Crete (English translation)

Tangles and disentanglements of a trip I climbed the stairs and opened the door that it gives to the outer corridor. I was received by a spectacular sunset of which I only can speak thus I did not know how to work the controls in my new camera (the true technological shame). The sun, protected bravely by two cloud strips, was hidden after a hill crowned by typical houses of the purest Mediterranean style. Pireos port took leave of me and I did not have an opportunity to give back the greeting so I returned to the interior of ferry and began to explore what over here is called ferry that in Panama we know as Crucero Express. There are cabins of first class that include food; second class, like the one I take and “deck”, whose likeable inhabitants assaulted my eyes as soon I turned completely the steps of the spiral staircase. Two mothers with their small ones running by the corridors, had extended blankets in the floor and with pajamas and everything, they were arranged to travel sleeping. But to tell this history from its beginnings, first I must relate the eventful journey with which it had initiated this trip. The passage until Venezuela passed without greater incidents and once I put foot in Maiquetía, I joined three Panamanians who also continued this trip towards Paris. Only that there they would go there to the north, to Stockholm whereas I, dressed like any day in Panama, continued toward the south, to Athens. Nevertheless in Paris, the airline reserved a “comfortable” and luckily short walk through the track, at 15 degrees! In spite of his enormous size, the Charles de Gaulle has had to introduce movable stairs to overcome the intense air traffic. I used the word enormous intentionally because with the migratory controls and the delay of our flight from Caracas, we had to run a long stretch. I ended up reaching my flight in the last call and I could not take leave of Yania and the Reyes couple who, I hope have managed to reach their returned flight and to Panama by these days. My companions of flight in this last section, were two likeable French who by the magazine that flipped the one nearer me were a couple. Nevertheless they were very gentleman during the flight, passing me the food trays, waking me up when they served the meals and drinks, raising my suitcase the superior compartment or stepping aside for me to go to the bathroom. That’s what men are for. Nevertheless, I lost them as soon as we disembarked at the Elefterios Venizelos, the airport of Athens, which with a sculpture of the Olympic hoops balancing into one another, gives the welcome to the visitors of the Greek Mediterranean.Some minutes later, I heard my name through the PA system (they pronounced it correctly at least). In Panama, is hardly that any one pronounce fine my last name at the very beginning. My suitcase had remained back, in Paris. (Fantastic! There only it comes my tent, inflatable mattress and medicines). That is to say, I ran, seems faster than the cart with the suitcases. The at the counter asked me very amiably where me they can leave it and my address in Panama. I, who knew was not her fault so could not shout to her but also wanted to relieve to me answered through clenched teeth: I am not going to be in Athens. The closest airport to Rethimno, Crete, is the one of Hania and toward there they would send the suitcase with €100.00 reimbursable for transportation. Thankfully, because I spent €73.00 and I hope to see that reimbursement back in Panama. The airport of Athens is very practical in the matter of transportation to and for, at least that I have known. Hardly I trespass the doors, there is a cabin to sale bus tickets and for €3.20 (My God) I bought my ticket to the Pireos. I always forget that not only you have to buy the ticket, but also to pass it through the machine within the bus. The warning indicates that failing to do so is more expensive..if you get catch. Although until now, I have not seen any revision, it must be a very great annoyance to have to go to some dependency to pay and, a fantastic delay. In short, after a French tourist gave back to me the case with my passport, passage and cash, which, I had left very properly next to the suitcases, ups! I had myself to enjoy the view and the 29 degrees temperature with which Athens received me. The Port of Pireos is the last stop of the bus route. Here it is where our embassy is situated, but I do not have idea where or how far is it and probably there is not anybody on a Saturday in any case, although I enjoy to see waving our flag at the flank of the building. I must take care of the first tangles or disentanglements of my trip. I hope that this is the last surprise of the route. There are no ferries direct to Rethimno during the weekend. Although I was almost sure that Hania is not very far, I asked that to the counter girl who without so much desire to take care of to me, sent me to the main offices. In effect, before paying I do not know what hotel two days in Athens, better to go to Hania. I am sorry airline, the way to Rethimno from Souda, the beautiful bay of Hania in which the ferry arrived is the opposite way to the airport and on top of all being Sunday already, I had to take a taxi to the aeropuerto. But I am skipping again, I was describing the trip in the ferry. Although they adviced me that the boarding began to the 6:00 p.m. I went up at 4:30 p.m. Finally a bath and bed. A little later, two Greek girls arrived and finally, one lady of about 50 years who sent some words to “amerikí” that does not sounded very affectionate, but if she though that I understood or matters to me, is very mistaken! After drawing a map of America to show Ioanna and Katerina where´s left my small piece of heart, they spoke about going awhile to the club. Disco on board? Wao, what a miss concept of ferry. Really, it is not a disco but rather, a bar with live music and is in the top deck. Still there, drowned on a sofa two deck passengers at which no waiter turned around. The level of music was suitable enough to talk and that is what almost everyone was there to. So much, that the musician jokingly, described as ”excessive” the little applause that welcomed that first potpourri which I listened. Courtesy of the girls, I knew gazoza, that is of where I suppose comes the word gaseosa a non-alcoholic, sweet drink, with foam like of Coca Cola or beer. Soon, I gave account of a water bottle and we returned to the room. I do not know if the salesman saw me athletic, but he assigned me the top bed. The lady already was dreaming in the one underneath mine. It forgot to mention that door closes but not strides along, because when all the cabin is not bought, we individually do not have right to a key, but they assured to me that he is totally safe and indeed, it was.Although supposedly I had programmed the telephone to wake up me to the 6:05 a.m. the thing didn’t work but the employees knocked the door at 6:10. First one leaving, was the lady with her blessing. But when I went to the cafeteria to see if it obtained something for breakfast, not only I found it closed, but to all the sailors classifying our blankets. Ups! Better to go before they clear them with me on top. So that I took leave of the girls, who resisted to being waked up and disembarked in search of a coffee. The sun advanced already in its route through the sky and to my back, the electronic board of the ship, announced its next trip towards Pireos at 9:00 p.m. that night
Unusual vacations in the Greek islands The truth is that I do this for selfish reasons, told me Simón, one of the two leaders of the camping. I want to meet other people, other cultures and is an excellent opportunity. Just we had concluded my first morning survey. About 6:30 a.m. we left in the old but still strong van of Archelon (the Protection Society of the Marine Turtles of Greece). We were six on board and in the way we happened to pass Rachel that has the nearest beach and therefore, can arrive at foot. Even so, it is a considerable long walk. In the Greek Mediterranean, only nests the turtle Caretta Caretta (loggerhead) and the activities of Archelon goes logically towards this one, but they thanks for the visit of any other type of marine turtle, which happens in some cases. The morning survey details the activities in the nests previously monitored or also, it makes the discovery of other nests. I thought that all the hatchlings were born together. Nevertheless, they can came in up to 3 collective births and some and other hatchling can leave by its account in an average of 10 days. Another aspect that called the attention to me is that that day, we never found more than tracks of 15 hatchling in a single nest even though when each one contains in average 120 eggs.Part of the work is to put strips of bed rolls (petates) like a channel from the nest to the sea, so that the hatchlings don’t get confused with the lights of the hotels and tavernas. The first nest which we found in spite of not having that protection, showed the direct tracks of 14 hatchlings to the sea. Before continuing, I must tell you that one of the several small dogs that teem by the beach decided to make the route with us. After investigating awhile, near the nest, he began to bark to something in the sand. We abandoned our search for the buried stones that they indicate the location of the nests, necessary precaution in case somebody decides to relocate without permission the pyramids of wood or metal that indicates the nets, and ran to find a hatchling climbing the walls excavated by our Toto as I baptized the small dog. We moved Toto aside quickly and left the instinct guide the capable animal. We only took part slightly when it began to turn aside itself, blocking its route and shortly after, with great courage from its part, it was dragged by the waves. It is incredible as the animals do not put themselves to think that so great it is the world or the sea, simply, let themselves take by him. Not yet has it left and I was congratulating myself on the surprise and good luck of to have seen the small animal when Simón indicated in the sand another hatchling. The morning was very cold, I got myself a scarf and jacket that I did not take off until the end of the route although Simón only dressed the thin T-shirt that Archelon gives to its volunteers and took the sandals in the bag next to the heavy notebooks in which everything what occurs to the nests is accounted for. This hatchling also was a very strong one. Simon explained me that the weak ones, advance two steps and rest. But this one, like the first, perceived the sea and it did not stop until being taken by the waves. It will have to fight 3 days against the tide to arrive to calm waters. Only 1 of each thousand turtles manages to reach the adult age. And in the case of the females, it will return to the same beach in which it was born, to make her nests. I hope that they are those two very lucky hatchlings the ones doing it.But other nests showed sad signals. In a second nest, a section of the bed roll had fallen and although two hatchlings undertook the way to the sea, other four initiated a confused displacement around the wood footpaths and beach chairs of the hotel. We could not find them, but the tracks never approached the border of the water. A little farther more, we arrived at a nest “that had to be excavated”. All morning, Simón had indicated the nests to me that had already been excavated without me having the small idea of his meaning. When ten days after the first hatchling pass, the nest is dogged. Usually, dead hatchlings and eggs with unborn animals. This one were not the exception. After we counted everything we placed back the nest crowns I mentioned before so that the children do not play with that sand that can also contain bacteria from open eggs and, so that the activity of the turtles get noticed in beaches. In Rethimno, there are 11 kilometres of beach patrolled by 5 to 7 volunteers each morning. By 10:00 a.m. we also opened the information and sale of souvenirs kiosk located in the coastal avenue, also called Eleftherios Venizelos. Two volunteers will be there until the 2:00 p.m. taking care of the tourists mainly German, first interested, although English, Italian and also Nordics stop by. Until now, I have not seen any Greek in the stand then in spite of being a tourist area, is looked much like the Causeway and inclusively, the motorized traffic is prohibited from beginning at dusk. Among other tasks that are carried out in the camping, some volunteer is assigned to verify the bags that contain the notebooks with the field information of the nests in different beaches and to confirm that they do not need anything, while another volunteer is in charge to clean the toilets, the dining room, to mop and to clean the old but faithful van.In the afternoon, two volunteers assigned to different or the same task in the morning, goes to a supermarket to buy the food for the supper. There is no refrigerator, what I said fridge? there is no electricity! So everything must be bought daily and in any case, the food continues in good state during the night and some few hours more. At dusk, the pair of volunteers that will be in charge of kiosk from 6:30 p.m. leave the camp while the others wait for the supper soon and, those that goes to the hotels for the slideshows do the rounds in the assigned hotels that night. The return of the ones in charge of kiosk marks the end of the day and in the first lights of dawn, it will begin another day in these unusual vacations in the Greek islands.
The Camping Teodora, the turtle that it did not want to return to the sea The tranquillity that reigns in the camp is only broken by noise of jets that flies over the island. I never knew for sure if they were of NATO, the Greek Air Force or perhaps, Turk, that occasionally they become “lost” over Greek land, causing commotion in the relations between these two countries, enemies of long ago. Many kilometres under them, stand the tents of the volunteers of Archelon, the Protective Society of the Marine Turtles of Greece. When most of the volunteers goes to the morning survey, few lucky ones still stirs in their plastic mattresses. The mornings are slightly cold until the star king reveals itself in all his intensity and in many occasions, during the day, the temperature can get to go up to around the 32 degrees although lighten up by a very fresh breeze. The heat of the sun little by little wakes up to the sluggish ones who begin to look in the pots in search of the rest of the food of the previous day or in the closet where is keep the forever appreciated bread. Although already I knew that the jam is infallible in the European breakfast, they still surprised to me with a spreadable chocolate on the bread (later I found out is not that new but I never saw it on the hotels before). The morning pass fast while chatting about the events of the previous day and leaving notes in the board in the dining room. The thatched lounge with plastic in which two picnic tables and four banks share space with the binders to where the information generated during the morning survey is transferred, a board with the names and nationalities of all the volunteers of the year and the billboard in which a joke is always post. Not even me walk to the showers before 10:00 a.m. Constructed with very separated pieces of bamboo, pieces of bed roll and covered by plastics, all the breeze that runs by the hill where is based the camping seems to crowd around itself around them as soon as the key of the water is opened. While in the dining room, the conversation now continues with the ones that just arrived from its allocations beaches and anyone is in charge to clarify to the table, retiring plates, glasses, bottles of wine and beers that remain in her all the night. In spite of being supreme strict in the alcohol consumption, a tin of Mythos at night is the routine of several of the volunteers, English, specially who are so used to their beers. Somebody offers tea and soon another small group gathers waiting for the hot water. At the moment, in the camp there are 3 English, 2 Germans, 1 North American, 1 Australian, 1 new Zealand and one Panamanian. We are waiting a French of about 50 years to cover one of the two post opened yesterday when two volunteers finished their an Italian and an English. The ages of the volunteers fluctuate of the 18 to 50 years. Perhaps, in 20 years I will return to see what have been of the turtles that are being born now and whose survival depends as much on the Greek hotelkeepers whose interest is unstable.The sluggish noon hours find few of the inhabitants in the camp: the cook, the one in charge of the cleaning and some other that prefers to take a siesta. The majority has taken the way from the near beach or perhaps, is visiting the city that in inhabitants would be like Pacora so it is crossed with calm in a pair of hours and it does not change great thing from a day to the other. When returning, maybe they will take a siesta in lounge, which I have still not entered. There are only inflatable mattresses on which to perhaps sleep or, will comply in the sofas to read awhile under the shelter of the olive trees. There is an old guitar that somebody donated some time ago and like for this moment, there ar no more leftovers, is better to have brought cookies or to walk until the supermarket? or mini super as we called it in Panama, 15 minutes downhill. Every year, Archelon recruit between 400 to 500 volunteers distributed during a period of 6 months in beaches at the Peloponnesus (Kyparissia, Lakonikos, Koroni), Zakinthos and Crete (Rethimno, Hania and Messara) to monitor beaches during the arrival of the turtles, the development of the nests and the birth of the hatchlings. Additionally, it activated a Rescue Centre where the turtles are taken care when they are hurt usually at the hands of the men through networks of fishing, motors of boats or plastic consumption, which is confuse with their food. Charlotte, the other leader of the camp arrives at full speed in the van. Volunteers, get your t-shirts, we are going to release to the sea a turtle. Its name is Teodora and I will call her the turtle that didn’t want to go back to the sea. We left in haste to wait for the director of Archelon and one of the employees of the Rescue Centre who had arrived at dawn by ferry and only after its arrival had called to the offices so that we attended the event. Teodora came in a box under a humid towel and, apparently tolerated in very bad way the incommodities of the trip and their small “house” because it refused to enter the water under the attentive eyes of tens of tourists of the Crete Star, one of the most luxurious hotels of the island. Hours later, Simón and Kimo swam next to her to try (for third time) to returned to her home. Teodora had visited the center previously due to a wound and given back to its element. It returned to the Center after eating plastic and was in Crete in search of less contaminated waters. I had bet that she would return to the office to request inn and although it was not that way, she appeared in another near beach and returned to Athens on the water and underneath it.Hardly we managed to return to the camp to go to the kiosk. With one not so advisable location near the port, we have an information centre and souveniers sale. The street with all the restaurants and stores for tourist articles is opposite us. To our side there is almost nothing that interests the tourists, although the office of Tourism is about 20 meters to the left. We place informative boards and invade the street with them to call the attention and some courage ones cross to see us. Sometimes, they ask to us where a place is or the other or if we sell cardphones. The question has arrived at such point that Simón made a questionnaire to spend the dead hours and one of the questions was Where can there be bought telephone or parking cards. A: At every kiosk except this one! But it is necessary to be amiable so I smile and said Hello right and left until some interested falls over. That way, the afternoon and night is more bearable. The sun is not hidden but to the 7:30 p.m. almost so to 10:00 still in the area there is a lot of people strolling by. I remain thinking that in Panama, that hour would be 8:00 p.m. when workers already begin to look for the way home and the sky is completely dark. The Greeks are now owners of the street and practically no one stops in kiosk. I believe that partly it offends them that we speak English, but my dominion of the Greek is not as much as being able to maintain a conversation and the one of Simon and Charlotte, who received classes before arriving at Crete, is not far better. It worries me that the inhabitants of the island are not interested in their neighboring turtles, but afterwards little by little Greeks venture themselves and to the end, Rachel and I did, during September, the kiosk shift with more sales due to the 5 sweaters that a greek ecologist bought. Even though during the last hour nobody has stopped at the kiosk, as soon as we began to pack the boards, somebody begins to read the greatest board and that luckily, is the last one in being kept. It is necessary to wait. When finally we arrived at the bus stop, usually the bus hardly has pass or is very little probable that the next one is near. Luckily, at night they are more precise than in the day so we will probably just wait for 20 minutes. In the camp, after the return of slide shows speakers and IT tables in the hotels (and really slideshows, there are no computers, only apparatuses of slides although are not styled like carrousel as those of Kodak) the conversation already has finished and somebody have extinguished the lamps. If those that returned of kiosk we are very hungry, they look for inside the pots. Sometimes I prefer to although its already 11:00 p.m. Some cats, rats or whatever can eat the food before I so more it is worth to be on top of them and for morning, the dessert could be stale.
Note: When I visited the centre in Athens, Teodora was very happy in its pool, eating lettuce with gusto.