I was back in Crete from mid-August, after a very hot and dry summer in Switzerland.
To sum up, this is how things were here:
- In the second half of August, all the coastal villages were bustling with activity. Greek and Italian visitors made up the majority. The sea was very pleasant (27°C), but it was too hot for hiking.
- For the second time, I attended the Greek Language Summer School in Ierapetra, where I met up with old friends and made progress with my Greek.
- September began very warm and dry, with water temperatures around 25°C. Unfortunately, there were also several bushfires in eastern Crete, which, thankfully, were far away and quickly brought under control.
- By the end of September, the house was fully booked. Together with my guests, I went on a few hikes, enjoyed the most beautiful bays and showed them the special features of eastern Crete.
- The weekly music evenings down at the Taverna Exipiretisis are a particular delight. If you stick it out long enough, you’ll see the locals really let their hair down…
- On 23 September, it rained for the first time after four (!) months of drought. The heavy rainfall in early October was exceptional: within 60 hours, 220 mm of rain fell where I live – that’s a full bathtube per square metre! This resulted in localised flooding, landslides and road closures. A week later, everything was back to normal.
- By mid-October, sea temperatures were still around 23°. Swimmers were seen everyday, although the weather was rather changeable for a few days.
