Forum Downtime - Living in Crete

Update Monday January 30th
We are still experiencing intermittent problems with the forum. The web host is aware of the problems and working to fix them,

Update 4.30pm Thursday 26 January
Forum is offline again, the web host appears to be fixing further issues resulting from yesterday's 'routine maintenance'.

Update 10am Thur 26 Jan
All fixed now, we're back online.

Update 5pm Wed 25 Jan.

There are problems with the Living in Crete forum database, which we are aware of and fixing.

Apologies for any incovenience.

Lefka Ori - The White Mountains

This post is from 2010.. we took the same trip today - Jan 2012.

It was a beautiful sunny day today Chania so we decided to take a drive up to the White Mountains. Driving through Therisso we headed up the mountain in the jeep. Just outside Therisso we turn left at the first fork and follow the road up, which soon becomes a track. (Don't attempt this track unless you have a four wheel drive - 5km of potholed track, slippy with stones and mud from the early morning rain and melting snow).

Click on the photographs to see the larger sized pictures.

Above Therisso - looking back


Higher..


and higher.. we even spotted a rainbow



Looking up..


We finally hit the snow..







At the end of the road, in the snow and the shadow of the Lefka Ori, with a fierce wind blowing, the temperature dropped to about 2C.

Jobs in Greece 2012

Jobs in Greece 2012
Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Ios, Paros, Zante, Mykonos, Santorini. Summer jobs in the Greek Islands.




Tourism remains one of the main stays of the Greek economy, making up more than 15% of GDP. In the Greek islands, such as Crete, figures are much higher, with up to 40% of the local population employed either directly or indirectly in the tourism industry.

Each year Greece's tourism industry employs thousands of summer workers in tourist related services and, although the number of jobs may be fewer compared to previous years, there is still a demand for English speaking workers, particularly during the height of the season in July and August.


Looking for work in Greece this summer?

If living and working in Greece is your dream this summer, start planning and take action now ..
Go to Summer jobs in the Greek Islands

Cruise giants eye local port infrastructure

Representatives of major international cruise companies have expressed interest in participating in the construction of infrastructure projects at a number of Greek ports, provided that the cruise market in Greece is fully liberalized.

Cruise giants such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Costa, MSC and Celebrity have said they are interested not just in Piraeus, Greece’s biggest port, but also in investing in infrastructure works at other ports to raise the standard of services on offer.

Sources suggest that Royal Caribbean is interested in the ports of Thessaloniki, Rhodes and Iraklio, in addition to Piraeus. The Cretan capital holds particular appeal for the company, as it is considering investing in its infrastructure in order to use it as a home port for cruises to Africa, Turkey and the Greek islands.
Source: ekathimerini.com

Chania Town - Christmas and New Year Events

A number of Christmas and New Year events will take place over the holidays in Chania town, organised by the local council. All events are free, except where indicated.






Sunday, December 18 - Old Customs House - 18.00hrs
Opening of Christmas festivities Cretan music and dance.

Monday December 19 - Market Square - 21.00hrs
Official lighting of the Christmas Tree followed by a concert with Kostas Makedonas.

Thursday December 22 - Center of Mediterranean Architecture - 21.00hrs
Christmas Concert with the Choir of Despina Drakakis.

Saturday December 24 - Market Square - 11.00am
Children's Theatre Workshop of the Regional Theatre Crete, sing carols. The proceeds will go to charity.

Saturday December 24 - Theatre "Dimitris Vlisidis" - 11.00am and 13.00hrs (2 performances)
Theatrical show with the work of Charles Dickens 'Christmas Carol' with the theatrical group OMMA STUDIO. Admission: 5 €

Saturday December 24 - Old Customs House - 11.00am
Games with clown Pepito

Saturday December 24 - Old Customs House - 18.00hrs
Children's party with DJ Basil Orfanoudaki

Saturday, December 24 - Chania Market - 18.00hrs
Christmas carols by the choir of the Music School in Chania

Wednesday December 28 - Theatre "Dimitris Vlisidis" - 20.00hrs
Christmas in Greece with the Folk Club of Chania

Friday December 30 - Center of Mediterranean Architecture - 21.00
Walls Tango Night with the Dance school "En Xoro" - Frini Tango

Saturday December 31 - Market Square - 12.00noon
Traditional dances with the Dance Group Chania "Psiloritis"

Saturday December 31 - Old Customs House - 11.00am
Christmas puppetry, game play and workshop.

Saturday December 31 - Market Square - 22.00hrs
NEW YEAR'S EVE at the Agora Concert with the band NOSTODIA and the Chania Philharmonic Orchestra.

Monday January 2 - Old Customs House - 18.00hrs
Traditional evening,Participants traditional collection of Chania

Tuesday January 3 - Old Customs House- 18.00hrs
Concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Chania

Wednesday January 4 - Old Customs House - 18.00hrs
Traditional evening. With traditional music - dance clubs of Chania.

Translated from the Haniotika Nea.

New Flights to Crete for 2012

Updated Dec 17 2011
easyJet announce a new route Luton - Heraklion for summer 2012, flights on Tuesdays beginning April 21st, with departure from Luton at 07.00hrs and departure from Heraklion at 13.45hrs. Prices start from £37.99 and bookings are now being taken.

Ryanair have a number of new routes in 2012 to Chania airport in Crete from Leeds/Bradford, East Midlands, Glasgow Prestwick and London Stanstead, starting the end of March 2012. Ryanair will also be operating direct flights in 2012 between Chania and Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan- Bergamo,Oslo, Pisa and Wroclaw.

Avro - Monarch Airlines Flight-only operator- have also expanded their Crete, Greece programme of summer flights for 2012, with flights from East Midlands and Newcastle to Heraklion.

East Midlands to Heraklion is priced from £249 per person and will operate each Tuesday from 12 May to 25 September.

Newcastle to Heraklion starts from £259, operating from May to November each Tuesday.

Travel Mole

Christmas Shopping Hours in Crete

Christmas and New Year shopping hours in Chania and Crete are as follows:

Sunday 18 December 10 am to 8 pm
Monday 19 December 9am - 2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Tuesday 20 December 9 - 2 & 5.30 – 9pm
Wednesday 21 December 9 - 2 & 5.30 – 9pm
Thursday 22 December 9 - 2 & 5.30 – 9pm
Friday 23 December 9 am to 9pm
Saturday 24 December: 9am to 8pm

Sunday 25 December CLOSED
Monday 26 December CLOSED
Tuesday 27 December 9am -2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Wednesday 28 December 9am -2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Thursday 29 December 9am -2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Friday 30 December 9am -2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Saturday 31 December 9am to 6 pm

Sunday 1 January CLOSED
Monday 2 January CLOSED

Tuesday 3 January 9am -2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Wednesday 4 January 9am-2pm
Thursday 5 January 9am -2pm & 5.30 – 9pm
Friday 6 January CLOSED (Epiphany)
Saturday 7 January 9am – 2.30pm
Sunday 8 January CLOSED

From Haniotika Nea

Holiday shopping hours on mainland Greece, in Athens, Thessaloniki etc, differ from those in Crete. For details see Holiday shopping hours in Greece.

ΓΙΑΤΡΟΙ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ "Medecins du Monde" in Chania

«ΓΙΑΤΡΟΙ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ»
Haniotes seeking support

"Doctors of the World" on Boniali street, Hania, have recorded rapid growth of those seeking free medical care at their Hania offices, with many of those seeking help having lost their jobs and being no longer entitled to access to free and reduced drugs via the Greek social health system. (Note: in Greece the social security and health systems require that you pay into them to receive benefits, there are few social benefits and the health system is not available free to all).

According to data of "Doctors of the World", more than 2,500 people have requested assistance from the clinic of "Doctors" in Chania since the beginning of the year, with the percentage of Greeks who resort to "Medecins du Monde" around 10 to 15%, while in the past Greeks made up just 1 to 2% of those seeking help, with the rest being foreigners. Furthermore, for the first time, there is an increase of people also seeking food.

Social Pharmacy
A social pharmacy in Chania is expected to start functioning this month, for several vulnerable groups, at the Labour Centre Εργατικού Κέντρου, set up by the Pharmaceutical Association of Chania, the Medical Association of Chania and Chania Labor Center.
The social pharmacy will be housed in two rooms at the Labour Centre, will be run by volunteers from the above medical groups and will offer free drugs to both Greeks and foreigners who can not afford to buy them.
Translated from Haniotika Nea


ΓΙΑΤΡΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ
11 Boniali str., 73 133 Chania
Τel: 28210 23110
Doctors of the World website for Greece

Volunteer: http://mdmgreece.gr

Railway line in Crete?

Is the project of building a railway line in Crete eligible for EU co-financing? The request for the construction of a railway line in Crete was put to the European Parliament by Green Ecological Party MEP Michael Tremopoulos for the Commission's consideration.

Beyond the known and indisputable environmental advantages of rail transport, such a pillar in Crete would contribute significantly to addressing the severe congestion in the cities of the island, it would make the movement of people immeasurably safer than today's dangerous roads and would facilitate the movement to and from Heraklion airport, the second busiest airport in Greece, while contributing to the overall balanced development of Crete.

Despite the consensus of the community and the scientific community about the need for such a project, no studies have yet been initiated.

A rail link between the three major cities of Crete - Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion - would result in a travel time of 50 minutes on the route Heraklion-Chania.

Source http://rethemnosnews.gr/

On Facebook there's a page ΣΙΔΗΡΟΔΡΟΜΟΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΡΗΤΗ / TRAIN IN CRETE at www.facebook.com/groups/43193441881

Clouds Over Chania

We enjoyed a heavy rain shower or two around Chania today, with some dramatic, and beautiful, clouds.

Click on a picture to start the slide show