanny knack of being able to drop by at the same time, and then manoeuvring himself into one of Angla’i’a’s patio chairs.

The snow on the mountain peaks is truly magnificent now, and we’ve been expressing our awe as we’ve walked around the village, from the top of which we can see some of them, way across twenty kilometres of undulating valley floor to the perimeter mountains of the Lasithi plateau way above Kalamafka.

Photos coming up, some of which are from the archive, some bang up to date…

Above: The local village sign that was erected a couple of years ago when Angla’i’a was still village mayor. Only this past few months, though, has it been painted like this, and we reckon it’s a pretty good job all in all.

Above: This little lot were all taken in the village this past week or so, at varying times of the day.

Above: Taken at 11.45am last Tuesday at Kougioumoutzakis bakery/café, although we always call it ‘Elenis’ for obvious reasons! The cat was curled up on the chair next to me, so I absentmindedly began to stroke its head. It didn’t take long for him to decide that he wanted more of this, so he climbed across on to my lap and demanded I pamper him some more, so I, always the softy when it comes to friendly puddytats, duly obliged and made a new friend for life. Sitting just out of shot was Yakobos, Eleni’s son (we think) who serves behind the counter and at table too. He said the cat wasn’t theirs, but lived over the way (across a fairly busy road junction) and he was in the habit of arriving at the café most mornings in the hope of getting a spot of pampering, so he came up trumps on Tuesday. He didn’t do so well in the titbits stakes though, because we were eating kourabiedies, which I don’t think appeal to cats all that much. After an enjoyable 15 minutes chat with Yakobo, we went to settle the bill (two freddos for €5, can’t knock that) and found that Eleni hadn’t put the kourabiedes on the tab. When I pointed this out, she said that Yakobos had treated us to those. He must have taken to us when he learned that we lived in the same village that his mum and grandparents came from. It’s not what you know, eh?

Incidentally, the photo at the top of this post was taken on Patmos during April 2018, when we spent three weeks there. I really shouldn’t be sooo naughty when it comes to what I eat, but a slice of strawberry cheesecake was simply begging me to eat it that particular day, and I couldn’t deny it the privilege. Finally, this one below was taken the other day at the Plaz café here in Ierapetra…

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