Sifis, the elusive Cretan Croc, resurfaces in new video.

Watch the new video that was released yesterday, showing the famous croc basking in the sunshine on the edge of the lake.

 Sifis, the elusive crocodile that has become something of an attraction since he was first spotted in July at the area of the Rivers’ Dam near Rethimno, Crete, continues to roam the Cretan countryside, successfully avoiding every single trap set to capture him.
Not even Olivier Behra, one of the world’s finest erpetologists, could capture Crete’s famous crocodile when he visited the Greek island in August, although he intends to return to Crete for a second attempt next week, as was revealed yesterday by local media.
However, despite his amazing talent in eluding his captors, Sifis didn’t manage to escape the scourge of all celebrities, the paparazzis with their cameras!
This is the new video that was released yesterday, showing the famous croc basking in the sunshine on the edge of the lake.

Mediterranean cooking: Yemista!!

Tomatoes and peppers stuffed with a mixture of rice, ground beef, herbs and chopped vegetables for extra flavor.


Serves: 6 Preparation time: 30m Baking time: 1h 50m Ready in: 2h 20m

Tomatoes and peppers stuffed with a mixture of rice, ground beef, herbs and chopped vegetables for extra flavor.
Ingredients
6 ripe tomatoes, medium
6 green peppers suitable for stuffing
2 onions, chopped
1 horn pepper, cubed
1 small zucchini, grated
250g. ground beef
1 carrot, grated
1½ cup long grain white rice
1 cup chopped parsley
4 tablespoons chopped mint
3 large potatoes, peeled, quartered
1 cup olive oil
5-6 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Sugar
Salt and pepper
Preparation method
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180 ° C. Wash the tomatoes and slice the tops off, setting them aside. Using a spoon, scoop out the tomato flesh. Dice half the quantity and process the rest in a food processor until you have a chucky liquid.
Step 2
Cut the tops off the peppers and set aside. Carefully remove and discard the seeds. Place the peppers for 2 minutes in boiling water to soften them and drain well.
Step 3
Heat half the oil in a large deep skillet and sauté the onions along with the carrot, the pepper and the zucchini. Add the ground beef and, after mixing with the rest of the ingredients add the rice, the parsley, the mint, the salt and the pepper. Add the diced tomatoes, a little extra sugar and some more salt and pepper. Allow the stuffing to reach a boil and remove the skillet from heat.
Step 4
Place the tomatoes and peppers in a baking dish and sprinkle the inside with a little salt and a little sugar. Fill them with the stuffing you just prepared about 3/4 full and replace their “caps”.
Step 5
Salt and pepper the potatoes and place them between the tomatoes and peppers. Mix the pureed tomatoes with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper and pour over the stuffed vegetables. Add water as necessary so that the fluid level reaches the two centimeters.
Step 6
Sprinkle the yemista with breadcrumbs, cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hour, until the rice is cooked.
The uncover the dish and bake for a little longer, until the top is crisp.
Source: Olive magazine
Chef: Ioanna Stamoulou

Revenues for the Greek tourism to amount to 14 billion euros, SETE head says!!

Tourism contribution to the Greek GDP has increased as a result of the performance of the tourism sector this year, the head of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) Andreas Andreadis said in his address at 13th SETE conference.
According to Mr. Andreadis, the direct and indirect contribution of tourism to the real economy stands at 20.5% of GDP or 37.6 billion euros, based on a 2.2 multiplier that IOBE research institute estimated in 2012.
Andreadis stressed that in 2014 direct and indirect revenues for the Greek tourism, including revenues from air and maritime transport and internal tourism, will amount to 14 billion euros and to 17 billion euros.
He stressed that if the multipliers of KEPE institute on the allocation of tourism spending are adopted, then the relevant contribution rises to 45.3 billion euros or 24.7% of GDP.
However, he mentioned that tourism sector has still a long way to go adding that “we should establish international standards of skills and services, highlight and show off our cultural wealth, help SMEs and invest supporting the prospects of the sector,”.
Source: protothema

The Acropolis Museum is among the best museums in the world.

The rankings are based on millions of reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers
TripAdvisor has released a list with the best 25 museums in the world.
So, if you are packing your things for your autumn holiday or your want to plan your next summer vacation, make sure to check this list before you take off.
The Acropolis Museum located in Athens, Greece is ranked 8th in the world attracting many tourists every year.

It covers a total area of 25,000 square meters and its exhibition space exceeds 14,000 square meters. The museum hosts houses finds from the sanctuaries that were established on the slopes of the Acropolis, as well as objects that Athenians used in everyday life from all historic periods.

Visitors have also the chance to admire magnificent sculptures that used to grace the first temples on the Acropolis, as well as relief sculptures of the Parthenon frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession.

The rankings are based on millions of reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers worldwide, whereas award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for museums worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.
See the best 10 museums in the world
1. Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

2. National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropologia)
Mexico City, Mexico

3. State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace
St. Petersburg, Russia

4.The Getty Center
Los Angeles, California

5. Galleria dell’Accademia/Statue of David
Florence, Italy

6. Musee d’Orsay
Paris, France

7.The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City, New York

8.The Acropolis Museum
Athens, Greece

9. Prado Museum
Madrid, Spain

10. Yad Vashem Holocaust Memoria
Jerusalem, Israel

 
source: protothema

Pancratium maritimum - Sea daffodil -Το κρινάκι της θάλασσας!!!

The Sea Daffodil is a stunning flower and is one of the most beautiful of the wild Cretan flowers which appears on beaches in late summer and can be found on a few of the Southwest beaches of Rethymno...

A little further from Plakias, you can come in front of Plakiassuites at the Plakias Suites Beachand there are many hundreds of flowering Pancratium plants. Really a beautiful sight!!!

 

The pancratium maritimum, many times, has been subject 
for study forbotanists and archaeologists.

The Pancratium features in lists of documented prehistoric plants of the Mediterranean and appears in wall paintings in Knossos. It has medicinal uses described by Dioscorides and Theophrastos. (1896). 

It is sadly becoming endangered - one of the victims of beach tourism and construction, pollution and galloping erosion due to rising temperatures and sea level… not to mention enthusiasts who carry them off to plant in their gardens and promptly kill them by planting in rich soil....

Crete: Incredible Beaches

Photo of the day: We waiting you, autumn in Crete!!!