By John Freedman April 24, 2021
Nothing spectacular today, but plenty that is wonderful. Chania is preparing to reopen to the world. You might say it is no big deal. You might say that shop and cafe and restaurant owners come out before Easter every year (May 2 this year) to paint and clean and get ready for the coming tourist season. And that would be true. You might also say that over the last year Chania tried reopening several times as the COVID pandemic waxed and waned. And you would be right about that too. It's true there have been several aborted attempts to reopen the city, and each time we have just gone back into lockdowns of various severities. So what do I feel is different this time? Well, first of all hope springs eternal in the human breast. Aren't we always pretty sure that THIS time things are going to work out? I surely felt that way today as I was out and walking around Old Town. We know that the powers-that-be have said they will start reopening Greece incrementally after Easter. We know they have said that many flights from around the world will be resumed by May 14. I know that my wife Oksana will be headed home on the maiden S7 Airlines direct flight from Moscow to Crete on May 4. None of this provides hard proof that things are definitely looking up in Chania, but all of it tweaks and massages one's hope that, finally, we soon will begin getting back to some kind of normal. It was wonderful to see doors open again in shops and restaurants, even if they aren't open for business yet. I can't remember the last time I sat in a cafe and nursed a coffee or hot chocolate as I watched the world go by and the sea come at me! One owner of a trinket shop was an even bigger optimist than I - with virtually no one out and around but workers, runners and wandering stragglers like me, he boldly opened his doors and put all his wares out on the street to snare any eager tourists that may happen by. I don't know where he expected those tourists to come from quite just yet, but, God bless him, he was ready to snare one if any should show their faces! One of the great bookstores in town, the Mediterranean, on the west side of the Venetian Harbor, was airing out the store, getting ready to receive customers. Folks were painting, sanding, scraping, drilling and measuring. It was a joy to see. See below for some of the mundane but thrilling sights I captured in Chania this morning, followed by a few "typical tourist" shots of the city's beauty. Can't ever have too many of them.
Copyright © 2021 by John Freedman. Should you wish to copy, repost or reuse anything from this blog (the photos included), please ask. I have never said no to this day. But, boy, does it make me mad when I see people publishing my work on their blogs/pages as if it were their own!
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