Uh Oh! Clouds!! Wnter is coming!!!!
No entries for 4 months and then 2 in a week!
I must be turning into a Greek, or a bus!!
A little something on that favourite British subject - the weather, Greek weather that is.
To be more specific, it is the local weather to which I am referring.
Parga is situated in (on?) a bay surrounded by mountains and protected from any bad weather experienced a few kilometres inland. This is, of course, a huge advantage for a holiday resort, but it also has it's downside.
During August temperatures can regularly exceed 40 degrees and the narrow streets and alleyways can become oppressively stuffy. In addition to the heat there is the humidity that comes and goes; figures over 90% are not uncommon. Add 3-4 months with NO rainfall and you can begin to appreciate why we keep away from Parga in August. This year our first thunderstorm arrived in the late evening of the 30th. August and was a welcome relief; the following days were still hot but there was a freshness back in the air.
Fortunately we don't live in Parga, we live in Anthoussa, a few kilometres up the mountainside.
The temperatures are usually a few degrees lower than in Parga and, if we do have to venture into town, it is a welcome relief to return to the village. During most afternoons we also benefit from a cooling breeze that further reduces the heat factor, unless it blows from the opposite direction, in which case it can be a little like standing in front of a very large hairdryer! All in all Anthoussa is a much more comfortable place to pass the hotter days away.
After nearly 18 months to get used to the weather we thought that we had become acclimatised; we certainly coped better this year than last! Relaxing on our front balcony with a couple of glasses of chilled wine at 1.00am, with the temperature still hovering around 30 degrees (80ish in old money); whilst gazing up at our view of Ali Pashas' illuminated castle on top of the mountain; has been an absolute delight. However, it appears that acclimatisation also has its' drawbacks.
Following the aforementioned thunderstorm, and the subsequent drop in temperature, we were doing the wine thing one night/morning, and that lovely breeze was idling its' way through the trees, when Margaret suddenly got a little chilly!! Within a few minutes I was starting to feel a definite coolness as well, by which time Margaret had gone inside to put on a cardigan!! Now to me this was bordering on the ridiculous, especially when I checked our outside thermometer to find that the mercury had plummeted to 26 degrees!!!!!!
Back in the UK that sort of heat blocks motorways with day trippers heading for beaches they will lucky to be able to sit on for one day a year!
So if our acclimatisation means that 26 degrees feels chilly, spare a thought for us poor souls when the temperatures drop to 15 degrees in the winter!
I must be turning into a Greek, or a bus!!
A little something on that favourite British subject - the weather, Greek weather that is.
To be more specific, it is the local weather to which I am referring.
Parga is situated in (on?) a bay surrounded by mountains and protected from any bad weather experienced a few kilometres inland. This is, of course, a huge advantage for a holiday resort, but it also has it's downside.
During August temperatures can regularly exceed 40 degrees and the narrow streets and alleyways can become oppressively stuffy. In addition to the heat there is the humidity that comes and goes; figures over 90% are not uncommon. Add 3-4 months with NO rainfall and you can begin to appreciate why we keep away from Parga in August. This year our first thunderstorm arrived in the late evening of the 30th. August and was a welcome relief; the following days were still hot but there was a freshness back in the air.
Fortunately we don't live in Parga, we live in Anthoussa, a few kilometres up the mountainside.
The temperatures are usually a few degrees lower than in Parga and, if we do have to venture into town, it is a welcome relief to return to the village. During most afternoons we also benefit from a cooling breeze that further reduces the heat factor, unless it blows from the opposite direction, in which case it can be a little like standing in front of a very large hairdryer! All in all Anthoussa is a much more comfortable place to pass the hotter days away.
After nearly 18 months to get used to the weather we thought that we had become acclimatised; we certainly coped better this year than last! Relaxing on our front balcony with a couple of glasses of chilled wine at 1.00am, with the temperature still hovering around 30 degrees (80ish in old money); whilst gazing up at our view of Ali Pashas' illuminated castle on top of the mountain; has been an absolute delight. However, it appears that acclimatisation also has its' drawbacks.
Following the aforementioned thunderstorm, and the subsequent drop in temperature, we were doing the wine thing one night/morning, and that lovely breeze was idling its' way through the trees, when Margaret suddenly got a little chilly!! Within a few minutes I was starting to feel a definite coolness as well, by which time Margaret had gone inside to put on a cardigan!! Now to me this was bordering on the ridiculous, especially when I checked our outside thermometer to find that the mercury had plummeted to 26 degrees!!!!!!
Back in the UK that sort of heat blocks motorways with day trippers heading for beaches they will lucky to be able to sit on for one day a year!
So if our acclimatisation means that 26 degrees feels chilly, spare a thought for us poor souls when the temperatures drop to 15 degrees in the winter!
Any lower than that and we will need a trip back to stock up on boots and ski suits!!!!!!!
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