A Winter's Morning

 Up early again for a visit to the Microbiologist for Ks blood tests

Maria, who draws the blood, is a good friend.  She's full of good cheer whatever the hour, has relaxing music playing, lightens up the atmosphere with her laugh and you hardly realise she's taken your blood.  Her nickname is Bloody Mary

 I don't know the name in English of the person who takes your blood and does the diagnosis.  A phlebotomist takes the blood.  Maria, and her assistants, do the diagnostic study of it as well.  A Clinical Pathologist maybe. In Greek she's a Mikrobiologist

She sends the results out the next day by email, to us and our doctor. 

This is the coaster on her desk

It's a bit of a climb up steep steps to reach her lab especially early in the morning

You can have a rest here and get your courage up before going inside

Afterwards it's coffee time.  The morning was chilly but we sat outside anyway to drink our coffees.  Greek coffee for K, Hot capuccino for me.  My fingers had turned white from the cold so I wrapped them round the cup

You can see the early morning Hellenic Seaways Catamaran in the background sailing down to Hydra

Brad Pitt is not on Hydra any more. The movie set has moved on to Evia and Athens. The film?  The Riders. 

On to the fish market.  K ordered some smallish snapper type fish and while they were scaled and gutted we went on to finish the rest of our tasks. We don't often come down to the centre of town 

Farmakeio

First on the list was the chemist.  K has a list of his monthly medecine. Nektaria at the chemists is another cheerful face. Quite often they don't have  a certain medication but it's ordered immediately and delivered the next day

Nektaria gives injections, takes blood pressure, gives advice and performs basic first aid

Then to the bakers for a kilo of sourdough bread.  It lasts all week.  K doesn't mind when it gets stale and hard.  It's what he was used to growing up.  His mother baked huge loaves which fed all the family for more than a week

One of the few tavernas open all winter

It's right on the waterfront

Euro jackpot!

It was up to 73,000,000

We played .............

And will have to play again

Most of the cafeterias and the tavernas are closed for a couple of months for cleaning and refurbishing

Easter is coming up fast

The Orthodox Easter Sunday is April 12, one week after the Catholic Easter (as it's known here)

They'll all be up and running by mid March in time to catch the european holiday makers.  Hopefully.  This year the easter tourist traffic is a question mark

One souvenir shop is always open.  He's a school friend of K

The other shops open when the tourist '3 Island Cruise' boat comes in.  During winter they only open for the cruise boat and close an hour later when it pulls out for the next island. 

One of the half dozen ATMs.  We only use the ones outside the National and Alpha Banks.  If something goes wrong or it eats your card you can go into the bank and get it sorted. Only during working hours.  8am to 2.30pm

 

A Boy and His Boat

Winter is the time for boat repairs and painting.  K's boat hasn't been taken out of the water for a few years.  He needed to get it cleaned and painted because it's going on the market

Much as K would like it's now very difficult to actually get onboard.  He can no longer jump from the wharf to the pointy nose part and he doesn't want to take it out alone either

He has owned the boat for about 20 years now and when he first retired he spent many hours fishing, by himself, with friends or often with the grandchildren.  20 years have passed and those that are left have all grown old.

He doesn't go out fishing anymore and every time it rains or there are gale force winds he has to phone up his sons in law to go and check that it hasn't broken loose and pump out the rain water.  They've both got their own boats to look after and they both have jobs to do.  Everyone has been suggesting for a long time that he sells it.  He has finally agreed. 

 After 2 years in the water 'Danae' was finally being dry-docked ready to have her bottom scraped and painted

Son in law Yianni was called out to lend a shoulder and do the heavy work

He had to propel the boat from its mooring to the ramp pushing it along with a long handled oar.   

They then had to manhandle it onto the rickety ramp. A makeshift winch was attached and with a lot of muscle and elbow grease, and greasing of the ramp itself, it was hauled into position so the winch would drag it onto land.  It wasn't an easy job.

The underside was slimy and green and covered in barnacles

It looked as though it would be a long job but Hassan got to work straight away and it was amazing how fast the muck and slime was cleared away.

Hassan is from Pakistan and knows NZ because of its cricket team.  He loves cricket.     Pakistan has one of the most successful teams in world cricket and has beaten  NZ many times

A boy and his boat

Ship shape, ready to be refloated

Freshly painted blue and white

The colours of Greece

Tied up at the dock again

We've advertised the boat on 'Car Gr' and are waiting for someone to show interest

5,000 euros or any reasonable offer

Greek Tourism

A message on Facebook from the Municipality of Epidavros

Epidavros is a picturesque little fishing village on the coast just down the road and round the corner from us.  There is a collection of villages around here with the same name

Ancient Epidavros and its magnificent theatre

Epidavros Port

New Epidavros

Here's what they say........

A lot of news coming out of the Middle East lately.  We've had a few questions about the atmosphere in Greece.  It's important to clear up any misconceptions

Geography..

Greece is located in South East Europe.  We are separated from the Middle East by the Mediterranean Sea.

Safety and Stability...

Greece remains one of the safest and most stable destinations in South Europe

Life, Business, Travel..

are continuing exactly as usual

International airports, ports and transit hubs are operating at 100% capacity without disruptions

Are you ready?  Organise your Easter Holidays.  Be assured that Greece, Peloponese, Ancient Epidavros, Poros are welcoming and as peaceful as ever.  Don't worry.

We are waiting for you

Epidavros Harbour

Surrounded by acres of citrus orchards

This is a safe harbour for yachts and the waterfront is full of cafeterias and tavernas.  It's on the site of an ancient harbour which connected with the  Epidavros theatre (300 BC) and the Healing Centre of Asclepius, the Greek God of Medecine

In the immediate area there are more ancient sites than you can shake a stick at.  And my favourite ancient bridge

Hey you two!!  Time to return

Our kiwi Nephew and niece 

Poros Island

Come and visit while you still can 

Spring ?

Spring??

 The signs are here. Daylight hours are much longer.

 At the moment we are enjoying  Halcyon Days.  A week or so of warm weather in January or February.  March this year.  Days are warm and sunny.  Mornings and evenings are very chilly

Halcyon Days

From Greek mythology.  Referring to a time of peace and prosperity

Nowadays it refers to these days of calm, sunny weather in the middle of winter.  They could occur, says Google, anytime from December to February (or March)

The fields are full of these.  Not poppies but red anemones which look so similar.  The poppies will appear in about a month's time

Almond trees in full bloom

I hadn't noticed this magnificent bloom till today. And the scent is amazing

In this part of the garden there's a pot of oregano, another of parsley and a rose pelargonium.  They're all not just growing but rampaging. I'm amazed.  I don't know whether it's the weather or maybe the ash and coffee grounds I've been throwing around.

Mother Nature has done miracles.

And last year's tomato plant is still thriving too

Spit spit spit

I don't want any evil eyes around here. They're doing enough destruction elsewhere

March on

 

Poppi's March bracelet 

Notice her cute and discreet tattoo

And her very fancy nails 

Another non meat and very traditional dish.  I make it in the winter when cabbage is fresh and cheap

I'd add thinly sliced carrot too. Gives it a bit of colour and lots of dill for flavour

March

 

Red and white Martis (March) bracelets to welcome Spring

A greek tradition. No feasting or fasting involved.

These red and white bracelets protect the wearer from the fierce (?) Spring sunshine.

This tradition began thousands of years ago and is still strong today.

The colours, red and white, celebrated Persephone's return from the Underworld, rebirth and new growth.

It's celebrated in a similar way all over the Balkans.  In the northern hemisphere summer is not far away

My girls and then my grandchildren made these bracelets at school every March 1st twisting red and white thread. They are supposed to wear them till 31st March

  At the end of the month or at the sight of the first swallow the thread is to be tossed in a tree for the swallows of spring to find and weave into their nests. K says the tradition here is to throw it up onto the roof tiles. 

Last year I hung mine on the lemon tree where it remained till the winds of winter. We have lots of swallows but they don't build their nests anywhere close by

A pinch and a punch for the 4th of the month. And no returns 

A traditional recipe for Lent

Port of Piraeus

 During winter there are only 2 catamarans daily between Poros and Athens.  One in the morning and one at 5pm. We were finished and at the harbour at 1 and  had a 4 hour wait for the evening boat. The passenger waiting room was padlocked.  Thank goodness there were toilets, sparkling clean too, a canteen and an open air seating area

I bought K a can of beer and a bag of chips and went off to explore the harbour shopping district

Electric Bus was written on it's side. The buses were very quiet and so was the tram gliding along the harbour.  I looked left, right and left again before crossing its tracks.  That's something new too. I have no idea where the tram goes but I'd love to take a trolley ride one day

Itinerant sellers

Most were Greek but this one was Pakistani selling sunglasses and belts

There was an endless stream of them selling more sunglasses, perfume ('genuinely' fallen off the back of a lorry), belts and phone chargers

I bought 3 pairs of socks. 1 euro a pair. They're really good socks. I wish I'd bought more but we'd run out of small notes buying beer and chips

I'd given my last 2 euros to a true beggar. No teeth, filthy and rather smelly.  I wish I hadn't. After his thanks he gave us a long lecture on the decline of Christianity in Greece and the dangerous influx of infidels and heathens. We didn't make any comment and thankfully he wandered off to the next victim. 

There was plenty of opportunity for photos but nothing exciting. Boats coming in from Aegina and Salamina, unloading cars and people, loading, leaving.  These are the closest islands, one hour by slow boat and have a continuous timetable all through the year

We lived in Piraeus for 10 years and I know it well, on foot.  I was looking forward to wandering around the harbour shopping area.  From the taxi it looked bright and busy with a few new shops.  A Lidls and an IKEA store. 

I was sorely disappointed

The Lidls was too far.  And IKEA was a store front only, an advertisement 

Once colourful, bustling with sounds and sights and smells

Now, 50 years on, it's dirty, full of old boarded up shop fronts

This building is seriously dangerous. The top half looks as though it's going to collapse at any minute

One shop that's new. This is a chain called Miran.  It sells all sorts of cured meats, spices, cheeses. I thought I might get K up to come and inspect it but he was happy on his hard harbour seat. 

The last fish shop left at the old fish and meat market. This is a short alley which once had a dozen or more little shops cheek to cheek with open showcase trays of meat, fish, cheese and Greek specialities 

Like many Piraeus housewives I used to come down here to buy a kilo of today's catch or a few pork chops to cook that day. Everything was fresh and cheap. The sellers would be shouting out their wares one competing with the other. I'd wander up and down, trying to avoid being collared and compare prices. It was always crowded, mostly with men, retired and sent off by their wives to bag a bargain and get out of their hair for an hour or so.  There were cafenions in the area where the men gathered to drink coffee, have a cigarette and pass the time with their friends, bags of shopping at their feet

I walked slowly around the harbour streets, seeing what shops were left.  There were still a couple selling underwear, pots and pans and a few with bags of herbs and spices at their doors, a shoe shop and my old wool shop was still there. 

It's a place hard to find, down the end of a closed passageway. You can see the dark tiles and flowers in old oil tins. Very out of date and a strange place for a wool shop. There's a café in the alley and some sort of nightclub upstairs. 

I strolled down to look at the wool but nothing jumped out at me. I lost my shopping mojo after seeing how desolate the whole area had become 

It's no longer an exotic and exciting shopping hub. Once you could buy anything in the streets around the harbour, a Naval uniform for K, a few kilos of cabbages, the old black house frocks my m-in-law lived in, a hairnet or a hamster. There was even a red light district. That might still be there for all I know. 

In days of yore we would come in on the early morning Delfini Express, rush off to a doctors appointment or to organise some official paper and be back for the return journey at 2pm. We'd all be carrying bags with bananas, which were hard to find back then, a large bag with a greasy and aromatic rotisserie chicken from one of the waterfront tavernas and shopping bags overloaded with all the necessities we couldn't get on the island. I can remember hauling plates and glasses, towels, a kilo of fresh ground coffee, a string of garlic, cheap toilet paper, bottles of booze, new shoes for the girls, a side of lamb, a few of those hairnets my m-in-law favoured, crocheted slippers sold by Grannies perched on a crate on the footpath.

On the big car ferries we hauled a chest of drawers, a coat stand, your newly purchased washing machine, mattresses, barrels for wine or oil

Those were the days

Today we finally boarded our catamaran at 4.30 with my 3 pairs of sox and settled back to enjoy a smooth and quiet trip home.  It's only one hour now and non stop to Poros 

Nothing like the return on the Delfini Express or one of the old slow chugging car ferries where we spread out our chicken, ripped up a loaf of bread and bought a few beers to share with all the other locals doing the same and shouting out to each other and comparing the bargains we'd bought .  The air was always thick with cigarette smoke and very noisy, not just conversation, because those old boats made a lot of noise. They really did chug and they shuddered terribly. The trip was usually around 3 hours with stops at Aegina and Methana. An opportunity to get out on deck, watch the people and cars disembarking and take a few lungfuls of fresh air

Sorry that was so long. It grew along the way