Day 20
Before leaving Samos, I had some of those tasty big beans in tomato and
olive oil at this café. Samos white wine is quite good so I ordered some
as a farewell. Upon leaving Samos, I got an earful from the Greek cab
driver about the Turks. This is after someone in Samos (the agency maybe?)
passed me a bad 1000 drachma note for change - Poseidon bad, Apollo good.
Only about $3, but they had to know what they were doing.
Flew to Athens, then the island of Creta. Arrived at night and
used the Iraklion Airport tourist agency to find a place to stay. None of
my selections were available and the hotel is dim. The room is big but
sort of yukky. Located well, though.
The Turkey tour is coming full circle. In Crete, the history museum is
full of tales about the Turkish occupation (300 years of cruel
indifference). The museum contained graphical representations of all forms
of torture occupying Turks performed on Cretans. I remembered how the
French guillotine was invented as a humane way to fulfill a death sentence
when I saw a full illustration of The Hook which I do not want to think
about or describe any further. I feel confronted by such a different
perspective of Turkey right after our tour, though.
In summary, the Turk and the Ottoman histories are intertwined and I have
no scholar to consult about that now that I'm on my own. However, I do
know that the Turkish independence was from the Ottomans and that movement
was lead by Ataturk in 1920.
Walked along the waterfront and encountered this huge maritime fort to
which I bought entrance and explored. Stopped for a coffee where I saw a
Lavazza sign. The kids are drinking a trendy drink -- iced Nescafé with a
froth on top. Found a fun and busy market street and a restaurant where I
just slurped up the olive oil -- so smooth and delicious. It's made
locally. Iraklios has a big city feel - lots of noisy velos.
Day 21
Today I went to the archeological museum that contains the finds from
Knossos. There were numerous statues of Pan who is pretty scarce as a
rule. Many bees reappear here in motifs. In the fresco room, one item is
fascinating. It is an image supposedly restored by the hack archeologist
who discovered Knossos and the same image restored based on cultural
research. The two products are entirely different. What is the truth,
ever, and how can one be sure at all if you were not actually there?
Walked around the perimeter of the town just looking. Thought about
antiquities starting to look all the same and I am tired of being a
stranger. Today, I want to go home early. I think it's time to move on
rather than stay here and go to Knossos. After all, "they" brought all the
treasures to the museum I just visited and I have been to Ephesus.
Day 22
After a little argument with the hotel over the pre-payment at the airport
(note to self - do not pre-pay in off season!) and having to insist on
speaking with the airport agency myself, I got out of the hotel without
losing that money or gaining ill will. I have done some grocery shopping
over here - olive oil, spices and tzatziki mix, saffron, wine, its all
getting quite heavy, but the dinner parties will be worth it. Friends
rarely understand when I say I'd like to have a kitchen when I travel!
Took the bus along the length of the north side of Crete to my relaxation
destination, Hania, AKA Chania and Xania. Greek words are in the Greek
alphabet and romanizing the words is inconsistent - very tricky to get the
hang of at first. Greece's fabled $25 room night has come true and mine
looks right out at the old Venetian harbor. The entire window can appear
as a hypnotic rippling Adriatic blue spot if I sit in the right place. No
$25 room in the world is 5 star, but this one is clean and quiet.
My first night in Hania, I treated myself to lounging at an outdoor
taverna nearly all night long, eating, drinking Cretan wine (not bad at
all) and listening to a musical trio performing wonderful traditional
songs - maybe just for tourists, but the singer's voice was very sweet.
One tune really stuck in my mind - Oneiro Demeno. The tune stayed with me
every one of my 9 days in Hania and later. Later, I found out that the
translation is "Bound Dream". The rendition on the Best of Bouzuki CD is
different than the one I heard. Now, I'm in search of "Bound Dream" in all
its forms.
Day 23
Hania's Venetian harbor neighborhood is really gorgeous with many colors
and shapes on building facades, winding streets, fresh sea air, no traffic
noise... I have been chatting with the proprietor of the Hotel Manos - his
name is Vangelis. Many people here and all over Greece might pretty much
stay put in their lifetime. The world comes to Vangelis here on Crete. He
doesn't think of taking an hour trip unless there was some big reason and
yet what about the daily commutes American people think nothing of!
Americans are definitely highly mobile. For better or worse? Think about
the overhead.
Maybe the difference in culture is "island time". Life without the manic
urgency, a different sense of family, mobility, goals and time -- I
wonder what new and other dimensions of life would open up by living more
locally?
I see men swinging beads around their fingers, clacking them loudly. In
Turkey, the old men rubbed the beads quietly. Here, the beads are a noisy
production. I asked a young busboy about them and he got very excited -
they are koboloi. He loves his koboloi, but has to leave them at home when
he comes to work. So I got myself some. Later, on a typical colorful
narrow shopping street, I heard an English woman exclaim disdainfully at
the racks of metal and ceramic beads on chains, "ugh - worry beads."
Today, I tried to get to the Samarian Gorge which is why I came here, you
may remember - the bus got half way there and then turned around for
weather! The bus did a three point turn on a very narrow mountain road as
weather clouds descended toward us up there. In situations like this I
chant to myself: "The driver wants to live."
No storm was obvious until about one hour after I got back and then it was
nearly a hurricane. So, I watched Greek TV in the hotel lobby with
Vangelis, keeping an eye on a great view of the insane water in the
harbor. We both worked our koboloi and he laughed when I sent mine flying,
then admitted that its normal when first starting out. I did poorly at
backgammon. Maybe the weather will die down and I can go tomorrow… not
likely. Otherwise, I leave here Monday at 7am, stay in Athens one night,
go to Paris at 3pm Tuesday and then go home Friday.
Day 24
Today, I waded along the shore of the Aegean Sea and it is very warm. Some
German ladies said it is cold - wait until August! At a restaurant on the
beach where I finally tried the Crete specialty stifado - a stew
delicately spiced with clove and maybe orange - I talked to the Cretan
waiter named Vlady and he says he loves Americans and America. Why?
"Because it's big and it's fast over there." I had to laugh.
Couldn't go to Samarian Gorge yet. I got Vangelis to change my
reservation. I'm gambling on the Gorge and missing Athens. There was
something like a $5 fee to change the ticket, so he thought I wouldn't
want to do it. Luckily, he called for me because he could ask in Greek and
all.
On a quest for music to take home, I found some young guys in a shop who
let me listen to the CDs and found Oneiro Demeno for me after I lamely
hummed it for them. They were both from Crete, but one's father was born
in Utah, though he'd never taken his son there. I told him about the red
rock formations and explained how they are similarly spectacular to
Cappadocia in their neighboring country. They were not interested in
hearing about Turkey.
The Hania market is small, but lively. I ate some yogurt with honey. The
yogurt was super rich - not at all like low fat. The honey held the
essence of the flower field those bees visited. Bought a bar of honey soap
to take home.
