A message from Crete

Hello,
   
            it seems like about time I posted from Crete, so here I am in Chania, the trendiest and inevitably most expensive Cretan City.

We started in Rethymno on 17th August, travelled to Askifou in the white mountains for 2 days, then onto the high desert village of Anopoli for 4 nights, before rolling up in Sougia the laid back lconic lazy resort on the south coast, for 3 nights.

We got to Chania on Friday 27th and have been staying in a traditional Venetian family home in the old town. This is not rented out on the internet, but an occasionally available property that we have rented through a friend.

The weather has been getting hotter over the last couple of days but was really hot on the coast - mainly it has been humid everywhere.

The beer situation in Chania appears to have deteriorated significantly. No.43 no longer sells any beer, the Metropolitan bar has become a sham cheapo family venue with rolla-cola and fake music, although it does still sell Charma Dark. Bar hippo may not be selling Craft anymore, will be investigating later, Baroro remains excellent with no noticeable change in price. There is one addition to the beer scene with a good range available at a supposed rock bar near where Talos used to be, but none of the places using Charma beer advertising boards seem to sell it, and as yet the only Craft I have seen has been on the South Coast.

Traders report a busy August but I get the feeling that trade was poor earlier on, and the continuing downturn in tourist profits probably drives the inexorable passage towards endless Amstel and Mythos everywhere you go.

There is a harbour front bar which plays decent metal on a Friday and Saturday night so that is an improvement, but overall a low score for Chania - love it as I do, you end up paying nearly double the prices on the South coast for less and less individual venues.

Starbucks was the first indicator that Chania wanted to be anywhere else in the world, and global brands predominate. The final bad news is that the Ouzeri across from Madonna studios has now closed down.

Still, its hovering around 36 degrees and we have a free day before we leave for Paleachora tomorrow so there should be 4 beach days ahead if we want, and hopefully Portofino will still sell Pilsner Urquell.

Hope to get online on the last day otherwise will be back to finally post some details about kafenions when i return - there is a new one ( if that makes sense, perhaps I mean revived) in Chania old town, so will investigate that as well.

Wee Beefy, Chania old town.