A Canuck in Crete

It is wonderful to be back in Crete. This is an enchanted place and continues to be every bit as alluring and surprising as on my first visit in last winter. For this visit we have rented a small Cretan cottage in the village of Perivolia, an agricultural community, south of Chania and up against the White Mountains.

This is a great location from which to study and travel. We are quite private in this quiet little corner of the village yet we can be in the Old Town of Chania in 15 minutes.

Our cottage is an old farm house complete with stable door and traditional architecture and furnishings but a large modern bathroom and kitchen makes for very comfortable living quarters.  Our landlady, Sally, is lovely to deal with and we have the added bonus of our neighbour Nikos, the gregarious and very friendly taverna owner, just on the other side of our gate.  We have merely to lift the garden gate latch and stroll into his excellent taverna for a late night meal.







The village appears to be quite prosperous with many modern homes dominating the area yet it is dotted with older buildings that point to the way it was. Perivolia is known for it's produce. The village has good water and plenty of it making it  ideal for the orchards. 

Dotted around the village are remains of older buildings fallen down. These make for great pictures and insight into how these were constructed.

Resurrecting older homes in Crete is often not difficult. Once the debris is removed the old walls, being of stone construction, can simply be rebuilt or added to blending old and new in interesting combinations.  In these tough economic times, however, money is always the issue.

This is the path down to our cottage where we pass a newer home on the left and older buildings on the right. The community dogs welcome us loudly each time we pass but they seem to be getting more used to us and thus a little less standoffish and less noisy at our passing. Perhaps some dog treats will help.

 Everywhere the colours of the foliage and plants augment the sites. This is our front gate opening into the courtyard where we spend time writing and relaxing in the warm evenings. The weather here is still in the high 20s all the time and today will be over 30 again so maybe it will be a beach day as we explore the Gramvousa Peninsula on the west coast, about 45 minutes away. The beach at Phalasarna is well known and I am looking forward to exploring it.  At every turn on our daily exploration drives are fascinating churches, often dating back to the 11th century and decorated with exquisite frescoes and mosaics.

Here is something interesting to note. A cut piece of olive wood [above] has been interwoven in this fence and it has grown there surrounding the wire. I'll have to learn more about this wood as it has nothing but its internal resources to grow with.

Someone found this piece of olive wood. It is all one piece and forms the strikingly good outline of the kri kri, the native and increasingly rare wild mountain goat.

We went to Elafonisi on the southwest side of the island one particularly hot day. It is not an easy place to get to as both roads, either the cross country mountain road or the scenic coastal road involve negotiating difficult terrain and breathtakingly tight mountain switchbacks and thus slow travel. When you can peel your eyes from the roads, the views more than compensate for the lengthy journey. Here is the view of the Libyan Sea from a high mountain taverna. 

Elafonisi beach is a pink sand beach with gin clear water and panoramic views of mountain and sea. This picture above right shows the area from the mountain pass while the shore picture tries to capture the alluring pink colour that is subtle but ever present.

Snorkelling one of the reefs I found myself in a large school of barracuda type fish, although these were only about 10 inches long. This school of many hundreds of fish swam in a slow circle around me completely engulfing me in a world of their silvery glow.

Chania remains a favourite place for me. The Old  City, Venetian in origin, is wonderful at anytime, but has a special magic at night. This is the shoulder season so everything is open but without the pressing crowds of summer and also without the oppressive heat of summer that can often exceed 40C. 

Cool evenings and a late supper in a beautiful outdoor setting makes a nice end to another wonderful day on Crete.

Below, the harbour of Chania's Old Town at night

The Aegean

Being on an island, even a large island such as Naxos, the sea is never far away and almost always present in some capacity. The people here eat a lot of fish but factory trawlers and overfishing by all nations have managed to destroy much of the wealth of the sea. The red mullet may be disappearing, but octopus is still flourishing on the Aegean's' floor and is a staple here as a snack or a main meal. 

I'm not so fond of calamari. It does look tantalizing to eat doesn't it? How can one resist such beautiful food. Here it is fresh. I watched these dry in the morning sun and then as the chef came to collect it for the evening dinner, I got this picture. These are heavier than they look.

Everyone appreciates the clear waters of the southern climates. These waters are "gin clear" as a friend says. Here the propeller of a rather large fishing boat is clearly seen several feet under the surface against the bottom- perhaps another 20 feet away. When I snorkel it is often hard to judge the relative size of fish because the visibility is so far I can't judge how big they may be against an unknown distant background. In one moment, as I followed a large fish, it was not until I saw discarded tires on the ocean floor that I realized the visibility was in excess of 100 feet and thus the fish was substantial in size.

This is our beach for swimming, Agia Perokopius [Saint Perokopius]. It has lovely sand and a long gentle drop off with gentle rolling waves. Often it is quite still and being just 15 minutes from town by car, quite popular. This is the beach for oldsters like me. Other beaches feature other attractions. Two beaches north is where the wind surfers hang out. Some stretch for miles and some beaches are small and private. Nude bathing is common all over. Yet everywhere someone is anxious to serve me a beer or 1/2 kilo of wine. Nice way to spend a morning.

Never far away is a chapel or church. 

These dot religious reminders dot the landscape and are almost always in 

view if  you take a moment to look.  Many of these churches are used only a few times a year, but all are lovingly tended. 

The ferries are the vital link for the hundreds of islands. Here a regular ferry arrives in port. These are fast moving and the come in with the skill of a race car driver lurching into a turn, spin, stop and quick dock. Imagine the speed that results in this lean on this boat  moments from docking. It probably would not be legal in Canada. Then it is everyone for themselves as those departing- perhaps in the 100's, compete with those boarding, in a rush. Within a very few minutes people, cars, trucks all disembark and embark and the ferry is on its way. Organized chaos!, and fun to watch. In a couple of day we'll be part of departing herd fighting the tide of bodies arriving on Naxos.

This is a cedar park  preserved against the sea where they grow well. It is also a lovely beach for a swim offering many little private areas to read or enjoy the sun

The Palatia (small islet) upon which stands the majestic Portara, is joined to Naxos by a causeway. On either side is a sheltered bay depending on the direction of the wind. To the right is a gentle sandy swimming area and to the left a rocky area that is deeper and lying underneath is the ancient Neolithic village of Naxos.

Every little piece of shoreline offers the beauty of clear warm water and the Aegean greens inviting you for a swim.

Naxos harbour with the island of Paros in the distance. 

This is the village of Apollonus on the far northern tip of the island. It is very secluded and accessible either by boat or long, treacherous narrow switch back roads over the mountain passes. This is a fishing village but it is also home of the Kouros.









The Kouros is an incredible unfinished statue  lying in situ where it was abandoned over 2500 years ago. It is believed to be a statue of Dyonisius or Apollo. No one knows. This is a great example of how the largest marbles were carved into replicas of the gods. The block was chiselled out of the surrounding rock and worked on. When brought near to completion we think it was moved carefully and transported to its final site for finishing.

Something happened here to cause this one to be abandoned. A fault may have been found, or a crack may have emerged. We do not know.

What is very apparent is the size of this carving. If it had been completed in would have weighed about 130 tons and would have been the largest statue of a god in the ancient world. Naxos is well know for its marble and the Naxonian marbles were and are still highly valued.

Here you can appreciate the scale when measured against our friend Evie.

But this is what most think of when we think of the Aegean.

Beautiful gin clear water
And it is everywhere!

Olives olives and olives

When you visit Crete, olives are going to be ever present. Whether it is drizzled over a salad, pooled on a plate to dip warm fresh bread, soap for your bath, creams for your skin, in a pan to roast your lamb, or presented as an appetizer with a drink in a bar.... olives are everywhere.

Here an orange grove is sandwiched between two olive orchards





The trees are everywhere; the pruned wood from the trees fire the wood stoves in the winter houses and outdoor cooking grills.


When I pause to look at the detail of a view - it is rare not to see hundreds of olive trees.











The lush greens of the fields are especially contrasted against the silvery grey-green of the olive leaves










 
The undergrowth are fields of flowers - especially lovely.

One of flowers common all over the island are huge geraniums, but at this time of the year, we also see wild mustard, lantana shrubs, morning glories,  bits of bougainvillea hanging on from summer, roses, and other wild flowers. In a month or so, the delicate wild poppies will cover the fields, with marguerite daisies and tiny wild orchids and heathers.








This is the olive orchard just outside my door. For the past few weeks, the neighbours have been busy harvesting the olives, pruning the trees and burning the slash. The forest fire index here is so critical, this is the only time of year they can have open fires.







It is so tempting on a walk to reach up a pluck an olive, but I was surprised by how truly awful a ripe olive tastes! It is bitter. The olives are soaked in a salt brine which is changed every 4 days or so for at least a month, until they begin to taste they way you want them.

Everyone has their own particular way which adds to a variety of tastes.  Some are brined, some soaked in oil, some are rolled in sea salt for example.








The pruning is severe in gardens. There are continuous piles of olive branches burning somewhere - and they smell quite nice- adding another dynamic to this place. Yes, these will sprout new growth this year!

Olives and their oil are a part of almost every meal.

It is estimated in one of the Crete travel guides I have, that there are 5,000,000 olive trees on this island.

The sites and sounds of harvest have surrounded me everyday as I travel. The harvest goes on for several months and is apparently approaching its end.

Men raking the trees with powered mop-like  brushes to drop the olives onto mesh nets under the trees.







Olive trees can live a very long time- some are estimated to be more than 2000 years old.

Imagine, one tree planted when Jesus walked this earth still producing olive today!

This one I saw in Gortys is over a 1000 years old.






















When they die they are used as fire wood mostly - but several appear as decoration because of the unusual way they age- such as this 'skeleton' of a dead trunk set against a garden wall.  

Some of the wood is also used for fine woodworking and carving - bowls, kitchen utensils, chess boards, religious icons,  crosses and more.








On my visit to Phaistos, a Minoan Palace site over looking the Mesara Plane, olive trees dominated the view.

100,000s of trees!

And I love eating olives!!!