From Dec. 10, 2006 till next entry

Cretan hospitality and trust of people keeps us still totally amazed.

First encounter:
We used Valeria's key to enter her office to use her telephone. After we had been in for some time, there is a lady trying to come into the office. Kiti opens the door. The lady seems quite amazed that there are people inside the office. And for a good reason, because she turns out to be Valeria's mother coming in to do some cleaning (as a motherly favour to her daughter when she is away). Anywhere else a mother entering her daughter's office, and finding strange people inside, would have started hollering for the police. But not she. Our words "friends of Valeria" in answer to her question who we are put her at ease immediately. And ofcourse showing the key Valeria had given us assured her more. After a few more words about where we come from, she remembered having met us, the two Finns with their two dogs, back in mid-September. Then it was easy to light up cigarettes together. After that we (having finished what we had come to do in the office) left, and had warm handshakes with her. And she went on calmly with the business she had come to do in her daughter's office.

Second encounter:
The Cretan hospitality has also it's counterpart - returning hospitality. That is a very precarious business. It seems hard for foreigners to make Cretans accept the foreigners' feeling of trust and willingness to respond to all the good will received. The Cretans simply go on giving. Out of their good heart.
Today we finally had a chance to help Nikos a little bit by taking care of delivering some equipment to his farm, to be used next day in harvesting olives.
And after that, in Nikos' home, over a glass (or two, three...) of his great raki we were able to persuade him to an unplanned meal in our abode. - Kiti's invention of making a soup of wild asparagus (sparagia), some salad, Hannu's grilled lambchops (seasoned by Kiti), basmati rice, and Kiti's mother's famous dessert called "surprise".

Dec. 11, 2006

Third encounter:
We were busy with our own things till afternoon, but knew that Nikos is working with the olives at least some hours. After our engagements we headed to Nikos' farm, hoping that he's still there. Success! We had a chance to help Nikos with folding the nets used in gathering olives, carrying the tools to the farm-house (a house built by Nikos' grand-father about a 100 years ago to a place with a magnificent view over the Souda Bay), and taking some of the very heavy bags, full of olives, to the house.
There we, or Kiti to be precise, noted the superb, young and fresh nettles (tsouknitha) growing on the untended backyard of the old family-house. The idea of a great nettle-soup emerged immediately.
To the very horror of our beloved Nikos. "That is not something one eats in Crete!" - What came out of those nettles is a longer development.

Fourth encounter:
The owner of the local, best, internet cafe, FLOPPY, has been so kind as to make special arrangements for Kiti who, for her work, needs some hours a week to communicate in privacy with people at home in Finland.

Dec. 15, 2006

We had been speaking about a nettle-soup to Nikos for some days. Today Kiti prepared one, and we made sure that Nikos could not refuse the invitation. But meanwhile the word about a nettle-soup had spread also to his friends, who were, if not totally but at least to a high decree, worried about the ordeal Nikos was up against by promising to taste at least a spoon-full with us.
But, as any nettle-soup lover might know, Nikos had a spoon-full, emptied the plate, and had another full plate. His words: "It's very good!" - Perhaps we will be able to pursuade some of his friends to have a first-hand proof of the matter, too.

jouluvalo.jpg - 77229 Bytes
Christmas, the festivity containing great hopes, and, in it's commercial form, an utter despair, is fortunately hitting our Kalyves later than in Finland, and with milder blows. But at least a Christmas log is needed even in our abode...

Dec. 16, 2006

It was great to have Pekka and Inkku (parents-in-law to Kiti's brother) to our place for some soup (sparagia, ofcourse), salad, wine, and (once again) a study in grilled lambchoppology.
It may seem tedious to you, dear reader, to read over and over again about lambchops, but you should just believe Silja's words: "If the sheep are feeding themselves with the best herbs for lamb, marinating themselves on the pasture, it is quite concievable why Cretan lamb is simply the best!"

But a special thank-you goes to Pekka and Inkku for the conversation!

Earlier today Kiti and Inkku (the braver ones of us four) went for a refreshing swim on the totally empty Kalyves beach - while we brave males were sight-seeing at the east end of the same beach ;-)

[ If you see only this frame, click here to see the complete diary ]