The Municipality of Platanias this week announced the creation of a new Platanias branch of the Ambulance Service (in Greek EKAB, or National Centre for Immediate Assistance), which will be provisionally stationed at the Regional Surgery in the old police station in Kolymbari.
Continue readingTag Archives: Platanias
The 13th Chania Chamber Music Festival
The annual Chania Chamber Music Festival, held at the Minoa Palace Resort in Platanias, is an event unusually not linked to local traditional and cultural themes. Because of this and of the venue, it is something of a social occasion – an opportunity to enjoy some out-of-the-ordinary, top-level musical performances while dressing up in one’s summer best, greeting friends not so regularly seen, and enjoying a glass of prosecco and canapés during the extended interval.
Continue readingThe vasilopita – a New Year’s tradition
The vasilopita is a special cake, bread or pie baked for the New Year in Greece and many other areas in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, which contains a hidden coin or trinket which brings good luck to the recipient. It is associated with Saint Basil’s day, January 1, in most of Greece, but in some regions the traditions surrounding a cake with a hidden coin are attached to Epiphany or to Christmas. Similar traditions exist in Western Europe, where it is known as the King Cake or galette des rois. It is made of a variety of doughs, depending on regional and family tradition, including tsoureki. In some families, instead of dough, it is made from a custard base called galatopita. In the Thessaly region a pork-filled filo pie is made with a hidden coin. The pie is also known as chronopita meaning “New Year’s pie”.
Continue readingThe villages of Platanias
The Municipality of Platanias is in the process of producing short promotional videos on each of the 51 communities which make up the Municipality, with the aim of highlighting separately the comparative advantages of each village, the natural beauty of the area and the activities which constitute its tourist product.
Continue readingSurfers save swimmers at Platanias
We have frequently commented on the fact that visitors to Crete, especially from Northern Europe, are all too often unaware of the hazards presented by the climate and conditions of Cretan nature. Swimming and hiking without taking elementary precautions, and without taking note of local conditions, frequently lead to accidents and sometimes deaths from drowning, falls and heat exhaustion, to name the most common causes.
Continue readingElectric bikes in Platanias
With the EU encouraging the trend towards electric mobility, municipalities in Greece are receiving funding for the purchase of electric bicycles and ancillary equipment. The rules for operating a system of public electric bicycles in Platanias were agreed by the Municipal Council at a meeting on Tuesday 13th August.
Continue readingThe slow processes of bureaucracy in Platanias
The wheels of bureaucracy are known to grind slowly in Greece. Building projects such as the new junction at Mournies and the renovation of the Agora in Chania have been beset by delays, though not all of them due to government bureaucracy. The finding of archaeological remains on a site is a guarantee that all activity will stop for an indeterminate period of time while the archaeological authorities decide how to proceed. This is understandable in a country with such a rich archeological heritage as Greece, but bureaucratic slowness undoubtedly helps to account for the length of time which it takes the authorities to come to a decision. In other cases the uncertainty of the business climate in Greece is to blame – the contractor for the Mournies junction suffered three changes of ownership before the project was completed.
Continue readingSmart water meters come to Platanias
On Monday 13th November, a contract was signed at the offices of DEYAVA in Gerani for the installation of digital water meters throughout the organisation’s distribution network. With a budget of €4.7 million, the work is being jointly funded by the Public Investment Programme and the EU’s Cohesion Fund. The timescale for the programme is 5 months for delivery and 2 months for trial operation.
Continue readingUrban improvements in Kissamos and Platanias
Replacement of asbestos pipes in Kissamos
The work of replacing asbestos pipes in the water supply network of Kissamos and adjacent areas is to start again shortly. Two kilometres of piping have already been replaced and another 5 km are still to be changed, chiefly on Iroon Polytechniou and in the neighbourhood of Kamara.
The Chania Chamber Music festival returns to Platanias
The Chania Chamber Music Festival, now in its 11th year, claims to be the only event in Crete devoted exclusively to chamber music. Its artistic committee is composed of a number of distinguished musicians: violinist Giorgos Demertzis, pianists Vasilis Varvaresos and Titos Gouvelis, cellist Angelos Liakakis and violinist-businessman Giorgos Mathioulakis. This year’s festival, which carries the title “The Creation of the World – La Création du Monde”, from the 1923 work of the same name by Darius Milhaud, aims to present works which were ground-breaking in their time, opening up new artistic horizons.
Continue reading