Crete Part 2

We wound our way up the hillside (those who know me, understand the tightness with which I gripped the steering wheel) with hairpin turns and steadily climbing.  The view down to the ocean was stunning but I only glanced once.  There were no ‘lookout’ spots to stop and park and take photos so we carried on.  As we reached the top of the first hill, we thought we had reached the Plateau – we drove into a village square (the road goes straight through it!) and decided to stop and take a look around. The village is called Moxhos and there’s not much to it other than the town square – however, we stopped to chat to one of the restaurant owners and he informed us that every Wednesday night from 8pm they have a traditional music and dancing night  - local young people dress in the native costumes and perform dances to traditional music.  People come from all over to enjoy the evening.  We thought it would be fun to come back if we could organize it.  In the meantime, we carried on up the next hill, only then discovering that Moxhos is on a small plateau of its own.  Winding our way up the next hill (or mountain by now) hoping that no tour buses would meet us coming down, we gradually reached the Lassithi Plateau.  It’s actually a very large mountain valley rather than a plateau and very fertile and green. There are 18 villages in a circuit around the Plateau and one can drive around the group quite easily in an hour or so (without stopping). Of course we had to stop and take photos – some of the villages were so tiny, they merely consisted of a few houses and that was it.  We stopped at the Diktheon Cave and walked the 800m uphill to visit it.  You can also go by donkey for EUR 5 per person one way, but by the time we got there, the donkeys were headed home for the day.  Luckily for us the cave was still open. It was cool and dark and damp but lit with very subtle lights to great effect.  Apparently it was where Rhea gave birth to Zeus and where Zeus subsequently ‘took’ (in both senses of the word) Europa.  Apparently is has been a place of worship for thousands of years as attested by the votive offerings found here.

Some of the beautiful windmills of the Lassithi Plateau

Panoramic view of the Lassithi Plateau from the cave

Inside the Diktheon Cave - the lights are not coloured - it's just the way the photo turned out!

We continued our circuit around the Lassithi Plateau, noting the many windmills (genuine old Cretan style) and lovely little villages – some more touristy than others with large tavernas and tourist shops. I was a little nervous about making the mountain descent in the dark, but was able to get down (albeit rather slowly) just as darkness was falling.  Unfortunately we were not able to get on the highway to get back to Ayios Nikolaos (we took a different road down the mountain than the one we went up on) and ended up on the “Old National Road” which was ‘interesting’ to say the least!  We were quite worn out after that long day and settled for a beer and pizza at “Al Dente” right beside the marina – delicious pizza!

The winds were back the next day, although we ‘discovered’ a lovely beach just south of the marina, called Almyros Beach.  Of course it was busy, touristy and full of sun beds and water toys, but the water was crystal clear, a beautiful sandy bottom all the way out and warm!  It was so nice to just lie in the sun and relax and we did just that for the afternoon!  I managed to get a very stiff neck and shoulder at some point and was quite sore by the evening.  Tad found a fellow yachtie who had some information about a physiotherapist in town and the next day I went to find her.

While Tad took apart the toilet and valve, I went into town to book an appointment with the physio – I found her office (quite close to the marina) and met the very professional and very thorough Dutch lady who would treat me.  She was able to offer me an appointment later that afternoon so I went back to the boat to help Tad with the toilet.  On arriving back at the marina, I found Tad up to his elbows in toilet parts and pipes – he had started to take apart the holding tank hoses and discovered gross calcification in the pipes.  Apparently when urine mixes with sea water, calcium is deposited (haven’t been able to find the exact chemical equation) and this is a common problem in marine toilets. Although we had not used our holding tanks a great deal over the past two years (mostly because we were either on the move every day and could pump out, or when in a marina, used their facilities), somehow our toilet system had become incredibly clogged.  I won’t go into the details of the work that went into getting the system cleaned and put back together again as I have already provided this in another post, but suffice it to say – we are now taking MUCH better care of our toilet system including regular flushes with vinegar (a mild acid which hopefully will discourage further calcium build up.

Later in the afternoon, I had my first physio treatment which included TENS (electrical stimulation of the muscles), ultra-sound, massage and manipulation as well as some stretches.  I felt so much better and slept wonderfully that night.

We finally managed some time to chat with Simon and Narelle from Amaroo VII, the Aussies we had seen at the entrance to the marina on our return from flushing our tanks.  They had been cruising in Turkey for 4 years and were now planning to stay in Crete for awhile.  They shared some interesting experiences with us and gave us some hints and tips.  Upon discovering that they liked music we asked if they might be interested in joining us for the Cretan evening in Mokhos on Wednesday night – they were only to happy to split the cost of the rental car and even offered to do the drive home (at midnight) as neither of them drink.  We were pleased to have the company and even more pleased that we could enjoy some Cretan wine with our dinner without worries about driving home in the dark!

Wednesday morning is market day in Ayios Nikolaos and we had been advised to get there early for the freshest fruit and veggies.  So we set off on our bicycles about 8am and wandered through all the stands.  The produce is all local (from Crete) and there was a huge variety available.  There were also the usual clothing stalls with everything from t-shirts to underwear.  It’s very much a local market although obviously it attracts the tourists as well.

That evening we made our way back up the mountainside to Moxhos and even drove a little further (we were early) to show Simon and Narelle the view over the plateau on which Moxhos sits.  We then parked the car and walked back to Portego (the restaurant which I had booked for our dinner) and introduced our friends to Kostas, the owner who had told us about the evening.  We didn’t have front-row seats but we still had a great view of the dancing and the music was loud enough (but not too loud) to enjoy while chatting.  The food was excellent and plentiful, and the Cretan wine (“Last Supper”) was very drinkable.  We had a fun evening and it was very late by the time we got back to the boat as the performance only ended about 11:30pm.

A couple of the local children of Mokhos dressed in their national costume

The dancing was joyful and well executed

By now we were looking for a weather window to make our departure.  We had really enjoyed our time on Crete and would have liked to have seen more of the island, but with our Schengen clock ticking (as always) we felt that we had to move on. We still had a way to go to reach Turkey and were not keen on doing any more than daily trips so we needed to make a move.  We knew that the winds across the north coast of Crete were going to be fairly brisk, and that crossing to the first island north-east of Crete, Kasos, would be challenging but we had to pick the best time to do so.

We did some last-minute stocking up with fruit and vegetables, vinegar (!) and other grocery items.  We checked out with the Port Police and the regular police so they could stamp us out of Greece (even though we would be stopping along the way, we would not be going into any harbours or places that we could get our passports stamped).  We celebrated with a last dinner at Karnagio  - a gyros, since we would not be having another for some time (the gyros at this restaurant are HUGE). We had our fingers and toes crossed for either no wind or a light breeze the next morning – we had hoped to be able to leave in the late afternoon, but the wind was still strong at night so we waited until the next morning.

A view of Ayios Nikolaus from the 'lake' in the town looking north-east

Our departure day had arrived. We woke early to find  more wind than we had hoped for – Narelle and Simon had offered to help us on the boat as we made our way out of our berth and we commandeered the Frenchman on the boat beside us. Stratos managed to get one other Greek man to help us as well (we needed all the help we could get with the wind and the narrowness of the passage).  It was another heart-stopping manoeuvre, but eventually we nosed our way out and dropped off our wonderful helpers at the fuel dock and headed out of the marina.  I have truly had enough of narrow squeezes through places Bisou should not go!

Spinalonga Island

We had decided to spend the day and our last night on Crete in Spinalonga Bay – mainly because we wanted to see it but also in the hopes that the wind would settle just a little.  The bay was lovely and we anchored in sand, but the wind howled and although we were somewhat protected, it was still pretty blowy. We found out later from some friends who had spent several winters there, that there was a more protected area further south, but that will have to wait until our next visit!

We had a few swims and just relaxed, preparing for our onward journey the next day.  We loved Crete and its people and would dearly love to return one day.

Our last view of Crete - the windy northeastern corner!