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

The Big City

 The day after that celebration of shellfish and ouzo we were up at 6am  to catch the 8am catamaran to Athens.  It was a freezing morning and I was glad to walk up the gangplank into the warm lounge of the high speed catamaran.  I haven't travelled on one of these for years.  I loved the trip.  It was quiet onboard, the seats were wide and comfy and the sea was smooth.  I had a seat beside a large window and enjoyed the sights.  Small rocky islets came into view, then the islands of Angistri and Salamima and the backside of Aegina with its sheer cliffs, narrow enclosed bays where they met the sea. Then the container ships anchored and waiting their turn to enter the Port of Piraeus and finally the port itself with a huge cruise ship tied up to the tourist wharf and the big boats which steam overnight to Crete.  I remember them from our years living at the Navy Base on Crete though that route is now covered mainly by high speed catamaran in half the time

On entering the harbour you're greeted by this huge poster.  The man with open arms is the owner of SeaJets wishing you a Bon Voyage. Or wishing himself a good journey to the next life.  It hangs over the front of the company offices

Our mission today was to reach the Naval Hospital in central Athens without hiccups.  There is a metro station near the hospital but we haven't been on the underground for years.  There are so many new lines, stations and ticket options we were a bit wary of even finding the right entrance.  Old-er age and uncertaintity has set in.  So K found a taxi and agreed on a price for the journey.  We were slightly overcharged but it was worth it, and he knows for next time.  The taxi drove through the outskirts, into the centre around Syntagma Square, Parliament buildings and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, round a few backstreets and avoided all the congestion on the main avenues.  The taxi driver had a GPS which showed the route and traffic delays. 

K showed his ID card at the hospital Guard House and we sailed through.  I had my Naval ID card in hand too.  No problems, they didn't even look.

The orthopedic dept was busy, people everywhere, some with crutches or legs in plaster. As you would expect. 

All went well, we were called before time to see the doctor.  K had served with him at Poros Naval Base and they're old friends.  We had a box of Poros almond cakes to give to the doc to sweeten him up. No envelopes under the table here.

K severed some tendons in his shoulder 4 years ago and should have had an operation back then

But.... he thought he could sort it out with physio and painkillers.  Time does not heal tendons and now an operation is a necessity.  The pain some days is unbearable and he can't sleep at night.

He has been reassured, it will be keyhole surgery and only one night in hospital.  Should have done this years ago.

Now we wait for the call .  Could be a couple of months.  Doesn't matter.  He's on the list 

We both breathed a sigh of relief and went downstairs for a subsidised coffee and cheese pie in the canteen.  It was lovely just being somewhere different and watching a parade of people, officers in uniform, doctors in scrubs, sights we don't see on Poros.

I hadn't realised how narrow my life had become.  It was exciting seeing block after block of apartment buildings, hearing sirens and honking horns.  On our way back, once again by taxi, and 10 euros cheaper, we passed the American Embassy, The Athens Concert Hall, the marble Athenian stadium and the old Hilton building.

Apartments old and new and no place to park

I enjoyed the visit but wouldn't want to live here any more

The Kalimarmaro Stadium

Built on the site of a 4BC stadium

Restored  for the modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896

Shellfish and Ouzo

 It has been a busy few days.  Monday was the big day of clean eating to celebrate the beginning of Lent.  No dairy, no eggs, no meat and only seafood without blood. That meant a lot of shellfish, octopus, squid, vegetables and all sorts of lentils and other pulses.  

The most traditional food today is the lagana, flatbread, and taramasalata. That's salted fish roe mushed up with breadcrumbs, lots of oil and a bit of onion and lemon juice. 

I made some flatbread. The dough rose slowly all night in the fridge and I baked 2 loaves the next morning. 

K made the fish roe dip (taramasalata) the day before but I made my own version with half bread/half boiled potato. It comes out smoother.  Daughter Danae made some with potato too. 

Everyone devours hot lagana smothered in taramasalata. Daughter Elli brought a lagana with olives in it.  Delicious. You don't worry about cutting up the bread, just rip it apart with your hands

It was a lovely sunny day but very chilly in the shadows

Yiannis cooked the squid and cuttlefish outside.  We ate them hot from the pan

Lagana, salted vegetables, dolmathes and giant prawns. Elli brought a huge pot of macaroni with a sauce of tomatoes and shrimps. 

Yiannis also made a really great mixed salad

Danae steamed cauliflower and broccoli

K?  Oh yes, beside the taramasalata he also made a big bowl of pureed yellow lentils, called fava. 

And I almost forgot the octopus. You can't have Clean Monday without octopus.  Yiannis prepared, boiled and tossed the octopus in olive oil and vinegar. It was soft and tasty.  

That sounds like an awful lot of food.  And there were only 8 of us.  All the grandchildren were celebrating with friends either in Athens or on the island

The Patriarch awaits 

It seems to be all about food again. While traditional fare is important, and the cooking and eating, it's the comeradeship, the laughter, the togetherness with family and friends that brings the greatest enjoyment

When the sun went in we moved inside to the warmth of a roaring wood stove 

Family

And the sweets 

They're supposed to be made from semolina today, pastry, nuts and syrup. Friend Nikos knows what people really want.  A Chocolat and caramel tourta.  I had 2 pieces.  

Bravo Niko.  He brought a box of baclava as well, with those nuts and syrup.  I ate one of those too 

The finale

Dividing up the leftovers

We took enough shrimp macaroni, lagana, octopus and squid to feed us both for a couple of days

No cooking. Yeh

Kali Sarokosti

Good Lent

And it wouldn't be a party without Boem 

Long Weekend

 Yes, it's another fiesta, a long weekend, 3 days of celebration 

All of Greece is celebrating, each district, town, village in their own traditional fashion

It's the beginning of Lent tomorrow and this Saturday and Sunday everyone is out celebrating the end of Carnival....... 

Except us. 

What's going on? 

A record number of flamingos are wintering on the estuary across the Strait, round the corner and down the road

Brad Pitt is making a film on Hydra, the next island down.  

 Poros is celebrating carnival with a concert, a school parade, songs and dances. 

Not anything that excites me anymore. 

Monday is a public holiday. Called Clean Monday. The family gathers. We eat shellfish and drink ouzo. Some may fly a kite. 

I am making Lenten flatbread called lagana. The dough is ready in the fridge for a long, slow overnight rise. 

It's the beginning of the 6 weeks of Lent. 

Under Water

The sea level on the island has been rising and falling for the last 3 weeks.  This is the harbour road at its worst.  Sea water is lapping harbourside cafeterias and has risen even more since this video 

These high tides are occurring all over Greece. Some say it's because of the strong south winds or the alignment of the sun and the moon. The Mediterranean Sea doesn't have dramatic tide fluctuations . Changes in atmospheric pressure and high winds though can make a difference. 

This present phenomenon has Not been caused by climate change, they say  

However sea levels have risen 10-15cms in the last century. As sea levels rise this flooding will occur more frequently 

It has happened before and it will happen again

Gull walks on water

Boat or car parking?

This is the centre of town and the parking area is usually full of motorbikes, cars and delivery vans, not to mention pedestrians

A Venetian canal?

Instead of a gondola transport is by paddle board 

Further down the waterfront 

That's the church of the Evangelists

Fortunately, like most churches, it's protected from the flood waters 

by a flight of steps leading up to the front door

Like that gull this boat will soon be floating on land

Further out of town at Neorio the sea has surrounded this bench which is usually a metre or two inland

But that was yesterday, last night

The wind changed to strong northerlies.  In just a few hours harbourside flood waters receded 

The parking area dried up

However the sea water is coming and going

One minute it's dry my daughter says and in 10 minutes it's flooded again

We went down to shop today but kept down the other end of town where the sea hasn't yet washed over the road.  

The sea is rough today 

We are having days of sunshine followed by rain and strong winds