Monday 19 June 2017

On the Island


Summertime and the main harbour road has been cleared of cars and most of the motorbikes.  No parking anywhere near the cafes. Now motorbike owners are playing a cat and mouse game with the police.  Park your bike opposite your cafeteria but be ready to put down your coffee and move your bike fast when the patrol car cruises past.  Mind you the police do give a couple of toots so you have some warning before they actually write a ticket.  And if you do get one of those pink slips then the fine is half price if you pay in twenty days.  20 euros for a motorbike as we found out last week!


Our favourite cafe from across the road.  That is our 'company' under the shade of the tree.


This is the narrow canal that separates the two islands, Kalavria and Spheria.  The smaller fishing boats pass under the bridge and into Askeli bay, with the fisherman hunched down in his boat. 

Spheria is where the main town is located with the tiers of white houses down it's volcanic slopes. Kalavria is larger and mostly pine covered with clusters of houses and hotels built around parts of it's coast. 





This sign says

"It is forbidden to throw dead animals down the into gulley.  They pollute the environment and the water we drink".

The sign was nailed to a tree up the top of the mountain road  a couple of years  ago.  I think once some lazy farmer got rid of a dead donkey this way.  Our water  supply comes from a clean resevoir in another area thank goodness and really I am sure it is easier to dig a hole and get rid of a carcass than to drag it up to the top of the hill and heave it over.  


Another way to take a selfie.  Take a photo of your reflection in the side mirror of the car.   My photographer in action





11 comments:

  1. I can understand the café owners wanting a vehicle/bike free zone, it surely adds to the ambiance.
    That being said, are there places to park behind the cafes if not how close can you park ?
    Yes, some people would rather toss a carcass than dispose of it properly, sad and hazardous to boot.
    Great selphie, I hope he wasn't driving :)
    Have a lovely week, in your picturesque home !
    ~Jo

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  2. Hi Jo. Yes there is parking about 50 metres away where you can park a bike and a few cars legally. Poros people are not used to walking! I parked legally today and hauled a very heavy bag with me for coffee. I am going to have to empty my bag of all the rubbish....3 children's books, 2 hand creams, my book plus tablet, notebook, odd bits of clothing....next time it will be over a kilo lighter!
    Grandson still too young to drive thank goodness and he was actually wearing a seat belt

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  4. Greeks. Pushing th boundaries of what is legal for centuries. Good on the police for giving a warning
    I think your right about dragging a dead animal all the way up there. Maybe the poor thing fell and died. But so glad you get your water from elsewhere. Ewwwww

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Playing cat and mouse with the police, tax dodging! It is just all one big game. Makes for more gossip in the cafes

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  5. In my nearby village (they call it a town) there is a public water source that has been there since 1270-ish. Some idiot placed his septic tank so that the soak-away drained directly into the spring. Now (of course) the water is undrinkable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yuck. We have a public spring which people fill bottles from. The water gets tested regularly.

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  6. Cars, yes I can see why you would stop those but if they marked out an area what is wrong with bikes and mopeds? They want people to pay taxes, and support businesses, why cut off where their main stream of money comes from. People having a coffee a chat and some food...? Again, short sighted. I suppose like all coastal areas the houses and businesses are cheek and jowel, so no room to put in a council carpark with an attendant and people pay a tiny fee?

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    Replies
    1. There is a small car and bike park only a few minutes away but people are just so used to parking wherever they want that they/we find it hard to break the habbit. Come winter that harbour road will be full of bikes and cars double parked, again.
      Where the cars park you are supposed to pay 50cents and only stay half an hour. Great idea. I used to park for 10-15 minutes, pay a bill and move on when I had to use the car. Now no one is enforcing it and taking the money so the local shop owners put their cars there and leave them all day. I hope the council is just finding the right person for the job and soon we will have someone to control the parking again. But......who knows
      I think the summer sun hits us all in the head and drains our brains!!

      We have had days of rain but temps are going up and it will be 37 by Sunday. Hope your temps have gone down a little

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