Month: October 2023

October 18: More On Crete

Drove to Crete’s south coast today. A distance of about 30 kilometers as the crow flies took over 4 hours to cover. What started out as a very slick beautiful highway morphed into weaving, rolling curves and cutouts over narrow and sometimes rough blacktop. After a few hours of maneuvering the car right then left, up and down across stark, barren but unbelievably incredible landscapes. I have never seen such rock formations, or deep and narrow gorges of huge proportions. This was coupled and broken by broad plains that are filled with olive groves and vineyards. You also see herds of goats and flocks of sheep on the slopes and cliff faces. The rocky mountains at home do not come close to the frightening  and spectacular views that these formations afforded. I can tell you that after 3 hours of driving through this I was exhausted. This is a rugged and beautiful terrain.

I wasn’t able to take any pictures as my hands were locked on the wheel. Dot had to use pliers to unlock them. You will just have to visit Crete to experience this. My drive today was from Heraklion to the Frangocastelle area on the South Coast. When we left we drove to Rethymon.

Then lunch.

Read ya later. Pictures cannot do the area justice.

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October 17: Crete At War

I am referring to the second world war but it is more than that. Crete has been under some form of occupation since 1350 BCE. The Greeks followed by the Roman’s, followed by the Saracens, Moors, Venetians , Ottomans and then finally the Germans. They are a resilient people, fiercely proud.

I rented a car here so Dot and I drove down to Souda Bay, which is near Chania or Hania as the c is silent. Here lies over 2,000 allied war dead in the island’s Commonwealth Military Cemetery. It is a silent, emotional and beautiful spot befitting of the ultimate sacrifice of the military men, some women and civilians. Some as young as 19 years of age. SAD! To be brought down at such a young age.

The Germans conducted an airborne assault on Crete in May of 1941. Crete was considered strategic due to German military operations in the Mediterranean and North Africa. The island had  military garrison of about 42,000 strong consisting of British, Australian, New Zealanders, Greeks, some Canadians, Jewish and  handful of non combatants. They were no match for the Germans however who soon overran them. When it became clear that all was lost the allied troops retreated to the southern coast to be evacuated by the Royal Navy. This was Crete’s version of Dunkirk. There is too much to cover here. Google The Battle of Crete or expand the picture below for an overview.

THANKS!

The grounds are maintained beautifully.

Crete is such a grand,magical place.⁹

 

October 16: More On Our Crete Visit

We spent the day exploring the Minoan culture and civilization by visiting the Palace of Knossos and the Heraklion Museum of Archeology. These two places are a must see if visiting Crete. On top of that Heraklion, the capital of Crete, is beautiful in its chaos. It has an historical Harbour, whitewashed concrete or stucco buildings, beautiful fountains and a vibrancy that is hard to describe. Most of the inhabitants that we came across speak English and they are very friendly. Food is fantastic and the Mythos beer is very tasty.

There has been a great deal of speculation as to what happened to the Minoan civilization. Popular consensus states that the massive Thira (Santorini) volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami around 1600 BCE as the beginning of the end for the Minoans. After these events the Minoans no longer believed their priests and that, coupled with climate changes as a result of the eruption, reduced harvests and growing temperatures. The advent of the Greek Mycenais contributed to their demise. They just gave up.

Another interesting thing about Knossos is that it was home to King Minos and the Greek mythological half man, half bull Minitaur and the Labyrinth. If you were caught in the Labyrinth there was no way out and the Minitaur would devour you. Greek mythological hero Theseus eventually killed the beast.

To end this magical day Dot and I had a traditional Greek dinner in the vibrant city center, on a terrace watching all of the locals enjoying a balmy Sunday evening. Fantastic.

Mythos beer.

More tomorrow. Exploring the island.

Oh, and did I tell you? I love this country.

 

October 15: Crete Greece or Creta

Arrived on the 13th from Faro Portugal via Amsterdam. Dot was happy because she got to tick off another airport on her list.

    Our room is in a boutique hotel not far from the port and city center. Yesterday we spent exploring the old city. We will do a hop on hop off tour today and visit Knossos, the Minoan Palace, which was discovered by an archeologist named Evans. The Minoans were the very first Eoropean civilization that prospered here from 4,000 BCE to about 1300 BCE when they were wiped out by the huge Thira (Santorini) earthquake and tsunami. More on that later.

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October 11: Faro Still

Still here in Faro.

Dinner on one of the many terraces here.

We took a one hour sunset cruise in the lagoon area. I thought it was going to be another expensive waste of time but it wasn’t. It was excellent. Our guide was a 20 year old university student named Jose who was from Faro and who had a great deal of local knowledge. He guided us through the many channels that intersect these wetlands and marshes into an array of wildlife and seaside sanctuaries. It turns out that this area was home to the world’s largest seahorse population although the numbers are way down now.

Our Captain and guide Jose.

Our Second Mate

This area is a national park, protected reserve for seabirds. Egrets, Cormorants and a bevy of others too many to name. The many islands and islets that make up this reserve are mud and marshes. If you were to step onto one of them you would sink down to oblivion. There is also  an outer chain of low lying islands that form a barrier reef to protect the reserve from the Atlantic Ocean. It was fascinating and very enjoyable. Glad we did it.

The old Faro fortress.

One gets a whole different perspective on the water.

And a beautiful sunset.

Next post will be from Crete  Greece, in  few days.

I love this country.

John