Summer Safety

Time really does fly here on Crete. It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks time the days will actually be getting shorter again! June is the month when we see dramatic rises in temperature as we move from spring to the height of summer. Time to go to the beach once more and have fun in the sun! However, though it may be stating the obvious to many, here are our annual safety reminders. When out and about, a hat, plenty of sunscreen and water are essential - and remember, those cooling mountain breezes can be highly deceptive when it comes to sunburn. If you are on the beach, pay attention to the warning flags - if a red or black flag is flying do not even think about going into the water. And finally, given the mild winter we have had with low rainfall, please be extra cautious about fire hazards. The photo on the right was taken on the Bugle team’s recent trip to the Peloponnese and is just a small indicator of the long term damage that was caused by the wild fires of 2007 and 2008.

Water. Thirst Quencher, Part 2!

Following on from her informative article in last month’s Bugle, local nutrition expert Uta Wagner writes:

‘The main role of water in our body is to transport dissolved nutrients to all cells of the organism. In addition, water is often supplemented with important minerals and micronutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, fluoride, iron or sodium. By law, certain minerals have to be declared on the labels of bottled water, others are provided voluntarily by the bottlers. Minerals are generally identified on water bottles in a table giving their chemical symbols - but this list is usually written in such small type that you’ll need a magnifying glass to decipher it!

Here in Crete the tap water is very ‘hard’ containing somewhat high levels of magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca). However, what is bad for the washing machine is good for our heart! In a study in Finland it was revealed that water had the potential to decrease the risk of heart attacks by as much as 1%. And as many of you will already know, calcium is important for the teeth and bones and magnesium is useful as fuel for the heart and muscles. If you want to use the water for the preparation of baby food it, check for low Na and Cl values (salinity). Our bodies need sodium together with potassium (K) for the regulation of water balance and for many biochemical reactions of our cells. Chloride is useful for the formation of gastric acid and helps to keep our pulse going.

Beside the chemical symbols of the minerals you can see a small ‘+’ or ‘-’. This is not a positive or negative rating but says something about the binding nature of these components to each other - this should play no role in our decision about which water to buy as our body knows how to distribute the minerals in the best way.

So then: Yamas – Cheers - Prost – Skål – Prosit - á votre santé!’

Where Can I Recycle Waste Items?

Apart from using the blue and yellow recycling bins for household waste other items can be recycled as follows:
Disposal of broken electrical goods. There is a depot just outside town which will take anything ‘that had a plug on it’ (including washing machines and fridges). Drivers, take the National Road towards Heraklion in Misiria. Turn off the highway after about 100—150 metres, hang a right and you should soon see recycling bins etc. The depot is open from 6am to 3pm on weekdays, and from 6am to 12 noon at weekends. For further information call 28310 57940. For large objects that need collection call 195 from any phone.
Old telephones and small telecoms items. There is a green bin in the entrance of the main OTE office..
Batteries. various places in town including OTE, DEI, Germanos, Marinopoulos and Champion.
Old cars. DRAKOS on the left hand side of the National Road a short way out of Rethymnon (going towards Hania). They even pay you as they recycle the spares and give you a paper for tax purposes!
Used cooking oil: Four containers for used cooking oil have now been placed in Rethymnon. They are located at: the entrance to the industrial port (near old harbour); the South entrance to the municipal park; Agios Giorgos Church (Kallithea) and Kapodistriou street (also in Kallithea). Just open the lid on the top and pour your used oil into the container. The recycled cooking oil is going towards producing bio-fuel and soap.