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The Cheshire Cat Blog
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September 2011 |
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Parisians shelter in a café from a summer rainstorm. © Roger Greatorex |
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Continued from Desperately seeking summer part 1.
It seems that summer is just a state of mind after all. Despite all the complaints we've heard about the lousy weather, most of The Cheshire Cat's special correspondents have sent in snaps of sunny days. Well, why not? We are all for a bit of sunshine. |
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The remains of a great big Greek hailstone
after it crash-landed on mountain rocks.
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One fine summer morning, while exploring caves near Didymoteicho (Διδυμοτείχο) in northern Greece, a sudden thunder storm made me dive into one of the caves for shelter. It lasted nearly two hours and battered the landscape with hailstones as big as golfballs which cracked loudly as they hit the surrounding rocks. As soon as it was safe enough to venture out of my cave (for some reason I had forgotten to wear a helmet that day) I examined the hailstones which had already begun to melt. Here's what was left of one of them.
See also the comments on the climate of northern
Greece in The Cheshire Cat Blog July 2001.
Photo: hailstone, Didymoteicho, Thrace, Greece by © David John. |
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Life's a beach |
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La vie est une plage.
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Parisians soak up the sunshine on the banks of the Seine. The city authority's idea of setting up temporary beaches in the middle of the landlocked metropolis has proved very popular, and has now caught on in other places such as Berlin.
Paris Plage on the River Seine. Photo by © Roger Greatorex, Paris, France. |
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From here you can almost see the metro station.
Paris Plage on the River Seine. Photo by © Roger Greatorex, Paris, France. |
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Summer sports 4:
the less well-known sport of beach bread-board dumpling chucking.
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Aficionados of this sport were recently disappointed to learn that it will not be included in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The problem, apparently, was the inability of the various national Olympic committees to agree on a standard recipe, weight and consistency for the dumplings.
The Chinese, German, Hungarian and British delegations were particularly vehement in arguing that their own national dumpling recipes were best suited for the international competition. The Belgians insisted on using waffles (the Liege variant) and India proposed their new super Teflon-coated onion bhajis. It is hoped that the debacle can be sorted out in time for the 2016 games.
The resort of Stoupa, near Kalamata, Peloponnese, Greece
Photo by © Gordon Mcleod, Menai Bridge, North Wales, UK. |
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Duck day afternoon
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In recent years the sleepy seaside village of Stoupa in the southern Peloponnese has grown into a low-key tourist resort. Rather grandiosely described by one website as "the New Côte d'Azur" (what happened to the old one?), the area enjoys a laid-back atmosphere, sandy bays with crystal clear water and the rugged backdrop of the Taygetos Mountains.
The mountainous region known as the Mani used to be inaccessible by land, and the Maniotes were famous for ferociously defending their independence from the outside world. Now they have chilled out a bit, and with modern road and rail links, Stoupa can be reached from Athens or Patras in around 4 hours. The duck coastal patrol passes by every hour.
See: www.zorbas.de and www.stoupa-greece.com
Stoupa, near Kalamata, Peloponnese, Greece.
Photo by © Gordon Mcleod, Menai Bridge, North Wales, UK. |
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Piscine locals greet the tourists
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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"There is no escape from the beach, Number 6!"
Greek replica of the huge balloon-type thing which hunted down those who
tried to escape from The Village in the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner.
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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A rare case of foaming feet
This is what comes of mixing up the toothpaste and the sun cream before
going paddling. The quick remedy for this embarrassing problem is to follow
the example of the Germans and always wear socks with your sandals.
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod.
More beach photos by Gordon further down the page. |
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wavy gravy
The Northern Aegean Sea at Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, northern Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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Summer pick'n'mix |
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marble and stained glass traffic light (early prototype)
Nothing whatsoever to do with beaches.
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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Robby Robot poses for a seaside snapshot by his mum.
Forbidden Planet Beach, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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Nice cuppa tea?
The Mad Hatter's tea party ride, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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All the young dudes
Children's clothing mannequins, Istanbul, Turkey.
Photo by © David John. |
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All creatures great and small,
hairy and horrible |
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Growing seagulls in a pot
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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Lunchtime at the Swallow family beach chalet
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It seems incredible that in a few months these tiny, scrawny, constantly hungry chicks will be be strong and adept enough to fly with their parents and the rest of their avian clan to their winter home in Africa, several thousand kilometres distant. In the meantime it's non-stop work for the parents bringing up the kids.
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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Bug scaling the souh face of Mount Ashtray
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece. Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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Greek holiday accommodation to let. One careful owner.
Post metamorphosis, Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece.
Photo by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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teenage mutant ninja cricket
Cricket in the caves of Didymoteicho (Διδυμοτείχο), northern Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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Aspects
of summer
Put your mouse
over an image to
see further details. |
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swimming in gold |
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robot on holiday |
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feed me! |
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Aegean seagull |
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biker boy |
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All aboard! |
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glider |
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give a little whistle |
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fluffy gull |
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slightly sunburnt |
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full fathom five |
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don't bug me |
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la Lune |
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a duck to water |
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tea time |
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room for rent |
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sur la plage |
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Easy rider |
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empire of the sun |
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Seagulls in the wake of a Greek ferry. The birds fly around the ferry,
and the passengers have great fun throwing pieces of food to them
from the upper deck and watching as they dive to catch them.
Aboard the ferry between Kavala and Thasos island, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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Seagull flies over the North Aegean coast near Kavala,
with Mount Pangaeio rising in the background.
Aboard the ferry between Kavala and Thasos island, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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Transports of delight |
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Closely observed train
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Greek railways have been having a hard time this year. The economic crisis has forced the heavily subsidized OSE * to raise ticket prices and slash services: all international trains have been suspended indefinitely and parts of the Peloponnese narrow-guage railway closed.
This is a great slap in the face for OSE management and workers who have been working to improve services and structure. Like the buses (see below), travellingb by train used to be a testing experience (a real s-train), to say the least. It once took me 13 hours to travel in a smelly, old train from Patras to Athens, a journey which takes 3-4 hours by car. However, in recent years I have been delighted to travel by comfortable, modern trains, speedily and at affordable prices.
Fortunately, this "Nea Vrasna Special" has been spared the axe. I must admit, though, I waited over half an hour to buy a ticket, but there was no sign of a member of staff, and there didn't seem to be a timetable on view either.
* OSE, The Hellenic Railways Organisation (Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος or Ο.Σ.Ε.) www.ose.gr
Greek high-speed express train, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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As with Easyjet, there is no seat reservation on this train, and
passengers perch wherever they please: on the roof or engine
funnel, or even hanging onto the outside. Each to his own, I guess.
Greek high-speed express train, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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Snake charmer rides the rails
Greek high-speed express train, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, Greece.
Photo by © David John. |
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On the buses
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Oh well, if there are no trains, it's "hop on the bus, Gus". Greek bus journies used to be a real horror show. The ancient crates would chug and bump along, or lurch around hairpin bends on high mountain roads at breakneck speed. The drivers were all dangerous maniacs at the wheeel (see story below), and the passengers cowered in their sweaty plastic-covered seats (or even wooden ones if you go back 20 years or so), nervously chain-smoking one and all. At the end of the journey, the driver's idea of cleaning the bus was just to throw all the rubbish and empty the ashtrays out of the windows onto the roadside.
These days there's no smoking on buses, and the windows don't open because of the air-conditioning. Buses are now the cheapest, quickest and safest way to travel around Greece. It's not perfect though. There is no coordinated national network, and bus services are run by independent local KTEL bus companies, which means that there are still many "you can't get there from here" places, as well as bus stops where your bus will not stop because they belong to another company. We could write a whole blog about this, and probably will some day...
KTEL bus, near the Pass of Thermopylae, central Greece. Photo by © David John. |
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Move hay while the sun shines
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The versatile and robust pick-up truck remains the farmer's favourite mode of transport in Mediterranean countries, and you can see why. You can get a couple of tons of seeds, goods, feed, machinery, materials, animals, workers or shopping on the back, and two or more passengers in the front. On Sundays just hose the whole truck down and load the entire family for the trip to the village church.
Greek pick-up truck, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, northern Greece. Photo by © David John. |
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300 horse-power laundry
Stoupa tractor by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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Beach biker gang
Note the swervy tyre tracks on the road.
Boys on bicycles, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, northern Greece. Photo by © David John. |
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Riding along on my pushbike, honey...
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There was a time when Greeks wouldn't be seen dead on a bicycle, and with the dangers of Greek roads they had good cause. Last year a young street sweeper was run over and killed by a bus in the small village in which I was staying. Madness. Imagine then the carnage in the cities and on the highways and motorways.
Greece is the most motor-obsessed nation I know after the USA. Everybody has to have at least one car and/or motorbike, and they think there must be something wrong with you if you don't. If you ask Greeks for directions they will nearly always assume you want to drive to the place you are looking for.
An English journalist friend was the only person I knew who was brave enough to cycle around Athens. At the time Greek people thought he was crazy, but he seems to have survived several years of commuting around the city as well as some epic cross-country rides. I'm sure he has some hair-raising after dinner adventures to recount.
Bicycles are now becoming more common around Greece, though it still sometimes comes as bit of a surprise when one whizzes past on an Athens street. In rural areas things are usually a bit safer, and I even know an 80 year-old who has taken to leaving his car at home and cycling everywhere. This may be due to the fact that he lived outside Greece for many years and brought some strange modern habits back with him.
Above: cyclist on the beach, Nea Vrasna, Macedonia, Greece.
Right: cyclist in central Athens, Greece.
Photos by © David John. |
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Rare breed: Athens cyclist |
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Meanwhile, back at the beach ... |
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Beach parking space reserved for James Bond.
Stoupa, Peloponnese, Greece by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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There go those ducks again, punctual as usual. You can set your sundial by them.
Stoupa duck patrol by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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The end of another hectic day on Stoupa beach.
Stoupa, near Kalamata, Peloponnese, Greece by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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Crowded beach at sunset.
Stoupa sunset by © Gordon Mcleod. |
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George Alvanos
rooms
in Kavala's historic Panagia District
Anthemiou 35,
Kavala, Greece
kavalarooms.gr |
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Olive Garden Restaurant
Kastellorizo,
Greece +30 22460 49 109
kastellorizo.de |
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Papoutsis
Travel Agency
Kastellorizo,
Greece +30 22460 49 286
greeklodgings.gr |
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