BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023

Subject: BS: POSTCARD FROM 'DENDROS'
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 09:22 AM

Back to the mythical isle of Dendros. The horrendous outward journey and terrible queues of the return journey last year meant compensation from the airline paid for this year’s flight which went smoothly both ways. Tourism must be recovering from the Covid shut down as we flew on a wide bodied Dreamliner. We arrived half an hour earlier than scheduled which enabled us to catch an earlier ferry and still have time for lunch at our favourite taverna in the port and watch martins feeding their young in a nest above the roof mounted PA speakers. When we got off the ferry there was the usual warm welcome from our landlord and his son took time off from his accountancy practice to carry our bags from car to apartment along the beach and up the steps, for which this 79 year-old was grateful, especially as the handle and one wheel had got broken. We’ve only had these bags 30 years: nothing lasts these days.
        We got the usual warm welcome in the taverna, village shop and from the travelling veg. man who all remember us (well, we’ve been coming for about 19 of the last 28 years!). We were especially pleased to see the familiar yacht of a Dutch harmonica wizard in the bay, which guaranteed 3 nights of pleasant jamming with our Greek guitarist friend. Later in the week English, German and Aussie musicians turned up with guitars and shaky eggs. Unusually the village was very busy as there was a 25 strong party from Preston and environs celebrating a 50th birthday. The group included two young women with their partners that we hadn’t seen since they were pr-teens holidaying with their father.
        We had a couple of wet thundery nights and windy and cloudy days which drove the yachts away and gave us no excuse not to do some of our usual gentle local walks (inevitably uphill). Our second week the temperatures were in the 30s so it was too hot for walking. For the first time we had cockroaches in the apartment but they were mostly dead or dying of whatever the cleaner had sprayed the floor with and a fly swat dealt with the rest.
        We returned from a meal with friends outside the village to be greeted with fireworks (not for us but for the Preston birthday party). The chef had promised them dynamite but luckily he’d mislaid the detonators -we hoped his 4 & 5 year old boys didn’t find them.
        There were a couple of superyachts in the bay during our stay. One cost $300 million to build and 5 million euros a month to run (plus food, fuel and tips. It catered for 14 guests with a crew of 31. Judging by the dog’s breakfast they made of mooring the crew were chosen for their hospitality skill rather than seamanship.
        The island doesn’t change much, we noticed a new retaining wall had been built to protect the fisherman’s harbour from silting up when winter rains cause landslides. There was a new monument to the Greek Independence battle of Gerontas and one house in the village had erected a redundant ship’s wheelhouse as a garden shed ( shades of Geo Clarke’s Small Spaces!). Some new road signs : 50 km limit on the winding coastal road hugging the mountainside and warning signs of landslides and “animals”. This showed a cow but should have been a goat as they don’t move out of the middle of the road until the last minute.
On the eve of the Feast of John the Baptist there was the traditional jumping over bonfire (no, I didn’t). In September we hope to go to Aegina for the first time and no doubt a longer postcard will ensue. As usual, Thimbles O’Hooligan has put photos up on his Facebook page which you can see if you are his “friend”.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: POSTCARD FROM 'DENDROS'
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 10:24 AM

Well we could almost wave at you up the Ionian and across the Adriatic from where we are! I'm sitting on our little hotel terrace a thousand feet above and a couple of miles out of Taormina in Sicily. The summit of Etna is puffing threateningly away, about twelve miles from here, and facing our terrace. An amazing view on a good day. Actually, until today you've had to have got up early to see it as it's been shrouded in cloud or haze for most of daylight hours, until today. This is our third visit here in eight years and it's our little piece of paradise. It's been very hot and humid, but we came here just to chill as we've seen all the "sights" before. We go to the same restaurant every evening, a ten-minute hot slog up the road, just by the tiny church Madonna Della Rocca, carved out of the cliff. They remembered us from four years ago and treat us like royalty!

Viva the Med!

Subject: RE: BS: POSTCARD FROM 'DENDROS'
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 23 - 12:10 PM

I live in a warm climate but without the view or long-standing cultural amenities (lots of stuff going on in Tejas, but the pre-Euro signs aren't as durable here as in places like Mexico.) I'll have to read along and enjoy a vicarious vacation.

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Jul 23 - 12:49 AM

By the way, we also suffered a busted wheel on one of our bags in Catania airport. I think it was about 20 years old. Tsk. That airport was closed due to a big ash fall from Etna in May. This is our last morning here, heading to the airport in less than an hour. The sky is clear and cloudless, no Mediterranean haze just for once, and Etna is looking lovely, just a benign plume of smoke spreading out in a long thin line across the bay at Giardini Naxos. Oh well. It's home, James, and don't spare the horses! .

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Jul 23 - 04:48 PM

Catania Fontanarossa airport is horrible (few airports make the "faintly nice" grade, but Catania is a particular bad 'un). We queued for ages at the gate entrance (no seating), then for more ages at the bottom of the many steps as we waited for the bus to the plane. And, begod, it was hot. Or was it all EasyJet's fault...

But we've had a great week. Taormina is very charming, with some lovely spots and great views to Etna and over the Ionian Sea, but it's very touristy. As we were outside the town we could afford to have a limited transaction with it, especially as we've been here twice before. Coffee and gelato compulsory. We avoided the superb ancient Greek amphitheatre this time (we've been twice before), not least because it's their annual film festival this week, and the huge screen and staging, er, takes away somewhat from the ancient ambience and the spectacular setting. We did have a sojourn in the wonderful town garden, with its war memorial, tribute to the Englishwoman Florence Trevelyan who founded the garden, its wacky follies and its amazing collection of exotic subtropical trees that Bude can only dream of. And a nice bit of shade, much needed in Sicily but rarely sought in the Cornish summer...

We had several very hot and humid days with hazy skies, but yesterday produced the goods with clear air, great views and a nice breeze to temper the heat. But we had been determined to have a chillout week, our first European foray for four years thanks to the pandemic. And we did it!

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Jul 23 - 06:42 PM

In a few weeks' time we're having a week in a village about an hour's drive inland from Málaga in Andalucía. We know the Almería province of Andalucía quite well but, except for visits to Córdoba and Granada, we've rarely strayed so far west. I'll keep you posted...

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 04 Jul 23 - 04:02 AM

Steve, we had a memorable holiday in Sicily a few years ago visiting the many historical sites. No-one left a horse's head in our beds either!
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 04 Jul 23 - 08:00 AM

We went to Ronda some years back and it was lovely. Noted for its lamb dishes I commented on the similarity between Ronda and Rhondda :-) The way up to Ronda from the coast was quite interesting. You could tell you were approaching a sharp bend by the number of cars upside down on the roadside :-D While admiring the architecture and views I did spot a fly in the ointment though - A Boddingtons Beer sign!

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Jul 23 - 06:27 PM

The received wisdom is that the mafia (and similar) frown severely (a euphemism) on criminals who target tourists, for the simple reason that tourists bring loadsamoney to the very establishments - hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, gelateria and coffee bars - from which they extract the pizzo. Mafiosi love tourists! Just don't mention them in a loud voice, that's all! Having said that, I came very close to being robbed by a druggie in the Metropolitana station in Naples once. Muggers and pickpockets are often below the mafia radar. But Italy is rated as a far safer country than the UK or the US. It's just better to not look blatantly like a tourist in Napoli!

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 06:17 AM

Been back home for under three days and my arms and legs are peppered with new mosquito bites. But not a single one did I pick up in Sicily. They're all of Bude origin. I got complacent when I got home. Bring on the DEET.

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 07:39 AM

Try Avon Skin So Soft. Difficult to get as it is used extensively by outoor types to repel mossies!

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 07:53 AM

I've heard mixed things about that stuff. Anyway, I never put anything on my skin that has "parfum" as an ingredient... 50% DEET for me. The worst mozzie attacks I ever endured were in late September in Kefalonia (Roger may confirm the perils of that region if he's been there in late summer...), but I got a few very nasty bites in Campania (Sorrento/Naples) one early October. Those ones came up in big blisters and I still have a scar on my leg from one of them 10 years later! Only DEET will do me - everything else far too risky!

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 11:27 AM

Looking at some of my past Postcards, they seemed more interesting and full of incident, I must be getting old and boring. Since we got back we heard that our guitarist/taverna owner friend got an electric shock while mending one of his refrigerators (his former day job). His son gave him CPR and he was taken to hospital and kept overnight. Thankfully back home now and recovering. Mem to self: always unplug/switch off before DIY.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 01:58 PM

Fort William in June wax my worst mossie attack. Once we got above 2000 feet it was fine but below that, I was bitten to bits!

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 05:13 PM

Could've been midges, Dave. They're in season in Scotland from June on and they are not a problem high up.

Subject: RE: BS: Postcard from 'Dendros' 2023
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Jul 23 - 03:01 AM

I'm pretty sure they were Steve but whatever you call them, they are bustards!

(Sorry for the swearing and thread drift)