When Oxi really did mean "NO"

OXI Day (pronounced oshy and sometimes spelt as 'Okhi Day' or 'Ochi Day') is celebrated every year in Crete and the rest of Greece on October 28th. It is a public holiday and it is commemorated with military, student and union marches and parades. The Greek flag flies freely on almost every building.
   Oxi day commemorates the very firm "No! (Oxi!) of the Greek government to the capitulation ultimatum of Mussolini in World War II.

  In October 1940, Europe was being oppressed by Nazi Germany. Poland, the Low Countries and France had already fallen and Britain was fighting the Axis powers of Germany and Italy alone.

At that time the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, had massed an Italian army in occupied Albania directed at Greece. In the early hours of October 28, 1940 Mussolini issued an ultimatum to the Greek leader Ioannis Metaxas to surrender, in effect, by allowing Italian troops to occupy Greece.

  Greece's brave and adamant reply of Oxi! (No!), to Mussolini's capitulation ultimatum echoed throughout the world and gave much needed support to Britain and the forces of freedom. Metaxas' reply marked the beginning of participation of Greece in World War II

 We always go, if only to meet friends in the main town, and today was no exception. The children who take part in the parade maerch with passion, especially the very young, after a church service first.

Tough times

THE end of the tourist season is almost here on the island, and businesses will be assessing what has been a very tough season for many.
  In our village many did not even manage to finish the season, while others report a better than expected season. Already some have actually closed down for the season, one taverna is always the last to open, but the first to close. Our friends Nico and Anna run Margo
taverna, which is certainly the prettiest in the village, and right to the end have enjoyed a good summer, however, one taverna which returned to Greek ownership this season actually closed down in the middle of the season - they simply could not attract business, some nights only serving two or three customers  while employing more than that in staff.
  Elsewhere the picture has been much the same, what needs to be addressed during the winter months is what is to be done for 2014. It will take a brave person to forecast that, but certainly many will fall.

Brilliant Balos - Great Gramvousa

OUR final excursion of the year has been for three days with our senior citizen group KAPI, to the western tip of the island to visit the former pirate outpost of Gramvousa and the fantastic lagoon of Balos, and the efforts was worth it. We were based in Chania for two nights at the Hotel Kriti. Been here before and very good value, only 300 meters from the main town.
  There was time on the first and second nights to explore the town and have a meal. One shock was the small local hotel by the harbour we had been to before has now changed hands and upped all their prices for the winter, so that has been crossed off our list.
  However the main reason for the trip was the island of Gramvousa.  Departing from the port of Kissamos and travelling for approximately 55 minutes in the gulf, first you see a vast cave, that is believed to have been the ancient shipyard - Tarsanas. It is found near the Roman city of Agnion, thought to be the god Apollo (today Ag. Sostis).
   At the end of the Gulf there is an impressive geological phenomenon where, as a result of the passage of time, the western part of the island is raised, while the eastern part is sunk.
  This phenomenon was created by catastrophic earthquakes that took place in 66 BC and 365 BC. These earthquakes, caused by the movement of the lithospheric plates of Africa, caused the abrupt elevation of Crete from 6m to 9m above sea level. This ancient sea level can still be seen today as a black trace along the rocky coast. According to scientific estimates, this geographical phenomenon is still continuing today, but at a much slower rate.
   During the voyage across the gulf passengers often come across marine turtles (Caretta Caretta), the Mediterranean seal (Monachus Monachus) and dolphins of the region, no such luck for us however.
   We were impressed with the island, although declined the long haul up to the very top to explore the castle fortress. Sneaked a few pictures from another source so we could see what was missed.. However Balos was something else, little rock pools from which you could extract sea-salt before the main lagoon. Walking knee deep it was a great experience.