24.05.2021
The slow pace of life comes hand in hand with having a simplified lifestyle.
Once you spend a bit of time in Cretan homes with the company of Cretans, you will wonder one thing for sure: How would Crete be without its people ?
Once you start to get involved with Cretan, the first impression Cretan men love to give is that they rule the roost and take a front seat in public life, but it’s often the women who run the show, both at home and in family businesses. When they first meet you, they will spontaneously invite you for raki and they will offer you home-cooked food as a welcoming act of kindness. After your first bit, you should never forget to congrats the cook by saying “yia sta heria sou” which literary means: “bless your hands
Having lunch with Cretans is a unique experience as they will not let you leave until you ’re bursting at the seams. In other words, even when you’re not hungry, you continue eating long after you’re full. This happens because not only does the food, that tastes so good but also the cook will spoon some more food every time you try to clean up your plate. The same goes for raki. Each time you say I’m done, they just pour you another glass, by saying " Pie mia akoma" which literary means "drink one more shot" it’s useless.
The best part about living in Crete is the slow pace of life. People do not freak out if they wake up a little later or if some plan got canceled, – the lifestyle they have in this place is very much about going with the flow and mindful slowness, quality over quantity. It’s not a hard thing to get accustomed to, when the whole mentality of the place is like so – in fact, what locals say is “siga siga”, which literally means: "slowly slowly". How would be Crete without their people? It would certainly be a beautiful place, but there would be no serenity, no generosity, no authenticity.