GREECE: Crete - by - Car, Day 1

This Is How the Venetian Fortress in Heraklion Used to Look

We had spent some days in Heraklion, getting to know some of the attractions, like the Venetian Fort that sits right at the old harbor. This is a place to visit while you are in Heraklion, but not especially special. Carol really loved the Archeological Museum and the mystery of the writing on the Phaistos Disc. We strolled along the piers, taking lots of pictures, had lunch at the Marina, etc. 

While we enjoyed our little place away from home, we also wanted to see a bit more of Crete than just the neighborhood we were in; even if only for a few days. What does Crete look like away from the city? 

Entrance To the Fort

Size Of the Ropes Used

We walked around our neighborhood, even asked in a muffler repair shop if they know of a local car rental place, but there was no other way but to rent via the Internet. Yes, they told us, there are rental spots in Heraklion but a better choice would be the

Nice Car

Airport. Since the airport was not that far away, I agreed to rent from there. So, early Sunday morning we sat and waited for our bus, which also goes to the Airport. We waited, and waited some more. It’s Sunday morning early, like 7 AM. I am not sure when the bus starts running but when a taxi came by I flagged it down and off we went. Instead of the customary 15 Euros he agreed to take 12. I guess he needed the business, too. The check-out procedure for a rent-a-car is a bit more proper than what I am used to. Every ding, scratch or mar was written down; before we received the car it was gone over with a fine toothed comb.  

We rented a car for 3 days with Enterprise and off we went into the blue yonder, without really a plan as to where we end up. Kind of like we travel via motorcycle. But to rent a motorcycle would have meant riding without proper clothing, something we don’t do. So the car was the only option. Carol had worked out some lose goals and I made sure we got a car with a GPS unit, even though that was an extra charge.

Advertising For the Samaria Gorge

Finally, around 10 AM we are off. Where to? Carol had read about a gorge, the most famous place on Crete, the Samaria Gorge. So we set our GPS for Hora Sfakion and drove off. This town is on the southern coast and from here we could take a ferry to the bottom of the Gorge. Trekking down the Gorge from the top would have been a serious physical challenge so we opted to start up from the bottom as the most spectacular views are near the bottom.

We were warned that the roads in Crete are narrow, that the roads are twisty and full of animals. We were warned that Greek drivers are aggressive, etc., etc. Well, that made me 
cautious. The ‘highway’ was an OK road, a bit wider than usual, most of the time a 2 lane road. But only around Heraklion was it a 'highway', the rest was like a good local road.

Spectacular Scenery

Traffic was mildly fast. Speed limits 90 KM/Hour (55 MPH). It felt a bit slow, but people did not really speed. Signs for electronic cameras hidden on the side of the road might have slowed them down. I don’t know, but it was kind of nice to just doodle along, following the GPS. So, we just sat and waited for the GPS to tell us, take the next exit. 

Road Hazards But Cute

Well, something went wrong. We heard nothing, we looked at the display but it told us to keep going.  So we pulled over and looked at each other, what is going on?  The trouble with the Greek GPS was that when we entered the town, we entered it in English; of course we don't

speak or write Greek. The guy at the rent-a-car place had set the unit to English but the town names were still in Greek. So when something popped up on the display that was close to what we thought was the right town we said, YES. So, we reentered the destination again, this time taking the Greek town as our goal and now the GPS told us to go back. Yuk! I hate this, but it all worked out in the end. We now knew to make absolutely sure to enter the correct town name, which was not an easy task, because the spelling from Greek into English is not uniform. Heraklion is also spelled Iraklion, so you see, it can get very confusing. Then there are 3 towns with exactly the same name but in different districts. So we have no clue as to what district we have to go to. The GPS, while very good, was an adventure. So now we are set to Hora Sfakion.  

Roads Are Getting Narrower

We followed the GPS through small villages. We stopped and asked people just to check if we were on the right track. The people tried out their best English and we went through constructions sites, over very old roads, past herds of sheep, always towards Hora Sfakion. The roads now are very narrow. When a car comes towards us we slow down and move way over off the side of the road to let him pass. Crete is old, the roads are older. I think animals charted them first, and then man walked on those trails. Yes, the roads are very twisty but they are fun, too. I was glad we had the GPS, because many times there were no road signs. Going without a GPS would have been a roll of the dice; this way or that way? 

Can You Imagine Riding This Road For An Hour?
This Is Where We Missed Our Bikes
We Are Trying to Get to the Flat Land Far Below

In the south of Crete is the very small village of Hora Sfakion. It sits at the water’s edge, you can see it from miles away, but to get down to it, the road drops in serpentine form for about one hour. It’s a steep drop and in inclement weather I would even call it dangerous. We were lucky though, we had wonderful sunshine and clear sky. Even with the GPS guiding us, we had to be careful to get to the center of town. Houses were built on the hill and the streets were made before there were cars. So everything is just wide enough for 2 donkeys to pass each other. The little area that is flat is treasured for parking. 

When we drove into town we tried to park between flowerpots at the side of the road when a young man came out of the house and asked: “are you here for lunch?” We nodded and he moved one flowerpot so we could park easier. 

Taverna Nikos. We Sat Down By the Water

Nikos Himself

Yummy Garlic Bread

Nice guy! He turned out to be the son of the owner of the Restaurant and his name was George.  So of course we felt a little obligated to really eat at his place and not the other places all around the harbor. It worked out well, because George’s family own the place and it had great food. We ate like kings. His place is named Taverna Nikos, should you ever visit. The Garlic bread is fantastic. We told him we would be back later for dinner. 

Very Picturesque Little Town, Hora Sfakion

We were in Hora Sfakion at a time when the tourist season had not really started. Everybody had time and could chat. So George and I chatted and he told us that the Gorge, the place we wanted to visit, was still under water by about 3 feet. There was no way we could go into the Samaria Gorge and in fact it was closed because of the flooding. Bummer! We came all this way for nothing? George just shrugged his shoulders and let us sit and stew on the news. Well, we are not going anyplace until we find out if what George said is true. We asked him for a hotel recommendation and he pointed us to the Stavris Hotel. It’s just a short walk up hill from the center of town.  It is

Stavris Hotel. Beautiful View From Our Second Floor Balcony

a very typical Greek place, clean, with Wi-Fi and a view of the ocean from the small deck off the room.  35 Euros per night, NO breakfast included. Well, for one night it’s ok with us. This place is close to town, everything is within walking distance and the price is normal for this time of year.

So we now had to find out if the news George told us is really true. We ambled all over the small harbor town and yes, the news is right. It is impossible to walk within the Gorge this time of year. The small river that runs inside the gorge is swollen up by the melt waters of the snow from the higher elevations. We could see some snow caps still hanging on the tips of the mountains around us and so we just accepted that we were not going to see what we came to see;

Had Our Breakfast In the Courtyard of the Stavris Hotel

So when given a lemon, make lemonade. We settled down, explored some of the town and had a wonderful dinner of fresh caught Sea Bass that George’s father, Niko, made especially for us. Wine with that?  Of course. The greens we ate with the fish were fresh dandelions, a new experience for Carol. Dessert was whatever George had in the house. And as a thank you to us, he gave us a free shot of Raki... ...YUK. Not so good! 

Walking the Beach

It turned out to be a great day, even though it did not turn out as planned. The experiences of the day, the new roads, the excitement, and the roads themselves made me tired enough to go to sleep early. Or was that the wine? Or the Raki? In any case, by 9:30 PM we had the lights out.

Did Not See Her Catch Anything

This Is Most of the Town

Sunset

Peaceful

GREECE: Crete - Spring Time Vacation

Lots of Trees In Bloom

Greece in spring time; budding trees, the sheep have lambs. We wore a light jacket during the morning hours; the temps were not hot yet. For 3 plus weeks we lived on the Island of Crete and lived like Cretans. Through Airbnb we found an apartment in Heraklion, the capital city of Crete. Our 2^nd floor apartment slept 5 so the 2 of us had plenty of space. There were sliding glass doors from every room to a long balcony that had a table and 2 chairs. Everything was within walking distance 

Apt. Living Room

 of 3 minutes or less: The super market, a bakery, a butcher, a green grocer, etc. The bus that took us in 15 minutes to downtown Heraklion stopped in front of the apartment building. The fare per person, one way, was Euro 1.20. How can you beat this price and convenience for a one-way trip of Euro 2.40 for both of us, when a taxi would set us back 12 Euros? We had found a perfect setup. We did our own cooking. The apartment even had a new washing machine (with instructions in Greek so the landlord helped us) and the landlady left us cookies, muffins, eggs, coffee, sugar and cream when we arrived. 

Long Balcony, Runs the Length of the Apt.

Ah, Greece!  You have not lived if you have not lived in Greece for a while. The tempo of life is different here. The people are friendly, albeit a bit reserved because, obviously, we were tourists. We did stand out in the neighborhood. Folks sat and had their coffee and watched us wander past. The supermarket checkout girls knew us after just 2 visits. The bakery personal tried their best English on us. We slept in as late as we could in the morning. Easy to do, the neighborhood was very 

Apt. Elevator Only Big Enough For Two With Groceries

 quiet. Parking is at a premium but we had no car, so it did not matter to us. Sundays, people went to church, we watched them go. There were lots of mopeds and motorcycles buzzing around, some are in a terrible state of repair but they ran. They were used as transportation, 2 or 3 up, getting from point A to point B. 

Local Vehicles NOT Well Maintained

The area we lived in was a bit hilly, so true walking was a workout. We tried it, it was not fun. We tried to blend in as much as we could. This was not supposed to be a sight-seeing trip but a recovery from our India/Nepal/UAE sojourn. I used most of my time writing the India blog. The Wi-Fi was good enough to be in touch with people, so we were up to date with the latest news. 

We had all the conveniences of the modern world yet living in Greece is somehow different; heating the apartment for example. There was no central heating installed. Each room had a portable electric heater and what Greeks do is heat only the room they are in. When you are in the kitchen, you only heat the kitchen. When you are in the living room to read, you turn off all other heat, but keep the living room toasty. You go to sleep, turn off the heat in the living room, but it’s OK to lightly heat the bedroom if you like that. Where ever you are, you heat the room, but let the other rooms stay cool. 

Mix of Old and New In Heraklion

The water heater for the kitchen sink had a switch on the wall. To do the dishes, turn on the water heater, it heats the water almost instantly, since it is electric. Then, after you are done, turn it off. Want a shower? Not a problem, same thing, turn on the hot water heater and take your shower, good hot water comes out of the pipes. When you are done …. turn off the water heater. In the beginning it was a bit strange, but we got used to it. It makes total sense when you think about it.  It saves lots of energy and resources living like this. 

Lemon Tree

We met some people to just chat with; one was a ‘taxi’ driver. Well, he had a sign in the trunk of his car that he could just put on top of his car and then instantly he was a taxi driver. He would not work in the winter, but when the tourist season starts around April 15, he would be a taxi driver full time. It works for Greece. To take a taxi you ‘argue’ the price before you get into the car, then that is the fare you pay, the fare you agreed to. It is a simple but effective way to go about Crete, using a taxi …. but, it’s expensive. 

Prices at the supermarket were equal to prices paid anyplace in Europe. No real bargains, milk, eggs, bread, meats, fish, olives, cleaning supplies, whatever you can think of in a supermarket is available. Beer and wine was also available here. The problem was I could not read the labels. Almost everything is exclusively written in Greek. No Latin script is used. I tried to learn, but my brain seems frozen into the Latin Script. 
 

Our Afternoon Ritual, Cappuccinos In the Neighbourhood

Between getting to know the neighborhood, finding our way within the city, learning the bus routes, cooking with strange, new ingredients, having our afternoon baklava from the bakery and a cappuccino at the corner coffee shop the time flew past.  I am really good at letting life take me for a spin; to just drift along the river of life and watch other people do their thing. I can do this for days, weeks, even. The Greeks we saw seem to be good at this, too. Even the local priest was seen having his coffee, sitting on the bench with other men, just shooting the breeze. 
 

Yummy!

While we were in a large city (Heraklion is the 4^th largest city in Greece), the immediate neighborhood seemed like county living. The rhythm of life is not as frantic as NYC. While busy enough during the day, it really quiets down at night. On Sunday mornings I felt like the only man on earth, sitting on the bench near the bus stop. There was nobody around. It was even too early for the church goers to show up at 7 AM (up early to get to the airport). Yet, I liked living like a Greek for a while. The world troubles, the Trump politics, the Wall Street race, the Money Talk all but disappeared. 

We lived in Greece for almost a month, maybe you would like this kind of living, too.

Yes, I would recommend giving up your ‘normalcy’ and becoming Greek for a few weeks. Airbnb might be a good choice for you to find a different point of view in this world.

GREECE; Crete - the Museum and Knossos Palace

In the center of the town of Heraklion is the Archeological Museum. We visited the place. It is 

One Side of the Clay Phaistos Disc From the 17th Century BC.

chock full of artifacts; all glorifying the past advancements of Greek minds. The museum contains deep mysteries like the Linear A script used by Cretans (Minoans) before the Linear B writing which can now be read. Nobody can read Linear A, so if you want a challenge in life, solve the riddle of Linear A. In the Museum is the clay fired Phaistos Disc from the 17^th century BC. It has symbols different from either Linear A or Linear B but its inscriptions have yet to be deciphered. We saw the delicate Gold Bee Pectoral Pendant from 1800 to 1700 BC. It shows 2 bees putting a drop of honey into a honeycomb. On their heads is a filigree cage with a gold bead. Small discs hang from their wings and stingers. It is amazing that such delicate work could be done so long ago.

Bee Pendant

 

Bull Leaping Where Athletes Would Somersault Over the
Horns and Back of a Charging Bull
Mural Reconstructed Based On the Pieces Found

We also enjoyed the scenes of bull-leaping by both male and female athletes. We were amazed at the reconstruction of a large mural from shards of stone. We had a great time exploring the Museum in Heraklion, especially since we also stopped to have a Greek lunch in a restaurant nearby. 

A Reconstructed Area of the Knossos Site

Knossos is only about 15 minutes away from Heraklion. Since most of the treasures in the Museum came from Knossos, we decided to explore these ruins. Sure we could have booked a tour from Heraklion for 65 Euros per person, but what is the fun in that? We took the bus instead. From our rental to the city center of Heraklion the bus ticket was 1.20 Euro, then add to that the bus ticket to Knossos, another whooping 1.80 Euros. So, for a total of 4.00 Euros we landed right in front of the famous Palace of Knossos. Or what is left of it. Or what Arthur Evans, the excavator and archeologist said it is. Knossos is considered today a very controversial excavation. Sir Arthur Evans excavated the ruble we now call the Palace of Knossos and had free reign when he reconstructed some parts of the Palace. 

While I write a lot about history, I just use history as a tool. I use it to help me understand why things are the way they are today. Some small stuff, in the long run, has a tremendous effect on how we look at a country, at people, at ourselves. 

Another Reconstructed Area

Mural Showing the Minotaur About to Be Slain
This Mural Is In the Archeological Museum, Heraklion

Knossos is a good example.  Sir Arthur Evans lived a long time. He was deeply involved in Greek History and was taught by the best English Schools, Harrow, Oxford et al. He took over where Heinrich Schliemann left off. Evans was raised in the British tradition and lived until 1941. While he was a smart and dedicated man, he was also influenced by the times (art deco was popular). He, Evans, decided in great detail how Knossos looked in ancient times. The palace we visited was a ‘recreation’ of Knossos as seen in Evans’ mind. Was Knossos really like this? There are a wide range of other ‘experts’ that totally disagree with Evans today. Like I said, it’s a controversial dig, to put it mildly. To read the books I read makes it ever so clear that even the name Knossos already is just a guesstimate. But then I am no expert on Greece. But here is what I can put together in my head to make me, in simple terms, understand Crete, the Minoans, the labyrinths, the myth about a Minotaur, Ariadne, Minos and a whole slew of other players in the Greek mythology. 

The latest carbon dating puts the area where the Knossos Palace stands today at around 7000 BC. That is old. It’s in the middle of the Neolithic era. The tools were stone tools. People had domestic animals. The housing then was wattle and mud construction.  It was just one room where everybody slept and got out of really bad weather. The whole town was about 20 people. It was a small clan, living off the land.

Silver Coin Showing a Labyrinth. Found at Knossos,
3rd Century BC.

The town grew over thousands of years and by about 5000 BC it is estimated some 600 people called this area home. At this time the housing ‘improved’ and now they built 5 room homes. Some rooms were used for storage. These larger homes scientists now consider communal structures, a kind of beginning of a palace

By 4000 BC to 3000 BC a kind of town started being built. Most believe this increase in population happened because ‘outsiders’ immigrated from someplace.  The increase in populations was dramatic. With the influx of ‘outside’ people, different ideas started to trickle in, different ways of living, different ways of building, etc. it was an exchange of ideas that now started the early Bronze Age. Knossos was on the way to the Iron Age. With this many people around, a lot of things happened simultaneously. Stories were told, other belief systems flourished. Ancient stories were told, too, some nothing but legends, like the story of a man with a bull’s body (the Minotaur), the Labyrinth story and how clever the hero was in slaying the Minotaur and finding his way out and when you have a double ax on the wall, you are invincible, nothing can harm you etc. These stories had supposedly taken place in the Palace of Knossos but we saw no evidence of a labyrinth. 

The Snake Goddess on the Left Has Snakes Curling Up Her
Arms. On the Right, the Goddess Is Holding Snakes Aloft.
These Statues Were Found In the Temple Repository At Knossos

The need for larger storage places made larger buildings necessary. Someone had to be in charge of the supplies that were stored there. Chieftains (Kings) had to rule and keep order. Well, Knossos was off to becoming a society. Knossos or whatever the ‘town’ was called then became a viable place on the map. Not just a small hamlet, like so many other places but a place that brought people together and those people traded with other people and built on ideas, built on exchanges, built on each other’s life. We never really know why it was Knossos, or the location of the town that made it so special. We never know a lot of things about the people that lived then. Sir Arthur Evans however, had his romantic notions, his ideas of the glory of Greece, or Crete, or these people he quoted as Minoans. Evans termed the name Minoan. We, decades later, quote him now as a fact. Well, Evans did not know what they were called, he could not read Linear B. it does not really matter what name they called themselves, does it? 

Water Drainage

Knossos today draws people from around the world; they walk across the ancient plaza, the old ruins, gawking at what Evans left for them to look at. I am included. It was interesting to see the frescoes that were found and repainted. It was interesting to see how the water management was solved; it was sometimes even a feeling of familiarity when looking at certain parts of the ruins at a certain angle. Knossos is worth a visit, but it is more interesting if you, like we did, visit the museum in Heraklion, first. 

I perfectly understand that this present showcase Evans left is but a replica of what might have been. Some of the finds in the Museum are amazing items. The artwork, the decorations, the way everyday articles had to have ornamentation is wonderful. The amount of trade these ancient folks had with other islands, other main lands, other parts of the ancient world is stunning. I believe Knossos, or Heraklion was like today’s Tokyo, or Singapore, or NYC.  Lots of people coming together to build something the future will look at and say Wow! Amazing what they could do.
 

Part of the Original Excavation

It was a good day trip and I would have been mad at myself had I not gone to visit. I would not, though travel from San Francisco to Heraklion just to see this palace of Knossos, only if I were an Archeologist with a specialty in Minoans.