Excursion to the East

I departed Drapanias at 9:30am and made it to Iraklio in two hours...record time for me (I've only been there once before, so I don't really know if that's good or bad...probably good time-wise, probably bad if I had been caught by one of the several speed-traps that were set up along the way.) The map here shows my route, with the red dots being approximately where I stopped along the way. The little dip down in the middle of the island was on my return trip.

First stop: Knossos. One of the "must-do's" here, or so I've read. I'll confess that I'm not much of a fan of the "must-do's", especially when they are partially reconstructed archeological sites and involve large numbers of tourists. Granted, this is some pretty impressive history, being one of the most (if not the most) well-known of the ancient Minoan settlements. And perhaps if I had read some tale regarding the site that emotionally invested me in it, I would have been more excited. But there is something about the conjecture involved in the reconstruction of sites like this that leaves me feeling somewhat flat. Anyway, I spent about 45 minutes walking around, and took a few pictures. I think most of you will recognize this first one, the "Prince of the Lillies" fresco. As with so much else pertaining to Knossos, there is debate among scholars as to what the original actually represents (this is a recreation, obviously). I rushed through this about as quickly as I rushed through the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, and was equally as glad to be done and away from the throngs of tourists.

(Note: Another blogger sent me a link to this write-up, which is really very interesting. As I mentioned in my comment on his blog, had I read this prior to visiting Knossos I might have found the whole experience more interesting: http://crete.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/evans-knossos-and-the-minoans-facts-and-forgeries/#comment-1125)











The next thing: Crete Aquarium. Mike and I had talked about taking a day trip here but never did make it, so when I saw the signs for it on the National Road after leaving Knossos, I decided now would be as good a time as ever to check it out. I enjoyed it so much more than Knossos; I suppose because it wasn't overly crowded, because it was nice and peaceful inside, and because...well, it was just more interesting to me. I was very happy with how well the camera performed in here with no flash.

I love the underside of rays...they look like faces.








Several people have told me that there are no sharks in the waters around Crete. I have taken them at their word on this and swim with abandon, feeling none of the usual fear that I do when I get into sea water past my waist. These pictured here are "mediterranean" sand sharks, and the Aegean Sea is part of the Mediterranean, so I think either those people were lying, or didn't know what they were talking about, or maybe they just never SEE the sharks here. I don't know, but I wasn't as comfortable swimming today as I usually am.









Moray Eel.








Ahhhh! Vampire Turtle!!!








Cuddly cuttle fish. Isn't he cute??









I believe I had some of this guy's brother for lunch a bit later that day.











Ohhhh, this is what I look like when I wake up in the morning!
























After departing the aquarium, I made my way east towards Ayios Nikolaos, and had the pleasure of driving through Malia along the way (said with sarcasm). Back a few months ago I posted about my visit to Milia, which is a very quiet, serene eco-village in the mountains of west Crete. A reader very kindly informed me that I had misspelled the name of the village in my post, calling it Malia, which is a very different sort of location with an unsavory reputation as a party-spot for rowdy young British and Dutch tourists. As I drove along the strip of road that ran through the town, I had to laugh at the contrast between the two places (and silently thanked that reader again for correcting me). However, I will admit that I was sorely tempted to stop at the KFC, which is only the second western fast-food joint I've seen since coming here (the other being MacDonalds in Iraklio). I hardly ever eat fast-food back in the States, but there's something about not having it readily available that makes me crave it.


As I continued my drive east, the sky became cloudier and by the time I reached Ayios Nikolaos, it was completely overcast. I wasn't bothered by it though, as long as it didn't rain.







I took this picture of the hotel where I stayed from a little taverna across the lake where I had a late lunch of grilled octopus. The room was very dull and simple, and my balcony overlooked the street on the other side instead of the lake, but it was only 35 euros so I took it.



It was during my lunch that the weekend took a turn for the not-so-great. As I sat drinking my greek coffee and eating the dessert that I ordered to go with it, I and the other patrons heard a "splash" in the water just beneath the rocks you see pictured here. We realized quickly that it was a cat who had either jumped in an attempt to catch one of the birds who were flitting around, or had been thrown from above by some children. Everyone watched in suspense as the poor little critter attempted to climb back up onto the rocks, and when it became clear that it was unable to grab a hold, several people began calling to it, trying to get it to swim over our way. Unfortunately, it was only able to stay above water for a few more minutes, and we all watched in horror as it finally gave up and just drown right there in front of us. And then it just floated at the surface while we all finished our meal. I was only able to take a few more bites of mine before giving up; my appetite was gone.

I went back to my hotel room feeling rather depressed and intending to nap for a few hours before showering and heading out to check out the night-life and have some dinner. Along the way I stopped to look at the menu for one of the restaurants, and I was excited to see beef rib-eye steak on it. I haven't had a beef steak since arriving in Crete, they are a pretty rare item here, so I determined that this is where I would eat my evening meal. When I finally awoke, it was 9:15pm...long past my intended wake-up time. I found that I was still full from lunch, and not really in any mood to get dressed and go out, so I just hung out and watched life go by from my balcony. This town is known for being a bit more sophisticated and upscale than most in Crete, an image that was reinforced for me by the attractive, well-dressed people walking about.


The next morning brought rain, rain, and more rain, and I finally got tired of waiting for it to let up and just checked out of my room and headed to my car with my bags. My car was parked on the other side of the lake, about a 10 minute walk away, and despite purchasing an umbrella at a shop right outside the hotel, I was completely drenched by the time I got there. It didn't help that much of the pavement was slick marble...really bad terrain for someone who only brought flip-flops. This is me driving out of Ayios Nikolaos.


Under different circumstances, the drive to Sitia would have been spectacular. A good portion of it is up through the mountains, with a dramatic coastal view visible to the left. Given the torrential rain and thick fog, it was simply nerve-wracking. I had to cross several bridges like this one, and as I approached them and was unable to see the opposite side, it felt as though I was driving straight off into the clouds.


My original intention was to drive past Sitia and visit the palm beach at Vai, and I had decided to attempt it despite the rain. However, shortly after Sitia the road had been torn up for repaving or something, and it was a muddy, riddled mess. After about 10 minutes with no improvement I said, "Screw this" and turned around. I stopped at Dionysos Taverna on the road back to Sitia to wait out the afternoon, since I wasn't due to meet Chantal until later that evening and since it was not fit weather for walking around Sitia itself.

I had rooster in tomato sauce, which was really good. I don't know if I've ever had rooster before. I'm assuming that it's just a male chicken. Anyway, I'm a fan. While I sat in the virtually empty restaurant, the skies really opened up, and there was thunder and lighting, and I began to wonder if it was ever going to stop. Eventually my back began to ache from just sitting there, and my eyes were strained from trying to read in what was pretty dim light, so I paid my bill and headed toward Sitia with the thought that I would just hang out in the hotel lobby where Chantal and I were supposed to meet.

Once in town, I was greeted by flooding streets, a number of which were too deep to turn down. I've already had an accident in this rental car, I didn't want to add "swept away in flash flood" to my experience with it. I eventually did find a spot, and the rain eventually did let up, and I killed a couple of hours walking around and ducking into an internet cafe.











It was nice to finally meet Chantal after having chatted with her via Facebook for several months now. We dined on swordfish at a restaurant in town that is run by a French woman and her Greek husband. Chantal is very friendly with the people in Sitia, being one of those gregarious, outgoing types who just draws others in. She told me the story of how she came to live in Crete, and while I'll not tell that story here (because it's not mine to tell, of course), I will say that I am in awe of her resourcefulness and ability to adapt and integrate.

She put me up in her second bedroom, in a very comfy bed, where I slept quite well, with no cats there to wake me up at all hours.

The next morning she made a wonderful breakfast of eggs, cheese, yogurt, bread, jam, coffee and juice.














We were lucky enough to get a respite from the rain for the majority of our meal, and although some pretty ominous clouds were rolling in, I hoped that the rainbow that suddenly appeared was a portent of better things to come.











Soon after breakfast I decided that I'd better be on my way if I was going to reach the town of Anoyia by early afternoon (not knowing what to expect from the weather, I imagined that it might be slow-going along the way), so I thanked Chantal for her hospitality and began the drive back towards the west. Things began to look up as the weather cleared a bit, and I stopped to take this picture. The day was really beautiful at this point, that still-cool but being gently warmed by the sun's rays kind of weather.


And then...

It was around now that I said "Screw this" for the second time this trip and decided that I was going to skip Anoyia and the Idean cave altogether and just drive straight through to home.

However...


The weather cleared again and the sign for Anoyia was plainly visible to me from the highway so I made a fast decision to just go ahead and take the exit. After a nice, scenic drive through the mountains I arrived at the town and began to drive down its main street, along with several other cars. Then suddenly traffic stopped moving, and cars began backing up, and I saw that there was a huge bus full of tourists coming the opposite way on a street that really only gave room for one-way traffic. So I got to back up, along with all the others, for about 100 meters. Backing up has never been my strong suit, and I don't know how close I came to taking out a number of cars that were parked on both sides of the narrow street. I was in a very foul mood by the time I finally extricated myself from the fiasco, and further attempts to navigate the town proved to be equally frustrating. I finally found the hotel that I had read about in the guidebook, and when I stepped outside the car I realized that it was quite chilly and that the clouds were rolling back in. I had no footwear besides my flip-flops, which were going to be completely unsuitable for a hike of any duration, especially if it rained again. So, care to guess what I said at this point? Yep...screw this. I got back in my car, managed to eventually drive my way out of town, and headed back down the mountain to the National Road. Except that I took a wrong turn and ended up taking the long, winding mountain road all the way to Rethymno instead.

This was the only picture I got of Anoyia, which isn't pronounced exactly like "annoy ya" but close enough to be appropriate. It's probably a wonderful little town, and had I been in a better mood I'm sure I would have enjoyed it.

All said and done I spent about 7 hours driving that day, which is far more than I had anticipated or ever want to do again.