Sunset and sunrise in Rethymnon

Watching the sunset at the Sunset Taverna beneath the Fortezza in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Patrick Comerford

Like some early-morning ecclesiastical “Battle of the Drums,” the bells of the cathedral and the churches began ringing over the rooftops of Rethymnon early this morning.

The birds had started singing God’s praises much earlier as the sun began to pour out over the streets and the squares of the old town this Sunday.

At first there was a short peal here, a quick burst of ringing over there. Then some more – as if they were now competing, one with another. And then there was a final crescendo, as if they were talking to each other in a dialogue of rhythms, praising each other’s celebration of the common liturgy being celebrated in each holy place on this holy morning.

Watching the sunset at the Sunset Taverna ... a pleasure for diners and a traffic risk for waiters (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

As the evening sun began to set yesterday [Saturday], we walked beneath the slopes of the Fortezza to the edge of the old town for dinner at the Sunset Taverna.

We sat at a table on the terrace above the rocky shoreline, and ate as we watched the hour-long drama of the sun setting somewhere beyond Chania.

The waiters had a difficult time crossing the street with food and wine – all part of the drama. Later, after strolling through the side streets and alleys of old town, we finished our meal underneath the vines and the summer flowers of the pergolas at Diporto.

This taverna is in a Venetian building dating from 1500, opposite the Leo Hotel in Vafe Street, a narrow, nostalgic laneway between Arkadiou Street and Soliou Street.

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Between a bar and a bank on the way to the beach

The long white sandy beach stretches for miles east of the Old Town of Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Patrick Comerford

I woke this morning to the sound of bird song, the peel of church bells, and a bright blue sky outside my window.

Bistro 22 on Tsouderon Street ... our rooms are above the bar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Staying in Pepi Studios on Tsouderon Street, I have found I am between a bar and a bank.

Bistro 22 is both a café and a bar, and in the morning becomes the breakfast room for guests in Pepi. The entrance to the hotel is squeezed between the bar and an ATM for the National Bank of Greece, which is housed in an impressive neoclassical villa.

Despite the fears of many tourists that the ATMs would run dry in the middle of the Greek financial crisis, the ATM next door is busy, and is proving to be more effective than access to my Ulster Bank accounts back in Ireland.

The National Bank of Greece ... housed in an impressive neoclassical building next door to Pepi Studios on Tsouderon Street (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Not that I would wish a Greek financial crisis on any bank customers in Ireland, but it makes you wonder whether customer confidence is misplaced.

Why, just a block or two away there is even a shop called NAMA. It’s in the pleasant square surrounding Rethymnon’s Cathedral. The square has been repaved in the last two or three years and public works continue to enhance the town.

Nama ... with a lot for sale (Patrick Comerford, 2012)

However, there are signs everywhere of the crunch. Shops, supermarkets and hotels that were part of the book until a few years ago have closed. Wandering the back streets of Rethymnon near the cathedral, in a small narrow street away from the tourists, a young and humbled father sat begging with his two small children.

The local periptero or kiosk is an institution in Greece, serving as the local corner shop. But the local periptero on Tsouderon street is one of many in the streets of Rethymnon that have closed and pulled down the shutters.

With blue skies, temperatures in the high 20s, and just a little breeze, we headed down to the long expanse of white breach that stretches for miles to the east of the old town.

It is obvious tourist numbers are down in Crete this year, but many of the tourists in Rethymnon are Greek. Staycations seem to be one positive expression of Greek patriotism this summer.

A yacht in the clear blue waters in Rethymnon this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)