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Lars Story 6
I hope that you enjoy these stories from the keyboard of Lars Magnusson as much as I. They were originally published on the Interkriti and Explore Crete websites and have proved to be tremendously popular there, so I am delighted to be able to reproduce them here. At the end of each story you may continue on to the next by clicking on the icon at the bottom of each page.
Topolia
Today it has been raining
all day.
What to do?
Why not write a little true story about a day in Topolia. It goes like this:
We are passing a sign telling us that we are now entering the village of Topolia. It is mid September the time is about 10.30 and it is already rather hot. "How about something to drink, a coke or a beer?" It is my co-driver asking."Here?"
The road is winding like a snake up through the village. A small chapel almost covered by
a huge red bougainvillaea on our left side and on our right the local bakery and a small
abandoned white house with its window shutters and door hanging off but no kafenion and no
people in sight.
We leave the car in the open space just in front and opposite the bakery to take a walk in the village. The road has divided it into two parts, below and above (kato and ano). Everything is very quiet as we walk down a narrow street towards the big church in the part below the road. All the houses look empty and they have not been painted for many, many years. In some gardens and on some verandas there are big bunches of grapes hanging down waiting for hands to pick them, but whose hands?
From a window-bay a black cat is looking down at us with its yellow eyes, wondering what
are these people doing in my village? The village is big, as is its church. From the top
of the clock tower we have a good view over the landscape and the surroundings.
After a while we are walking back up towards the main road through narrow passages again
and finally we find a kafenion with two tables and a couple of chairs outside on the
pavement.
Is it really possible to sit there almost in the middle of the road without the risk of
having a car or a bus in between the tables?
Inside in the shadow two men are reading their newspapers Chaniotika Nea and another local
paper. Cement floor, white naked walls except for a small mirror, some pictures yellow
from age, a simple bar-desk, a silver-painted stove with its pipe leads through a hole in
one of the walls, tables and chairs and from the roof hanging down in its thread, a single
naked bulb, yes it is a real nice Cretan kafenion.
The bar-desk is covered with many kind bottles once used for lemonade, coke, water, juice
and Metaxa. The declaration of contents for these same bottles today is completely
different. Tsikoudia or raki, local wine white or red would be more correct. There are
also honey, some cakes, cheese and of course beers on the desk. The two men are very
occupied with their newspapers but slowly one of them is looking out behind his Xaniotika
Nea when we address them with: "Kalimera sas" ("good morning")
"Geia." ("hi"). A short answer and he is back behind his newspaper
again.
Next to the kafenion room is another dark room, a shop. Through the door opening there is
a little man in grey trousers and a grey sweater coming towards us looking confused.
"Tha ithelame dio mpires, parakloume" ("We would like to have two beers
please") He is very pleased when I am asking him in his own language.
"Mesa?" He is wondering if we like to sit inside.
"Oxi exo parakalo" ("outside please.")
The cold beer tastes really nice and we ask the owner if he will join us with a glass and
maybe tell us a little about his village. He does and it is the same story once more.
People have moved abroad to USA, Europe or Australia or to the towns like Athens, Chania,
Heraklion and so on. A sad story but not unusual. He has to leave us because the phone is
ringing and soon it is quite again….or???
From a distance we can hear voices and
laughter from women.
We pay for the beers and continue our walk through the village. The sound of the women is
getting closer and louder and there, behind the last bend are two houses with their
verandas facing each other.
Click on the pic for an enlargement
Mama from Heaven
It seems there is a big
and nice coffee-party going on, the verandas are crowded by 20-25 ladies in almost every
age from 20 up to 80 or more.
"Ela mister kai madame" a little round lady with a big hair knot is calling. We
cross the road and are invited to join the party. They explain that they are preparing for
a wedding on Saturday and are now making the traditional very sweet kerotigana which
always are presented at weddings in Crete. Before we are able to take part in the
preparations, we are shown out into one of the kitchens. We are placed in a chair and in
half a minute we have a huge plate with lamb in oven, roasted potatoes, Greek salad and a
glass of wine in front of us. Wow this is amazing! Who called and ordered this? The black
cat?
We have all the trouble in the world trying to keep in shape but these Cretans always
seems to think that we need some food. We really don't look that thin you know! Everybody
has left the kitchen and returned to their work outside except our hostess, who is serving
us more food and wine all the time. She is telling us that it is her son who is going to
get married on Saturday in Kastelli and we are invited.
An hour ago we thought that this village was almost dead but now it is full of life and of
warm hospitality. We have come to the correct side of the road. After a fantastic meal we
return to the other ladies and now the tempo is very high. In every corner of the two
verandas there are kettles with olive oil put over any kind of heat, electric or gas. From
the opposite kitchen an old lady is running to and fro fetching and delivering (she has
strips hanging everywhere all the way from her shoulders down to her little finger) 40 cm
long and 3 cm wide and very thin strips of a dough made by a special team in the kitchen.
Every woman by each kettle has a small stick which has been split at one end so it looks
like an Y but narrower. They put one end of the strip in the opening of the Y and
then they dip it down into the very hot olive oil and then slowly start to role it and to
make it into a round kerotigana. It looks very easy but you have to know how to do it not
to drop the dough in the oil or to burn it. When they are ready, they are put on tables in
a special room to dry. We are told that so far 1.500 have been made but there are still
1,500 to make. Can you believe it, 3.000 buscuits……….and that is only the
buscuits. Are there no limits for these people?
I am using my cameras a lot and we are really enjoying ourselves and so are my lovely
models. They don't mind if a tooth is missing or if one sock is down or if the petticoat
is shown. They smile with their heart, with hospitality and of joy. You just have to
surrender and love them. The hours have passed very fast and we have to leave the nice
company. We have promised to come back with the photos and to come to the wedding on
Saturday of course.
On our way back to the car we enter the kafenion/shop again in order to buy some wine and
also some honey. The room for the shop is identical to the room for the kafenion but here
you find everything from toothpicks to sacks of food for the goats. From floor to roof,
along the walls, hanging from the roof yes every inch is occupied with goods. The smell is
a mixture of everything. It's a pity you cannot poor it into a bottle and use it as an
after shave or an eau-de-cologne.
We have to buy some bread from the bakery before we leave Topolia behind us.
It looked a little sad in the beginning of the day with all those deserted houses but you
never know, suddenly everything might change and it did and really continued with joy and
a lot of fun. I wonder though why the ladies were laughing and giggling like small girls
all the time. Was it something special in those cookies maybe?
When we got back to Chania we asked Eleni and she told; yes you have to add some tsikoudia
(raki) to the dough to make it the right way. So that's why! I think they tested and
tasted the tsikoudia very thoroughly before they poured it into the dough. Anyway they
were worth it and they still have more xerotiganas to make tomorrow.
Avrio tha exoume mia kali mera. Tomorrow we will have a nice day.
Kriti stis kardies mas
Lars and Sofia
