When Paradise. . .isn't

 I am the guilty one.  I've led you to believe we live in a continual paradise. 

Cypress silhouettes, the sea and sunset. . .paradise. . .

I'm the one who so often writes about the wonders of this adopted Greek life - those glorious sunsets, the sweeping views of the sea and mountains, of our picturesque fishing village, and the charming taverns where we sip morning coffee or evening wine. 

 Days of bliss, I've led you to believe. 

A toast to sunset at Pantazi Beach - a blissful time of day

Much of the time, the days do pass blissfully, both at our Stone House on the Hill and in our rural Peloponnese community. But the reality is that sometimes even our adopted paradise . . .isn't!  

Victims from my Mediterranean garden hauled away - others burned

I'm guilty of not telling you how storms destroy that Mediterranean garden I've rhapsodized about growing. I haven't told you about the frustrations that come with internet and power outages and water shortages, that can leave us in the dark for hours and without water sometimes for days. Nor have I mentioned unrepaired roads with potholes so large they can crack the sturdiest of a vehicle's shock absorbers.  

Expats and locals could fill a book with tales of dealing with bureaucracy and of resorting to a 'do it yourself' solution when those dealings fall on deaf ears.   

Do it yourself road repair - a neighborhood effort

But then, where is the romance and glamour of expat living in those kinds of tales? It is more fun to write, and probably more fun to read about, those paradisiacal moments that we do have here. 

Every once in a while, though, we go through a spell that makes me think I should tell you about the other times. January was one of those spells. . . those times when paradise simply, isn't!  

The Morning After - not in Paradise

Yucca trunk remains after the storm

Two weeks ago, Mother Nature held us hostage in our Stone House on the Hill for the better part of two days and nights while the wind howled and shrieked around us and horizontal sheets of rain attacked structures and plants. Every so often there'd be a loud crash or bang outside. A window shutter slammed closed after the force of the wind ripped its clamp from the wall.  We had to wait for a break in the wind to even step outside to close the door shutters before they, too, ripped loose from the wall. 

We'd prepared for a storm- the Greek emergency alerts had given warning prior to its arrival - but not for a storm of the magnitude that hit. 

Pantazi Beach Bar this week

We've come to expect a strong storm or two and the cleanup it requires each winter. The kind in which churning ocean waves hurtle stones and sand from the beaches onto the roads and parking lots. There's always plenty of cleanup after a winter storm. But our most recent storm was merciless and left our village looking somewhat like a war zone. 

While not as bad as the storm that had just swept through Malta and Sicily, we had wind gusts of 106 km/hr, (65 mph).  The sustained winds were estimated to be about half that. Large established trees were pulled from the ground as easily as we pluck out a weed. Cliffs and hillsides gave way to small avalanches and dips in roads and parking lots became lakes.

My Mediterranean garden - not my happy place right now

Six yucca tree trunks snapped in our yard, one of which took down my clothesline. Lemons and oranges were stripped from their branches. We lost a large branch out of an olive tree, snapped as easily as a matchstick. Leaves were stripped from bushes, plants and trees. Large ceramic pots had been upended, many broken.

Most of these were damaged and ended up in the compost bin

Similar damage was reported throughout the villages in our area. Fourteen olive trees were uprooted in our friend's olive grove just south of us. There were no injuries to humans - for that we all are thankful.

Several friends were without power and/or water during the storm. We were among the lucky ones who had heat, lights and water to weather it.  We didn't lose water until a few days after the storm ended. Our 2,000-liter water tank ran dry as there was no municipal water coming to our house.

The Search for Water 

Water lines serving our area 

Municipal water is supplied via a haphazard system of small PVC pipes that sometimes lay on top of the ground. They wind down steep hillsides and through gorges, sometimes along remote hiking paths and other times at the side of roadways.

Sunday afternoon a neighbor joined us to hike into the hills and find the source of our problem. We finally found it near our home at the side of the road we travel to get to our home. A toppled Cyprus tree had caused an avalanche when its roots were ripped from the ground, burying the water pipe serving our neighborhood. 

We hired workers to unearth the pipe that afternoon. The municipality needed to reconnect the pipes.

Exit Paradise - Enter One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. . .

The tree that took out the water lines

Monday morning bright and early we were at the Municipality's water department, reporting our problem to one of two - both English-speaking -- clerks..

Much to our surprise, the visit was quick and efficient.  We made the report, we provided photos of the damaged pipe needing repair and of the area it was in, we dropped a pin on the exact location on a Google Map so the plumber wouldn't have to spend time searching for it. 

We were told that the municipal plumbers had a lot of calls to make so we offered to hire a private plumber. No, we were told, it would have to be prepared by the municipality.

No the repairs hadn't been made - we sent this photo

Next morning we received an email saying the plumber had made the repair and asking if we had water. 

No, we didn't have water. And no repairs had been made.

These two pipes still need to be connected, we wrote

We took photos showing water still flowing out of an unattached pipe and of the two disconnected hoses.  We sent them to City Hall. 

Next morning we called the nice human who spoke English.  Yes, he said, he'd seen the two photos we sent (the two appearing above).

Then he told us in English that the plumber had repaired the pipe and that we should check our meter because it might be leaking. . .

It wasn't paradise - was it  a remake of the movie, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'?

We've got water again at our house!

That was when we hired a plumber. He came out and in less than a half hour made the repair pictured above, restoring water to our house.  

More Expat Tales

Our stormy weather continues as we await spring in the Peloponnese.  It is a good reminder for us to enjoy those good days when they finally return.  We appreciate the time you've read this tale of sometimes Paradise Lost, expat version.

And among the speakers are. . .

The Scout and I will be speaking about our expat life during a 'Greece Online Workshop' February 19th, sponsored by the Live and Invest Overseas organization.  Practical advice will be provided by a number of professionals including a Greek attorney and a real estate representative.  

I know a number of you are considering expat life in Greece and you may find this event to be of interest.  For a complete rundown of the details, click the link above.  

And a big Thanks to those who've subscribed to receive my Substack articles (Jackie Humphries Smith) as well as continuing to read my occasional postings here!  Until the next time, safe travels to you all ~

A Toast to Travels and A New Year!

 When last I wrote here I said our bags were packed and we were off on an adventure that would take us out of our comfort zones to new countries and into new cultures as we sailed from Cape Town, South Africa to Singapore. 

 

Setting sail from Cape Town, South Africa

We did just that with some 500 fellow cruisers in December as we crossed the Indian Ocean aboard Oceania's Sirena ship.  

Cruise port Maputo, Mozambique

The cruise line had been up front about some of the places we would visit. Among the things they advised:        

Some of our ports of call were in developing countries, not well established for tourism. We'd visit places where English was the third or fourth language, where there were no formal qualifications for local guides and restrooms and guest services might be in short supply.

Crossing the Indian Ocean in December

Some shore excursions would be done in convoy, they said, with buses all leaving and returning at the same time. (We didn't have that experience anywhere, but we took few of the ship's excursions.)  Buses in many cases were not new, and road conditions in places were somewhat, shall we say, minimal.  But after all, they are still developing countries.

From the ship in Columbo, Sri Lanka

Other stops were in popular tourist destinations like Mauritius and Phuket, Thailand that offered gorgeous beaches and ports of call designed for tourists.  We shared dock space with freighters in most of the places we visited but then we like the hustle and bustle of the shipping industries so that was an added bonus to our way of thinking.

It took a dozen sea days to complete the journey. It took three days alone to travel from Maputo, Mozambique (on the African continent to Reunion Island to the east of Madagascar). Another four days were required to travel between Mauritius and the Maldives.  We'd underestimated the vastness of the Indian Ocean.

Our ship off shore on tender day - Maldives

I did write dispatches from the Indian Ocean on Substack, the writing platform where I write as Jackie Humphries Smith @TravelnWrite. I mentioned my move to it in the last blog post.  And I thank those of you who've already subscribed to receive those articles.  (It is free, arrives in email format, just like this one, so hope to see more of you there). 

Street scene Male, Maldives

Just a bit of a reminder here for my subscribers (current and future): Google Blogger, the platform this is written on was sold to another company.  Mailchimp the platform that sends these posts to you is also changing in a few months. I will gradually be moving from here to the Substack platform and if you want to keep reading of our travels and expat adventures and misadventures, please do sign up there using the link above.

I will be writing more there about our Indian Ocean 'cruise of discovery'. I named it that about halfway through the cruise when we realized that not only were we discovering new places, but also learning a bit about ourselves as travelers 

Waves wetting our sixth floor cabin balcony

One of the first things that became clear about us was that we tired quickly of the sea days. And that was a surprise because sea days used to be a favorite of mine. These Indian Ocean sea days were rough, literally, rough. The kind of days you braced in the shower so that you didn't topple out and you staggered down the hallways.  Some days outer decks and pool areas were closed because of the wave action and the wind gusts ('mild gale' means just that we learned).  A larger ship would have offered more indoor activity space which we could have used to while away the hours.

Hambantota, Sri Lanka

Three of 11 ports of call were missed.  The sea was so rough in Mossel Bay, South Africa that the captain dropped anchor, set out the tenders we'd use to get to shore and two hours later pulled up the anchor having determined it unsafe to try and use them.  In Maputo, Mozambique we stayed on board for not having gotten a Yellow Fever vaccination (more on that and travel vaccinations in a later post). Galle, Sri Lanka, a UNESCO cultural and historic stop was switched for Hambantota (Where? you ask. So did we! I'll be writing about that visit on Substack.)

Tender to shore in Male, Maldives

We wouldn't call this trip a magical journey - yes, I know I am famous for labeling places and travels as being magical. This trip didn't make the cut.  BUT as with each of our trips we are certainly glad we went.  We saw some amazing places and other places we don't feel the need to visit again. Traveling by ship got us to those places without the fuss, muss and cost of traveling by airplane. We met some wonderful people on board our ship and some pretty amazing ones as well.  I will be telling you about them on Substack!

Touring by tuk-tuk in Sri Lanka

Thanks for being with us again today.  We wish you a Happy New Year and Happy Travels. (And while you are traveling, head over to Substack and sign up for Jackie Humphries Smith @Travelnwrite! )