Travelling Tales

On Saturday 20th April members of the BBC went on their famed excursion to Zaros. It was the most adventurous outing so far for the group, and was something of an initiative test! Our brief was to meet at Taverna Votamos, (restaurant and trout farm) at 1 pm. Well, by hook or crook, choosing a variety of different routes (“Where is your car now?” “In the middle of a field”), we all made it eventually. We had a long and sociable lunch, then some of us wandered up to the lake to relax for the afternoon. Many of us stayed the night—the majority of us in the Keramos Hotel, which is a traditional guesthouse renowned for its ‘Big Breakfast’. Our hostess Kyria Katerina, who is an expert in Cretan traditional cuisine, was hospitality personified. As soon as we walked in through the door we were offered coffee, tea or raki, and as for the breakfast, well! But I’m getting ahead of myself here. On Saturday evening the motley crew set out to explore the nightlife of downtown Zaros, which is pretty laid back, really! Supper at the Taverna Veggera was fantastic—a selection of local Cretan dishes, beautifully cooked, and Taverna owner Vivi made us all feel extremely welcome.

Breakfast at Hotel Keramos

The next morning at breakfast we were served with 21 different types of sweet and savory pastries, including individually baked Sfakian pies. It is hard to know how Kyria Katerina finds any time for sleep with the amount of hard work she puts in! Kyria Katerina frequently receives visits from groups who are interested in learning about local customs and traditions, which in some places on Crete have all but disappeared. You can find out more about the Hotel Keramos and Kyria Katerina at the www.studiokeramos-zaros.gr website. The general consensus was that the trip was a great success. Thanks go to everyone in Zaros who helped to make the weekend so enjoyable.

On the way back to Rethymnon the editor and photo journalist drove across the mountains and stopped for lunch at Ligres beach. It was a lovely drive, a sunny day with the last remains of snow still visible on the mountain tops. Ligres beach is part of the as-yet unspoilt coastline that stretches south from Preveli. With a hotel development in the offing, enjoy it while you can! Lunch at Ligres was very good, too, and the Taverna has a very relaxed atmosphere with friendly staff. All in all, a great weekend!

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Laina’s Winter Season: School’s out for Summer!

Last month Laina’s Akropolis winter 2007—2008 season came to a close - the grand finale was on April 15th. It was an emotional evening, but we managed to go out in style. The school uniform theme was a huge success and many of the usual suspects dressed up for the occasion (what an incredible selection of ties and baseball caps)! Laina laid on a great buffet for us all, and of course, there was karaoke to keep us entertained..

So what are our favourite memories from the winter? Looking back over the past few months, it’s hard to say. Laina has really managed to pull out all the stops in terms of keeping us occupied during those cold and damp days. We’ve had some fantastic parties (New Year’s Eve is one that stands out in our opinion), there have been some great fundraising events for local charities such as the Rethymnon branch of the Red Cross, and Friends of the Animals Rethymno.

Laina came to the rescue when Svea’s was being refurbished to provide an alternative venue for the CIC coffee mornings in December and January. She has also hosted special events such as Table—Top Sales and Alternative Healing sessions. All this plus the legendary Sunday roasts, Terry’s fish and chips, live music, quiz and curry nights, bingo, Saturday Greek lessons with Grigoris and more.

Sincere thanks to Laina and everyone who helped at the Akropolis to make winter out at Platanes such good fun. We hope that Laina manages to have a good rest and that she has a lovely relaxing summer. And everyone at the Bugle is looking forward to catching up with Laina at her new winter venue later on in the year, wherever this may turn out to be!