Day 5: Crete - 45 and still ticking

Maybe it's the getting older.  Maybe it's moving out to the country.  But I think I've had my quota of people for a while.  You know when you get annoyed at people for just being people?  They're not doing anything wrong.  Well, they are.  They just don't know it. They're just being people.  But they annoy you anyway?  So, ya that's me now. Like today... Today started out great.  Another year gone.  I'm retired, and in Greece with my son.  I literally have nothing to bitch about anymore.... Except maybe people.

Today I hired a driver to drive us around in a black van to a few sites that were not within walking distance, and I surely was NOT going to attempt renting a car and driving amongst the Greek.  I seriously had been thinking that the inevitability of witnessing a deadly car crash was just around the corner.  I seriously don't understand how more Greeks don't die in car accidents, or of road-rage induced murder.  Stop signs are but a decoration and nobody seems to stop for anyone, yet everyone seems to get where they need to be, without hurting eachother.  Sure, there may be a honk here and there, but I think it's likely just some form of morse code advertising their intentions.  I've seen so many drivers cut other drivers off, that I was getting road rage.

We had a quick breakfast which was included with our room at the Atrion Hotel, then met our driver Giorgios right outside at the prescribed time.  I was happy to see that he did indeed seem legit and I hadn't just accidentally hired some guy off Craig's list.  Giorgios was great, friendly, and full of info, and he dropped us off at our first stop, the Knossos Palace.  The Knossos Palace was originally built around 1900 BCE and rebuilt in 1700 BCE. This palace was built over top ancient Minoan settlements dating back to 6700 BCE.  Just incredible.   Artifacts discovered there predated anything we saw in Athens.  We were a bit discouraged when we saw the huge lineup outside, and after about 15 minutes, realized we were in the wrong lineup.  Since we had already purchased our tickets, we were free to walk right in.  It's 10 am and 35 degrees out.  I blame the heat.

The palace itself is in ruins of course, but parts were reconstructed in the late 1800s by some guy named Evans.  Not everyone was happy with this reconstruction as it was done with no real scientific  evidence of its accuracy.  Simply the opinion of this Evans guy.  Anyway, impressive nonetheless.  However, as the crowds of people roamed about, it became clear again that social conventions we've grown accustomed to simply don't exist in some parts of the world.  I try to be patient but do you really need to hold 150 people back on a narrow walkway to grab the perfect selfie? Or 10?  For fucks sake, move out the way... we did manage to get through the ruins without murdering anyone, but it was time to move on to our next stop before I did.

Our next stop would start with a one hour drive into and through the mountains of Crete to the Dictean Caves, where in Greek Mythology, Zeus was born.  This was probably one of my favourite parts of our trip so far.  The scenery, even from the highway was a welcome change from the cityscapes of the last four days.  Even more so once we got into the mountains.  We wound up and down narrow mountain roads; Our driver, braving hairpin switchback turns with no visibility of what we'd encounter on the other side, managed quite well.  We drove past potato and goat farms, old olive oil factories, and fields of windmills neatly stacked along a mountain ridge.  Giorgios made a comment that he had never driven this way before and said the height was scary.  This was the perfect opportunity for me to let him know that heights don't bother me as I'm a pilot. Because everyone knows that if you don't know there's a pilot in the room, it's just because he or she hasn't told you yet 😉.

We finally made it up to the parking lot to Zeus' Cave and our driver let us out to make the rest of the trek on foot.  It was clear early on that this was going to be a climb.  1 km climb to be exact, but via relatively unimposing switchbacks.  We did pass a stand where locals were offering Donkey rides to the top for 10 euros.  I myself might be old now but I've climbed my share of hilly terrain and mountains and this one was at the bottom of the difficulty ladder.  For Jes on the other hand, wellllll.... After a 100 metres or so of huffing, puffing, panting, and mumbling obscenities under his breath, I suggested he hire the donkey that was about to pass us on his way down.  The handler quickly obliged and Jes got on the poor donkey's back for the remaining 900 metres up to Zeus' Cave.

We finally did make it up, and after a quick pee break, where a 50 cent donation was recommended (If you gotta pee, you gotta pay), but not required, we made the climb down until the cave.  This cave was incredible.  Temperature dropped 20 degrees easily within the first 10 feet down.  The imposing rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites were amazing to see and touch.  All in all, from bottom, to top, and back to the bottom parking lot, we were about an hour.  Well worth the trip.  Especially since now, we'd ask George (we'll just call him George since my autocorrect keeps correcting for Giorgios), to take us some place for lunch, but not just any place.

I asked him to take us somewhere off the beaten path, away from the crowd of tourists like us, and where we could get authentic Cretan food.  Well George hit it out of the park with a tiny Taverna positioned along the side of a narrow winding mountain road.  We asked our waiter to make the suggestions and we went with all of them.  A couple appetizers of Saganaki with Jam, stuffed fried mushrooms, and a beef, onion, and potato dish that were all to die for. On top of that, we started the meal off with some fresh bread with olives and tzatziki, along with a couple cold beers.  When we were done and asked for our bill, in pure Greek fashion, we were first brought an after meal alcoholic beverage as well as an amazing dessert of these Greek donuts with ice cream, drenched in caramel and chocolate sauce.  Our waiter made sure to reassure us that the after meal drinks and dessert were all on him.  We left stuffed, but without wasting a bite.

We thanked our amazing host as George escorted us back into the van for the hour long trip back.  On the trip, I may or may not have taken a short nap.  As we returned to Heraklion, we needed to make a stop at an ATM so I could get cash to pay our personal driver for the day.  Unfortunately, he couldn't take a card which seems to be pretty common here.  I mean, every restaurant and shop we've been to took cards, but it was never the first option.  Seems like cash is still alive and well... In Greece anyway.  He dropped us off at our hotel and I paid him, but also gave him a Canadian $10 bill as a souvenir since we (nerd alert) had struck a conversation up comparing different currencies while on our drive back.  Hiring a driver for this day was the best decision would could've made.  I urge you, if ever in Greece, or any other country I suppose, treat yourself and find a service where you can hire a driver for the day to drive you around.  Definitely removes the stress of having to figure out how to get around in a foreign country.  Especially on vacation.  Ain't nobody got time for that.

We took a quick break in our room then headed out for one more historical site... The Koulis Fortress/Castle.  Very cool castle, still in excellent condition after 500 years or so, and countless battles withstood.  This was probably the first real castle I'd ever been in, but definitely the largest.  Makes me want to visit Scotland next on a castle tour. 

This would end up being our last museum type attraction of the trip.  Jes and I are getting a bit overwhelmed with all the academia and decided we're gonna use our last couple days in Santorini to simply chill and enjoy the scenery and food.  So now I leave you with a few pics from the end of our day, and tomorrow we hop on an EliteJet ferry for a close to 2 hr ride in the Mediterranean Sea to Thira, on the island of Santorini.