Weekend of 15/16 November - Keratokambos.

We dithered about where to go next, with no idea other than we need to keep exploring while we have the time. We had missed a few villages on the south coast, the sun shines from that direction, the wind is in the north, so we headed south towards Keratokambos as we know there are some rooms still open and available to rent.
It was only one and a half hours drive away (over the mountains) so after a very good breakfast in the hotel, we left. Our conversation with our hostess was a little confused as she thought that we were another couple who had booked for 4 nights, and was most upset that we were leaving. Her command of English was even worse than ours of Greek, but we did manage to sort it out in the end.
We stopped at Kastelli for coffee, having failed to find the Roman remains of Lyttos. We did find the site up the mountain but it was rather wet and I couldn't bring myself to get out of the car, walk a few hundred yards and see what is described in the Rough Guide (our bible) as a pile of stones. There were however three little chapels on three little hilltops, all quite close to us. There wasn't much of a track up to any of them so we didn't make our way up to them but there must have been a reason once upon a time for why they were built there.

Kastelli is only a small quiet town on the edge of a plain, but has an enormously long airport runway running along the valley just outside of it. This seemed rather bizarre! (We have since found out that this was an old military airport and will soon be the main airport for Crete when they close Herakleon) This will certainly change the nature of Kastelli.
Keratokambos is found by dropping down and down along the edge of a steep valley and winding through a couple of very small villages. We became quite nervous as to whether we would ever get to the sea, and were delighted when there it was, all blue and calm!

Lunch was a plate of little fishes while we decided if we wanted to stay. We decided that we did, so booked into Jasons rooms above his sisters taverna, which is where we had eaten.

The men were all olive picking and driving past in well laden pickup trucks.The village is on the very edge of banana and poly tunnel country. Fortunately the landscape is too steep to put up poly tunnels and as a consequence is a lot more attractive covered with olive trees.

Strimmers converted to be Olive pickers!

We truly intended to swim but only paddled which was a bit feeble. The rain over the past few days has cooled the sea down quite a bit.

Supper was very simple because this was another taverna where we didn't have to choose what to eat. We were just served with a salad and a most delicious pork steak cooked on the fire. The raki around here is pretty potent stuff - ouff!!

Sunday.
We really have enjoyed staying here and will have to return. The bed was comfortable and we had a kettle and a fridge which was a luxury. Precious little in the way of cutlery and plates. Our breakfast was yogurt out of the pot and fresh coffee made straight into our mugs. It worked quite well if you leave the grains to sink to the bottom for long enough and then sieve them through your teeth and oranges don't need to be squeezed they can just be eaten!

We walked along the coast a bit. It would have been a good place for a mountain bike as there are other villages in sight tucked along the coast and not much in the way of roads to get to them.
Being a Sunday the local clergy had been hard at work since early morning but still managed to take some time off for an attempt at catching their supper!!

We drove to Herakleon pretty reluctantly, but it was an easy drive and our hotel is right on the harbour. The light was almost entirely obliterated by a 4,000 passenger cruise ship which was parked in front of the town. We have gone for a complete contrast from the last couple of days as we need a hotel with a printer for our boarding passes! The Lato Boutique Hotel can do all these sort of things. They even provided a man to park the car and carry our cases in. 
We were a little ashamed of how travel weary and grubby we are looking!

Friday 14th November. Hersonissou.

We are a bit stuck now as we only have 4 days left, we want to stay on the coast, but don't have the time to go far as there is plenty to be seen in Heraklion.
From Anogia we had a good drive down through the hills to Tilissos, 

Sheep being brought down from the mountain

An unexpected barrier across the gorge.

The view in the direction of the coast and Heraklion

where there is a small Minoan settlement which is currently being excavated. It was very pretty and we looked around uninterrupted, and watched a large group of Greek archaeologists painstakingly scraping and dusting in the exceedingly small rooms they were excavating. We were a little concerned by the amount of excavation being done by a large digger rather than manually, and the dumper truck tipping fresh gravel into what looked like original Minoan rooms, presumably the archaeologists knew what they were doing. It will be interesting to see what it looks like when it's finished in a couple of years time.

The steps down into the water cistern.

Painstakingly scraping years of dirt out of the old walls.

Painted Ladies, masses of them!

We had perhaps foolishly chosen to look at Hersonissou, a little too close to Malia but there was a nice looking hotel in Piskopaino, which is a village just north of the town. We eventually found the Casa di Veneto in a side street which from it's beginning gave us the warning that from here on there was no way out. And the signs were correct, to escape meant going on and on along a street becoming for ever narrower and eventually the only way out was up a one way street which seemed to be universally ignored, so I did too. The guest house is a comfortable old town house, converted immaculately into traditional Cretan suites which were very comfortable. Very much designed to keep you out of the heat and to keep one cool. Unfortunately the rooms were consequently very dark and a bit dingy with heavy old solid furniture so it was not somewhere we wanted to hang around in. There was a hot tub on our balcony but it had been packed up for the winter. By the time we had checked in and then driven down to the coast, it was feeling less than summery, the wind had got up, the clouds rolled in from the mountains and a swim was no longer as attractive as it had seemed 3 hours before. 

Like many other attractive touristy villages, the old part of the town had managed to keep it's character. We went in search of somewhere for supper and were approached by Mr Front of House in every bar/restaurant we passed. This puts us off a bit so we walked to the end of the street and started to come back along a quiet side street which seemed to have nothing going on at all, until we found a deserted taverna which if it were open we thought would fit the bill precisely. So we checked that they'd be open later and returned in 2 hours to find it occupied by what seemed to be the owners family and her friends. Now, we are finally getting the hang of ordering food on Crete and tonight we got it absolutely right, we ate excellent mezedes:  Little plates of snails, fried courgettes, lambs livers in rosemary, and beetroot. All starters but the quantities they serve you leaves the necessity for a main course quite unnecessary.
We are also slipping into the  very bad Cretan habit of having an ouzo as an appetizer, something I have  never liked before, but rather enjoy now!
Having eaten our way through this feast we were then served a small decanter of raki (small, but more than enough!) and some delicious sweet cake, which we are advised you must eat with raki because if you don't there's a danger of your throat being damaged by the coarseness of the alcohol!

Thursday 13 November Nidas Plateau

Our balcony had a wonderful view over the deep valley where the only sound was the ravens calling, and the tinkling of sheep bells.

We decided to stay another night as we like this place. Marina had gone out for the day so she said that she would look into our room when she returned and know if we were still there or not. She certainly would have done as in your usual way we had managed to make it look pretty lived in!
I watched a sheep penned in just below us, desperately trying to get out of his enclosure to join a large flock on the move over on the hills, the other side of the valley. 10 minutes later, on looking again, the pen was empty and in the far distance there was a lone sheep galloping in a determined fashion. I was disappointed that I hadn't actually seen the break out as the old farmer was looking despondently in the neighbouring fields. My command of Greek was definitely not up to telling him where I thought it was.
There was no breakfast to be found in the little cafés in this part of the world, they prefer a cheese and ham bap - not our favourite! So instead we set off to try some of the traditional custard pies which just happened to be made in and supplied by Marina's cousin's shop. Which to be fair did supply the best custard pies and very good Greek coffee.

Possibly not the most healthy start to the day, but very delicious. Personally I thought 9 euro for two slices of custard in Filo pastry and two cups of Greek coffee was extortionate, but there you go! We sat in the sun in a pretty square next to the church. Amazingly this was open, so we had a quick peek. An old lady who was cleaning the brasses took no notice of us at all. Which is something we've learned about Greek Orthodox - they don't exactly say 'wow, who are you - welcome to out community'

We then drove up to the Nidas Plateau which is about 25 ks, further onwards and upwards. We zigzagged our way up. The views were stunning, many boulders, seemingly very little vegetation although the countryside is all given over to sheep. From daylight we had heard the 4x4s roaring up the hill and hoped that they would not be returning at the same time as we were were going up. However, when we got there, there was no sign of anyone except for the occasional shepherd and his dog standing on a rock in the distance.

The Ideon Andron  cave lies just above the plateau, which is where according to legend Zeus spent his childhood. (It is also where 'according to legend' he deflowered Europa!!) We had planned to walk up for a look but as we were about to begin the weather closed in. We  were a little apprehensive of being stuck in low cloud/fog on that road back to Anogia as it was a hard enough drive when you could see where you were going, so we decided to miss out and leave it for another time. There was no sign of life on the plateau except for a jeep in the far distance rounding up the sheep and a taverna which looked as though it had not been open for months - even years.
So we drove back down the mountain and ate our picnic on a rock surrounded by new born lambs, ewes and some very randy rams. It was like being in the Highlands in the rutting season. (Or at a stag party in Romania)

We dropped in on the Delina mountain resort which lies just above Anogia, and is owned by Vassili Skoulas the well known Greek musician and renowned for his playing of the Lyra. He has a small coffee shop within the leisure complex and as usual it was just us, except for Vassili and a very kind Afghan man. There was a little bit of a language barrier, which was a shame as Vassili may have been asking if 'we like to hear' or if 'we like it here' and I think that I answered incorrectly. Apparently he is much given to musical moments, and didn't play for us but presented us with a CD which is really good foot tapping Greek stuff. The cafe walls were covered in gold and platinum discs that he had been awarded over the years. Marina told us later that he is her uncle. We think her family seem to own the whole village!

Tonight we went to a different Taverna for supper where the elderly couple running it were much friendlier and cooked yet more delicious lamb on the spit for us. Despite being at pains to let them know we are British, yet again they only spoke German to us. I think it must be my grey hair, military bearing and square face that does it!!

November 12th Anogia

There was no sign of Stelios, this morning and we were in part concerned and in part a little relieved as we didn't know how we were going to cope with more food! We were reduced to eating a banana and brewing a cup of tea in our room, which was probably much healthier. (We spoke to Stelios later and he was very embarrassed as he had over-slept!)  Not so surprising as the hotel is open all year and the family seem to work flat out. His cousin was waiter-ing last night, to help out. He spends his summers working in a car rental agency, and was able to answer the question of how many hire cars there are, as the agencies are EVERYWHERE. In peak season there are over 600,000 on the road! 

We drove west to Bali Beach just for a swim and a look at the area. The resort was closed but we had a good swim in one of 3 coves there. We had bumped into a German couple twice also looking for somewhere to have something to eat,  and at the 3rd place we all struck lucky. A British couple who live there gave us a few tips as to where to go next.

The beach at Bali where we had a swim.

Bananas growing in a garden by the beach.

We had a light lunch before taking the route heading up into the hills to Anogia. The town is perched on the side of a hill, not  as high as the Lassithi Plateau but still has a sharp feel to the air. We knew that there were a couple of hotels but had not booked anything. We had a quick look around, decided we liked the town and knocked on the door of the Marina Hotel. We were lucky to catch the owner, a lovely friendly girl, Marina who showed us a simple but comfortable room, turned the heating on for us and left us to it. 

View from our bedroom balcony.

The town had a tragic and terrible time in WWII as the Germans shot 70 men in reprisal for their part in harbouring freedom fighters and British intelligence personnel. There are several statues at strategic places in the town in memory of them.

Bit of a shocker to read, it is also in the original German on the other side.

It had been a poor area in the past but is now one of the wealthier parts of Crete due to very successful sheep farming. Everything revolves around sheep/lambs: wool and weaving, the cheese production is vast and lamb is pretty much the only thing on the menu! Agni Orfi (lamb on the open fire) is their best selling dish and the various restaurants have spits outside. 

The smell of cooking lamb was delicious as we walked down the street. 

Wool drying on the village well.

Some old goat on the way to somewhere!

We had  a very good supper but were not made to feel very welcome at all in the restaurant. They are very suspicious of strangers and all seemed to think we are German, and surprised when we tell them we are 'Anglikos'. Most men are dark and swarthy, all with beards and drive 'round exceedingly fast in 4x4s. We had to take to the very edge of the steep mountainous roads several times to avoid a collision. 

Once the rather hostile young owner had thrust our supper in front of us and left, the atmosphere 

lightened a little and the waitress gave us some delicious roasted chestnuts which are all over the roads in huge wooded areas.

Wall art, they are very musical here and play a variety of different instruments.

In this part of the Crete the wine is brownish, sweeter and stronger, tasting a little like Madeira.The first time we were given it in Paleochora I thought it had gone off, but have eventually got used to it! Henry VIIIth was so fond of it, he put a British Consul on Crete to facilitate trade to England!

Tuesday 11 November. Knossos.

Determined not to be outdone by his mother, Stelios cooked us the most colossal breakfast, before we set off for Knossos. We had to ask if we could keep some of the cheese and spinach pies and chocolate cake for later!

En route we had to drop in at the airport to swop cars once again as the last one had a permanently locked boot. This wouldn't have mattered except that the passports and a suitcase were trapped. As we waited for the hire car bloke, the 'last Post' sounded in the army camp beside the airport. We realised that it was 11am on the 11th. It was a poignant moment. We have seen so many war memorials here.

We splashed out at Knossos and joined another couple who had a guide. The original price quoted was 80 euros so you can imagine the response to that! This came down to joining the one already started for 10 euros which seemed rather more acceptable. Notes changed hands discreetly between the guides and we did wonder whether the nice Americans we joined had paid the whole lot, but thought best not to ask.  

Our guide was very good and very informative. He had 1 enormously long fingernail which we know is a sign of an academic, but also ears that either had ear plugs in them, or were full to the brim with wax - not attractive and I found it difficult to concentrate on what he was saying some of the time as kept imagining  that the extra long nail could have done a good job of cleaning all that wax out!

Knossos was so well restored by Sir Arthur Evans in the early 1900s and it was good to see something built up to several levels, instead of rocks and partial walls, only a few feet off the ground. There is a bit too much concrete around but perhaps that is a necessity. We were told by an archeologist that they now believe that there are several more layers underneath going back way before the Minoans which can't be excavated because of the concrete on top. 

At the end of the tour, our guide cleverly asked where we thought the Labyrinth was? He then let us down gently by saying that it was probably just the Palace itself as the floor plan was so vast, people could have been lost for some time in the 1700 rooms. The rooms were so small a bull could not have been in there so I am not so sure! As a child Theseus and the Minotaur  was one of my favourite legends. 

We decided that we needed a swim so found a beach nearer Knossos and being prepared with the spinach spanakopita and the chocolate cake had a quick dip. The sea is still lovely and warm but the afternoon turned cloudy and the wind got up so we only stayed long enough to eat our left overs and move on.

Stelios then cooked the most delicious 3 course dinner, beetroot, walnuts  in yogurt dressed up like a cake, followed by really tender chicken, marinaded and grilled, followed by some of his mother's home made Limoncello. We fell into bed, and should sleep well, especially as Alec has invested in ear plugs. The dogs in the neighbouring villas appear to be locked in 24 hours a day and bark the entire time. It is a shame for the hotel as you wouldn't want to stay too long there with that going on all night.