thekristydave

Ahh… it’s been a while. It’s summer. We’ve been busy. Busy in Greece isn’t exactly the same thing as busy back home (or anywhere else really), but as with most things it is more a matter of perspective.

We certainly manage to keep ourselves busy in the more traditional sense: Kristy is (still!) working on her thesis, and I’ve got chunks of client web design work coming in plus some ongoing personal projects. So we’ve got enough work to, well, keep us busy.

But as they say out here, you work to live – as opposed to the “live to work” attitude that seems prevalent elsewhere. More simply, all work and no play makes TKD a boring pair – so here’s a quick update on some of our more recent avocational activities.

Kedrodasos

First, a quick mention (which does it no justice) must be made of a trip we took in May to one of the most beautiful beaches on Crete.

Kedrodasos (literally “Cedar Forest” in English) is near Elafonissi in southwestern Crete. This was the perfect way to say goodbye to our good friend Stephane, who left Crete soon afterwards. Ata and our dear koumbaros Yiorgos joined us for the camping trip. Really, this deserves more than my words can convey – some photos and a video will have to do.

The Spice of Life

Friends are the spice of life, and summer nights should always be generously seasoned with plenty of quality time with good friends. We’ve hosted several parties at our flat in Chania with many of the usual suspects, as well as enjoying the occasional night out wandering the harbor and local tavernas.

There have of course been numerous trips to the beaches in and around Chania, but time is just as well spent meandering through the empty, quiet streets of the old town while the rest of the populace is taking their mid-day nap.

One Year Anniversary

With July came our one year wedding anniversary on the 5th, celebrated in proper Greek fashion with lots of friends joining us for lots of food. The BBQ party that night included the introduction of marshmallow s’mores to our friends not familiar with this all-American treat. Nothing like cross-cultural education

August has been trucking along. We took an incredible camping trip to Balos beach on Gramvousa peninsula, celebrated Kristy’s birthday, and had an always wonderful visit by our dear Koumbaros Christos… but I believe these more recent events can be given greater attention in future posts.

Suffice it to say, summer in Crete has been another season in paradise and we don’t want it to end any time soon.

I have been avoiding writing about the food here…probably because I spend all my days thinking about it for my thesis. But now that the end is in sight, I thought it would make sense to talk a little about what I have been doing with my days.

My thesis supposes that the food system of Crete is well situated to be a model of sustainability — at least for κηπευτικά (fruits and vegetables grown in the field). The farms on Crete are small (never larger than two hectares or four acres) and diverse (usually a farm will have an area for trees – olives and citrus fruit – and fields for vegetables as well as some chickens and goats or lamb for household use). And, since it is an island, the great majority of the food consumed here is produced here. That’s not to say Greece is without problems; chemical fertilizer and pesticide use has increased significantly, especially in the last 10 years. And with the ever rising price of oil, these petrochemicals are getting more and more costly and farmers are finding it harder and harder to make a profit. With this study, I am looking into ways to keep farming profitable in this changing food system, while maintaining the positive aspects of production.

All that being said, Dave and I try to do our part to support the local farmers, who are usually somewhere between 55-70 years old. We buy all of our fruits and vegetables from the λαϊκή αγορά (literally translated it means ‘common market’ and is the equivalent of a farmers’ market). This is certainly a mutually beneficial relationship; the farmers get a good price, quality of the food far surpasses what we find in any of the supermarkets, and it is still cheap for us.

These few photos are examples of what we normally bring home…the first from March of this year, the next from June and this last one we took this morning. We usually spend between €4-7 and get enough fruits and vegetables to last the week. And, while I am a little sorry to say this since I love all my NY farmer friends, with the exception of tomatoes, these are the best tasting fruits and vegetables I have ever had. I just don’t think NY can compete with the perfect climate and fertile, volcanic soil of this island.

Since I mentioned Frappe in a previous post, I thought I would let you all in on a well known Greek secret. “Greek coffee” is not the concentrated brew with sandy grains at the bottom. That, in actuality, is Turkish coffee. It was even called Turkish coffee in Greece until a few decades ago. The real Greek coffee is Frappe: an iced coffee beverage made from instant coffee. And it is better than it sounds. In general here is the recipe, followed by some tricks to be sure you get it right.

• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 3-4 tsp water
• 4 ice cubes
• Enough water to fill the glass (a normal 9 oz. glass)
• Sugar and milk to taste

Put coffee and 3-4 tsp of water and sugar as desired into a jar with a water-tight lid. If you have a milkshake machine or a hand blender, you can do this right in the glass you want to drink from. If using a jar, tightly close the lid and shake until you can’t shake no more. If you are using a hand blender, blend until the mixture turns into pale frothy coffeeness. Pour from the jar into a glass; add ice cubes and enough water to fill the glass. If you want, add milk. Place straw in glass and drink.

Some notes about Frappe…

The coffee: Nescafe is ubiquitous. In fact, I can’t remember seeing ANY other brand of instant coffee. For a proper Frappe, I suppose it must be Nescafe. However, I have heard rumors that outside of Greece, the formula is different. Try it out and let me know.

The water: In Crete, in the summer, there is no cold water. It comes out of the tap warm, no matter how long it runs. The bottled water never sits in coolers long enough to get cold. It’s hot and dry here and so you drink warm water. And you use warm water to make Frappe.

The drinking process: To feel the true Frappe experience, sit outside house/on roof/at cafe and nurse coffee for 2-4 hours. Talk about everything you can think of.

UPDATE: In case you were wondering about the authenticity of my story, there is a whole book about the history and use of Frappe.

In the beginning of April, the entire town of Chania was getting a facelift. Stores were shut down, buildings gutted and coats of paint were being applied. Everyone was preparing for the coming tourist season. A few weeks ago we noticed one of the souvlaki shops near the παλαιό λιμάνι or old harbor had shut its doors and was being renovated. Figuring this was just another example where a shop decides it needs freshening up, we were expecting a nearly identical souvlaki shop to open in a few days. In its place was this Starbucks.

We have been blissfully absent of any major American brands (save Coca-Cola, of course) since we arrived here. I have heard there is a McDonald’s on the island, but it is only open for the tourist season and it is in the next town over. Our more “intellectual” city has shunned the presence of such American trash, until the American trash got a new more intellectual appearance.

I have been keeping an eye on the place, and it never seems as full as some of the other coffee shops in the harbor, so I am hopeful that the American invasion will fail. We, in distinct protest of the presence of this place, will continue with our happy adoption of the true Greek coffee: the Frappe.

So I broke another toe… but we also discovered that paradise is only a two-hour bus ride, four-hour (nauseating) boat ride, and hour and a half walk in the heat. Which, if you think about it, isn’t too bad for paradise.

This past week, we spent four days on the island of Gavdos, which is a small (10 sq. miles) island off the south coast of the rather large Crete.

Before I get into it, I want to clarify the notion of paradise… if you are thinking thatched roofed bungalows and five star restaurants, forget it. This is paradise Greek style: total isolation, little to no modern luxuries, and almost near abandonment.

There is a boat from Crete to Gavdos twice a week, if it comes, and only about 50 people live on the island. But from the golden sandy beaches flanked by juniper spotted dunes you can see the outline of Crete from the north and Africa from the south. The clear water on the boat ride there is the purest blue and it gives way to something reminiscent of an iceberg as you approach the shore of Gavdos.

At the port, the ferry is greeted by a handful of the locals (a.k.a. half of the island’s population) collecting supplies or visitors. The flurry of activity and excitement at the arrival of the ferry solidifies how remote this island really is; it seems greeting the boat is really the only thing to do.

A walk around the island – which is possible to accomplish in a few hours — will introduce you to just about every resident in Gavdos. One of our friends in one excursion met the lighthouse keeper, the baker, and everyone else that came on the boat with us. They all greeted him with smiles and enough raki that he was found (by our other friends who were driving by with the guy who runs the Gavdos radio station) swaying down one of the roads of the island.

My clumsiness prevented us from taking any excursions, so we spent the days enjoying the beach and exploring the semi-permanent structures occupied by the modern nomads who live on the beach. We were happy on the beach, but feel like we missed a few things. So, as the toe-healing is well underway, we begin again plans to return to Gavdos and practice our own life as modern nomads.