52 weeks in Tsirigo - And the wheel goes round & round
Kythera is a bloom and all is splendid. Red poppies grow from abandoned rock walls, wild orchids lurk in the shadows of elderly Plane trees and wild Daisies line all the roadsides…..a visual sensory overload. A steady 48 hours of rain, the past few days, has opened long-time-dried up water springs and fortunately the creek-beds are flowing rapidly.
Rapid would be the best word describe Kythera on this April Fools Day.
Rapid Changes.
While the winter hibernation has been long, the floral arrival of spring has everyone out cleaning, painting and preparing for the opening of the 2008 tourist season which is marked by the Easter holidays (April 28). Many Kytherians, mainly from Athens, return to the island and communally roast ‘the fattened’ lamb, dance, drink, chill-out at many of Kythera’s beaches.
Day-light Saving arrived last Saturday so we are already waking up an hour earlier and you can feel the day cranking-up to spill into the night. The Spring-light brings a solemn sanctity to Lent (the 40 day fasting period leading up to Greek Orthodox Easter) that follow a very quite end to the Apokries (Carnivale) season
The Apokries Parade in Kythera is traditionally held in Potamos was cancelled due to the passing of Polychronis. The satirical Carnivale floats parade directly past the Chrysafides family bakery and as a sign of respect for the bereaved family and considering that the Baker Boys are the driving forces in the month-long Celebrations, this years Apokries were cancelled.
Greece is now recovering from a month-long serious of national strikes that crippled the country to protest the Government Pension reforms. Electrcity, banks, schools, courts, transports were all affected...……. even television stations closed because technicians were out. Kythera is a (warped) microcosm of Greece and the veil of national inertia has only just lifted.
Windmills Update
Yes, No, Yes, No, you kind of get the drift. The ‘Yes Men’ (Local Council, Public Trust & Power Co) take a small step backward (more Like a goose-step really) and the well-informed Opposition (which is your run-of-the-mill locals) are on the defence.
It is not a certain deal, but the money-grab is so immense the struggle to have the Windmills here will be intense. The Banana-heads, elected to the Local Council have revealed that the Energy Co. ‘maps’ include 44’ monsters’ to be placed above Agia Pelagia.
But all this talk is giving one local Construction Supplies Business (I will call him Vlakras) the chance to amass the equipment needed to deliver this 5 year-long project. Coincidentally Vlakras holds a key position in the current serving Local Government and the issue of conflict of interest has gone unspoken. Po…Po…Po….enas vlakras ki misos.
If I sound sarcastic and deflated that is ‘cos I am. What is there to discuss…… 144 Windmills????
Ship Ahoy mateys!!! There seems to be a breakthrough on the issue of the 2nd ship. This service planned to launch early June, will focus connecting Kythera to our closest mainland coast, Peloponnesus with daily connections to Neapolis.
It may appear that the local Kytherian issues are more of the same but someone has definitely changed the backdrop and turned ON the lights. The days are glorious sunny and the blueness of the sea is enticing, some locals have even taken their first ’chilly’ dips. Tractors prepare the raw earth for seeding.
Culture has woken its sleepy-tail with a two- day Children festival focussing on Environmental issues, a Music concert by the local ODEION (music school) and local Satirical Comedy about local issues bring hush to the cavernous Astikon Kafenion in Potamos.
On Sunday afternoons we drive to Kapsali for much-anticipated crepes at Vanilla and we await the initiation for the 2008 Kytherian Summer and for a peep at what sings in our hearts when you lament ‘Tsirigo’ visit the magnificent paintings of local artist Daphne Petrohilos www.petrohilos.com.
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