GREECE: Crete by Car – Day 3

200 Of These Open Graves In This
Necropolis

Yawning a little from lack of sleep and after our basic breakfast (German cold cuts and rolls) from the hotel we chose to visit the Minoan Grave site near Armeni. I must admit that I was not enthused about going to see a bunch of graves but Carol wanted to see them so I relented. I am glad I did. We had a bit of a difficult time setting our finicky GPS to find Armeni and the Minoan Necropolis, but we found it just as they opened up in the morning. 

About To Peek Inside One of the Larger Tombs

We were the first to enter that day and the morning was stunning. The area is overgrown with trees and since it is just Spring time, everything was bright green and blooming. Fields of flowers and blossoming trees greeted us. Within our immediate vision holes had been dug into the earth. Not straight down, but with a ramp-like passage-way leading downwards. At the end of the passage was a chamber, the actual grave. The entrance to each grave chamber was rather small and a cover stone, normally over the opening, stood aside showing that when the rituals were done, these graves were sealed off with a ‘door’. 

Hans About To Enter the Largest Tomb

Many, many graves had been dug. Some of them were large, some of them small. If there was a system to the burials I could not see it. Small graves were next to large graves. There did not seem to be a preference as to which way the corpses were placed inside the crypts. 

One very large tomb was accessible by some stairs dug into the rock surface and then a long ramp. This descending ramp was 15.5 meters long (50 feet). At the end of the hand dug, I should say hewed (it was carved out of the rock face of the hill) passage was a large mausoleum-like chamber. Inside, benches were carved along all 4 sides. I sat on one of those benches, in the very dark trying to understand how it would feel to be ‘dead’. I know it’s morbid, but I tend to try seeing how it must have felt like all those years back.

It Was Pitch Black Inside This Tomb. The Only Light Came
From the Narrow Doorway and My Flash.

How far back?  The whole of it carbon dates back to 1400 to 1200 BC. It was the late Minoan time. Copper was the largest item of trade. There is an old copper mine 4 KM away that was mined at that time already. From records found, the copper was traded as far away as Cyprus, their main customer. Wow!

Sitting there, I thought of old people being buried here, but was surprised to learn that most were very young. From bone samples found in the more than 300 graves so far excavated, it was determined that the average age for males was between 28 to 31 when they died. The females even younger, 20 to 25 years for them; probably due to child bearing risks then.  From written records it was determined that 50% of the children did not reach the age of 5. It must have been brutal living in Minoan times.

A Picture of Some of the Artifacts Found In the Tombs

We saw some artifacts at the Archeological Museum in Heraklion, we saw the splendor of the palaces in Knossos where we saw the elite glorified, but those people here at the cemetery were most likely the people from the nearby copper mine. Those people knew how to dig ore out of rock, they knew how to dig holes into stone walls, so I guess they used the same techniques when digging the graves here in Armeni. The shafts and the grottoes clearly show tools being used to chisel out the depressions. And it must have taken some time to dig out a large tomb with a passageway 50 feet long with a large, fancy chamber at the end. Sure those tombs were not used for just one person. The archeologists determined that those graves were for families. So a large tomb like the one I sat in was probably used for a whole clan. When they opened this particular grave (Dig # 200) 

The Tomb Was Deep Underground So Many Steps Needed
To Escape This Crypt

they found weapons, jewelry, jars and parts of a wooden stretcher a for-bearer of a wooden coffin? The digs, which started in 1969, are still continuing; albeit the new digs are not open for the public. What we were able to visit is interesting and good enough to understand that life in the Minoan times was difficult. I felt reborn when I stepped back out into the sunshine, after sitting in the dark for some time. It was a bit weird, I admit, but I collect all kinds of experiences, why not this one?

We moseyed out of the Necropolis in no hurry. 

 

My Flash Caught the Cobwebs Inside This Tomb.

Some Tombs Were Very Roughly Hewn

Those graves have been there for now close to 3500 years. And only in the last 50 years they were found? What else is in Crete that has not been found? Crete is a very rugged place; you have to be kind of a mountain climber to wander around. I am quite sure there are still hidden spots that need to be discovered. I am too old now to search for them, you, the one who reads this, are you up to it? 

Looking For Stavros

The day is wondrous, the sun shines and it feels truly like springtime. So where do we go to next? How about the beach where Zorba the Greek was filmed in 1964? Remember Anthony Quinn dancing as Zorba at the beach? Ah, you missed a good black and white movie if you have not seen it. It’s a classic, dig it out on YouTube and watch it. 

We nod to each other, Carol and I, when we think of this movie. Last year Jean and Ross Copas spent some time near Zorba’s Beach and told us about it. So today we are off to take a personal look at the location. We sit in the car and enter Stavros into the GPS and we get a lot of options for Stavros. So we enter Stavros, Crete and still get 3 or 4 options. Which Stavros do we 

Hard To Miss It Once We Got There

 have to go to? We know it’s near Chania so we try that one. Nope, the machine does not know Chania. Comparing it with a primitive map we have, we enter the closest large town and then we just ask for Zorba’s beach when we get close. Sounds like an idea, so we are off. When we get close to Chania we note that they spell it Khania or even Hania, ah, the Greeks. At least we are in the right direction, it’s North from here on the Akrotiri peninsula.

We find it, with lots of twists and turns we get to it. Well close to it. A building, an old windmill, is being restored at the beach and we asked the young man who wants to turn this old windmill building into a restaurant, where exactly Zorba danced. This is Greece. First I get a tour of the almost finished windmill (restaurant). 

The Windmill Restaurant ("In a Week"!)

Nice work, I have to admit. They kept the old but also added modern stuff inside. It looks a little helter-skelter with tools everywhere but it looks nice. I asked him when he thinks he will have his grand opening. Ah, yes, he said: “in about a week”.  I looked at him and he must have seen the question on my face. “A week?” said I. “Well, you know, a Greek Week” was his answer. Greece is like that. 

He had no clue as to the exact place Zorba danced but he took out his cell phone, downloaded the part of Zorba's dance on YouTube and showed it to me, we could now compare the location with what was on the film background. Perfect. We found the exact spot.

Click to see Zorba's Dance

Then: Nothing There Except Sand and Mountains

Naturally we went down and stood where Zorba stood. It was a spot where a smile crept to my face. Life is good. Imagine that you can recreate this spot from nothing more than memory and an old movie. The mountain is still there. The rail tracks are still on the mountain, the entrance to the mine is visible, and the tide still goes in and out. It seems nothing has changed but the reality is that today this area is full of houses and restaurants and vacationers. In 1964 you could have bought the whole area for peanuts. Not today. Only 50 years later but what a difference. 

Now: Beach Chairs, Kids and Mom

We had lunch at Zorba’s Restaurant (naturally) right opposite the beach. Our view was the mountain, the harbor, the small strip of sand, all that stuff that is in the movie but in addition we saw the parking lot, the shower head to clean the salt water off your body, the beach chairs, and the kids playing in the rather frigid seawater. Never mind all that, though, we had a good time following our desire to visit Zorba’s beach. And……. life is good……. Opa! 

The way back to Heraklion was straight ahead on the main road. We returned the car and took the bus back to the apartment. Easy peasy!

Also There Is a Restaurant, Housing, Boats and a Pier.
Zorba Danced Near the Red Chairs.

GREECE: Crete - Crete by Car – Day 2

Chatting With the Owner of the Stavris Hotel

We are still in Hora Sfakion in the morning. The day is just too beautiful to leave early. We are having breakfast at the hotel, outside on the patio, instead of walking down to George’s place. What a nice spot. The sun shines, the warmth of the morning is wonderful. Coffee, toast and jam is all we need after last night’s grand dinner. Around us the town starts to wake up. This is Greek living at its finest. No hurry, no hassle, no rain. Nobody rushes you, it is all up to us to pack and move on. Even the Wi-Fi works out in the street. Local people walk past and don’t pay attention to us, they are used to seeing tourists but for us, the tourists; it is a view into the lives of the people

Narrow Streets in Hora Sfakion

who live here. We just sit and watch. There is a lady down the street sweeping off her doorstep and then she stops and talks with another woman who just happens to stroll by to go shopping. Men sit a few tables over, obviously locals, and have their morning coffee, smoking and chatting in Greek; their clothing anything but fashionable. We watch a young guy in a small truck trying to make it up the hill, through the very narrow street, he has a delivery of a washing machine to make, and it’s on the back of the truck wiggling around a bit. Daily life all around us and we are part of it, but we are not part of it. We are the people that bring in the money, the people the town lives from. Ah, a nice morning, a wonderful way to start the day.

Saying Goodbye to Hora Sfakion From the High Coastal Road

I could stay for another day just goofing off, but we only have 2 more days, so it’s time to move on. We pack up the car with the one small knapsack we each have for luggage and wave good bye to Hora Sfakion. This place is very small and touristy but since we came so early in the season, there were few tourists and it was a perfect day to experience Greece.

Now our decision is where do we go from here? We only have 2 choices, back up the rocky wall we descended yesterday or hug the ocean’s edge to see what lies ahead. 

Venetian Fort 1371 - 1374

We chose to follow the only road that meanders along the water. The ‘flat’ area is not very large but large enough for some small houses, even a small village here and there. Carol found in her books a reference to an old Venetian Fort that should be on the road we are now taking. Sure enough, there is an old stone castle-like building, not in very good shape, with an admission booth in front but……. nobody is there. We are the only car in the parking lot. The doors are open, which to me, means free

Inside the Double-Walled Fort

admission. 

While Carol explores the empty inside of this castle I wander around the outside. I cannot help wondering why someone would build such a fort in such a peaceful setting. As far as I can ascertain, there would never be a threat from anyplace. The position of the fort is on flat ground, not even a little elevated. In the far distance are agricultural fields. The ‘town’ itself around the castle is puny. The harbor is

Another Area Inside the Fort

not really a harbor but just a small protected area from the ocean. So why did the Venetians build this fort? I am still puzzled even as I write this.

 Frangokastello is the name of this place and the efforts the Venetians put into building it were enormous. Was it only to protect Crete from the then invading Ottoman? It seemed impossible to me, even though here I stand, looking at it. The whole Eastern coast of Crete was open for invasion of the Ottomans, why build here?  Well, I call it a Venetian folly, but only because I don’t seem to understand why it was built.

Lots of Restaurants Right on the Beach

We are off exploring what else we can find, we don’t have a goal. A travel guide we looked into tells us of the most beautiful monastery in Crete someplace, not far from here. So we set our GPS to find the Monastery of Preveli. But being in no hurry, we first stopped for an early lunch in the town of Plakias. Why Plakias? No other reason than it was on the way and we liked the looks of it when we saw it. There must be some attraction nearby because there were many touristy setups along the road. We chose one of those to have our lunch. Situated along the beach it was another Greek location that magnetically pulls you in. It was only after we looked up this town on Wikipedia that we learned there is a nudist beach near here. Honest!

Monastery of Preveli

So we found the Monastery fairly easily, even though it is way off the beaten path. At the end of a winding road that you know when you drive it, leads to nowhere, is a large parking lot and next to it is a well-kept assortment of houses, buildings, sheds and a small centrally located church. The whole of it is walled in sitting on the side of a slanted parcel of land, surrounded by pastoral views; a wonderful spot for a semi hermit to live. The place looks rich, well taken care of, deliberately Spartan in appearance; a very likeable spot. There is an assortment of domestic animals giving the attending monks a livelihood. Peacocks were 

Tribute to the Monks Who Sheltered Allied Forces Until They
Could Be Rescued By British Submarines

strutting around wooing the females. The inside of the small church was splendid with ornamentation in gold and silver; a true Greek Orthodox display of wealth and prosperity to honor God. No picture taking allowed. Is it the most beautiful Monastery? I would not know, it’s a nice place to visit and it even has some historical references on display in the Museum the monks set up. The history of the place goes back to the middle Ages and this place served as a beach head for the Resistance against the Ottomans. As late as 1941 the local monks helped hide and feed the British during their battles with the Germans in WW2. As a result of this aid, the lower part of the Monastery was destroyed by the German occupation. Some of these ruins are still visible.

He's Struttin' His Stuff But She's Oblivious

Our visit to the monastery was a good excursion but we need a place to stay for the coming night. Spili is the town we read about and aimed for. In true fashion we set the GPS for Spili only to hesitate when the machine told us to take very local, gravelly dirt roads. I kind of knew from driving up to the Monastery that there is a paved road, even if that means driving the long way. So, we disregarded our GPS guide who insistently told us ‘other’ ways to get to Spili. Well, using our human brains we found Spili alright and drove first through the small town to see what hotel we liked the best. Just by looks from the outside we feel we can tell what is good or what is doubtful. We 

Fun Roads On the Way to Spili

decided to ask if there is a room available in a hotel in the middle of town so we would be within walking distance from everything in town. We rang the bell, knocked at the door, went next door into the empty restaurant, shouted, and looked in the hallways......nobody there.

When we exited from the restaurant, a young man smiled at us and asked if we wanted a room. To make sure the room was OK, I sent Carol to take a look. All was fine. the cost would be 35 Euros/night or 40 Euros incl. breakfast across the street in the bakery. Done! We took the 40 Euro option. We had a place to sleep.

Balcony of Our Room At the Costas Inn Overlooked
the Main Street

While the place is on the main road, this is way before tourist season, so what can happen, right?  Our rented car was parked in a no parking zone in front of the bakery but the proprietor said not to worry. Everything will be OK. We got our bags out of the car, and explored this town on foot.

The good guide book said a lot of people come here during the summer; evidenced by tourist shops with lots of tchotchkes that were already open for business. The restaurants were eager to serve us, well the ones that were open, not all were ready for business. We walked around, entered the local church, walked along a very short promenade that had food courts set up 

Greek Orthodox Church

Inside the Church

next to a small river and waterfall and watched this part of Crete live their daily lives. Crete 

Painted Ceilings and Walls in the Church

outside the big cities is very hilly. The houses here were all built on steep inclines. Walking those back allies, you have to be in very good physical shape, so this was not for us. We had walked enough already for the day. Dinner was outside in a nice place overlooking the promenade and a beer helped end the day. 

A Painting of the Samaria Gorge When It Is
Not Flooded

It was getting chilly, the temps dropping rapidly. When we went to bed that night we noticed our room had no heat. We found a few more blankets in the closet but still, it was a chilly night. Not only was it a bit cold in the room preventing us from a deep sleep but we heard gunshots echo off the houses around us; on two separate occasions. What is going on?  We did not go out to explore and finally just slept a little to be woken up again by another noise that again sounded like gun shots. Mmmm, now I know how it must have felt in the West when gun-slingers were on the loose. When we walked across the street the next morning for breakfast I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Men were having their coffee, the women were busy, but there was a police car parked in front of our rental car. I checked, I did not get a ticket, the car was perfectly fine. I looked around but could see nothing. I still wonder what had happened last night. But how do you ask in Greek “What is going on here, were those shots we heard last night? “

People Of Hora Sfakion Pictures

From A Post Card

From A Post Card

What a Happy Person

From a Picture

Local Men Having Their Discussion In the Local Cafe

He Really Enjoyed This Little Town and the People In It

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