Sail Crete

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Tuesday, October 26
Karleen got up this morning, at eight with the rest of us (Chris had the mechanic come at eight to check out the motor) and announced that she was done with the boat, that the guys could take it down the coast, but we were driving. Ok. Actually, by the time I got up at eight, she had been up for a hour and was fully packed. So as to avoid a hasty decision, we put it off, went window shopping, got breakfast, toured the town a little bit. There is a gorgeous lake right in the middle of Old Town where the four of us had brunch. All of one side is overgrown cliffs and olive trees, with a tiny white chapel in the middle of the trees. Colourful boats are tied all round the edge and a pair of white geese paddle around, honking at everyone who passes by, looking for bread crumbs, I’m sure. However, as son as Karleen saw the rent-a-car place, she was in and within five minutes we had a teeny little red Peugeot that somehow fit the four of us. To try it out we zipped off along the coast thru about two villages, stopping for ice cream before turning around. Gyros for lunch and then Kar and I loaded, well, her bags and my backpack into the backseat and headed out for parts unknown. Our plan is not to have a plan, only places we’d like to see and go from there. First stop was Ierapetra, on the South coast, and as that seemed a ways, and we had not left until two thirty, maybe we would track down a place to stay there. However, it only took us an hour or so to arrive, so we walked around, took pictures of the Venetian fort that was unfortunately closed and moved on. I should stop for a minute and say that the countryside beyond the coast is stunning. Every mountainside is covered in olive orchards up nearly to the top and there are greenhouses all over the valleys. Inside are tall plants supported by hanging strings. They have broad green leaves and yellow flowers, and although we have asked four different people what grows in them, we still have no answer. One guy that we wanted to rent a greenhouse for some reason or another. Whatever it is, it is a major source of industry on this side of the coast. There are little tiny towns all along the road that we drive through, all the buildings whitewashed, many of them empty and crumbling. Plants grow all over town, up walls, up power poles, over old cars. And the streets are NARROW!!!! Most of the two way streets here would be a one-way where I’m used to driving, and that’s before cars are parked along both sides! However, given our diving norms, we’ve done extremely well. It’s just a little difficult to stop jumping every time someone honks. Kar has done all the driving so far. From Ierapetra we drove West, taking our time and doodling around until we realized it was getting dark and none of the little towns we were driving through had a hotel, or even rooms to rent. Hmmm. A quick look at the map revealed our position to be only 40 km from Iraklion, or Heraklion, or Iraklio, or however it is spelled in the Greek alphabet. Much like Israel, translating from a different alphabet results in several different English spellings. Speaking of Israel, much of this reminds me of being there, and I quite miss it. We pulled into Heraklion around seven, checked into a very nice hotel for a discounted rate, and then spent a couple hours in the restaurant over dinner. I had rabbit for the first time in a while, perhaps since the “chicken stew” of my childhood. It was delicious.

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