The shot above was taken during another one of my midnight strolls. Well, I say midnight, but this one was actually around 4.30am, but it’s just an expression of speech after all. I loved the way I managed (more by luck than judgment) to catch the moody moon behind the clouds, just above the boat’s mast. During our two week stay in Sitia I ended up doing a half a dozen or so nighttime rambles and I have to say that, even though I’d rather have been asleep, I really enjoyed them and got quite enthusiastic about taking photos when the whole town was sleeping.
So, before I start on about why I called this post ‘Mind your language,’ here are some more night time photos that I selected to keep and post here (and don’t forget that you can click to see them in a larger view)…
The first photo in that gallery above really amused me. Let’s admit it, the Greeks are eminently civilised when it comes to café culture, aren’t they? I mean, that street lamp post had two holders for plant pots, which in this instance (an exception, I have to say) weren’t in use, but the extra one? It just had to be made for people to place their coffee in right?
Something else which says a lot about life in this little corner of the world, and once again I know I’ve probably laboured this point before, is the fact that everywhere you go in the dead of night, all the cafés and restaurants have left their tables and chairs in situ outdoors. Come on, let’s be honest, can you imagine anywhere in the UK (and a few other European countries besides) where businesses could do that? Even wandering the narrow shopping streets of Sitia (and this also applies to Ierapetra) you pass stores with large areas of glass, both windows and doors, that are only secured by a small security bolt at the bottom of the door. The store may be an electrical store selling computer accessories, a clothes or shoe shop, or whatever, but in most UK cities there would have to be roller shutters drawn down and closed tight during the night hours, surely. I walked those streets alone and in a complete sense of security, a blessing indeed.
I know I’ve been talking a lot recently about how writing a blog can sometimes sit awkwardly with one if one wants to try and remain modest. It goes with the territory to talk about how great one’s life is, and I fight really hard sometimes to try and write in a manner that doesn’t blow my own trumpet, as it were. But something that I have to confess I do feel quite passionate about is the importance of learning the language if you go to live in another country. OK, so it may be hard, …so? Lots of worthwhile things are hard, but that doesn’t give one the excuse not to make the effort. Something that happened to us a couple of days before we came home well illustrates the value of being able to converse in the language of the country that one’s adopted as home. If I may relate the experience, I do so in the hope that it may give others the incentive to set to it and learn, because it’s a hard fact that speaking Greek here in Greece opens doors to experiences that one would simply never have if they didn’t make the effort. So here goes…
Sitting outside one of the many café/bars which we made use of on a daily basis to enjoy a spot of people-watching, we got into conversation with the bar’s owner and the young girl waiting at tables and exchanged a few comments about various things. Sitting almost alongside us was a young couple with a small child and it soon caught our attention that the wife was paying attention to our conversation. By this time we’d been seen around every day for a week and a half, and so many of the regulars at the waterfront cafés had seen us around. We too had already got to know the locals whom we’d see parading along the front each day before selecting a table at which to sit and enjoy some ‘parea‘ and a delicious iced coffee. The habit that lots of Greeks have of sitting almost daily at a café table with a few friends while enjoying their coffee without hurry is one that has appealed to us for years, and that we adopted long ago now.
Anyway, curiosity eventually got the better of the lovely lady sitting to the left of Yvonne and she couldn’t help it, she had to call to us and ask, “Excuse me, but may I ask where you’re from? I’m sorry but we’re intrigued by how well you speak Greek, and yet we don’t know you, although we’ve seen you every day for the past week and more.”
We assured her that it was no problem whatsoever and that we were only too happy to answer her question and satisfy her curiosity. We learned about her family and its roots, and she about my wife’s Greek heritage and our almost two decades of living in Greece. She and her husband were lovely people (most of them are, of course) and, once her curiosity was satisfied, we happily wished each other ‘kali synexeia‘ and returned to our own conversations.
Sadly, one of the reasons why we had intrigued her was the fact that the vast majority of ex-pat Brits who live in Greece, irrespective of how many years they’ve been here, still can’t converse beyond a basic ‘kalimera,’ ‘euharisto’, and ‘ti kaneis.’ A whole wealth of lovely experiences that come from being able to speak the language are closed off to such people. It’s a shame, but they only have themselves to blame I suppose.
The story doesn’t end there though. The following day we went back to the same café and saw that the same woman with whom we’d enjoyed a rewarding conversation was there, and this time without her hubby, but with about six other people, one of whom was her sister. I have to say that both women were very attractive too, something that Yvonne and I often remark upon. Maybe we’re biased, but Greek women and men always seem to have so much better taste in clothing than we do, but (and maybe the skin hue plays a rôle) they always look so much more beautiful too. Most young Greek women celebrate their beautiful dark hair and precious few chop it into all those weird lopsided and punk-type hairdos that seem to prevail in the UK these days. Most Greek girls and young women have long silky hair that looks marvellous. I know, I know, I’m probably too old fashioned these days, but there you are.
After we’d waved a hello and exchanged a greeting, Maria, the first young woman’s sister, came over to talk to me, as she and her sister had checked out my blog and website (I’d taken the opportunity, as one must, of handing her one of my calling cards) and liked what they saw. Now, when you read what ensued I know what you’re going to say, she was only interested in promoting her own business too, since she told me all about her rentable villa in Stavrochori, the village of their roots, but I don’t have a problem with that. When you run a small business, whether it’s writing books as an independent author, or renting out a house owned by your family in a remote Greek village, you need a spot of mutual back scratching in order to get the word out there. It’s how the world works after all, especially when you don’t have a publicity machine to make people aware of your ‘product’ as it were.
I’ll tell you what too, had I not liked what I saw when I examined her website and Facebook page for the villa, I wouldn’t be talking about it now. But I did, I really did. The villa is in a very quiet village, about half an hour’s drive up in the hills from Sitia, and a similar distance too from the South coast at Makry Gialos. Anyone who’s read my stuff for any length of time will know that I have a strong aversion to all-inclusive hotels, and in fact to any large, faceless hotel where you can spend a week or two without hardly knowing what country you’re in. I’ve been coming to Greece (before moving here in 2005) since the mid 1970’s and always stayed ‘small.‘ It’s by far the better way to truly experience the country and its culture, its people and its cuisine.
So, I take great pleasure and make no apology for giving you some links if you’re maybe thinking about a rewarding Cretan holiday where you’ll experience the ‘real Crete.’ I’ve also add a link on my ‘Small UK tour operators’ page, which I’ve now changed to ‘Stay Small,‘ a more appropriate name for also encompassing other small accommodation for the more independent traveller, not just tour operators.
Villa Maria (Stavrochori) Google page
Maria is going to place my calling card in the villa, so if you should happen to go there, you’ll hopefully find it. Also, if you do decide to contact Maria, please do tell her how you found out about her, won’t you.
To be honest, we have so many experiences on a continual basis these days that drive home just how rewarding it is to speak the language here. So, if you’re an expat living in Greece, I can only encourage you to have a go, take the bull by the horns and make the effort. You will never regret it.
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