Medicanes

Mediterranean cyclones are called Medicanes from the words Mediterranean and Hurricanes.  They usually form in the sea between Spain, Sardinia and Corsica or in the Ionian Sea. Medicanes usually happen in the fall and winter and move from west to east.  

Medicanes are rare phenomena and are similar with the tropical cyclones but are weaker because the Mediterranean Sea is smaller comparing to the oceans and her waters are not as warm. 

Although not as ferocious as their tropical cousins Medicanes have a center, have very strong winds in their periphery, causing huge waves and torrential rainfalls. 

Medicanes frequency is 1-2 per year.  Greece’s last Medicane was in 1995. This time the cyclone skirted the south coast of Peloponnese and reached Athens on Saturday September 29, 2018.

The strong winds uproot trees and down power lines and cause all kind of property destruction. 

Swollen rivers take cars parked near their banks in their turbulent waters downstream.  

The strong winds and waves result in sinking of boats even in harbors.

Although the advice to people in regions involved by hurricanes to move inland and away from the coasts some elect to ignore such warnings and go to the shore to see the large waves and feel the strong winds.

Tourists in the vicinity of the Acropolis of Athens look happy even if the gusty winds will destroy their umbrellas.

Summer cruises 2016; Hydra

Hydra (Ύδρα in Greek) is located in the Saronic Gulf and is separated from Peloponnese by a narrow strip of water.  There is one main town, known simply as “Port of Hydra”.  It consists of a crescent-shaped harbor, around which there are restaurants, shops, markets, and galleries that cater visitors and locals alike.  No cars are allowed on the island thus commuting and travel is done either by horses, mules or donkeys or on foot.

In Hydra wealthy Hydriot families built their mansions several of which still stand. The descendants of Kountouriotis family donated his mansion to the state, which now operates as a Historical and Archival Museum.  No visit to the island is complete without a visit to this beautiful museum that exhibits the maritime history of the island and also Greece since 1708.  One of the exhibits that attracted my attention is the Map of Greece commissioned by Rigas Feraios (1757-1798) a political thinker who was influenced by enlightenment and envisioned the liberation of Greece. Email: mail@gak-ydras.att.sch.gr  

The museum is currently exhibiting (Sept 3 till Oct 31) the work of Italian painter LeonardoCremonini (1925-2010) whose work portraits the contradictions between Eros and reality in our lives.  He was influenced by places like Hydra or Panarea islands where sunlight is dominant and intoxicating to our senses.

Steep stone streets lead up and outward from the harbor area. Most of the local residences are located on these streets.  My son, John, is resting and playing with two friendly cats. 

Magnificent yachts moor at Hydra’s harbor and illuminate its waters with their underwater lights at night.  The illuminated building in the back is the Historical Archives and Museum of Hydra. 

Visitors can have a dinner and taste the local cuisine in a traditional taverna. 

One of the pleasant moments was our lunch with a view of the beautiful Gulf of Argolis.  We ate calamari and a salad with arugula with parmigianino oregiano sprinkled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

John, my son, leans against a canon that saw action during Greece’s War of Independence.   Hydra’s fleet together with the fleets from islands of Spetses and Psara played a major role in securing Greece’s freedom.