The guy across the field, over the road and…well before the White Mountains of Crete turn erstwhile walkers into true climbers, has turkeys in his yard. Alas it is a bit late on Turkey Day to go and bargain, prepare, cook (my special recipe for stuffing means that it takes about 5 hours to make) for hours and find the cranberry sauce.

But we’ll pretend with some of the finest lamb the world can offer or oh-so-naturally grilled (and naturally reared) chicken and swallow a shot of Raki – saluting our friends, guests, pals and living beings in the good ol’ USA. Happy day folks.

A true, 18 hole, professional golf course with smart and pleasing clubhouse and facilities now operates year round near Heraklion.

Crete is gradually becoming the destination for other activities than the purely beach-based holidays of yore.
Traditional inns, surprisingly excellent restored houses, small charming hotels and the chance to sample mountainous vistas, challenging drives and excellent food are all part of the mix in Crete.
The new golf course is well equipped and of sophisticated design.

Information is available at The Crete Golf Club, P.O. Box 106, 70014 Hersonissos Crete, Greece.
Tel: (+30) 28970-26000 Fax: (+30) 28970-30180 Email: info@cgc.gr

If you plan to visit Crete and sample some time on the links, I will suggest the way to stay in a wonderful and original hotel, villa or inn that affords good access to the course it is the handpicked small hotels and inns advice, consulting and reservation service – personal service at that – http://www.crete-hotels-rooms.com

Now you can visit Crete and develop the perfect swing…

The New National Road as it passes Heraklion will one day lose the famed traffic signals that cause severe reduction in average traffic speeds on the major artery. (The traffic signals at Rethymno are already a memory, though the overpass for the main road is not yet complete and diversions are still in play)

The new bridge from the traffic signal junction – which is the turn for both Heraklion town centre and for Knossos – is complete. Next stage will be the addition of feeder roads, though progress in this area is moving slowly. The traffic signals are still there, but this is a big step towards realizing a continuous stretch of road from Kissamos in the west to Agios Nikolaos that will be free flowing and closer to being worthy of the name “New National Road”!

On the electricity front, the new power station at Atherinolakos by the coast in south-east Crete is complete. Testing and final commissioning is under way and the power station should be pouring power into the system on a regular basis in the next few months.

The famous 1 kilometre long Heraklion Saturday market (“laiki”) so popular with visitors, has moved to an obscure (for visitors) neighbourhood.

A standard visitors’ destination in Crete\’s main city, the Saturday morning market presented endless arrays of fruit and vegetable stalls, punctuated for flavour by the occasional vendor of local honey, cheeses, nuts and pulses. The stretch of this offering cheap t-shirts and jeans was also a popular bargain-gathering place.

The result though a big loss in the local feel of having a market so close to the centre of the city and the regular metting ground for locals and stallholders alike is a tidier waterfront area by the port. The road has also been resurfaced, pavements paved and planted with trees.
This is all part of the ongoing improvement of Heraklion’s waterfront.

But many will miss the hustle and bustle of the market…getting the weeks fresh produce so easily, from the growers themselves, the social occasion of it all and the inevitable meting with friends or family for coffee afterwards.

The start of a trend in Crete?

WiFi will be available as a hotspot for those visiting the Marina next to Herklion’s port soon.

Will this mark the start of a WiFi for every Kafeneio program?

The Heraklion marina does not exactly have highly rated facilities (what facilities?) but the area is much visited and the large municipal Marina cafe is popular as a local hangout. It is also a pleasant find for visitors in a city with few, but a growing number, of waterfront cafes.