Stray Cats of Paleochora

I've realised I don't have enough cat pictures on my blog. Actually, I don't think I have any. This is an oversight that obviously needs to be remedied and my recent trip to Crete has given me the opportunity to do this.



Although stray cats are ubiquitous in Crete, it was in Paleochora that I first really noticed them. Walking along the rocky section of the beach on Easter Sunday there seemed to be an awful lot of cats just hanging out among the rocks. Watching them for a while, it became obvious that they weren't out for a day at the seaside, but the beach was their home. They were beach bum cats. 

Some were quite hard to spot as their colours helped camouflage them against the rocks. They lay in the sun taking in the rays, scrabbling about for titbits amongst the flotsam and occasionally disappearing into hollows. 

The following day, as I sat outside a bar on the main street sipping a coffee, I noticed a ginger cat waiting outside the fishmonger's opposite. It seemed quite confident of being served. Sure enough, the fishmonger's young son came out and offered the cat a snack. The fishmonger, realising what was going on, chased the cat and reprimanded his son. Moments later, a black and white cat appeared and behaved in exactly the same way as the previous ginger. The ritual was repeated: cat waited patiently; young boy came out and fed it; dad chased cat and told son off. I could have sat watching this all day.

Fish please!

 

Next!

The stray cats of Crete are well-known and seem to be tolerated in much the same way the birds are. Sometimes people feed them, other times they ignore them, but I didn't see anyone being cruel or getting annoyed at them. Even the fishmonger, who must have been pretty frustrated, wasn't horrible when he shooed them away. 

From the numerous calendars, bags, tea towels and postcards I saw with pictures of Cretan cats adorning them, I supposed they're quite good for the tourist and retail industries and maybe this is why they are tolerated? 

Of course, being strays they are not neutered, deloused, wormed or even fed regularly. Although they look cute, they have to deal with a much tougher world than our pet cats in the UK. 

Spot the cat

Tourists, falling for their cuteness whilst on their summer holidays, will feed them, enabling the cats to become healthier, stronger and, consequently, more fertile. In the winter the tourists leave and the cats, along with their kittens, are left to fend for themselves. Many don't make it through the winter. A sad thought, but if they did all survive, especially at the rate cats breed, the towns would be over-run and the local government would, presumably, have to organise a cull. If the tourists didn't feed them in the summer, maybe they wouldn't be healthy enough to breed and this would be a natural way of keeping numbers down. Or maybe the cats would adapt to a year-round lean diet and breed anyway. It's not possible to know. But I do know that I enjoyed seeing them around and getting the chance to photograph them.

How to pay tax?

Now my 'gap year' is coming to an end and I need to start earning some money again I'm realising I have a lot of things to consider. Not least, how best to get paid and how best to pay tax. In the past I've had regular jobs and been paid on PAYE. This is easy: I turn up to work every day and at the end of the month my employer deposits a sum of money into my bank account having already deducted tax and NI. Now that I'm hoping to earn money from various sources and in different ways, it's much more complicated.

I'm just starting teaching through an agency and they've offered me the options of PAYE or being paid through an umbrella company. If I choose PAYE I'll get paid in the same way as before which seems nice and simple. However, I won't be able to claim expenses (and supply teaching can involve long drives each day) and could get complicated when I start to earn money from other sources, particularly if it's not taxed at source.

I'd not come across umbrella companies before (at least not in this sense - I think of them as the big multi-nationals that own a multitude of smaller companies), but they seem to be a kind of middle man. My pay would go to them and they would work out my tax and NI, pay it on my behalf, then give me the remainder of my pay. If I use an umbrella company, some of my expenses would be tax-deductible, but I would have to pay a fee to the company. As I'll be (hopefully) earning money from different sources, I'm not sure this will be the best option for me as I'll probably need more flexibility and advice than they can offer.

My other options are either to set up a limited company or operate as a sole-trader. At the moment, the sole-trader option (which basically means self-employed) seems the most suitable. A limited company would cost more to set up and has more complex (therefore more expensive) accounting procedures. On the other hand, setting myself up as a sole-trader seems quite straightforward and has simpler accounting procedures. Another advantage to being a sole-trader is that if I later want to switch to a limited company, this would be quite easy, whereas switching the other way round is more difficult.

Some time over the next few weeks I'm going to have to find myself an accountant and get some proper advice, but in the meantime my internet research has thrown up this infographic which helps makes sense of the options.

To Stachi veggie restaurant

Was it really a week ago that I was in To Stachi eating one of the best vegetarian meals of my life? I don't think I've stopped salivating over it yet.


We discovered To Stachi when wandering around the Venetian Harbour on our first morning in Chania. The friend I was travelling with remembered an organic food shop on a street set a little way back from the harbour and we went to see if it was still there. We found it, but it's no longer a shop and instead has been converted into a small restaurant.


The place was empty as it wasn't yet lunch time, but we went in and ordered coffee and sat with it at the tables outside the front. The owner, cook, herb-picker, vegetable grower and slow-food aficionado brought us a free piece of freshly-baked cake with our coffee and stayed outside to chat with us. 

Stelios owned the shop that was previously on the site and decided to turn it into a restaurant a year or so ago. He's passionate about vegetarianism and food that is local, organic, traceable and slowly cooked with love. 


He explained that the name To Stachi means an 'ear of wheat' and told us about his family land where he grows a lot of his own produce. We'd also learnt during the week that Cretans are great at foraging, making use of all the wild herbs and greens that grow rampantly on the island.


Helen was so enamoured with the place she decided this was where she wanted to come on Friday evening to celebrate her birthday. Stelios was delighted and promised to make something very special.

On the Friday evening five of us arrived for dinner and were looked after wonderfully by Stelios and his daughter; he brought a constant stream of food to the table and took time to explain what every dish was. Unfortunately as I didn't write everything down, I'm already struggling to remember what I ate. What I do remember was that it was all amazingly delicious. Here are photos of just a few of the dishes we were served. 

Best of all, at the end of the meal, Stelios brought out a birthday cake he'd made specially. It's called galaktoboureko and is made from filo pastry and a thick gooey layer of semolina custard. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it. 

galaktoboureko

The quality of the photos is poor because not only had I not taken a notepad and pen, but I'd also not taken my proper camera. I expected the food to be good, but really thought I'd be focussing more on the conversation, so I only had my mobile phone with me. Now I'm regretting that decision. 


To Stachi can be found at 5, Defkaliona Street, Chania. 
Here's the Facebook page

Manto Studios

Manto Studios from the front

Arriving in Paleochora, down on the western edge of Crete's south coast, we had no problems finding our accommodation on a corner of the town's main street. Parking was free and our host had cordoned off a space for us right outside the door. 

Manto's gallery (L), stairs to roof terrace and reception (R)

Entering the reception area we already knew we'd come to a place we were going to love. Art work decorated the walls and hung from the ceiling; a long sofa sat opposite a large TV (we never saw it switched on - Paleochora is far too nice to spend time indoors watching TV); the scent of jasmine drifted in from the courtyard outside the back door. 

Reception

Manto, the owner, appeared. She was welcoming, friendly and spoke good English. After moving the buckets she'd set out on the road to keep a parking space for us, she showed us to our room. We had booked a studio which turned out to be on the ground floor. We had our own little veranda with a table and chairs and a stable-style door that led into the room. 

Love the terracotta pots set into the walls

The room itself had twin beds with thick, red satin duvets, chairs, a table, wardrobe, dressing table and TV. Hidden behind a set of cupboard doors was a little kitchenette with sink, fridge and hotplate. The en suite had a spacious shower, toilet and basin with towels and basic toiletries supplied. 

 









Manto is an artist and has a large gallery at the back of the guesthouse. Her work is displayed throughout and even the headboard, mirror rim and dressing table top had been painted by her.

Easter treats

As an Easter treat she had laid out a selection of goodies on the table. A bowl of fresh fruit, sweets and wafer biscuits; a bottle of wine; three chocolate fondant ladybirds (ladybirds symbolise Easter); a couple of dyed red, hard-boiled eggs (red being the colour of Easter); and a loaf of sweet Easter bread inlaid with another red hard-boiled egg.












Outside the room, the narrow courtyard opened into a much wider space at the back of the cafe area. The plants were just starting to blossom and a line of mint was pushing its way through the soil. The large jasmine tree shaded the area and made it a really pleasant place to sit and linger over breakfast. 

Just part of the amazing buffet breakfast

Just a small part of what was on offer

Breakfast was included in the price and was served in the cafe. The buffet was a help-yourself affair laid out along three walls. Juices, a choice of teas, coffee, a range of breads and home-made jams, fresh and canned fruit, compote, cereals and muesli, scrambled or hard-boiled eggs, bacon, sausages, yoghurt, honey, cheeses and cold meats, pizza, warm freshly-made cheese and spinach pastries, meat pastries, cheese croquettes, olives, three kinds of cake ... it went on and on. I wanted to try a bit of everything, but even taking tiny portions, there was no way I could do it. The food was delicious, the coffee was good and Manto and her husband helpfully explained what everything was and made sure I knew which pastries were vegetarian. 

Just when we thought the place couldn't get any better, I noticed stairs leading up to the roof from just beside the reception door. I climbed them to discover the roof of the gallery was a large sun terrace with loungers and spectacular views of the mountains. Peering between buildings I could just glimpse the sea a block away. 
 

I loved this place and although I wanted to see more of Crete, I could have quite happily spent the whole week here. If anyone is planning a trip to Crete and looking for accommodation, definitely check out Manto Studios. And if you're in the area, but not actually staying, then at least call in for breakfast. 

An example of Manto's artwork on the wall in our room

Cost: 2 people, 2 nights over Easter weekend, including breakfast = €75 (total)
Non-guests can have breakfast for €6.

You can find the website here.

Chania Market

I only discovered Chania market late on the Friday afternoon of my last day in Crete. It's housed inside a large cruciform purpose-built building with an elaborately-beamed high roof. The Agora (market in Greek), as it's known, was built between 1911 and 1913 and modelled on the market in Marseille. It was opened as part of the celebrations of the unification of Crete to Greece.

To enter involves climbing wide steps and passing through a temple-like facade. There are other entrances at the back and on each side. Inside are 70+ shops and little cafes selling great slabs of cheese, big bunches of mountain tea, multi-coloured olives, abundant meat and fish varieties, jars and jars of honey, dried fruits, yoghurt, coffee, olive oil, raki, vegetables, snails ...

So many olives

Cretan cheese and honey

Mountain tea

As well as all the food, the market also sells Cretan knives, tourist t-shirts, locally made soaps, leather bags, postcards and scarves. There was even a cat on a shelf, but I don't that was for sale. 

 

It was a shame I'd only discovered so late into my trip as I would have liked to spend more time browsing and to have tried out the food and coffee in the cafes. 

The Agora is open Mon to Sat 8am until 1.30 or 2pm. It's also open on Tue, Thur and Fri evenings from 5pm to 8pm, though we were there before 5pm and everything seemed to be open.

Fish ate my feet

I travelled to Crete with a friend who just happened to have a birthday whilst we were there. To celebrate she decided to get her feet eaten by fish. I have some weird friends.

There were a few places around Chania where, those so inclined, could pay to sit with their feet dangling in a fish tank and let the fish chew (or rather suck) the dead skin from their feet. I've seen these fish spas popping up all over the place in recent years as the experience is considered to be a spa treatment rather than a ghoulish way of serving breakfast to Goldie.

Birthday breakfast

Up until the last moment I ummed and ahhed over whether to join her in being breakfast or settling for being food photographer. I always like the idea of trying something new, but usually shy away from anything involving my feet as they are SO ticklish.

In the end, I couldn't resist trying and slipped off my shoes and rolled up my trouser legs. My lower legs and feet were soaped up and hosed down before I was sat on a bench with a gaping fish tank in lieu of a footstool. 

I was supposed to let them settle on my feet, not kick them away

The fish, which are all freshwater fish imported from a river in Thailand, knew breakfast was about to be served and, piranha like, caused a mini-riot at the surface. I gingerly lowered my feet into the frenzy and squealed as a dozen or so tiny mouths started to pluck at my flesh with the sensation of couple of dozen mini electric hammer drills. At least this is what I imagine a wall must feel like when a hammer drill is used on it. I likened the feeling to a constant vibration; my friend to a series of tiny electric shocks.

Regardless of whether it was more akin to vibration or electrocution, it was definitely ticklish. Really ticklish. I struggled to hold my feet still, sometimes involuntarily kicking out to dislodge the fish. When the timer rang at the end of 15 minutes, I thankfully lifted my feet out making sure no fish were still attached. My non-ticklish friend opted to stay in for another 15 minutes and seemed to find the whole experience quite relaxing. Which I suppose is part of the point of a spa treatment. She was quite impressed with the results too, feeling her feet to be a lot softer afterwards.

I didn't have much dry skin on my feet to start with and as I spent more time kicking the fish off than letting them do their job, I really didn't notice any difference. 

Toe sucking

The fish used are garra rufa, also known as 'doctor fish'. As well as sloughing off dead skin, the fish secrete an enzyme in their saliva (diathanol) which is thought to help heal skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. On the downside, concerns are sometimes raised about the hygiene levels of these salons (water is not changed between customers and additives such as chlorine can't be used because they would harm the fish).  It is also thought that there is a very slight chance of the fish passing on HIV or hepatitis, though there is no evidence for this. It is advised that if you have open wounds you pass on this treatment. The salon we chose seemed very clean and our legs were checked for cuts. The therapist found a tiny cut on my friend's leg (so tiny she hadn't noticed it herself) and this was covered with a plaster so the fish couldn't get to it.

Another concern of course, is for the welfare of the fish. I was worried that the sunscreen I'd applied to my legs wouldn't be good for them, and so was pleased with how well my legs and feet were washed before they were allowed into the tank.

We went to Doctor Fish and paid €10 for the first 15 minutes and €9 for the second 15 minutes.

Greek Orthodox Easter - the video

If I ever want to get good at making videos, I need to start actually making videos. Greek Orthodox Easter in Crete provided me with a good opportunity for a first attempt, as photographs alone couldn't do justice to the occasion. I didn't have a tripod or a specialist video camera, so I just pointed my usual camera and pressed the record button. I think I've done okay at capturing some of the sound and atmosphere, but I obviously have a LONG way to go to perfect my filming technique!