A hobbit hole

Access to internet has been difficult for a couple of days, but we are now in a beautiful hotel in the old town of Rethymnon, Crete, and I can catch up a couple of days.

We arrived in Heraklion later than the time posted on our itinerary; there must have been a mistake as it was posted as 20:20 arrival, when the time was actually 21:20.  So, for an hour and a half on the ferry I was anticipating imminent arrival!  However, we were met at the port by a representative of our travel agent and delivered to our hotel in Heraklion. It was a brief stop as we rented a car in the morning and left right after breakfast.  I had thought walking around crazy drivers was a challenge - well driving through a town you are completely unfamiliar with, with road signs in Greek (albeit with English lettering as well), in a standard transmission car (which I haven't driven in over 10 years) with drivers who don't really follow lane markings or speed limits driving all around you - let's just say it is interesting.

Agia Galini - 34 years later...

Pithoi at Phaestos

Phaistos

We found our way down to the south coast of Crete, to visit the archaeological site of Phaistos, which is another Minoan site, like Knossos.  The site is quite large and many of the rooms are still quite apparent, as well as a magnificent staircase.  There are a few pithoi (clay jars) around, but most of the finds have been transferred to the museum in Heraklion or Athens.  After our visit, we drove another 25 minutes or so to the small town of Agia Galini, on the south coast, which I visited in 1978.  At that time, there were perhaps 2 or 3 small hotels in the village, very rustic and very cheap.  There was a small coffee shop/bar on the harbour, with perhaps 10 tables.  It is now quite a tourist stop, with many many hotels, and the harbour front houses a large parking lot and several upscale restaurants.  The hotel we stayed in was simply charming - hosts Stella and Niktarios run a small seven room hotel in the summer months only.  Stella is a teacher and Nikarios is a civil engineer, so they can't keep it open all year.  Stella has done the decorating herself; our room had a glass fronted door and Stella has painted the door with green leaves and yellow background so that the door is opaque.  The room has a small balcony and the main door leads in from an inner courtyard, so there were plenty of outdoor spots to sit.

This morning we got up and headed towards Prevelli, where there is a lovely beach down a cliff.  Again, navigating through Crete where road signs are limited and roads are not marked proved a challenge, but we eventually located the cliff top, and then decided the hike was too much on an incredibly windy day!  We took some photos coming through the Gorge and then made our way to Rethymnon.  Again, it was a real challenge to locate our hotel; with Stewart navigating, we started down some streets and got ourselves into a road/alley way that was clearly not for cars - so narrow it was barely  wide enough for the car - and we couldn't get out!  Luckily a very kind pair of brothers helped us out and sent us to a parking lot, whence we walked to our hotel.  Whew!  What an adventure!

Yes, I drove down this street

Yes, I  got stuck trying to make this corner

So!  The hobbit hole!  The hotel we are in is a renovated nobleman's house dating from the Venetian period (1211-1669).  Our room is his old wine cellar.  The door to the room is very wide with a round top.  Stewart fell in love with this hobbit hole!  There is also an ultra-modern massaging shower with shower jets coming from all directions.  Stewart, who I have had to order to take showers, suddenly wanted to try out this cool shower.  He really likes this room!!!

The hobbit hole

Cool shower!

Beaches - or not...

White beach

Red beach

Today was somewhat chaotic as the tour we were scheduled to be on was cancelled last night around 9:30 pm.  Our travel agent assistant here in Santorini, Stella, told us that we would still be able to visit the beaches and the archaeological site of Akrotiri, just using local buses instead of being on a tour.  That suited us as we weren't really interested in the whole tour concept, but we wanted to get to these interesting beaches and bring back some sand from each of them.  So we planned to go to the red and the white beaches this morning, both right near Akrotiri, and then the black beach in the afternoon, with our swimming gear.  They were on two separate bus routes, so in my mind we wouldn't need swim stuff till the afternoon.  When we got to Akrotiri, we got off at the wrong spot, and couldn't see the red beach.  Then, we heard a man shouting "Red beach, white beach, black beach!" from the pier.  For 5 Euros, he would take us on his boat to each/any of three beaches.  This sounded fine, but what we didn't realize that there were no piers on any of the beaches, and he just brought the boat up to shore and you were supposed to wade in.  Stewart was wearing long pants and was angry with me for not advising him to wear swim stuff.  Yikes.  So we didn't get off at any of the three beaches, just took a few photos from the boat - which was nice anyway.  We also saw that the beaches were mostly pebbly, with little actual sand.  When we got back to the pier, we walked up the road to the entrance to the archaeological site and saw the road the leads to the red beach, which we could have walked to.  We decided to visit Akrotiri, and then head back to the hotel.

Pottery at Akrotiri

In the afternoon, we took a second bus to Perissa, which is famous for its black beach.  Well, I'm not big on beaches, sand or sun, so it was only for the sake of giving Stewart the opportunity to swim that we went.  The sand was boiling hot and I took a quick wade into the water, then back out so Stewart could go in.  I didn't want to leave our things unattended on the beach.  Stewart went in briefly, also, not really swimming, and then we sat in the sun for a bit to dry off.  Came back to the hotel for a swim in the hotel pool!!!

Swimming pool at the Nissos Thira - cold, refreshing swim

Random strangers and Stewart in the water at Perissa

Santorini

Six am departure from the hotel this morning in order to make the seven am ferry to Santorini.  I woke up just after four and so am pretty tired now.  The ferry was about four and a half hours, which was longer than I had anticipated.  My foggy brain had taken 7:00 from 11:30 and gotten two and a half hours somehow.

The town of Thira (or Fira) is a small town with only about 4 roads, perched on the side of the volcanic crater looking down into the sea.  It is horrifically tourist oriented.  There are likely ten to fifteen times as many tourists as locals, probably more, and the economy of the town reflects it.  The first place we stopped for lunch had prices easily 10% or more higher than any we have yet seen.  Mind you, that restaurant was situated with a beautiful view of the caldera, or crater.  In any case, we felt it a bit too rich for our blood and looked elsewhere.

Thira, looking northwest

Another lovely lunch spot in the shade!

I was thinking that when I hit Greece, and particularly the islands, I might find some of the culture and small town feeling I remembered from 30 years ago, but sadly, so far, everything is commercial and tourist.  I know it was rather naive of me to think that I could recapture some of that feeling, or that nothing would have changed, but it is nevertheless somewhat disappointing.  I've been told that Turkey is more like what Greece was 30 years ago, so we may yet experience that.

For tomorrow, we have booked a tour that will take us to the black sand beach, the red sand beach, and to an archaeological site of a town that was buried under volcanic ash when the mountain exploded.  We will be able to swim at the black sand beach.

Acropolis

View of the Acropolis from our hotel's roof at night

Another hot day here in Athens - around 35 Celsius - although we are told that last week, the temperatures were running in the mid 40s, so it depends on your point of view.  We had an organized tour of the city of Athens and the Acropolis today, and it was much poorer than the previous tour.  For one thing, the bus was full, whereas the three previous days there were only about twenty-five people on the tour.  For another, I wasn't too impressed with the stops they chose to make before the Acropolis - we could only get out at one of the spots, and it was the stadium built for the 1896 Olympic Games, which was not of too much interest to me.  Finally, because there were so many people, more than half the time I couldn't hear the guide.  Also, the Acropolis is always teeming with people, so it was a challenge to stay together as a group.  

Luckily, we had the option of leaving the group and returning to the hotel on foot, via the Plaka. Stewart was tired, but he preferred to remain with me rather than miss finding the bus and then the hotel on his own.  We had a slightly pricey lunch in the Plaka and then wandered a bit about the tourist shops, and managed to spend some more money.  Well, we are doing what we can for the Greek economy!

the Parthenon

The Karyatids of the Erechtheion

Byzantine church in the Agora area

Stewart found that the Acropolis was worth the visit, even though it was at the top of the hill!  The Acropolis has changed since I was in Athens in 1978 - the Prophylia (I think it's called) is the entry building to the summit.  This building was not there in 1978 - the reconstruction has used some of the original pieces, but most of the building has been made with modern materials.

Olympia and Delphi

The tour has been a whirlwind.  The hotels have been very nice and the food incredible.  We ate more in the three days of the tour than in the 6 previous days total, I am sure!  At least I did, with Stewart it was hit and miss as to whether he could find something he wanted to eat.

At the starting gate at Olympia - the runners actually started with their toes in the grooves.

Dinner at the hotel in Olympia was a lovely outdoor setting

Remains of the portico of the gymnasium at Olympia

Olympia is situated in a valley with a small river running through it; the plain on which the buildings sat is level with many trees growing.  The ruins are impressive, and I was unaware that construction of the buildings on these sites occurred at different times in history.  It makes sense, when you think about it, but it had simply not occurred to me.  So, there are ruins from as long ago as 3300 years ago, and there is also the ruins of a Christian Orthodox church built on the site.  The stadium has no marble seating, as in the Roman era construction, but grassy slopes for the spectators.  There was only one small part of the seating area that was shaded when we were there - who knows how many trees might have been on site all those years ago.  Apparently there were deaths from dehydration and heat exposure in the day.  I took many photos inside the museum at both the Olympia and the Delphi sites; in Olympia, in particular, there were many interesting pieces of Greek armour.  The statuary was magnificent.

Delphi couldn't be more different from Olympia.  Built on the sides of Mount Parnassus, it was a long hike up through all the different parts of the site.  We wound our way past the Temple of Apollo, where the Pythia gave her pronouncements, to the (much smaller than in Epidaurus) theatre, and up to the top where the stadium lies.  In this case, the stadium has marble seating.  Not far from the Temple of Apollo, lower on the mountain, are the ruins of a Temple of Athena, as well.

We saw Delphi this morning and then returned to Athens.  The bus rides were longer than I anticipated, and the bus very kindly stopped at some touristy shop on each day...  And yes, in spite of my frustration with the blatant nudge to purchase, Stewart and I both found something that we wanted to purchase (though we didn't spend too much!).

Beside a tumbled capital at Olympia

Exit from the stadium at Olympia

Greek helmet - somewhat squished - the head would have been quite narrow!

Temple of Apollo at Delphi - the Oracle

Beside the stadium at Delphi - you can see the marble seating

Stewart found that a simple deck of cards brought together many of our fellow travellers on the tour.  He had seen a deck of "Greek mythology" cards at the reception desk of the hotel in Olympia.  By chance, at dinner that night, some of the people were talking about card games they enjoyed.  Stewart ran to get our new deck of cards, and we spent the evening playing some new card games with twelve people from the group.  It was a lot of fun, and Stewart connected with a couple of the younger people on the tour.  He was much more positive about being in a tour group after that.

Epidauros, Nafplion, Mycenae

Sleek new hotel in Athens - Stewart likes it a lot.  We got there after a somewhat wearying flight on Easyjet.  No assigned seating, and I was wondering why everyone was scrambling to be first in line.  We were met at the airport by a taxi driver who took us into town - approximately 45 minute drive.  We are now on an organized tour of the Peloponnese - which I am struggling a bit with.  Organized tours definitely have their pros and cons.  We are taken care of - delivered to the correct places, lunches and dinners arranged, and so on, and we get an interesting (or not!) history of the area from the tour guide.  The problem is that we are on the tour's schedule, and can't take longer or shorter times at any of the monuments or museums, or eat lunch when we want.  For example, the tour was scheduled to get through the three sites before lunch - but that meant lunch was at 2:30 (scheduled).  We didn't actually get to lunch until 3:00 pm, and by then the entire bus load was hungry, and Stewart was almost perishing.  He didn't enjoy Mycenae very much, which is a pity, because there were some magnificent sights in the ruins and in the small museum.  The other drawback of a tour is that all the people of the bus are trying to see the same exhibit, taking photos at the same time and place, and crowding into the restaurant all at the same time.  It's harder to see things and it's harder to get served promptly!  Sadly, we were the last table served at the restaurant, and poor boyo was not impressed.

Theatre at Epidaurus with amazing acoustics

Bad performance?

Corinth Canal

Nafplion- mosque from Turkish occupation

and Venetian style architecture from Venetian occupation

Arched entry to tomb at Mycenae

Lion gate at Mycenae

Trevi Fountain before leaving - having thrown our coins

The sights were magnificent, though, all morning.  We have now bussed our way over to Olympia, where we are in another deluxe hotel, with a large pool.  We went for a quick dip and are now on on way to supper.  We'll see if there is anything on the menu the boy will like - it was only his extreme state of starvation that prompted him to try something unusual on the menu at lunch!  :)

Catacombs? What Catacombs?

Since Stewart refuses to go to see the Vatican, we decided we would try to see some catacombs. Rick Steves suggests a smaller one called the Catacombs of Priscilla, which would be less congested than the more well known ones.  It was quite a bus ride out of the centre of town to get there, and then another ten minutes locating the place.  When we did locate it, it was marked with a large sign - "Closed for regular maintenance from July 30 to August 28"!  Well, there goes an hour we'll never get back!  We went back down to the centre, near the Colosseum, to see the Roman Forum.  The ticket seller very grudgingly gave us a map of the site, which she said was for the audio-guides only, after I told her that the signs she recommended we follow had been quite useless the previous day. We didn't spend too long inside, but we managed to see more ruins! and then exited near the Victor Emmanuel Monument.  I knew the Mamertine Prison was near there, and indeed we found the entrance and went into that.  Stewart was interested in the prison and the history, but not in the religious aspect.  St. Peter had been incarcerated in the Mamertine before his death, and quite a lot of the tour reflected the fact.

Stewart continues to amaze me with his tolerance for the heat.  I am dripping with sweat and his skin doesn't even feel warm or damp.  I think he must be part lizard.

In the Roman Forum ruins

Arch of Septimus Severus, Roman Forum

Roman Forum

We fly to Athens tomorrow afternoon, and then begin a three day organized tour of the Peloponnese. Perhaps the Oracle at Delphi will speak to Stewart...