Crete - drop dead gorgeous, no worries, and no internet access

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5/12/09
Jon:
We have spent the last week on the large and remote island of Crete. Loaded with history and ruins dating back to 4000 BC, remote beaches that make the steep dirt road drives worth it, and cheap prices, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Stephanie drooled on the historical palaces of Knossos. Lily loved wave jumping some huge turquoise waves on ideal sandy beaches, Austin became wrapped up in more mythology, and Jon lived for the views and cliffs abutting the ocean (driving them was part of the fun). One town we came across, Hania, Crete made us feel like we were living in Venice with the incredibly cute architecture. Internet has been spotty and slow, and we haven’t gone out of our way looking for net access, hence the delayed blog updates.
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Lily:
I had fun in Crete when I saw my dad and brother get a haircut. I thought it was cool to watch them get greased “up” doos. I had a really fun time jumping waves. I fell down 80 times, but the water felt nice. I was jumping big waves and the biggest ones knocked me down.
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The King of Crete’s name was Minos, and the people are Minoans. I saw the palace the Minoan Palace (Knossos) in the rain. I miss Maine a lot.
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Austin:
Crete was fun. The escargot was nasty, but I ate it anyway. We stayed at a place in Hania, and the architecture was interesting. It had different tiers. The room that we stayed in had a beginning level with a kitchen and bathroom, a second level with a balcony, a bed, and a dinning table, and third level with loft with two beds. A couple stairs separated each level. We saw this in the lobby and restaurants as well.

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Photos

Knossos
Knossos was the beginning of Minoan civilization in 1700 BC.

Matala Crete
Caves in Matala were used in Roman days as a cemetary and in the hippy days a home.

Matala Crete 2
Lily finds the ultimate waves to jump in Matala, Crete

Agio Pavlo
Austin and Lily descend the steep cliffs to the beaches of Agio Pavlo

Snails
Austin decides he likes snails, although I admit they were nothing close to escargot.

Hania Crete Greece
The port of Hania Crete.

Elafonisi Crete
Beach in Elafonisi Crete, one of the prettiest we have seen so far. Photographers were doing a shoot of a model while we were there.

Elafonisi
Family on beach in Elafonisi

Pita Gyro
Austin shows how to eat a Pita Gyro (one of the many we had in Greece)