Nudist Beach at Sougia

Morning coffee was coming to an end and it was time for Helen and Ilias to start their drive to a beach in Sougia. They loaded the car with beach towels, a light lunch, and all the other necessary things one would need for a day at the beach. Since Helen was the driver in the family, Ilias pointed out the way while Helen paid close attention to the road.

The conversation was relaxed as they rolled through the mountains of Crete. They talked about Olive trees, politics in Greece, the gas crisis, and other little this and thats. Just as their little car took the twists and turns of the mountain roads soon their conversation would take a turn and a twist.

 

 

Ilias inserted the term very casually. Nudist Beach. He told Helen that there was a Nudist Beach at Sougia in which made her give pause. She had never been to a Nudist Beach.  The idea of nude people at a beach intrigued Helen to the point that it led to disbelief. Surely, she thought, there may be some topless women but, not any completely nude people laying around. Little did she know that being wrong would prove to be much better than being right.    

 

They arrived at Sougia and decided to have a coffee before they hit the beach. Ilias pointed out where the nudist beach probably was and Helen was determined to reach that point. Still doubtful, Helen even betted Ilias that they would not see any nudists and if they did, well, she would strip her clothes off too. Know it all’s always get proven wrong, she should have known this by now. So they began their trek to the far side of the beach near some cliffs. It was a long walk and as they came closer the scenery began to change. Swimwear was absent. Tops and bottoms. Men and women. Young and Old. Everyone. Helen was wrong. It was a nudist beach that was full of nudists. Imagine that!!!

After a refreshing swim, it was the moment of truth. Should they undress, be nudist, and bare it all? Nobody would ever see them again and, hell, everyone else was naked. Alas, it was not going to happen. It may have been modesty, laziness, or perhaps they did not want to put the others to shame.  After tanning and enjoying the sea for a couple hours, they went to the hippie beach bar and had a drink for the 1 1/2 drive home. The drive home went as well as the trip to Sougia. Everything was relaxed until they came across a herd of goats in the road. The weird thing is that Helen found this to be far more interesting than all the naked people at the beach. It seems that next time the should go to a Goat Farm.

 

 

Our Shopping List

When I lived in the States, I often heard about the healthy eating habits of the Mediterranean. When I came to Greece, I thought I would only be eating salads however, that proved to be far from the truth. Greek cuisine has much variety. It is true that most meals are rich in Olive Oil, cheese, and vegetables but, meat can be found gracing a plate many times.

 

Ilias and my meals are very traditional Greek and Cretan. We eat meat twice to three times a week. When we do it is chicken, pork, or lamb. We rarely if ever eat beef. There is always a fresh salad on the table that is soaked in Olive Oil and a small plate of Feta cheese accompanies it. I have been eating Greek style for almost 6 months now and I have never felt or looked more healthy. Our weekly shopping list is as followed:

 

Feta Cheese (1 or 2 pounds) – 6 loaves of fresh grain bread – 2 pounds of fresh olives – 6 tomatoes – 4 heads of lettuce – 5 onions – 4 cucumbers – 2 liters of Olive oil – 8 pounds of potatoes – chicken breasts (4) – 12 chili peppers – 1 pound of pasta – rice – eggplant – vodka (lots) – apricots (4 pounds) – peaches – grapes – bananas – yogurt – tomato sauce – spices and herbs – eggs (4)

 

I am sure I forgot a few things but, you probably get the idea. I am also lucky because, Ilias is a great cook. My favorite meal consists of green beans, potatoes, and a simple salad. Ilias makes it perfect. The best part is that the beans come from our garden.

My Neighborhood

In the evening, when the sun begins to dip into the sea, Ilias and I go for a walk in our neighborhood. I am always impressed by architecture of the neighborhood. So may cultures have influenced the buildings  that I feel as if I am walking through a living museum. (The quality of my photos is not so good at this time.)

For example:

 

This is traditional Greek style from the 1920’s. Double wooden doors and inset windows with shutters are typical of this style. My neighborhood has many houses of this style which I find beautiful and quite romantic.

 

 

Right next door you can find a renovated home of a more current style but, it still has that Greek elegance.

 

 

Most Greek homes have a garden or patio area. I have rarely seen a lawn. Most Greeks fill their gardens with potted plants and all kinds of climbing vines. The most wonderful thing about these gardens is that they are surrounded by tall concrete, rock, or brick fences with intricate iron gates. It feels like one is stepping into a secret garden whenever arriving home.

 

 

One of the few lawns is located at this house. The grand palm trees are always a pleasure to see.

 

 

In the middle of our walk we get to the big hill, which I don’t mind going down. The sight is glorious but, coming back up is a real bugger.

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed taking a walk through my neighborhood with me. I hope to show you around more.

 

Our Cretan Beach Adventure-Planning Stage

Ilias and I are planning to rent a car soon and explore some of the beaches of Crete. I can’t wait! We are picking some of the more famous beaches and some that are more unknown. Check out the map below to see where we are going to visit and then check out the link to know more about the Island of Crete beaches. Of course, I will be blogging pictures and stories of our adventures during this trip.

Click this link to see beautiful pictures of the beaches in Crete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLltWMs-CRc

Name Day

Today is Ilias’s name day! Woo Hoo! It is a celebration for the saint that he is named. Today is Ilias the Prophet day. All Greeks have a name day. It is almost like a birthday. It is Ilias’s job to give everyone something. Giving away sweets or buying a drink would be a good example. he has been receiving phone calls all morning wishing him “Happy Name Day”. I even have a name day! It is the 21st of May. It is kind of cool having two birthday type celebrations a year.

 

Happy Name Day, Ilias! 

 

Painting

My new hobby is painting. I find it very enjoyable. Before I Paint, I have to do a rough sketch. This is a sketch of Nina Simone. She is one of Ilias’s favorite musical artists. When I finish the painting I will post the results.

 

 

A Day at Marathi Beach

 There are so many beaches on the island of Crete that it is hard to pick a favorite. I have not been to even a quarter of them but, the beach that Ilias, two friends, and I went to on Saturday is one of my new favorites. It has nice sand, good beach chairs, a few beach bars very close, and lots of other sites to see.

 

 

 

After swimming for a bit, I decided to take a walk and check out the boats and the fishermen. I didn’t see anybody catch anything but, I was only there for a few minutes.

 

 

 

One thing that amazes me the most is the color of the water. It varies from emerald greens and marine blues. I can’t wait to swim at this beach again.

Sitting Still

 

 

 

When I am at the beach, I usually comb the beach for sea glass and shells. Up and down, up and down. Eventually, all of the bending over and shifting through the rocks and sand gives me a backache. Plus, all the bending sends the blood rushing to my brain. You would think I could use the extra blood in my brain but, it just makes me dizzy.

 

Yesterday, I did not want to go through the whole backache thing and decided to plant my butt on a towel in a rocky part of the beach. After tanning for awhile, I looked around me at the rocks and made a discovery. Sea glass was everywhere! So I sat on my towel and picked sea glass in pretty blues, whites, rusty ambers, and sea greens.

 

I have come to realize that when a person works too hard to find something that will make them happy, they end up with much pain and frustration. Maybe a backache too. If a person will just sit for a minute and look around them, they can find what they are looking for right next to them. Perhaps if they sit long enough and gather all that goodness, they can fill a jar and enjoy it’s beauty for years to come.

Fish Tavern

Ilias and I decided to eat a late dinner at one of the fish taverns near our home. It is outdoors and on the seashore. I had never been to this fish tavern before but, Ilias had been there several times and said the food was fresh and tasty.

For those of you who don’t know, a fish tavern is a restaurant in Crete that serves only fish and various salads. All food is served Cretan/Greek Style, which is many small plates of food that everyone shares. I love eating this way. I doubt I could get use to eating a plate of food all to myself ever again.

 

Of course. the meal always starts with Wine. We prefer white wine with our meals. A small bottle of Raki is also served with the meal. Raki is made from grapes and is usually 65% to 95% proof. I usually do not drink Raki because, well, I cannot handle it.

 

 

Ilias has a special gift for ordering our meals. He ordered Fish Eggs in creamy sauce, small fried fish, boiled herbs in olive oil and lemon, roasted chili pepper, pickled beets with garlic mashed potatoes, fried fish balls, Cretan olives, mussels in tomato sauce with feta cheese, fried shrimp (not shown), and fried big winged fish (not shown). The meal comes with fresh bread that we dip in everything. After the meal, we enjoyed a dessert of watermelon and Halvas (polenta with cinnamon). Oh, and of course, more Raki.

 

All the food was wonderful. My favorite was the mussels, boiled herbs, and fish eggs. We were not the only ones enjoying the meal. Alley cats are a common sight at outdoor fish taverns and most people throw them a scrap or two.

 

 

I hope we get the chance to eat at this charming place again. Maybe next time we will have guests joining us. Maybe you?

 

Home Sweet Home by the Sea

 

My home in spectacular Chania, Crete, Greece.

Living by the sea is full of wonderful experiences. Besides hearing the waves crashing, watching glorious sunsets, and feeling the relief of a cool sea breeze, the sea offers Ilias and I hours of enjoyment.

Recently, I bought a pair of goggles and a snorkel. We went down to the little private beach near our house to take a look around at the sea floor. Wow! The sea is alive with creatures. I was surprised at the tropical fish that were swimming around my feet. (Kind of scared too.) We decided to buy another pair of goggles so that we both can explore together.

 

 

Now that we have the goggles, collecting sea treasure has taken on a whole new life. Ilias searched for sea urchins and shells for me the other day. He found quite a few sea urchins and when they are fully cleaned they are very beautiful. I hope to send a couple to my boys back in the States.

Beginnings

Welcome to my blog

 

I hope you will…

 

Laugh with me

Enjoy my ramblings

Delight in my pictures

 

 

But most of all, I hope I inspire you to blog.

 

 

Bubbles in a Sunset

Taken after we bought a bubble gun at the fair.