Big K's recap of Crete

We arrived late Tuesday night into Heraklion, a major Greek city and the "capital" of Crete. It was a short boat ride but the boat was already late and we were tired. The sun was down and it was dark outside, but unfortunately not on the boat. My hat came in handy again as I put it over my face and closed my eyes, allowing me to get a little rest. As soon as we got to the port and off the boat, Mel quickly hailed a cab amongst the rush of people and cars, and we were lucky enough to share the ride with a couple going to the same hotel. After about 5 minutes, we arrived at the hotel and were immediately pleased. This hotel looked pretty nice. It was recently renovated and has a very clean, modern feel. And even better, they have free internet (thus the length of these last posts). We got to our (sufficiently larger and nicer) room and cleaned up, feeling good about the whole experience, and quickly went to sleep.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel buffet, which was more comparable to the one in Mykonos than in Santorini, a good thing. We were ready to start a day of sightseeing and figuring out the plans for the rest of the trip, but when we got back to the room, the key didn't work. Neither did another one I had obtained, and when I went back to the front desk, they sent the bellman along to try, and that didn't work either. So that was a problem. They ended up telling us to pack our stuff and go to a different room. That room smelled fiercely like smoke, so we requested another and ended up in a real king-size bed (other doubles were two beds pushed together) and a view of the pool area instead of the street. Not too bad. We finally did get out of the hotel and took a short walk to the center, tourist part of town. Heraklion is very much a functional city and not a tourist one, so this was really the only place we saw tourists en masse within the city. We found the state tourism office and asked about getting to/from Samaria Gorge, and the lady there recommended that for simplicity's sake, we use a travel agency rather than try to negotiate the trip on public buses. More on the gorge later, but the important point is it is more than three hours away and there are no direct public buses from Heraklion. So we took her advice and found a place right around the corner to set up the tour for the following day.

After this, we walked around the tourist district some more, window shopping at some of the many mall-variety shops and a few unique ones, getting some pictures at the Morosini Fountain and the Agios Titios church, and taking a stroll down to the old Venetian harbor. We had lunch back by the church and then found our way to the Archaeological Museum. This was one of the things I really wanted to see, but Mel had no interest at that point. So I went inside while she went back to hit the hotel pool. The museum has been under renovation for a couple years and the full site is closed, but they did have a two-room display of some of the collection's best pieces. Most had been excavated from nearby Knossos and other Minoan palaces all over Crete. The collection spanned the entire time of the Minoans and some of the Greek and Roman periods as well, from 3000 B.C. to around 500 B.C. It was quite impressive and the pieces were in great condition given their age. There were many jars and drinking vessels adorned with drawings, wall frescoes, jewelry of gold and other precious metals, a sarcophagus, weapons, and statues. I took pictures of just about every case and was proud to show them off to Mel. After leaving the museum, it was a hot walk back to the hotel, and I changed and met her down at the pool. We caught a few remaining rays of sunlight and then went looking for a place to eat dinner. We wandered for a few blocks and didn't find anything appetizing in one direction, so we came back and checked out the place our taxi driver had recommended the night before. I will refer to the place as "Meat Heaven" :) They had many varieties of meat that you could order in a pita with tzatziki, tomatoes and fries, by itself, or on a dinner platter. We both had pitas with different fillings, and they were delicious! The place was a sight as well: a big gyro cone rotating next to one of the windows, a rotissierie full of chicken and ribs further back, and a flat grill with pork and chicken souvlaki (shish kebabs) in between. Like I said, Meat Heaven. This place would give Rudy's a run for its money. We then had some ice cream and walked to a market to pick up some food and drink for the next morning.

The next day promised to be a long one. We were to be picked up from the hotel at 6am and driven about 3-4 hours to the entrance of the gorge in Omalos. Then we would walk/run 18km through the gorge to the south coast in the town of Agia Roumeli. After that was a boat ride to the nearest town with a road, then it was back on the bus for the return trip to our hotel. The travel agent estimated we would return about 10pm. So knowing this, thankfully we were prepared for the inevitable deviations from the plan that made it even longer. We were waiting outside the hotel at 6 but we ended up not getting picked up until 6:30. The bus was a double-decker and already almost completely full when it arrived. Most of the tourists had probably come from the beach towns 50-100km east of the city. Nevertheless, the bus made a couple more stops along the way as we drove along the coast and through the mountains to the west. Finally the bus was entirely full, and we made a quick stop shortly thereafter for a snack and restroom break. Then on we went, past the cities of Rethymnon and Hania until we turned off the highway (really the only one on Crete) onto a winding route up through more mountains. This was about a 30km distance, but it took nearly an hour to negotiate the many switchbacks and out-of-the-way curves on the road to Omalos.

Samaria Gorge is the longest in Europe and drops from around 4000 feet at the top to sea level over the 18km, most of it in a winding downward path through the first 3km. At the narrowest point the "Iron Gates", the gorge walls are only about 9 feet apart while rising about 1000 feet. Our plan was to run as much of it as possible as a real trail workout, which we have sorely needed on this trip. So we packed up Mel's Camelbak, dressed in our running clothes and trail shoes, and took only necessary items. Most of the tourists were in regular clothes and tennis shoes and had packed like they were going for a short nature hike, so we really stood out. Especially when we started darting around them, going down the path like it was flat, while they were carefully stepping around and between the rocks! That was a lot of fun, seeing the confused and amazed look on people's faces. The trail shoes really made it look easy, and for the most part it wasn't really difficult, except for getting around all the tourists. I spent a lot of the time jumping down the rocks and around people rather than running, so much so that someone commented to Mel: "Your husband is like a goat, jumping around everywhere." We both got a kick out of that, but she was a bit offended because he had assumed she was with me! Wonder why he did so, seeing how she was the only other one dressed that way and trying to run a little :) I also passed someone else on a turn, and she called me "Kri-kri," which was the name given to the Cretan mountain goats that inhabit the higher reaches of the gorge. High praise indeed! So like I said, the plan was to run most of the way, but with the amount of people on the narrow trail this proved difficult. And in true trail running fashion, Mel also fell on the rocks and scraped and bruised her arms and legs (which had just healed from her last fall the day before the wedding!) so she wasn't much for running after that. We ended up walking the rest of the way, still easier and faster than most of the crowd, but with only a bit of jumping down a few hills for good measure. Once we got down to the bottom, the sun was very warm and bright and virtually inescapable. So we were happy to finish the hike as quickly as we could and get something to eat and find some shade. We had a late, big lunch (I had pizza and a fish entree and Mel had a salad, entree, and dessert) and waited around for our meeting with the guide several hours later followed by the ferry. I took advantage of the break to go for a swim in the beautiful waters of the Libyan Sea, clothes, shoes and all. Now I felt like a true trail runner!

The ferry was supposed to arrive at 6pm so we would be back to the bus by 7 and on our way. But as we have learned, Greek ferries do not run on time, or at all sometimes. We finally spotted the boat (a long way out) around 6 and it pulled up to the dock at 6:30. The boat let off passengers and a few vehicles, and some people got on board, but meanwhile the waves had been periodically rising up over the dock and came in really strong while the boat was docked. Eventually the crew wouldn't let anyone on and pulled up the bridge. The crowd of several hundred then started hurrying over toward the beach, so we followed a little bit unsure what was going to happen. The boat backed away from the dock and made its way over, pulling up right on the beach. Well then. It was quite a spectacle, from the people on the dock getting splashed every now and then by the waves, to the mad rush for the boat once it docked, to the scramble to meet the boat over on the beach. We made it on board and set off to the east. The sun was getting low and had disappeared behind a mountain while we were on land, but once we got out in the water a bit, it reappeared and made for some beautiful views. There were a few capes sticking out into the water toward the west, some green and white hills to the north, and the perfect blue waters between us and the shore and as far as the eye could see to the south. It was breathtaking, and I took quite a few pictures, especially as the sun began to set behind the coastline. We made a quick stop in another little seaside town that had no road access, and finally got to our destination a while later just as darkness was falling. We quickly boarded the bus and set off, only about an hour behind schedule. But, it was a good thing it was dark when we left, because we had many more switchbacks back up the mountains and even a trip through some sort of construction zone where there really wasn't much of a road at all. Thankfully Mel was asleep and missed all of this, while I only could see and hear part of what was going on. I do know that the bus was moving very slowly and it was bumpy. We made it back to the city and instead of being dropped at our hotel, we were told to get in a taxi which proved to be quite a ride. I reassured Mel that we were only going about 120-130km/hr (about 70-75 mph) even though I'm sure it felt much faster! We did make it back alive and concluded the day at 11pm. Whew.

Today was a bit shorter and much less active after yesterday's adventure. Tired and sore, we slept in until after 9 and would have slept later except for breakfast ending at 10. We then went back to the room for a nap and to pack as much as we could manage for now. After two weeks of Greek food, we were happy to notice a Domino's right down from our hotel, so we had a pretty American pizza for lunch which we enjoyed outside by the pool. After another nap (notice a trend here?) we finally ventured out for the last major item on the tourist agenda, a visit to the ancient Minoan palace of Knossos. It took a little while to figure out where to board the city bus, but we made it on one and ten minutes later got off at the site. We spent about two hours exploring the large, elaborate ruins. It really must have been quite a place in its heyday. This was the palace that in Greek mythology contained the labyrinth and the Minotaur. It was partially reconstructed by an imaginative archeologist named Arthur Evans in the early 1900's, and some of his structural reconstruction and names and purposes for rooms are probably wildly inaccurate, but it still maintained most of the ancient look and feel. After our visit and an impulsive purchase of a historical guide in the gift shop, it was time for another trip to Meat Heaven for dinner. I thought I could manage two pitas this time, and I didn't disappoint :) nor did the food once again.

So now we're packed up and ready to head home. Hopefully our travel back will go as smoothly as the rest of the trip and we'll be back in Austin Sunday afternoon. Then I'll turn the blog back over to Melissa :)

We've taken a lot of great pictures, some cool souvenirs, and lots of memories from our trip here (and maybe a few extra pounds in our bellies). It was an unforgettable experience. The real world is going to seem strange for a while I'm sure. A lot has happened in the US since we've left, and I'm interested to see what the immediate future brings for some of the major news items. At the same time, the global perspective was definitely lacking in what I was seeing and hearing at home. I hope to be able to stay in touch with what is really happening in the rest of the world, not just hearing the limited focus of news and Americanized version of events given to us by the media. And I hope we can make another trip abroad as soon as Mel has enough vacation time!
Singapore in summer 2009, here we come!