Rückblick in den Südwesten: Paleóchora/Paleochóra

Bitte keine Steine werfen. Aber Englisch ist doch heutztage überall gefordert, erwünscht, von Nutzen, beliebt. Also hier eine kleine Abwechslung:

Author: Martin, Germany
Date: November 10, 1999

(Livebericht aus dem Internetcafé in P., Andreas dicht neben mir herumwerkelnd.)

Why am I still here? Why not the usual nomad routine, a tour of Crete in 2 or 3 weeks' time? What makes a town like P. such an attractive place?
No - it's not exclusively the idea that I might be totally bored in (now) lifeless Ch. Sfakion, and even more disappointed in (now) one-tavern Loutro. It's a mixture of many things, facts, impressions, half-dreams.
There's LIFE to this place. A liveliness even after tourists have left. A real small town, Greek as Greek can be - and it's said to be Crete's madhouse during summertime! Streets lined with beautifully trimmed medium-sized trees. Old cafes, new cafes. But almost all of them have learned the lesson. NO plastic chairs, or tables. Everything looks the traditional style. Large yellow mailboxes every 200 metres. Banks, tourist agencies that change even Russian money, Many Greek-style small supermarkets. Specialized shops, too. Hardware, clothes, shoes, even flowers. Two bakeries, also serving Gavdos Island, 2 pharmacies, a GP, a dentist. Two petrol stations, 4 or 5 hairdressers. Tavernas galore, 5 or 6 of them open now, in winter, as people start saying.
Old men in black boots, "riding" trousers, black beret or cap, walking with a shepherd's stick. Lots of younger people, some of them very friendly. Girls really unspoilt, a bit shy but not self-conscious. Two Papádes (priests).
Sometimes a nice paréa (get-together). You meet the expatriates, like Andreas, owner of the PC Corner internet place, or Jimmy, the American who makes a living working hard for little money. You get Drs. 1,000 an hour. Or Niki, the henna-haired shop owner who gave me a great warm smile.
And all of these lovely dogs you make friends with. Nice cats too, some very poor.
The big olive grove at the northeastern tip of the village. Huge trees swaying with the wind. Big black nets spread all over the ground. Olive harvest about to begin. Tiny green fresh olives.
Then the fishermen out of job because of three windy, stormy days. They are usually selling their catch right down by the pier, the small docking place on the eastern side of town.
I hope for the Gavdos people that there'll soon be a boat going there providing them with all the basic foods, and especially some fresh bread. The sea has calmed down now after last night's two-hour inferno.
Many poorer people too. The asylum seekers, doing the menial jobs. Here a married couple from Albania, beautiful people. There a guy from Egypt, or Serbia, or even Russia. The nicer women labouring in kafenia to serve as attractions for men, even the old ones. Some of these women looking like aristocrats, one or two like they were offering the other kind of job, you know. But I can't really tell for sure.
My option is the Internet place, rather. One of the reasons why I'm staying so long. Another real change in weather, this morning. Sunny sky. Calm sea. It's almost getting real hot. But let me be careful not to make any forecasts now. Quick changes of weather seem to be the rule during winter. This is exactly what winter means here, it seems.
This morning all the spaces beneath and beside all kinds of trees were covered with thick green carpets of leaves and twigs. Tamarisk nedles blown to the ground by the incredible thunder- and hailstorm. Looked like they had been purposely spread out for drying up - herbs for tea, etc. Sandy beach was also covered with green carpets because of the many tamarisks there.
People's lives, animals' lives, and the elements displaying full force.
Isn't it something to watch? It's Kriti, i megali agápi-mou.

Damals Martin aus M, jetzt MartinPUC
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