I don’t keep very much when I’m travelling but I did just find this ticket that I’d saved from the day we were in Samaria Gorge. I liked the stamp and drawing of the Kri-kri (the Cretan Ibex that is endangered and lives in the gorge).
But even more I loved this little map of the track on the back that gives distances between resting stops and lists their attributes.
So here’s an interesting thing! In Xania there were numerous shops selling blue and silver jewellery like this, as if it were a Cretan specialty.
I kept wondering what kind of stone it was and kept coming back to opal, but opal is Australian, right? And then I saw a brooch that was a kangaroo! I had to ask, and sure enough it was opal all the way from Australia. Someone must have decided that the blue was so evocative of Crete (and it absolutely is) that people in quantity would buy it. And I guess if it does good things for you, why not?
A few photos taken after the walk down Samaria Gorge.
Michael on the beach at Agios Roumeli, the sea village at the end of the gorge walk. I had intended having a swim, but there wasn’t really time. A paddle followed by banking up the hot stones around my legs felt like very good therapy for tired muscles!
The Neptune, the little boat that took us to Sougia, the next little place along the coast to the west, where the bus was waiting.
Can you believe the colour of the sea?! Beautiful! Cyclops’s cave was said to be around here, perhaps it was one of those?
Or one of these? To get an idea of the scale of the landscape, if you look closely, there are two specks in the middle of the photo that are people.
The mountain countryside on the way back to Xania was green and often farmed. We passed through areas that grow nuts of various sorts as well as olives and citrus.
We had a fabulous day walking the Samaria Gorge, a downhill decent of 16km from 1250 metres to the sea. I’d had my eye on this walk from early on in planning where we might go on our trip. Unbeknown to me the gorge usually only opens at the beginning of May, but we were lucky – this year it was a few days earlier, and in going on the very first day of the season it was really quiet.
You need to sign up to a bus tour to get there and back, but our guide was pleasantly laid-back, striking a nice balance between being approachable but non-intrusive. In large part his role was for our general safety, as the walk is rugged and long, and he backed up the party in case anyone got into trouble. I did see a helipad marked on the map at the now-deserted village of Samaria half way down, but in general the donkeys that are stationed at various points down the track are the ambulances if you need one.
The part of the gorge that gets most press,The Gates, is where it narrows to just a few metres between cliffs towering to 300 metres. It’s great, but strangely anti-climactic after the towering mountain sides and churning geological rock patterns in the kilometres before. If you came to The Gates from the seaward side you would impressed, but would have no idea of how much more stunning the gorge is beyond them.
There are cats everywhere! There’s usually at least one watching hopefully but politely by your table when you are eating. We walked past this lovely swathe of nasturtiums the other day. Plus cat!
Also lots of citrus. In the countryside on the way to Samaria Gorge we saw many orange orchards, and fresh orange is the best and cheapest drink.
The sea along the waterfront at the head of the harbour. There are lots of sea urchins in the water.
We took our lives in our hands and hired a car to drive to Knossos. The Cretans don’t pay much attention to road rules and happily sped by us over double lines on the highway. We clung to the edge, and often half in the safety lane, which also seemed customary, for slow vehicles.
Knossos is small and on the outskirts of Iraklio, but attracts the most of the island’s tourists. We were pounced on by the cafe touts and tour guides outside, but once through, the site was strangely tranquil in spirit. It’s even more ancient than the Acropolis, dating from around 7000BC, and layered with various civilizations, in particular the Mycenaeans from around 1500BC. It also felt like it had been a big functional place, with multi-stories and levels, differently purposed rooms, courtyards and buildings.
The ruins were discovered in the early 1900’s by a team lead by an Englishman called Evans, and most of what is said about it is based only on his assumptions. Much is reconstructed as he thought it had been and it’s generally thought it can’t be ‘un-reconstructed’ even if that was agreed to be a good idea – which it probably would be! I had wanted to see the beautiful pottery that is associated with the place as well original frescos, but the museum where they are was in the Iraklio and closed. The frescos and urns in Knossos are replicas.
Interestingly, hieroglyphics discovered here – Cretan and ‘Linear A’ are still indecipherable!
Much of the stone is gypsum, and had interesting patterns of wear and crystals.
These were some of the smaller urns. They were maybe a bit over a metre, and wired together pieces. I assume they are replicas (now my default!).
I liked the frescos. Parts of them stood out a little bit in relief.
These storage urns were huge! Well over my height.
Pretty countryside on the hill opposite, with some gardening going on.
The bull fresco.
The Theatre. Theatre is important!
And Michael got us and the car back safely, despite my best efforts to snaffle us irretrievably in the narrow old town lanes while trying to navigate through one-way streets!
I’m a bit in love with Crete!
Wishing my friend @amyloo was here.
Raki and nibbles. When you eat out you are given raki and a taste of something sweet to finish your meal after you ask for the bill.
Sunset on the little harbour.
