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Mon 3 Sep - Left - Nikos Vlassopoulos proudly shows off his grapes. Healthy living and a couple of glasses of home-made wine for lunch and dinner keep this 90+ gentlemen looking and feeling 20 years younger. Late October and November, he'll be up in the olive trees collecting his 2007 olive harvest. We may all want to live longer if we could have his positive constitution. Life Ithaki Style - You can't beat the benefits.
Last night the winds began to howl and lightning lit up the horizon...way over on the mainland though. No rain on Ithaca, just some wind which is doing its magic to clear up the atmosphere after a long hot summer. Leaves on some of the trees are turning brown and blowing off the branches and onto the roads. Clear signs of Autumn. Today there's still a fresh wind blowing, but with plenty of blue sky and sunshine. The light is changing along with the Season, but Summer is far from over with many more people coming to the island now in September. Some of the Tour Operators are booked solidly for the entire month.
If you've been trying to call Ithaca, especially the north of the island, and have not been able to get through, you must know that the phones here have been on and off all season. Mostly it's been the opposite however. People can ring in, but we can't ring out. Failures come without warning and are intermittent, so the moment you ring Faults, the phones are working again, only to be interrupted the minute you hang up the phone. Frustrations continue.
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Fri 7 Sep - Rumour - Jessica and Spilios from Isalos Cafe in Frikes closed up shop in the middle of the night and escaped the island without telling anyone because their business wasn't doing well. Truth - Jessica and Spilios were asked to leave the Cafe by the landlords of the Cafe a month earlier than agreed due to irreconcilable differences between the two parties. Their escape took one week from closing their doors to the ferry back to the mainland. Hope they didn't leave anything behind in the rush.
Election fever is on again. KKE have their HUGE banners hanging from every post and their resident Spray Painter has already begun his art on rock faces around the island. Let's hope that defiling nature will be illegal with whichever Party wins this years' Poll.
David Soul of Starsky and Hutch fame is on the island again this year. Seems he liked the place so much he just couldn't stay away. We know where he is, but we're not telling.
Sat 8 Sep - News from Kioni is that yesterday the Day Trippers brought 1000 people into the harbourside all at one go. Jenny from Spavento noted that they had already sold out of food in the first 5 mins. People who couldn't sit at any of the restaurants due to them all being full, couldn't even get a snack there. Jenny states they had never seen anything like it.
The Kathara Panighiri party didn't happen last night due to the weather. Apparently it was fiercely cold up in them there hills. I thought as much, that's why I put on my socks and stayed at home. |
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Above - This banner should read 'Welcome to Stavros', but the position has been hijacked by The Communist Party with its slogan that reads - They Don't Change (meaning Pasok and the New Democratic Party) You Change - vote KKE. |
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Mon 10 Sep - Left - Meropi Vasilopoulos is back in Frikes. While sister Olympia worked their restaurant, Symposium, Meropi was on the boats expanding her horizons and having a change in scenery. Now that the weather is changing, she is drawn back to the village in which she has worked for many years as part owner of Symposium. Meropi had been missed by many of the regulars to the island, but she's back now. |
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It's worth noting that Otenet has been working very well this past week. Extremely well in fact. A line every time. Maybe we still have the use of all the extra modems they put on for the summer, that are now less used due to there being less people. I just hope that whatever the reason is, the Otenet status doesn't change the minute I load up this page to make me regret I wrote something positive about this internet provider.
Any sign of Broadband yet? No, not yet, but the promise to have it here by the end of the year still stands I'm told.
The road from Frikes to Marmaka which was begun at the beginning of the Season is still at a halt. Seems that rumours around Frikes have it that the petition which circulated in the north for Broadband in the area, and which was handed over to Ote, Greeces' Telecommunications Provider office in Vathy, was actually a petition to stop this road... Oh yeah, that makes sense. We should make another petition for Broadband and stop Global Warming.
The elections on the 16th of September will see many Ithacans living elsewhere in Greece, but recently here on holiday, coming back to the island again to vote in the National Elections. People have already booked their car space on the ferry in order not to miss out in the rush.
Tue 11 Sep - Excavations on a plot of land next to The Kentro Cafe in Stavros (the one that over looks Polis beach), revealed 3 bodies and some old coins. Archeologists were called in, and although the finds were old, they were not so significant as to stop the works in progress. Looks like the view to Polis Beach from the Village Square will still be obscured in the near future by some big building. Bugger!
Elections are in full swing. Every channel (except for STAR ***) is transmitting the election run-up at a fever pitch. Every Party is of course spouting they are the Party that best understands what the nation wants and needs, and each Party is making sure their propaganda makes it very clear that the opposing Party does not understand what the Nation wants or needs. Universal Political reasoning. So on Sunday, Greece can once again choose from The Far Right, The Right, The Left and The Far Left. Left or Right, Right or Left, all Parties have one thing in common, they all face toward the middle under pressure. Good Luck to all and may the best 'Middle Man' win. (*** The only coverage STAR has on the elections is what Greek Celebrities will be wearing on the day of the elections.)
Editors Note - I am not eligible to vote in Greece and have no Party affiliation. If a Party on Ithaki invites me to take pics of their rally in the lead up to the Elections, I will go. If I don't get invited, I won't go. Simple as that. There is no favoritism, just opportunity.
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SYRIZA is considered on the radical left of the political arena in Greece. They stand for healthcare, education and equal opportunity for all, but unlike the Communist Party from which the seed of Syriza began many years ago, their policies are not taken from the Russian example, but rather Euro Communism. Last night the Vathy Cinema became Syrizas arena to explain their policies to some of the Ithaki community and gave those who attended the opportunity to ask questions and express their concerns about Greece. |
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Vox Pop - Lila Alimantiri, Stavros
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IG - What does Syriza mean to you? |
LA - It means managing yourself, your family and your community with a social and environmental conscience. |
IG - Why do you think Greece has taken such a long time to consider the environment as a political issue when the rest of the Western world has been dealing with and debating this issue for decades? |
LA - I think it comes down to Basics. For instance, while most Western countries were returning back to basics after years of indulging in all the conveniences and innovations that made life easier, Greece was still at the 'Basic' stage in its development. Families pulling water from the Well, cooking outdoors, still using donkeys, lighting wood fires in winter, washing by hand, etc., first needed their lives to be made easier with all the excesses of a privileged society, before they could themselves appreciate and recognize the damage excess and modern living can do to the environment. Greece needed to complete the cycle other countries had already completed much earlier, before there was awareness about this very important issue. |
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Fri 14 Sep - Notice to everyone coming to Ithaca from Patras and Cephalonia. Please check with the The Kefalonia Ferry for changes to the timetable over the Voting weekend (15th and 16th Sep). On Saturday 15th, the ferry will stay docked in Sami overnight instead of Vathy and on Sunday 16th, the ferry will be departing from Piso Aetos at 8.30am instead of Vathy at 6.45am. Due to these changes, Sunday afternoon and evening departures and arrivals may suffer some delays, but please check for exact details with the Ferry Co.
Sun 16 Sep - A fairly quiet National Election Day with none of the passion that reverberates around the island when the local elections are on. For the first time in 6 years, I heard many openly verbalize their disappointment in both Major and Minor Parties, with some electing not to elect any of them. After the Polls closed, the dedicated turned on their tvs or went to the various cafes around the island to watch the tally. Chances are tomorrow will be no different than today, although the numbers may change.
No Election coverage this year. Got tossed out and threatened with jail if I took even 1 little pic. Apparently it's law, so who am I to argue.
Tour Operators are boasting great numbers this month. Although the streets may be a little quieter now, the accommodations apparently aren't, with many Uk tourists coming to Ithaca to enjoy the milder and less extreme heat of September.
Sun 23 Sep - Summer Lodown finishes off in 7 days and Winter on Ithaca will begin. It's been a very busy Summer Season with thousands of visitors passing through and enjoying their holidays here.
Discovering Ithaki - A couple had been sailing around the Ionian and set up camp at Mavrona beach on Ithaki for a few days. One day they decided to become more acquainted with the island by taking a good walk around. On one of their walks, they headed up to Exoghi via the main road and returned via the path, on which they had accidentally stumbled. More than half way down, near Filiitou, they heard banging and voices, so they went to see what the fuss was about. They followed their ears to the noise, and eventually ended up where some men were digging up the earth. The visitors commented "Oh how lovely" and asked the men "Are you restoring your house?" The men looked perplexed by the question. They were archeologists, on a dig at Homers School.
One of northern Ithacas favourite festivals is on again soon. The Marida Festival at Polis Beach. The Stavros community holds a big 'grill up' on the day after the annual blessing of the water for the fishermen. Give a donation and eat sardines, salad and chips with the Stavros community on October 1.
Mon 24 Sep - Andy Papas from Yefuri is putting on a Painting Exhibition at his restaurant on Sun 30 September 7pm. His sister and artist Susy Papas Johnson with her friend and artist Larissa Blake will be exhibiting their Ithaki inspired paintings on the Yefuri Wall.
Yefuri Restaurant has put its new trading hours on the window. From this week on til closing, Yefuri is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only. Check with Andy for times.
We've had some fantastic weather lately, mild 25 - 28C degrees each day, but the weather bureau has predicted a change to our Summery conditions after Tuesday.
Summer Lodown finishes at the end of this month and Winter on Ithaca begins on the 1 October with the Marida Festival at Polis Beach.
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Sat 29 Sep - Left - So you're wondering 'What's so interesting about a few plastic bags? Well, these bags are filled with bits and pieces from the Homers School Dig going on at present. It's all very hush hush, no one is giving anything away, but we do here that the archeologists are very close to a very impressive and important break through from this historic site. |
On Monday Oct 1 the Marida Festival is on again at Polis Beach. Bring your Kefi and a good appetite as locals predict the Marida (Sardine) catch will be very generous. Bring a couple of euro and leave a donation for Stavros. |
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Don't forget that Summer Lodown comes to an end this Sunday. From Monday 1 October, Winter on Ithaca starts. The first Winter Special will of course be the Marida Festival at Polis. See you there. |
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