Glasögon

[lars]

Vilken fin idé det där med glasögonen!
/ Anne

Ovanstående är en kommentar på min bildgåta beträffande Sitanos.
Jag skrev för ett antal år sedan en liten historia om en dagsutflykt i november månad. Här är ett kort utdrag, som ger en ganska bra bild om varför vi brukar ha lite glasögon med på våra turer.
Det hela är på engelska, då storyn ursprungligen skrevs för en annan länk om Kreta.
Jag får naturligtvis dedikera utdraget till Anne, som tyckte det var en bra idé med glasögonen. Håll till godo!


As we reach Prasés it is almost dark.
We park the car outside the kafenion and enter. We know some of the guests and are saluted.
In the centre of the room is a silver coloured stove with a pipe leading to a hole in the wall where the smoke disappears.
All the guests are gathered around the stove and of course we are invited to join them.
"Beer, coffee or tsikoudia?"
"Beer please, yes Amstel is ok"
They are all curious where we have been and what we have been doing and of course we try our best to answer all their questions.
We show the photos, we have brought along. The man, with a nice moustache, sitting next to my co-driver just passes the photos to the next man and I ask him "Jada, why"
"Ta matia mou, my eyes"
A common problem and therefore we bring some 10 pair of glasses (they are good for reading and not expensive) every time we go to Crete.
I bring some from the car and he chooses a pair good for his eyes.
He looks at his hands, both sides but also into a newspaper.
Silence!!
There is a big mirror (like the ones they always shoot to pieces in the good old Western movies) on one of the walls. He stands up and approaches the mirror very carefully and slowly, still with the glasses on his nose. Not a word yet.
He touches his eyes, his nose, his ears and finally the moustache. He turns around with a big smile on his face "Bravo, kalo, kalo"
Applause and laughter.
Now also he can look at the photos, make comments and put questions together with the other men.
I try to tell how and when we got to know this village in the first place and about the man that showed us the road down from Omalos (no, no not the big road, no but the dirt-road used bye the men going to look after their animals. By the way a fantastic and beautifull road in April-May).
"That must have been my brother Christos, I will call him" says the man with the glasses.
"My wife thought they (there were 2 more man when we first met them) were going to rob us"
When I tell this, who enters the kafenion, if not the robber himself or more fair described as our saviour and guide Christos.
The brother jumps to his feet and shows his new glasses.
"Ela, kita, come and look"
A new world seems to open even for Christos as he put the glasses on.
One more pair is chosen and the happiness is complete when both brothers look at each other in the big mirror.
"Orea!"
They seem to like what they see, they laugh and now we all have to celebrate with a glass of tsikoudia.

We are invited to visit Christos house and to meet his wife. On the way there we get bit worried about what Christos will think of his wife through his new glasses and with "fresh" eyes.
We don't have to worry, she is a nice and good-looking woman.
He has brought some of the photos and shows them to her. He also tells her how we met the first time and of course she smiles with a warm and big smile towards us.
After some chestnuts and a cup of coffee (no more tsikoudia today, we still have some distance to drive) we have to leave them but we promise to come back next year.
On our way to the car we pass outside the kafenion which by now is almost empty.
Most men have left and for sure they have a good story about glasses to tell their wives.
The weather has changed and the sky is clear again. A pale moon and millions of stars make their best to show us the road back to Chania.
Safely home on our balcony late in the evening we enjoy the breeze from the sea and a glass of wine from Floria. The taste is perfect. Simply Crete.

Kriti stis kardies mas
Lars and Sofia(wife and co-driver, yes in that order)