Sfakia report: new things around the village
Posted: 03 Oct 2019, 13:55
For the past week the weather has been very warm and sunny, good for swimming but a bit too hot for hiking comfortably along the coast. This morning was cloudy and humid, although by lunchtime the sky had cleared, and there is now a welcome breeze. We may get a little rain on Saturday and Sunday according to the forecast.
There is a lot of action on the sea with the numerous ferry and passenger boats, taxi boats, and rental boats.
We noticed a few new things around the village since we left in May.
At the bus parking area:
The public toilets had been vandalised in the spring, but they have been replaced and are fully functioning. The section of stone stairs leading from the buses which had been damaged by a falling boulder have not been repaired, just cleared so that people can use them.
Bright yellow glass bottle recycling bins have appeared by the bus shelter and the ferry ticket booth (we hope someday there will also be plastic bottle recycling!). Yesterday I drove around to several other villages, and they all have one of these bins (photo from Anopoli).
There are two new signs for secure parking at both petrol stations:
Elsewhere in the village:
Renovations are proceeding well at the old Panorama hotel overlooking the new harbour.
Unfortunately, the pharmacy is closed due to the pharmacist being ill (we were told he had a heart attack).
The NEN ferry ticket booth, which was badly damaged by a rockfall in the spring, has been resurrected.
There are bright yellow sunbeds and umbrellas on the front beach this year, courtesy of the Dimos.
On the back street, the Kourites Fighting Club from Chania is renovating a building for a ju jitsu studio, so next year the young Sfakians will be learning the discipline of unarmed combat!
At Ilingas Beach, a new business started in the summer offering guided day-long kayak trips (https://www.enjoy-crete.com/ilingas-beach-sea-kayaking/). You can see from the photo that they have bulldozed a smooth, wide path down to the western end of the beach leading to the kayaks and the cave with refreshments; it looks like the path to the eastern end hasn’t been renewed.
And at Frangokastello, they have nice new street lights. The castle has scaffolding around it and the main entrance is closed, but you can enter through the southern entrance.
More reports as and when I notice things.