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Sunday was very windy and our destination was even further east to the end of the road to try to find an area that Erika had enjoyed some time at during the 70s.
Breakfast was at an English Pub in Malia - very smal town but must be lots of Brits. More than one place was serving "English Breakfast" and a decent coffee as well!
We arrived into Agios Nikolas and of course everything is now over-developed with new villas, luxury hotels and even more Brits on this side of the island. I am sure more than half of the retired Brits are living on Crete! We drove around Agios Nikolas and some other small towns but nothing seemeed familiar. We happened upon an old Cretan Olive Oil Mill so went in for a tour - small operation (mainly for tourists) but interesting and we enjoyed talking with Tassos who educated us about olive oil. The tastings we had also constituted lunch!
Of course we could not pass Heraklion without stopping off at Knossos so we got there are 3pm and did a crash visit for an hour and were back on the road home. After having been to Akrotiri the day before, we were less impressed with Knossos. Earliest traces of inhabitation in the area of the palace go back to Neolithic period (7000 - 3000BC). Totally amazing that there is anything left after more than 4000 years! There has been a lot of "assistance" with some reconstruction according to what some people thought the palace looked like but interesting nonetheless. Once again there is evidence of the advanced level of technology attained by the Minoans with complex drainage and water supply systems
Then the long drive back to Kokkino Chorio on the opposite side of Crete - 2 hours. So now we have driven the entire north coast of Crete - west to east and back again. A good road and also 90% of the way right alongside the ocean on one side and mountains on the other - a truly lovely drive. We were a little tired so walked 2 doors up to the local taverna for a nice moussaka and greek salad with some local red which we are getting quite used to.
Monday is a rest day for us including the chores while we prepare for our journey to Turin on Wednesday and a full on 5 days of Slow Food Terra Madre events.
Almost count down time to going back home which i am looking forward to on 1 November.
- comments
Susan O'Connor/Stanton That wind has hit Eng-a-land today, Tuesday, with avengeance! Hail too! I'm not surprised you're looking forward to getting back to Australia. You must be exhausted! It's a pity the Terra Madre wasn't earlier on your list but hopefully will still be your highlight with excellent food and coffee at last! Loadsalove... Sue.