We’re in the final week of September and yet it doesn’t feel like September at all!  For starters – temperatures are much lower than the seasonal average and so it feels colder and also, we have had quite a lot of rain with more rain forecasted to fall every day for the next week.  Yuk!  There is too much cloud and not enough sunshine and I do not know if I will be able to sell at all this coming week.  I feel disappointed for the tourists.

Seashell Mosaic Painting of Girl Picking Seashells – sold to locals this summer

Every year there is some global crisis that affects the actual spending money tourists have when they are on holiday.  Everything has gone up in price again and the ‘cost of living crisis’ is felt all over the world.  I count myself lucky that, although I have had fewer customers, those that could afford my unique Seashell Mosaic Collage Paintings have bought well. After all – my product is the very last thing a tourist would spend their money on, as souvenirs become last on their list of priorities.  So it is only really the bad weather which prevents me from selling my art.

Blue Door & Steps – 25x30cms – Sold from my stall in Almyrida this week

The highlight of September, without a doubt, has been our wonderful day out on Carl’s boat.  At the start of September, when it was still hot with sunshine in abundance, Lisa, Debbie and I had a fabulous trip on Carl’s boat, for the prime purpose of reaching the illusive glass beach.  A cove so easy to reach by boat, yet near impossible to access on foot.

I’ve mentioned the glass beach a few times, most recently in December of last year.  After realizing the best way to get there was by boat and exploring various options, I was lucky enough to bump into Carl at Stuart’s 60^th party and he offered there and then to take us on a day that fitted in with his many music gigs, my selling days and calm seas.

On Carl’s boat, on the way to the Glass Beach

We met at 9am at Kalyves harbour, where Carl’s boat is moored and by around 10am we had reached the glass beach all but for a short swim to the shore.  Carl remained in the boat whilst Lisa, Debbie and I swam (with surfboards to hold our buckets and drinking water) to the beach.  It was a great feeling to have finally landed on that beach we so often talked about and we intended to make the most of every moment we were there.

Lisa & I on the Glass Beach

We were in our element for over two hours, collecting all the coloured glass we wanted.  I don’t actually use beach glass in my artworks but Lisa and Debbie love to collect glass.  I was able to find a lot of lovely sea tumbled terracotta, which I do use in my artworks. About 3 or 4 other boats set anchor around Carl’s but only a few people swam to the beach and were only there to explore the cove and not to collect glass.  Most people just swam in the clear and refreshing waters.  It really is an interesting and fascinating beach and we loved every minute we had to explore it.

Lunch with Carl at Marathi

By lunchtime we were all hungry and so we swam back to Carl’s boat with our ‘glass bounty’ sitting atop the little surfboards.  Then we ‘set sail’ (haha!) for lunch in Marathi.  This is a charming and very busy holiday resort situated directly opposite Almyrida – across Souda Bay.  It’s a popular place where boat trips from Almyrida and Kalyves take tourists and visitors for lunch.  We insisted on paying for Carl’s lunch because he would not accept contributions to the petrol for our trip and he is a genuinely generous guy anyway.

Approaching the Glass Beach

After a leisurely lunch we returned to the boat and Carl steered us along the coastline before heading straight for the island you can easily see from Almyrida, Kalyves and my balcony!  Carl showed us sides and views of the island we’d not seen before – up close.  There were ancient ruined walls near the shoreline but no beach, only rocks which we could have climbed onto, in order to get on the island… but we didn’t go there because there were a few tourists already there and that put us off.   Carl dropped anchor just off the island and we all then spent over an hour swimming and exploring the area.  Carl dived down and brought up several shards of broken Minoan pottery for each of us as keepsakes and a memory of our fabulous day out with him.

We honestly couldn’t have wished for more out of this wonderful boat trip and eventually arrived back at Kalyves harbour for around 5.30pm.

There have been many social events in the recent weeks since my last blog post.  We went to the much-supported annual charity music festival held in Gavalochori called S’agapame.   It was weird to see Carl up on the stage there playing after spending the whole day with him on his boat a few days before!  We think that his was one of the best bands playing that night. There were so many people there that we knew and the music – as always – didn’t disappoint.  I have to mention that the wine this year was more palatable, haha!

At this year’s S’agapame Music Festival in Gavalochori

Jeffrey’s band, The Lions played at Costanita’s in Almyrida and 6 of us booked a table to eat there.  We were disappointed with the high cost of the food and it is the first Greek restaurant I have eaten in – in over 17 years where we didn’t get a free dessert!  Maybe they forgot this time.  Anyway, the music was brilliant and we were dancing in the streets again!

On Friday night a German rock band called The Horny Boys were playing at Vangeli’s and the bar was rocking!  They were really good and the only downside to the evening was that all the passing tourists were standing in the street right outside Vangeli’s and taking up our dancefloor!  However I hasten to add that we didn’t let that stop us from rocking to the music.

A cove full of sea glass!

Then last night we were rocking the night away at another of Carl Axon’s gigs in Gyalos in Kalyves.  I have been to countless ‘Carl Axon & The rockin’ Rebels’ gigs over the many years I have lived here on Crete and he is without doubt an incredible entertainer and a very fine musician.

My collection from the glass beach