So here goes, a more personal recollection and post-chaos update, with apologies to the folks who already got a variation on this via email replies – but hey, think of it as you having got the exclusive story first! (there’s the old newsman in me again…)

Chania wasn’t as deep in it as Athens or Thessaloniki (1st and 2nd biggest Greek cities respectively). There were street protests in and around the city center, but nothing really violent.

To my knowledge, the worst that happened here were some smashed bank windows, slogans against the police and government graffitied on buildings (nothing new there, actually), some garbage was lit on fire, and a bunch of up-to-no-good punks looted the local OTE phone office.

All this happened relatively close to where we live – it’s a small city. But from our vantage point, we just heard a chanting crowd and police sirens.

“The villagers are getting restless” kind of went through my head and during the height of it all, maybe I opted to not venture too far out of our neighborhood at night when taking the dog for a walk. There was definitely electricity in the air – the waxing-to-full moon lent some appropriate “craziness” to the ambiance – but there was no real sense of danger.

I hear reports that Athens and Thessaloniki continue to have sporadic rioting and protests, but things have calmed down here in Chania over the last 48 hours — at least it seems that way. Earlier this evening there was a relatively normal event of some sort with music and people cheering in one of the big local squares, where protests were held just days earlier.

Certainly the underlying socioeconomic issues are still very much in need of attention. But regarding the recent civil unrest, at least here in Chania, ola kala. Everything is OK. I guess. For now… we’ll see.

The situation here was, in many ways, a tinderbox. News reports about the riots of the last week have focused on the spark that ignited the flame. But a country doesn’t just rip itself apart overnight. The underlying causes run deep, and perhaps it was only a matter of time before deteriorating public sentiment exploded into protests and violence.

In the ensuing melee, dozens of people have been injured, businesses have been looted, banks smashed, and hundreds of properties torched in cities throughout the country. Even here in Chania on the “holiday island” of Crete, there were street protests including some that turned destructive.

Another fact that perhaps the MSM hasn’t reported on is that there have been a few disparate forces at work in all this chaos, and not everybody is employing violence to get their message across.

There have been in fact thousands of peaceful protesters. Communists, students, teachers, union workers – run-of-the-mill “mainstream” people, perhaps pushed to the point of desperation, but who have been holding explicitly non-violent street rallies, symbolic sit-ins, and vigils. This doesn’t make for great news though, so it hasn’t gotten much air time.

Most of the violence seen on the news seems to have been committed by masked youths who fancy themselves as revolutionaries of some sort. Unfortunately many are just taking advantage of the situation, looting and wreaking havoc for the sake of it. I dislike the phone monopoly OTE as much as anybody, but ransacking their office and stealing modems and mobile phones, as happened here in Chania, doesn’t address anything other than one’s personal greed.

There are self-claimed anarchists, who are using violence in what they see as legitimate protests against the government. They destroyed banks and state property. I won’t legitimize their actions, but I suppose there is a subtle distinction to be drawn between them and the hoodlums who are simply looting.

Regardless of the motives, the destruction is difficult to understand. The injustice in all of this is that there is no connection between the innocents whose property has been stolen or destroyed and the police brutality and governmental corruption that so many are protesting against.

The opposition party has maneuvered to take advantage of the political fallout, and it is as of yet unclear whether the current government will survive. But clearly what is needed here is strong leadership during crisis that can deliver a swift and just response, with transparency in all proceedings. Greece deserves nothing less.

I can’t help but draw a parallel to the situation back home. Americans are also reeling from an economy in disaster, have expressed clearly their dissatisfaction with the government and a flawed political system, not to mention a gravely expensive and unpopular war. What has stopped the pitch forks and torches from being marched down Main Street?

That rhetorical question aside, I’ll simply say that we and our friends are thankfully safe and largely unaffected by the riots here. But there is very much a sense of unease in the air, amid the anticipation for order to be restored and justice served.

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

Kendrodasos, beach camping

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

One Year Anniversary BBQ

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.

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.

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.

We took a short drive to Akrotiri, a peninsula east of Chania, with our friends Christos, Stephane, and Jose, and found our way to Stavros, a quiet little beach with a shallow, calm bay overlooked by a bare mountainside. We spent the afternoon sunbathing and swimming, the water still a bit chilly but very refreshing.

An interesting piece of trivia: the movie Zorba the Greek was filmed entirely on location on Crete, and the famous dance scene with Anthony Quinn was shot on the beach at Stavros. We were there.

Later we ate at a local taverna where the tasty food was well complemented with traditional Greek songs courtesy of a pair of musicians playing a Cretan lyre and (I believe) a lute.

But wait… it will get even better

This beach day was merely a training exercise, however, compared to what is next.

This weekend we travel to Gavdos, an island approximately 50 km south of the western side of Crete and which holds the distinction of being the southernmost point of Greece and Europe. With less than 100 permanent inhabitants on the island, and few tourists visiting this early in May, it is guaranteed to be a very relaxing time.

Come this time Sunday, we’ll be camping on the beach with a handful of friends and nothing but the sun, waves, and a few shady trees to keep us company… swimsuit optional.

The camera follows the story’s protagonist, a little Greek boy riding all over town on a stolen bicycle (actually, he just borrowed it… it’s a sub-plot). As the boy takes his journey, the narrator describes the neighborhoods and important sites from the old town and harbor through to the newer city and surrounding areas.

Nearly ALL of the locations shown in the video are very familiar to us (it’s a small town). Hopefully it will give you a good feel for this incredible place we call home.

In fact, if you watch carefully, you can even see *exactly* where we live! At 6 minutes and 45 seconds into the video (nearly the end), the boy rides down an alley way (passing another bicycle parked against the wall) — that’s our street, and the house seen at the end on the left with the second-story balcony is directly across from our house (hidden behind some bushes). How’s that for a tour!

Dinner was a success, despite on-and-off rain all day that nearly put the kibosh on our barbecue plans. We finally caught a break by mid-afternoon, as the rain stopped long enough to allow for a fire to be lit. From there, the triumvirate of BBQ masters (Ata, Stephane, and myself) went to work, while Kristy wrapped up her cooking in the kitchen (which had started hours earlier in the morning).

On the menu this evening:

• Something like ratatouille (but not exactly) consisting of fava beans, eggplant, tomatoes, onions and misc. spices
• Barbecued chicken, marinated in red wine, lemon juice, oregano, and salt
• Barbecued lamb/pork or maybe it was pork/lamb… we actually asked the local butcher for lamb (“αρνί” στα ελληνικά) but upon inspection it may have been pork. We settled on pamb… or lork.
• Homemade bread (Kristy’s been baking A LOT)
• τυρόπιτα – “tyropita” or little cheese pies… yummy
• Dakos – dry bread husks, topped with lots of olive oil, tomatoes, and feta cheese
• Eggplant wrapped around graviera cheese
• and of course… plenty of wine and beer!

For dessert, we had coffee and fattened up on a box of sweets that Stephane and Ata brought – “super sweets” is more appropriate, I think; only the Greeks would take baklava (a pastry made with chopped walnuts and almonds, cinnamon, cloves, and phyllo dough, drenched in light syrup and/or honey) and cover that in chocolate!!!

A (surrogate) Family Tradition

As I’ve said many times, the best part about living out here is the quality hang-time (usually spent drinking and BS’ing – “boro boro” as the Greeks say) with friends who literally come from all over the world.

Tonight, we had some fun discussing language and cultural idioms, and Ata taught us the Arabic names for several common vegetables (there will be an exam later).

And we explored weighty linguistic questions such as idiosyncrasies in how different languages represent the sounds animals make — just what noise does a cow make in French? In Arabic? Not “moo,” as it seems there is no international standard for “Old McDonald Had a Farm” – a topic that most certainly needs to be explored further.

We ended the night with a tradition we will try to repeat many times over our remaining time here in Crete – an official “family portrait.” Goofy exaggerated smiles (Stephane!), ugly sweaters, and embarrassing holiday hats are optional.

The official start of Easter was at 12 midnight, marked by an ornate mass at the local churches. The ceremony is capped off and highlighted by a candle-lighting ceremony, complete with fireworks and gunshots vying for your attention during the “pappas” (priest’s) singing sermon.

We took some video (click the video to watch a bigger version on youtube…), though I was trying to be discreet so angles are a bit bad. It’s more about the audio – listen for the “pop pop pop pop” of gunfire and small cherry bombs exploding all around us!

Through all commotion, the pappas kept singing, as did the nice little old lady (surely, somebody’s yaya) who kindly shared her candle’s flame with Kristy and I.

It looks looks like I get popped at the end of the video, but I was just klutzy and dropped the camera – nobody was harmed (that I know of!).

Time to EAT!

After last night’s noisy kickoff, the party continues for the rest of today: a big, fat, Greek day of eating, drinking, eating, eating, and more eating.

We’ll be barbecuing lamb, chicken, eggplant, and other veggies, and enjoying the company of Stephane and Ata, two of our fellow “out-of-towners” coming over for dinner. I’m sure we’ll have some photos to post later… maybe we’ll even do a “family portrait” – they had also joined us for Christmas dinner, so it’s becoming our own little tradition.

καλο πασχα! “Kalo Paska” = Happy Easter, from Chania, Crete!

OK – enough with the history lesson. The church also has a clock tower, complete with a carillon featuring large bells that are audible for quite a distance and most definitely heard quite clearly from our home.

The bells serve as our neighborhood’s timekeepers, ringing to signify the time. They ring every hour, on the hour, every day. At ten o’clock (morning or night), the bells are rung TEN times; at five o’clock (afternoon or early morning), the bells are rung FIVE times. You get used to it…

The bells are also rung for special events. Today is Good Friday, and the monks served up a special holiday rendition of the ringing bells this morning starting at 7:45am and lasting for 15 minutes.

So here now, for your enjoyment, is a short video shot this morning from our rooftop, featuring a sweeping 360-degree view of our local domain here in Chania, Crete, accompanied by those (frequently) ringing bells.

Video Link: watch on my Picasa page for now. We are uploading a copy to youtube which will show above shortly (and will thereafter remove the Picasa video).

Update: The auditory experience has been repeated two more times since this morning, at 10:45am and again at 12:45pm. Lots of church faithful going to mass today!