Crete: The land of a/(21!) million olive trees

Crete video journal!:  http://youtu.be/An0_D2954BI

When planning this trip - Mom and I spent a lot of time debating the itinerary.  Athens and Santorini were a given, as we've both always wanted to come to Greece, and seeing Santorini was top on our list after we heard of its wonders from a relative.

But, once I realized we'd have a bit more time to explore - I wavered on where we should make our last stop. (Rhodes? Mykonos?)  Then a family friend recommended Crete out of personal travel experience, and a few days later my good friend, Nino, helped reinforce that thought when she told me it was the Greek island she most wanted to visit since it had everything -- mountains, beaches, and incredible history to uncover.

I'm grateful for the tip because Crete was fabulous.  It's been my favorite stopping point thus far! 

Our first day on the island we headed to Matala - a beach on the Southern Coast of the island (Libyan Sea), the legendary stop where Zeus first took Europe after seducing her. In the sixties Matala became a hippie haven, as the community took up residence in the stunning caves that are the backdrop to the beautiful, azure waters.  In addition to serving as a hippie abode, the caves were used as tombs during the first and second centuries.

Our visit to the beach included an exploration of the caves and observation of the remnants of the beach's history ('live for today' and similar maxims are strewn across various taverna and wall facades). We took the scenic route home and wound our way back to our villa, stopping to let sheep and goats cross the rural backroads and relishing the breathtaking views of mountains, valleys, and olive groves.

The second day we visited the Western City of Chania, where we spent most of our time in the Old City and Venetian harbor. We polished off our day with a hike near our Villa - and ended up at a beautiful hillside overview, highlighting the stunning presence of a simple, abandoned church.

Monday we toured Knossos, the ancient palace and surrounding city that was the center of Minoan society around 1800 BC.  As previously mentioned, friends nudged me toward a visit to Crete, but the tipping point for me was the realization that it would afford Mom and I the chance to visit the ancient palace ruins.  

As the stuff of (the greatest) legends, I remember as an elementary school child being particularly drawn to the story of Knossos and the Minotaur. -- Cliffnotes version: Pasiphae, King Minos' wife, fell in love with the white bull that Minos was given by Poseidon.  As a result of her affair, Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur.  King Minos built a labryinth below his palace to house the beast.  In order to avenge the loss of his son, Minos forced the Athenians to send seven young women and seven young men to be sacrificed to the Minotaur every seven years.  However, the third time the sacrifice was made, Theseus bested the Minotaur by using string to trace his way through the labryinth, aided by Minos' daughter, Adriadne.)

While my (joking--but secretly kind of real) hopes of seeing the labyrinth or the ghost of a Minotaur never materialized, our tour of the palace was fantastic.  We learned more about the ever-evolving history of this storied site.  A Brit, Arthur Evans, excavated and partially "restored" the site in the twentieth century.  While his intentions were laudable (he left the rights and discoveries of the site to the people of Crete, a rare act of its time), his attempted restoration was often based on his faulty perceptions of the ruins and findings of his excavations.  The restoration was pretty horrific in archeological terms, as it incurred lasting damage to some of the ruins.  However, although they're problematic, Mom and I both found the restorative efforts (construction of columns, fresco recreations, etc) helpful in getting a clearer sense of how the palace and surrounding city was laid out (in comparison to the Acropolis or Akrotiri).

Anyway, that made for a fascinating and enjoyable day.  Finally, yesterday we rounded off our time in Crete with another beach stop in the small harborof Agios Nikolaos. It was a lovely, relaxing way to spend our last afternoon in Greece.

All in all, our time here has been wonderful!  Crete has stolen a place in my heart.  Mom spent the whole week chuckling at my outburts of awe and excitement about the island's beauty.  I really hope to come back to unturn more island stones (like hiking the Samaria gorge, something we decided to pass on to maintain energy/stamina), in the future!

But, always onward! Hasta luego, Grecia -- buenos dias, Espana!

{pictures clockwise: Mom at top of the hillside hike, Villa Kerasia- our amazing lodging for most of our stay, the lighthouse in the Chania harbor, the beach at Matala}