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.
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