One of my reasons for coming to Greece this time was to knuckle down to working on my book "Kalo Taxidi - Notes from Greece and the Greek Islands".
Usually when I come to Greece I get so many new ideas that I want to completely revamp the book when I get home. This time I was determined to leave any new material for a later book. The basic content of the book was crystallised before I arrived on Amorgos. I tidied up the book, and added some 2011 updates. And now the book is almost finished. I just need to master the techniques of e-publishing, and "Kalo Taxidi" will be launched on the world!
Update 14/07/2011
After a lot of "fun and games" mastering the ins and outs of ebook publishing, "Kalo Taxidi" is now with Kindle "for review", and, fingers crossed, should be on sale in 24 hours.
My next book was going to be about old phrase books. Perhaps instead I should write a basic guide to epublishing!
Further update
"Kalo Taxidi!" is now publsihed, and is available on Amazon. At present the book is only available for Kindle; the paper version will follow asap!
Greece - Kalo Taxidi! Notes from Greece and the Greek Islands.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
amorgos-cruises.com
A website to keep an eye on as it is constructed.
http://amorgos-cruises.com/index.php/9-uncategorised/24-joomla
I enjoyed chugging across the bay of Katapola in the small no frills Paraskevi Express. But this yacht (Megalochari) seems to do longer trips. I have seen the yacht moored at Katapola.
http://amorgos-cruises.com/index.php/9-uncategorised/24-joomla
I enjoyed chugging across the bay of Katapola in the small no frills Paraskevi Express. But this yacht (Megalochari) seems to do longer trips. I have seen the yacht moored at Katapola.
Cats around Katapola in July 2011
A selection of photos of cats mostly in and around Katapola, with some from Chora and elsewhere.
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Thursday, 7 July 2011
Curdled!
There is a filter coffee maker in my room, so I bought some filter papers, some coffee, and a bottle of milk. I usually make Nescafe with Nounou (Greek evaporated milk) but I wanted something less creamy to go with "real" coffee.
The coffee was vacuum packed. I've bought vacuum packed coffee in Greece before, and found the pack contained coffee beans, not ground coffee. If I had looked carefully at the label I would have worked out that the pack contained beans - but it was a matter of assuming that the pack contained what I wanted it to contain. This time the pack contained ground coffee, and most delicious it smelt too. Mmmmmmmmmmm! I was looking forward to my coffee.
I made the coffee, added the milk, and let the coffee cool a little. Odd, I remember stirring the coffee, but the coffee looks black. I stirred the coffee again - and saw a curdled mess in the mug. I got the milk out the fridge. I looked at the expiry date on the milk - 18.08.11, so that was OK. I don't usually buy bottled milk in Greece, but a friend has bought it and had no problems. I thought of the mini packs of butter I once bought in Greece - if I remember correctly, to put on the delicious curranted bread that the local baker made - that butter was "off".
I smelt the milk - it smelt, not "off", but sour. Hey, but was it milk that I had bought? I know that milk is "yala". This bottle was in the shop fridge, amongst what looked like bottles of milk, but was smaller than the other bottles that looked as if they contained milk. The smell from the bottle reminded me of sour cream, not milk that has gone "off". I looked at the label - something I had not done in the shop - as I knew what I wanted the bottle to contain - milk! The label read "Ariani". The sensible thing to have done would have been to look more closely at the label, but being the internet age I looked on the internet and found the bottle of Ariani
http://www.fage.gr/product-details.asp?id=128&lang=EN
"Ariani is a light and refreshing milk product with yogurt yeast and low fat!"
I looked more closely at my bottle - "Yoghurt Drink Ingredients - Concentrated skimmed cow's milk, skimmed cow's milk and milk cream (99%), yoghurt culture, salt (0.03%). Total solids 10%."
Probably a perfectly nice product, and I'm now glad I did not pour it down the sink. Just not suitable for adding to hot coffee! Which reminds me, I have still not drunk any of the delicious smelling coffee - I poured the curdled milky coffee mess down the sink.
As I was writing this, the word "Ayran" was going through my mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayran
"Ayran or laban is a cold beverage of yogurt mixed with cold water and sometimes salt; it is popular in many Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Southern European countries".
In future I will try to look at labels more closely before I buy!
15/07/2011 Update
What did I do with the Ariani? I find yoghurt, and Ariani, a little too tart for my taste. I do like yoghurt with a little honey added. I mixed a little honey into some Ariani, and froze it. And made some delicious ice cream!
The coffee was vacuum packed. I've bought vacuum packed coffee in Greece before, and found the pack contained coffee beans, not ground coffee. If I had looked carefully at the label I would have worked out that the pack contained beans - but it was a matter of assuming that the pack contained what I wanted it to contain. This time the pack contained ground coffee, and most delicious it smelt too. Mmmmmmmmmmm! I was looking forward to my coffee.
I made the coffee, added the milk, and let the coffee cool a little. Odd, I remember stirring the coffee, but the coffee looks black. I stirred the coffee again - and saw a curdled mess in the mug. I got the milk out the fridge. I looked at the expiry date on the milk - 18.08.11, so that was OK. I don't usually buy bottled milk in Greece, but a friend has bought it and had no problems. I thought of the mini packs of butter I once bought in Greece - if I remember correctly, to put on the delicious curranted bread that the local baker made - that butter was "off".
I smelt the milk - it smelt, not "off", but sour. Hey, but was it milk that I had bought? I know that milk is "yala". This bottle was in the shop fridge, amongst what looked like bottles of milk, but was smaller than the other bottles that looked as if they contained milk. The smell from the bottle reminded me of sour cream, not milk that has gone "off". I looked at the label - something I had not done in the shop - as I knew what I wanted the bottle to contain - milk! The label read "Ariani". The sensible thing to have done would have been to look more closely at the label, but being the internet age I looked on the internet and found the bottle of Ariani
http://www.fage.gr/product-details.asp?id=128&lang=EN
"Ariani is a light and refreshing milk product with yogurt yeast and low fat!"
I looked more closely at my bottle - "Yoghurt Drink Ingredients - Concentrated skimmed cow's milk, skimmed cow's milk and milk cream (99%), yoghurt culture, salt (0.03%). Total solids 10%."
Probably a perfectly nice product, and I'm now glad I did not pour it down the sink. Just not suitable for adding to hot coffee! Which reminds me, I have still not drunk any of the delicious smelling coffee - I poured the curdled milky coffee mess down the sink.
As I was writing this, the word "Ayran" was going through my mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayran
"Ayran or laban is a cold beverage of yogurt mixed with cold water and sometimes salt; it is popular in many Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Southern European countries".
In future I will try to look at labels more closely before I buy!
15/07/2011 Update
What did I do with the Ariani? I find yoghurt, and Ariani, a little too tart for my taste. I do like yoghurt with a little honey added. I mixed a little honey into some Ariani, and froze it. And made some delicious ice cream!
Monday, 4 July 2011
Amorgos plants and flowers - July 2011
A selection of flowers and plants that I have seen on my strolls, mostly around Katapola. More captions with names to follow after I have done some research!
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| China Berry Tree |
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| Bougainvillia |
The Greek economy and the tourist
You can read about the new "austerity" measures in Athens News - How the new measures change our lives
Last week, before the new measures were announced, I was looking at hotel rooms in Athens on booking.com. I was surprised to see that the VAT rate on hotel rooms in Greece was only 5.5% (now increased to 6.5%). Perhaps the logic is to keep hotel prices low - on the basis that tourists want a roof over their heads - and tax everything else they spend more highly.
The VAT rate in restaurants and cafes has gone up from 13% to 23%.
There is an excise tax on heating fuel - the tax has gone up from 21 euros to 60 euros per 1000 litres for households, and up to 412 euros a 1000 litres for "enterprises". I guess that "enterprises" includes tourist accommodation. Most tourists visit Greece at times of year when heating is not needed. But I have also heard that there are differential rates for electricity supplied for domestic and commercial use - so electricity rates payable by owners of tourist accommodation may have increased.
27 July 2011 update
After spending nearly four weeks on a small Greek island some more comments.
I have not noticed that prices are appreciably higher than they were earlier this year.
Prices do vary from establishment to establishment - I have seen a large bottle of Amstel on sale in the periptero at 1.50 euros. I haven't checked the supermarket price. In bars I have seen Amstel priced from 2 to 3.50 euros. But the highest price was in a very pleasant location, where drinkers may perhaps be tempted to linger longer over their beer. So you may want to check the price before you order.
Tourist numbers. I have heard locals say that tourist numbers are down. But there are a lot of people out in the evening, and the ferries arriving and leaving have lots of people arriving and leaving. Here it seems to be places away from the centre (which is not big, walk a few more yards and you'll reach the farthest flung establishments) that are less busy. And if places are less busy, the owners are likely to cook less oven cooked food, and the diner may not find the variety they are accustomed to; so they will move on to a busier taverna.
Taxis. The taxis on this small island are not taking part in the national strike. But knowing that there are no taxis in Athens does have an impact. As there is not the option of taking a taxi from Piraeus to the airport, I will be catching an earlier ferry than I might otherwise have done. And what I don't know is the effect any blockade by taxi drivers might have. I have read of tourists dragging luggage more than 1kilometre in 100 degree plus temperatures because the road to the airport was blocked and vehicles could not get through. And what will the impact of any blockade be at Piraeus? Will it be easy to nip across the road to the metro?
Arriving earlier in Athens means spending a night in Athens. Looking at booking.com, rooms are available. Hottels that I have found fully booked at low season have vacancies. That suggests tourist numbers in Athens are down. Rooms are available, but other factors to consider are the taxi strike - so you do not have the option of getting a taxi if you are hot and bothered after a long and hot and crowded ferry journey.
And the taxi blockade - how easy will it be to get to a bus stop or the metro? And where are the "Indignants" protesting? I have read they are at Symtagma. I have also read that it is not the Syntagma metro station that is affected, but the Fix metro station (I thought Fix was an old Greek beer that has recently been re-launched.................)
Strikes and blockades affecting ferries. I arrived in Greece on a Friday. On the Thursday Pireaus had been closed by a blockade. the two days before there had been a national strike. If I had not booked my ferry in advance, I may not have got on board - the vessel was absolutely packed. In high season (even with lower tourist numbers) ferries do get full. And Greeks are also setting off on their own holidays. The ferry I intended going back to Piraeus on (on a Monday) is full.
Read about the effect of the taxi strike in Athens News - Shooting oneself in the foot
1 August 2011
Despite the strike, taxis appeared to be operating normally on Amorgos.
In Naxos I have seen taxis but do not yet know if all the taxi drivers are working. There may just be fewer taxis than usual at the rank near the port as there are more visitors here than when I usually visit in low season.
I had been wondering how people would get to and from the airport without taxis - for me that is academic as the flights are full!
Last week, before the new measures were announced, I was looking at hotel rooms in Athens on booking.com. I was surprised to see that the VAT rate on hotel rooms in Greece was only 5.5% (now increased to 6.5%). Perhaps the logic is to keep hotel prices low - on the basis that tourists want a roof over their heads - and tax everything else they spend more highly.
The VAT rate in restaurants and cafes has gone up from 13% to 23%.
There is an excise tax on heating fuel - the tax has gone up from 21 euros to 60 euros per 1000 litres for households, and up to 412 euros a 1000 litres for "enterprises". I guess that "enterprises" includes tourist accommodation. Most tourists visit Greece at times of year when heating is not needed. But I have also heard that there are differential rates for electricity supplied for domestic and commercial use - so electricity rates payable by owners of tourist accommodation may have increased.
27 July 2011 update
After spending nearly four weeks on a small Greek island some more comments.
I have not noticed that prices are appreciably higher than they were earlier this year.
Prices do vary from establishment to establishment - I have seen a large bottle of Amstel on sale in the periptero at 1.50 euros. I haven't checked the supermarket price. In bars I have seen Amstel priced from 2 to 3.50 euros. But the highest price was in a very pleasant location, where drinkers may perhaps be tempted to linger longer over their beer. So you may want to check the price before you order.
Tourist numbers. I have heard locals say that tourist numbers are down. But there are a lot of people out in the evening, and the ferries arriving and leaving have lots of people arriving and leaving. Here it seems to be places away from the centre (which is not big, walk a few more yards and you'll reach the farthest flung establishments) that are less busy. And if places are less busy, the owners are likely to cook less oven cooked food, and the diner may not find the variety they are accustomed to; so they will move on to a busier taverna.
Taxis. The taxis on this small island are not taking part in the national strike. But knowing that there are no taxis in Athens does have an impact. As there is not the option of taking a taxi from Piraeus to the airport, I will be catching an earlier ferry than I might otherwise have done. And what I don't know is the effect any blockade by taxi drivers might have. I have read of tourists dragging luggage more than 1kilometre in 100 degree plus temperatures because the road to the airport was blocked and vehicles could not get through. And what will the impact of any blockade be at Piraeus? Will it be easy to nip across the road to the metro?
Arriving earlier in Athens means spending a night in Athens. Looking at booking.com, rooms are available. Hottels that I have found fully booked at low season have vacancies. That suggests tourist numbers in Athens are down. Rooms are available, but other factors to consider are the taxi strike - so you do not have the option of getting a taxi if you are hot and bothered after a long and hot and crowded ferry journey.
And the taxi blockade - how easy will it be to get to a bus stop or the metro? And where are the "Indignants" protesting? I have read they are at Symtagma. I have also read that it is not the Syntagma metro station that is affected, but the Fix metro station (I thought Fix was an old Greek beer that has recently been re-launched.................)
Strikes and blockades affecting ferries. I arrived in Greece on a Friday. On the Thursday Pireaus had been closed by a blockade. the two days before there had been a national strike. If I had not booked my ferry in advance, I may not have got on board - the vessel was absolutely packed. In high season (even with lower tourist numbers) ferries do get full. And Greeks are also setting off on their own holidays. The ferry I intended going back to Piraeus on (on a Monday) is full.
Read about the effect of the taxi strike in Athens News - Shooting oneself in the foot
1 August 2011
Despite the strike, taxis appeared to be operating normally on Amorgos.
In Naxos I have seen taxis but do not yet know if all the taxi drivers are working. There may just be fewer taxis than usual at the rank near the port as there are more visitors here than when I usually visit in low season.
I had been wondering how people would get to and from the airport without taxis - for me that is academic as the flights are full!
Look what I found in my dish rack this morning!
In Amorgos at other times of the year I have heard the fairly distant chorus of crickets. This July (the first time I have been on Amorgos in July) I have heard crickets closer and more loudly than usual. But until I stretched out for a spoon from the dish rack I did not realise that a cricket had moved in to my room!
I gently took the cricket out on to the balcony in (rather, clinging to the outside of) a jogurt pot. I tried to take more photos, and the cricket jumped onto my camera!
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I gently took the cricket out on to the balcony in (rather, clinging to the outside of) a jogurt pot. I tried to take more photos, and the cricket jumped onto my camera!
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