I’m feeling wonderful! I’ve enjoyed life at a much slower pace this past month or so. Now that I no longer have to create so many artworks for next season, I have more time to spend on the other things I enjoy doing, whilst living on Crete. Much as I love making my Seashell Mosaic Collage Paintings, I’m also loving that there’s no pressure anymore. In November I only completed 2 artworks, to replace those I sold on Etsy.
Walking from Kalyves to Plaka – the views on my way
The weather has been quite clement since my last post and we did not have any proper rain until mid-November. Even so, we have not experienced any real storms as yet, which is unusual for October & November. Nevertheless, the local Greeks have been saying that we are expected to have a cold winter, in contrast to the last two years which have been quite mild. Anyway, we’ll see…
For now, it’s sunny and pleasantly warm again, as I sit on my balcony writing up this post and reflecting on what’s been happening over the past 5 weeks. As is par for the course, I’ve been out beachcombing and exploring, especially when the weather has been sunny and warm. Debbie and I have enjoyed days out in Georgioupoli, Stavros, Skaleta, Falassarna and Frangokastello.
Walking behind Debbie on one of the beaches at Frangokastello.
On Skaleta beach it was so windy that Debbie and I almost got blown away! It made it difficult to collect the seashells that are always there on the “beach that keeps on giving”. We’d walked the long beach at Georgioupoli first, but realizing there was not much there – we’d moved on to Skaleta. But even if we don’t find much to collect, I always feel invigorated by the fresh sea air and all the exercise we get.
A beautiful beach along the coastline of Frangokastello
The weather was just perfect when we visited Stavros and we walked at least 6 beaches in the area. It was also sunny and warm the day we went to Falassarna and we stayed to watch the beautiful sunset on the far beach.
Last week we returned to Frangokastello for the first time in over two years. It’s quite a drive over the mountains and down to the south coast and there hadn’t been much to find there, which was why we hadn’t been for a while. We decided to check out the area for any changes, but sadly there wasn’t much washed up on the shorelines. Nevertheless we took the opportunity to explore further along the coastline and found a couple more beautiful beaches, as well as walking some other nearby beaches in Frangkastello. We especially picked a good day weather-wise and spent the afternoon in vest tops and shorts, which was cool!
At Skaleta on a very windy day!
It’s another sad fact of climate change, to know that the Mediterranean Sea is slowly dying. You can certainly notice this by what washes up on the shores of the beaches we visit. When I first came to Crete 15 years ago, there were so many more seashells to find than there are now, on many of the beaches. Debbie and I had planned another stay-over at Elafonisi in November, like we did in March. But we decided it wasn’t worth it because all the satellite photos we studied – still showed parts of Elafonisi underwater. It was underwater when we visited in March. We used to find so much in that area of Elafonisi, up until about 3 years ago. Now I think climate change and rising sea levels there may make these areas inaccessible for the future. It’s so sad…
Part of the long beach at Falassarna
When we shop in Kalyves, usually at the ‘House of Deli’ health food shop, Debbie and I always walk the far long beach at Kalyves. It really is a beautiful beach where I don’t usually find much, but always enjoy the walk. We do however, find some lovely pieces of sea-tumbled glass, which Debbie loves to collect.
Talking of sea glass, Debbie and I spent a day in Chania doing a little bit of shopping and then we explored all around the old and derelict tannery warehouses. They are right on the coastline of Chania and there are some wonderful pieces of sea glass to find there.
After sunset on a tiny little cove outside a large taverna in Kalyves
I’ve been on two more of David’s group walks. One was around Armenoi and the other started at Fres and covered the surrounding landscape. We walk for about 4 hours, Stopping to admire flora and fauna and any wildlife on the way. Then we stop at a local taverna for a lovely long lunch, which usually involves feeling quite ‘tipsy’ after drinking the local village wine! No wonder, as it is quite strong and fortified.
Inside a very old Chapel we visited on David’s walk outside Fres
I’ve done so much walking over the last month, including both times my car was in the garage for service and repairs. On both occasions I decided to walk back home from Kalyves, then walk to Kalyves later in the day to collect my car. I could have arranged a lift but would much rather get the exercise and enjoy my surroundings more. I’m always happy when I’m walking as there’s so much awesome nature to stop and admire along the way.
The far end of Stavros
There have been a number of live music gigs and events that I enjoyed at my local Vangeli’s, including a Halloween party and a new band called ‘Flush Royale’, who were really good and got everyone up dancing. A local English musician who had entertained here on Crete for many long years, sadly passed away recently. There was a concert celebrating his life, held at Gyalos taverna in Kalyves. Thankfully it is a very large taverna and was packed with people paying tribute to him, with over 40 musicians playing there that evening. By contrast, my birthday was quietly celebrated with just a few friends at my local taverna. My Dutch friend Robert made it a bit special by treating Lisa and I to a couple of banana daiquiri cocktails. Lush!
On my Birthday at Vangeli’s, with cocktails!
Back to the present time and I am looking forward to my next trip back to the UK, for Christmas with my family. I fly out on 9th December and stay for 3 weeks. This time I will be based at Karen and Mike’s for the first 10 days, before going on to Yorkshire to stay with my daughters and their families. I can’t wait to see everyone and especially my grandchildren, Ralph, Neve, Arthur and Ava.
