Other Images of Crete

Scirrocan Winds

During the night, the Scirrocan winds began to blow and shutters rattled while wind chimes down on Juliet’s lower level called out through the night. We woke up to a complete change in the weather, from slightly cool during the day to quite cool in the evening and very dry to a warm sort of tropical wind that blew relentlessly throughout the entire day, tangling the wind chimes beyond repair and leaving them silent. It was such a drastic change! Dave and Juliet told us that these winds at times blow in red sands from the Sahara desert and leave a reddish golden coat of sand on everything before they die down. It reminded us of the Santa Anna winds that blow off the coast of California, which are said to make people somewhat crazy…Dave and Juliet agreed that the same effect happens in Crete.

Half Way Celebration

Later in the afternoon we reached the south shore beach of Crete, complete with sandy beaches, clear blue waters that are shallow enough for one to walk out to a little island quite close to the shore. This was the first day that we encountered tourists, families and couples traveling in small camping vehicles. We had a HALF WAY through the trip ceremony in the clear blue Cretan waters this afternoon- a celebration of where we had been and to what we were yet to learn on this adventure. On the drive back home we chose to drive through many of the beautiful green gorges and tiny villages. That evening we finally took some time off to settle in and begin to read the book that our host Juliet had given us.
Juliet wrote a little paragraph describing the details of where we have traveled and we will include it here as it also has some pronunciation help for those of you planning a trip to Crete anytime soon!
From Juliet: “The gorge you went to a little way with both of us was Deliana Gorge. Pronounced thelyanA, where the 'the' is as in 'then'; the 'y' as in yes, you etc.;
the last A is emphasised but still sounds like the a in bat. You also walked Polyrhinnia Hill and went to Katsamatados, through the Topolia Gorge. You walked with me from Mouri to Latziana looking at Mouri Gorge, Topolia Gorge and the gorge which you see from the house, Sassalos Gorge. That's gorged you out now.
You also went to falasarna and Elafonisi on your big round car trip and to the Monastery with the golden step. You sat on the beaches Vari Bobbi and Mavro Molo.

Church with Golden Step

Southern Crete

We then ventured along the hair-raising ridgeline of southern Crete with steep switchbacks and few guard rails, it was not a drive for the faint of heart or those with a fear of heights! The water, at times Caribbean blue, at times a bright turquoise, was nothing less than stunning! Goats wandered in and out of the roads, so drivers needed to be alert and careful. Mary was delighted that Jubie had agreed to do most of the driving, as she is not fond of driving along high cliffs with steep drop offs. We stopped at a lovely church by the sea, which is said to have a golden step that only the most holy and blessed can see- the scenery from the balcony of this church was magnificent, looking out over the waters.

Exploring Crete

We set out early in the morning for a drive in our fun little Panda toward Crete’s southern shoreline. Armed with hand drawn maps by our hosts Juliet and Dave, we were ready for adventure. We drove through beautiful gorges on our way to an ancient town. We explored red mud ruins along dusty goat paths.
As we headed out from the ruins, amongst the fields of tomato vines we spied piles and piles of bright red tomatoes gleaming in the sunlight. Not ones for waste, but concerned about possible consequences, we gingerly collected shirtfuls of plump tomatoes to bring back to the “homestead” (for the next three days we had many kinds of tomato dishes- thanks to Juliet’s creativity in the kitchen).

The Beastly but BEAUTIFUL "stink-horn" plant!

Juliet took us on a late afternoon hike through a small ancient town high up on a ridge. She shared much about the local foliage as well as the ancient ruins of walls from many eras including Helenic, Venetian, Doric, and others. One of the wildflowers that we found most interesting and unusual was the “draconous” lily or as they call it the “stink horn”. We were lucky enough, later in the week, to find one fully in bloom, standing about 3 or 4 feet tall, with dragon like markings on the thick stalk. The flower they produce looks like a giant eggplant colored horn with a yellow flower in the middle- and the foul stench exuded helped up to quickly understand where the name “stink horn” had come from! Whew! Both beautiful and beastly at the same time.
Dave and Juliet, oddly enough, have chosen the name draconous for their somewhat ferile tomcat, we think the name fits as we hear that he has sired most of the kittens in the local region despite his fierce aloof mannerisms.

After another leisurely morning (we could easily get used to this Cretan island life style), we headed to our second Greek dance class in the town of Kissamos with German Claudia. This time we video-taped the entire class for future practice and reference. We were much more relaxed with the steps, and found ourselves enjoying the new community of dancers (most members were different from our first class).
Later we put on our bathing suits, but the considerably “fresh” air and water left us timidly hanging out in the sand while our German and English companions barged right in…brrrrrrrr!

We were escorted by the proprietor’s shepherd dog (her choice, not ours) up the long winding path toward the upper ridge of the gorge. We met, and cautiously crossed paths with several chained up watch dogs along our route, forcing us to find large weapon like sticks in the event of attack. Mary was happy to employ some of the simple “establish a power role with a strange dog” tricks that she had learned from the Dog whisperer (not terribly effective with these dogs). Later we found out that these guard dogs were situated so as to keep the sheep and goats from wandering away from their owners region.
Later that evening Mary and Juliet went into the town of Kissamos and had the chance to hear yet another version of Cretan music, this time a much more contemporary version of the traditional songs.

Set a course for adventure (courtesy of our hosts) through the Topolia gorge and a tiny church that lives in a cave. We took quite a steep hike up the mountainside to reach this cave church. As this was the first day that we would fly freely (so to speak) with our rental car (it is a Fiesta Panda and the name Panda fondly reminded both of us of our sweet daughter/sister, Amanda that we called Panda as a nickname), we were excited to explore several local sites that appeared on a hand drawn map from Juliet. Juliet created maps tailored to our needs, including highlights and landmarks that included an old defunct van along a field of olive trees, tiny mountain churches here and there, a family taverna, the ancient ruins of a wall of two, several overlook spots and at the top of the mountain, the tall tower. Olive trees are everywhere in Crete, we hear from locals that they are an important crop for Cretans and both within the country and for export. Near to Juliet and Dave’s house there were also farmers growing avocados, oranges, and a host of nut trees.
We climbed the steep incline to the cave church, and after a brief time of prayer and reflection, we ventured on to the small family owned taverna for one of Juliet’s favorite dishes (she is a lover of cheese) “staka”, which is sort of a baked feta cheese served in a clay pot along side fresh bread. The proprietor of the taverna was a fun loving guy who tried his best to communicate with us. In the end he posed for a picture with Jubie and then surprised us both by stealing a quick kiss from Mary as he posed for a picture with her under the orange tree! We hear from many folks, both Greek and others, that the male Greek mojo is no myth and their lusty virility is evident everywhere.

Later we walked the harbor town of Hania, taking in a few art exhibits in old maritime warehouses and then walking through the winding cobblestone streets of the old city. The architecture along the harbor was mostly Venetian, as Crete was purchased and occupied by the Venetians for a lengthy period in the 1400s. We hear the Christian Venetians were much better tolerated by Cretans than the Muslim Turks. We visited a small taverna that featured local Cretan musicians playing the laouta (somewhat like a bouzouki) and the lyra (looking like a violin but held in a very different fashion).

“Welcome to Krete, put on your dancin’ shoes!”

The first day in Krete began with our early arrival (details already reviewed). We made our first visit to village of Kissamos to the car rental dealer, a savory Greek character named Harri (shortened version of a lengthy and complicated traditional Greek name). We had examined the car and noted that the windshield wipers were without the rubber blade inserts (a nightmare for driving in the rain). Harry met our concerns with what we hear is typical Greek manner replying “it’s not going to rain”. Indeed this first day on the island was beautiful, and we took some time to visit the well-known bakery shop called Chocalate featuring “baby breads” for Easter. Baby breads are woven loaves with a red hard-boiled egg peeking out from the upper portion of the loaf. We are told this egg represents a baby’s head, and that the loaf is to represent a swaddled infant. All things to celebrate fertility nearing the Easter season!

Greek Dancing
Oddly enough, Juliet our host takes weekly traditional Greek dancing classes from a German woman named Claudia. We were lucky enough to be invited to attend, and managed to fumble our way through a medley of both Greek and Cretan dances. Many of these dance styles originated from early corn circles (harvesting corn was done inside a stone circle using groups of people jumping, stomping, flicking and shuffling upon the corn). Today’s class was held in a hotel high up on the mountain overlooking the bay, the village of Hania, and surprisingly a rather expansive American naval base. Locals here are not big fans of this American base. Rumor has it that nuclear warheads are housed in this location, but no one knows for sure. We hear there are huge Cretan protests when the American ambassador rolls into town. Our dancing skills were complimented by our instructor, and we are happy to report that no one was injured.

Juliet and Dave's house

Oh Crete, what a beautiful island! We are on the south end of the island, the much more lush, green and quiet side, so Dave and Juliet, our 5W hosts tell us. They are from the UK and have lived here for 20 years, running yoga and meditation retreats. They are lovely and their home is exactly what one might imagine in their dreams of “the perfect island” life. Their flourishing garden provides rosemary, thyme, mint, oranges, lemons, avocados, walnuts, and another fruit that looked like a large apricot (which we can’t remember the name of). Each morning we ate breakfast outside on their patio, enjoying the local favorite sheep yogurt that comes in clay pots (which pile up around their house and get used for all kinds of things as they are not officially recycled), as well as fresh bakery breads, their homemade jams, and island honey.

Bound for Crete

Great flight on Olympic airlines to Chania, Krete- with assigned seats, a free coffee and even a small container of yummy Greek biscuits with chocolate inside (much to our great delight!) And thus began our much dreamed about time on an island in Greece. Mary admits that ever since watching Zorba, the Greek as a child, she has always dreamed of spending her days on a Greek island.

For the first time ever, we were met at the airport by Dave (our 5W host), holding a sign with OUR names on it! Over the course of our travels, we have had fantasized much about what it might be like to be greeted by a sign bearing stranger at the arrival gate of an airport. Throughout this adventure, some of the most challenging times have been arriving in a new culture and trying to sort out the new money, the mass transit and the moving of our luggage (we must explain that Mary’s roller bag has developed a bum wheel, making it incredibly difficult to roll, the bane of our travel experience thus far, threatening to dislocate both of our shoulders, and as of yet she has not replaced it, but she is trying to). So the sheer luxury of having someone meet us at the airport is a gift greater than one could imagine. (galleons of gold Euros is what it is worth!)