Picturesque Houses and High Winds

Halfway up the hill.

The family house. That narrow little house with its blue shutters open.

Neighbours are so close we yell

'gazuntite' (yitses) 

When they sneeze

There are layers of houses that  all look the same.  I recall in days gone by traipsing round the streets with a young english guy who couldn't remember where he had rented a room. Fortunately I knew most of the rented rooms and we did a tour of them all till we found the right one. 

 It's ok going down.  Everything is at the bottom by the sea.  Finding your way back is another story. Take a photo of your airbnb before you leave for the evening and have a few drinks.

The bay full of yachts on a windy day.

They untie from the dock and anchor out in the bay where they are sheltered from strong winds.

We've had over a week of gale force winds, 6-7 on the Beaufort scale

This summer wind is called the 'meltemi'.  It blows from the north and is supposed to bring some cooler air.  

It blows all the bougainvillia flowers straight into our front door and fills the house with dust.

Tourist flotillas, 6 or more yachts which travel from island to island in convoy, stay tied up in port.  They mostly have an experienced captain but the 'crew', probably on a first time yachting holiday, are rookies with sensitive stomachs. 

It's good for seasoned yachties.  They can unfurl their sails. But it's also unpredicatable.  A catamaran with a crew of 5 had to be rescued by the coastguard yesterday near the cycladic island of Paros. It was a big operation.  A passing ferry was first on the scene and stood by protecting the catamaran from the rough seas.  A SuperPuma helicopter flew in with searchlights  and a coast guard vessel lifted the crew to safety. 

A few passengers on the ferry complained because the boat docked in Piraeus several hours late.  Can you believe it! 

Bougainvillia in full bloom

Steps steps everywhere

You'll notice that most of the older women have bent, bandy knees.  Knees which ache from climbing up and down steps carrying heavy bags of shopping.   The access to some houses is difficult. There are several narrow roads and the elderly and infirm can be brought up from the harbour by taxi but they'll still have flights of steps to climb before they reach their front door.

The steps are very slippery in winter and it is only in recent years that handrails have been put in.

This set of steps goes on and on right up to the top to the old mill

There are lots of narrow alleyways 

Looking down to the Highschool and across to the tourist bay of Askeli

Nosey neighbour!