Contents
Spotlight
On the Road Again
In May and June core members of the Bugle Team went walkabout. We made a trip to Italy and the Peloponnese and we also spent some time in Athens. So we thought that for this month’s Spotlight feature it might be a good idea if we gave you just a few of our impressions (and, no, honestly this has nothing to do with the fact that we had a tighter than usual deadline this month and wanted to show off our holiday snaps!). We were on a driving holiday (which nowadays is a bit unusual for us) so took the ferry from Hania to Piraeus, and then the one from Patras to Ancona (and vice versa). We went with ANEK and though we are still growling about the way ANEK reneged on their promise to supply a regular ferry for Rethymnon, we have to admit that the company treated us pretty well. And there is something a bit ’homey’ (and surreal!) about drinking a decent Cretan red in the ship’s restaurant in the middle of the Adriatic and being able to say to yourselves ’we know the people who made this wine’ (and this is of course partly due to the hospitality we have been shown at various local wine festivals we could name. Thanks again!).
As I think we mentioned last month, when we were travelling, ANEK were doing an olive oil promotion (we ended up with loads!) and some special deals. Check out the www.anek.gr for further info. The route from Athens to Patras is straightforward enough if you follow the national highway. We stopped off in Corinth to look at the canal and also to visit the archaeological site of ancient Corinth and the stunning fortress at Acro Corinth. If you haven’t been to these sites before, we would strongly recommend you pay a visit to these places. And if like us you are taking your car, arriving on the mainland on the morning ferry from Crete and aiming to get the afternoon boat from Patras, you will have plenty of time to do this. We really rate the museum at ancient Corinth: It may be compact, but there is a highly imaginative selection of exhibits on display!
Connections and Interconnections
Living on Crete is such a unique experience that sometimes one tends to forget about the external influences that have helped to shape the cultural identity of the island over the centuries. Or to put it another way, once you leave the island to explore foreign domains, you might be suddenly surprised by an image that reminds you of home!
The buildings in these pictures are a prime example.
One of the photos was taken in the Peloponnese, one in a small coastal resort in Italy. But in our view either one of these buildings could just as easily have been in Hania. Something to do with the Venetians perhaps (or maybe not, we’re not actually that great on architecture). Anyway, the holiday in Italy was lovely and once again the ferry trip back was just fine (even more Cretan wine and olive oil). We then spent a few days touring around the Peloponnese, and had a grand time in the beautiful town of Nafplion. However, we’ll have to leave our impressions of Nafplion for another time (and we could write a book about these!). You’ll see why in a minute.
Kalavryta: Stories of Hope and Tragedy
On our way from Patras to Nafplion we made a detour to Kalavryta where we spent the night. There are several reasons why this is a good trip to make. Many of the guide books you will read will focus on the rack and pinion railway journey that can be taken to Kalavryta from Diakofto on the coast. The railway - which was constructed in the late 19th century - is by all accounts an amazing feat of engineering and helped to establish Kalavryta as a trading centre. The train trip is supposed to be just wonderful, one of the reasons being that the railway cuts through a spectacular gorge. Obviously as we were in the car and it was out of season we cannot tell you about the train trip. The drive through the mountains, though, was just stunning. Modern day Kalavryta gains income as a ski resort, and also from promoting local products. The people in Kalavryta were very friendly to us and we had a great evening eating and drinking. However, and more importantly perhaps, Kalavryta is also known as being the place where local men and boys were executed in a ’reprisal massacre’ carried out by the Nazis in
1943. Up on the hill at the execution site there is a very well kept memorial. The museum dedicated to the event (housed in the original primary school where men and boys were separated from women and girls before being led away) gave us a great deal to think about.
