Naxos

 The greek island of Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades, a group in the southern Aegean .  It's known, around here, for it's potatoes, easter goats and lambs (ready for the spit) and it's cheeses.

I noticed, a few years ago, that temperatures on Naxos were some of the lowest in the summer and the highest in the winter.  I see the tourist blurb promotes its mild winters and cooler summers.  They are right.  If I had a choice I'd move down there right now.  I'd live on local potatoes and sample all their cheeses, bask in the warm winter sun and spend the summer reading under the shade of my, one, olive tree.  Don't want to overwork myself.  One olive tree will do the trick.

My last posts complaining about grey skies and foggy mornings reminded me of Naxos.  So go and visit when you're here.  Arrange a rental car when you book your hotel and go and see the sites.  I'm sure you won't regret it.  Eat lots of roast lamb, fried potatoes and nibble on cheese with their delightful local wine.

I've only been to Naxos once, in 1980, with my brother and wife.  Both she and I were pregnant with our first children.  Back then we stayed at a pension.  A room with a bed,  toilet and shower down the hall.  No aircondition or even a fan but with the mild summers I'm sure we didn't need either.  All I remember is being accosted as we got off the ferry by someone touting his rooms, normal back then before Hotel.com and tripadviser.   We followed along after him and they were quite close so there we stayed.  We wandered around the town, ate at a taverna overlooking the main drag where we could watch all the Naxos beauties pass by on their perantzatha (evening walk) and swam at the sandy beach near town.

It's a big island, a lot to see but you need transport.  There are little villages, monasteries and Venetian castles.  At the entrance to the port is a small island called Portara, the gate, and there stands an ancient marble gate.  

The ancient gate from a Temple to Apollo

dates back to the 6th Century BC

Sunshine!!

 I wrote too soon, in the predawn gloom.

2 hours later. The sun is shining and there's a strong northerly blowing which has cleared the skies.

So much for SAD.

And we got an email from the Municipality. We should all be thrice vaxxed by early December.

Gloom gloom went away 

Hullo  lovely sunny day

Gloom

 I'm beginning to understand how it is to live in a country with dreary grey winter weather. How people can suffer from SAD.

We have had endless, it seems to me, days of foggy chilly mornings, misty days with just a glimpse of midday sun. Then chilly damp foggy evenings. Long long evenings. It's dark outside but it's only 6pm. How can that be.

Yet it's not cold enough for a friendly fire. Some of that dust they say is Saharan dust.  It just seems dull and cheerless and chilly.

We need a good north wind to blow all that greyness away and let the sun shine again.

And that damn covid thing is hanging around as well. Cases have gone from 1,000 a day to over 8,000. We should be getting our third vaccine jab in a few days.

Gloom gloom go away.

Don't come back another day

Another Day Another Saint

 Today is the feast day of Archangels Michael and Gabriel.  Many names for us to celebrate, not just Michael (Mihali) and Gabriel (Gavriel).

There's Angela and Angelos, Stamati (Maki) and Matina.

Tomorrow 9th November we celebrate a local Saint. Agios Nektarios (Saint Nektarios).

His 'headquarters' are on the next door island of Aegina. Thousands will descend upon the island and go up to the Monastery and the church where his remains lie to light a candle, kiss his icon and listen to the services.  Last year the nuns had covid and there were no festivities. This year only the vaccinated are supposed to enter the church suitably masked. That church or any church. 

Sitting outside to hear the service

Our closest little chapel is also dedicated to Agios Nektarios. I walk up there most days on my walks. Today I dressed a little more formally and arrived as the service began. I had forgotten my mask but the candles were outside so I put a euro in the box and bought 2 candles, one for me and one in memory of my parents . My mother's birthday is on November 11. She would be 104 (correct me if I'm wrong family).

I didn't stay, it was getting dark and after dark wolves are out and roaming around here. Or so it seems to me on this rural road.

Anyway, a Greek orthodox service goes over my head. After 45 years  it's still mainly 'kyria leison' God have mercy and Amen that I understand.

11th November 

Saint Minas

Saint Victor

14th November

Saint Phillipos 

And so it goes on

Fruits of the Fields

 Fruit from our neighbour and goat from a friend

Some of a big bag of pomegranates and quince hung on our front gate by our generous neighbour.  I'm cleaning and pureeing the quince.  Quite a job.  Quince are so tough.  I peel them with a peeler, cut them in half and boil them for 10 minutes.  This softens them slightly so I can core and slice them.  The puree goes into the freezer in small quantities and I use it in cakes, meat dishes and add it to my oatmeal.  Other quinces I may slice finely and make into preserves.  My husband enjoys a few spoons of the quince preserve sometimes after a meal.

I'm cleaning one pomegranate a day and eating that by the spoonful.  Fresh cool pomegranate seeds are refreshing and full of flavour

For tea today. Boiled goat. But not for me

Vegetables, carrots, onions, celery, potatoes and zucchini, are boiled in the liquid left from the meat.  Then the juice is topped up, rice added along with lots of lemon juice and  turned into soup.  K and his friends love boiled goat soup.  They are gathering for a feast tonight.

Thank goodness we have a dishwasher for those fatty plates

Olive Picking

 This is an off year for olives around here.  The established trees only give a good crop every 2 years.  Our neighbours are picking but they'll probably be finished in a week . Only a few of their hundred or so trees have olives. One year they picked on from November to almost February.  They will probably harvest enough olives to give them oil for this year for the house and family but not enough to sell. 

Nets are put down underneath and the harvesting begins.  The olives are raked off the tree and gathered underneath

A present from a friend.  In thanks for a job well done.

5 kilos of an early harvest.  The oil is thick and fruity and as you can see, almost green.  

The kids don't like it. The taste is quite strong

A bag of olives from K's sister who was harvesting her own olives.  K salts these and eats them after just a few days.  They are bitter and salty but he loves them.  As does his sister.  You have to be brought up with these olives to really enjoy them

We will be off in a few days to collect wine from our son in law's vineyard near Corinth.  These two barrels hold around 300 litres of maturing juice.  They will be cleaned inside and out. And the shed they reside in will also be scrubbed. 

 We will transport the wine in 100 litre containers

Methana

Remembering a summers day

Down the road, up the hill, round the corner and after half an hour we reached the little church at the straits of Methana. under the volcano.  Keep left and follow the coast road to the little fishing village of Vathi.  The beaches are stony but never crowded and you can sit on the quay after a swim and eat your lunch.  The taverna's kaiki  goes out every day to bring fresh fish for the summer visitors.

There are three or four tavernas along this beach road.  The fish really is fresh.  Once we had to wait half an hour for the boat to come into the wharf with its catch before we could choose our lunch

Volcanic rocks.  Further down, the rocks become pebbles and it's slightly easier to get into the water

Ultimate dining beside the sea.  One of our friends at another taverna  actually put out his line to fish while eating on the quay

We chose to sit under the shade of the pine tree.  There was a cool breeze and with a cold glass of wine it was the perfect summer afternoon.

A couple of English tourists chose to sit out  beside the sea.  They ate and left. Too darn hot.  Later a big RV came with an Italian family.  They knew about summer heat and sat beside us in the shade.

This taverna besides the fish had summer vegetable dishes, mounds of fried potatoes, which we shouldn't have ordered, and a few meat choices as well.  It was refreshingly cheap.