Please follow me...

I've had fun with this blog, but it's got to go.

Kritsotopoula, Girl of Kritsa published spring 2015, so I owe it to myself to focus, and not spread myself too thinly.

The book is available in Crete from Nikitakis gift shop in the centre of Kritsa and Eklektos Bookshop in Elounda. No matter where you are in the world the paperback and ebook versions are available from Amazon.

Please still keep in touch via Facebook, especially via

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kritsotopoula/578569575495354

and the group centred on events and places to visit in Lassithi

https://m.facebook.com/groups/647994498621251?ref=bookmark

You can follow me on Twitter @KritsaYvonne

 However, the place where I'd really love your company is at www.kritsayvonne.com

Finally, thanks for your interest to date, and please do keep in touch x

Two men on a quadbike

Although I generally write about adventures that I have with Alan, I had no part to play in this one, other than to type up Alan’s notes and this is probably why I forgot to make it ‘live’ on the blog.

So although I must apologise to Alan for the delay, at least it gave me something interesting to work on to pass a rainy August afternoon in the UK!

For Steve it was just another ride on his quad bike to photograph a rare flower, but for Alan it was his first experience of riding pillion on such a vehicle.  The first part of the trip was on standard tarmac roads, leaving Agios Nikolaos along the rising and dipping coast road signposted towards Sitia.  Just past Pachia Amos, Steve took a right turn, signed for Ierapetra to cross the flat expanse at the narrowest part of the island that is circa 10k wide.  This road passes under the massive face of the Thripti Mountains and passes the gaping mouth of the Ha Canyon.

Once at the south coast, Steve headed east along the coast road with a dramatic reduction in traffic.  Not stopping at the popular seaside town of Makrigialos or smaller Analipsi, Steve carried on to a turning on the right signposted Kalo Nero.  Now it took only ten minutes to reach the bottom of the Kapsa Gorge where there was room to park as the next phase was on foot.

From this point, the Kapsa Monastery looked down from its imposing position straddled across the right hand side of the gorge.  Bearing in mind Steve was carrying all his photographic kit this was a purposeful walk to find a specific plant rather than exploration of the gorge.  Never having been there before Alan found it an imposing gorge at first before it opened up to reveal a very high rock face with many plants and shrubs clinging to its sides.

While Alan enjoyed the contrast between the brightest of blue skies and the pink oleander in the gorge, Steve set up his camera to capture the shy Limonium cornarianum.  This very rare flower, known only from the Kapsa Gorge, tenaciously grew from a crack in the rock. 

 

As far as Steve was concerned it was ‘job done’, but Alan has added further exploration of the gorge to our ‘to do list’ conceding it was far too hot to consider walking further on this very hot June day.

After heading back past Makrigialos, Steve took the right fork signposted Orino, a place that benefits from constant running water to provide a lush growing area for cherries, plums, walnuts and brightly coloured flowers outside of the small group of houses.  The villagers maintain a delightful amphitheatre for their communal festivals and celebrations.

Now the long winding road took them ever higher towards the pass that crosses the Thripti Mountains.  Over the years, this road has benefited from tarmac and concrete in sections but in places, it is still a very rough dirt road.  Despite the bumps, Alan enjoyed the high seating position behind Steve that gave him fantastic views of the vineyards, towering peaks, long drops, and dry watercourses now full of vibrant oleander.

After emerging on the west facing side of the mountains, the road drops to Thripti village where the taverna provided a welcome lunch of traditional mezes to go with their beer.  Well, they had to wash the dust away!

Riding pillion had not proven too difficult for Alan but he did find the long, bumpy decent from Thripti a strain on his thighs, not that he knew it until the next day!

 

So, Steve was satisfied with his photo expedition,and Alan thoroughly enjoyed his trip and being with someone who is so knowledgeable about the area added that extra ‘something’.

If you are interested in finding out more about the flora of eastern Crete you will probably enjoy Steve’s website at http://www.cretanflora.com/

 

Now you see it, now you don't...

Mirtos on the south coast of Lassithi was the destination for our last 'holiday' day before heading back to the UK.

After an hour or so, an odd cloud bank formed on the horizon and then rapidly made its way towards the coast.  Many people were taking photos of the spooky, hot sauna that enveloped us.  Here's mine, can you make out 3 boats not far from the shore!

This next shot is a couple of hours later when the murk had been blown away by a strong hot wind.

Our lunchtime waiter said that he'd never seen such a phenomenon so we count ourselves lucky to have witnessed it.

Holiday Postcard

Crete is such a big island we try to treat ourselves to at least one mini holiday per year and this time it was on the far south west to a place called Paleochora.  We choose our accommodation via Booking.Com and as we are well used to how basic Cretan rent rooms are for just €40 per night we were well satisfied.  Just wish I'd remembered to take my travel kettle as brewing tea in a tiny breki pan meant for Greek coffee took ages.

There is an iconic beach called Elafonsi that features on many postcards and went for a day trip by boat.  If we had taken a different boat we could have gone to Sougia, Aghia Roumeli, Loutro or Hora Sfakion. 

Elafonsi is nothing more than a sandbar but it creates a wonderful lagoon with shallow water that is ideal for children or a long romantic stroll.

 Its a bit like being at the Maldives,

If you ignore the thousands of other people who have arrived by boat, coach or car!!

Arriving or leaving Paleochora by boat provides a lovely view.

 At nighttime Paleochora is transformed as roads are closed and restaurants and bars use the roads for their tables and chairs, a really fabulous atmosphere.  Behind the seafront, the pedestrian lanes also became wall-to-wall restaurants but we always chose to eat facing the sea.

The next day we climbed up to the ruined Venetian castle for a different view, and then descended to the beach.

The drive home seemed very long so next time we will probably choose somewhere nearer.  We will stay at home and enjoy our own view today!

Midsummer

Remember these?   

My pretty May Day posy hung outside our front door, getting crisper by the day, until 20^th June when Kritsa held a midsummer event in the main square.  Looking dry and dusty, my posy joined many other ready for the ritual burning.  However, as the flames needed leaping (ancient fertility rite), one of the stewards kept the pile relatively small, adding more as they burned away.

Despite this level of control, here is a lad looking a little wary as he assesses the chances of losing his virility instead of enhancing it!

Here the steward, in national dress demonstrates how to leap successfully.

 With live music and a free buffet, including wine and raki it was a very jolly event.  For those who were extra hungry there were a ‘few’ pork kebabs for only €1 – they must have cooked thousands. 

 Sunday 22^nd June saw a classic car rally down by the main port of Agios Nikolaos.  The prized and polished participants were due to set off for Neapoli at 11.00 so we ambled down at 10.30 a.m. expecting to see a handful of cars.  Instead, the arena was full, and many people were enjoying the opportunity to browse among circa 60 vehicles.

Some good UK friends have one of these – must send them the photo!

 It was very hot when the first car set off, at the advertised time (quite un Cretan!) so we enjoyed a coffee in a shady bar to watch the cars pass.

 Here is Nikos in his lovely Lady.  Of course its off centre on purpose to show off the sea and sky.

After this, the temperature increased dramatically, so we adjusted our plans accordingly.  On the day we expected the mercury to tip 40c, we were on the beach by 7.45 a.m. fora picnic breakfast.  

You would think that as long the weather stays like this, we'd confine our adventures to those found within a book.  However, as I write this Alan is 'somewhere' up a mountain on the back of a very large quad bike...

Chronia Polla (Χρονια Πολλα) Rodanthe

9th June is the Name Day for all Greek girls and women called Rodanthe when they are wished 'Χρονια Πολλα' (Chronia Polla), like 'Many Happy Returns' on a birthday.

Even though I'm not in Crete this year to celebrate I'll raise a glass, say 'Yamas' and dream that on this day in 2015 I'll be celebrating the event with a wee celebration for my book about Kritsa's most famous Rodanthe, now know as Kritsotopoula (Girl of Kritsa).

Below is one of my favourite photos of the relief sculpture of Rodanthe in her disguise as a male rebel at the point where her secret is about to be discovered!  The carving, sited at the 1823 battle ground, was made in local stone by Kritsa's resident sculptor Nigel Ratcliffe.  Cretans love to give people nicknames, and with a big nod to Michaelangelo, Nigel is known locally as 'Angelos'.

Guided Flower Walk on Katharo

Seeing something familiar through someone else’s eyes often adds an interesting dimension so I eagerly accepted the opportunity to take a walk on Katharo Plateau with Steve Lenton, a keen amateur botanist who lives locally.

Although cooler on the plateau at circa 1,100 metres, some flowers had already started to die back.  With this in mind, keen botanists should aim to visit late March or April to see a wider variety of flowers.  That said, there was plenty to see.  

Now, take this quick quiz to test out if a walk with Steve would be enjoyable for you.  

Is the plant above:

A) Anacamptis pyramidalis

B) Pyramid orchid

C) Pretty pink one

Yes, you are correct!  So, chances are you will enjoy a walk with Steve.  It is a relatively flat walk on good paths so there is no need for walking boots, but perhaps not your best high heels!  Do remember a sunhat, sun cream, a bottle of water, and perhaps a piece of fruit to keep you going.

By taking the main road through Kritsa and then following the signs to the plateau, the road rises to give you fantastic views as it twists and turns.  If you are in a hire car, there is no need to worry, as there is a good surface all the way, and there are several places to stop so that even the driver can appreciate the scenery.  Just don’t be distracted if you see goats climbing trees!

Depending on how many stops you make, it will take circa 30 mins to drive from Kritsa to the parking area outside of the Katharo meeting point at Giannis’s taverna.  It is worth noting that you are welcome to use the taverna ‘loo’ even if you don’t want a drink before you set off.

Within yards of starting the walk, Steve shared some of the local folklore, and this added ‘extra’ peppered the walk like good seasoning.  With frequent stops to look at, and discuss the many specimens found along the way the walk was never strenuous.  One of the key facts that I enjoyed hearing was how the plateau has examples of plants that enjoy the extreme points of the compass with the most southerly, most northerly, most easterly, and most westerly specimens all in close proximity.

Throughout the walk, Steve guided our attention to plants, some rare or endemic to Crete, and explained the influence of local agricultural methods as an engaging chat, and never a lecture.  Sometimes we were wandering along chatting when Steve suddenly stepped off the path to show a specific specimen, even though it never once looked as if he was keeping a close eye on where we were.  Steve obviously does know the area like the back of his hand.  There is plenty of gentle humour too.  For example, look at this:

The Latin name is Onopordum bracteatum ssp. creticum.  Onopordum is derived from the Ancient
Greek, ονος-πορδον, Ass-fart!

Half way through our walk was a wide shady tree, a great place to sit on convenient rocks, and open our rucksacks for a drink and a snack.  Once refreshed our walk continued, and there were several points where Steve checked to see if we wanted a short cut back to the taverna or if we wanted to continue.  We chose to go on, and this meant walking through the water in the fast receding river.  In the annual race between the heat and developing tadpoles, the heat seemed to be heading for a win, and we certainly didn’t get very wet as we walked to the far side.

Once back at the taverna a cold beer was very welcome, and if you have time, I can recommend their chip omelette (a local tradition) and Greek salad, enough for two to share. 

When you plan your next trip to Crete, do book a walk with Steve, it is bound to give you a fantastic experience, and samples to treasure.  You can find a wealth of information, and Steve’s contact details on  www.exploringkatharo.com and www.cretanflora.com

Lake and Gorge Walks

Near to Ierapetra on the south coast is Brahmia reservoir, created to provide a good water supply for the many greenhouses in the area.  Now the huge wetland provides a home for many different birds and animals, and is a stopping off point for many more migratory birds.

1^st May, is a Bank Holiday here in Crete when it is traditional to collect a posy of wild flowers so we decided to collect ours during a walk around the reservoir, and after so many mountain walks it made a change to enjoy a relatively flat and easy path.

Water has obviously made an important contribution to the local environment to the local area over many years.  The photo below is of an old water mill.  Water ran along the channel to drop down at the end with enough force to turn the grindstones.

At one point we spent ages staring at a rock to identify the creature basking in the sun, and thanks to Alan’s binoculars saw it was a terrapin.  

Shame I don’t have a powerful enough zoom on my camera but you can just abut make out the shape.  We might have gone closer to investigate except a huge Alsatian puppy came bounding along and wanted to lick us to death!

In the event there were less flowers around the lake than we expected but a quick stop on the road between Prina and Kroustas ‘delivered’ and now my May Day posy hangs outside the front door. 

Similar bunches and wreaths are on now houses throughout the village.  By midsummer’s day, they will all be dry, crispy and ready to be burnt as part of an ancient fertility rite where traditionally young women jumped over their burning flowers.  The church has obviously given up the fight against this paganism and embraced the tradition, so each year a different church plays host to the ceremony where children play ‘dare’ and leap the flames.  We'll be in Crete to see this, so I’ll make a note of events.

To develop the theme of walking in different terrain we decided to pay another visit to Kritsa Gorge.  This time we decided to take the path around the hill towards Lato, and then drop into the gorge at the 1^st exit.  When out walking in Cretan countryside it is not unusual to find the path barred by a rusty metal fence, and in the past we thought this meant go no further.  However, it is to control livestock not people, and there is usually a metal ‘tie’ that can be untwisted to gain access.  On this particular path there’s no doubt that it is OK to pass through as there is a helpful sign:

Once in the gorge its high sides protected us from the wind that had been gusting, so we ‘strolled’ downhill enjoying splendid isolation with warm sun, birdsong, and invisible bleating goats.  Often when we walk in the gorge we enter at the same point and walk upwards, so we had forgotten just how narrow it gets towards the bottom.

Here it was like going down a drain created by tonnes of water crashing through over the millennia. 

One of the reasons we had seldom used this part of the gorge was that the huge boulders are hard to clamber over, especially when there is still water lying at the bottom, but now some kind soul has fixed metal rungs into the rock to make things easier.

Last year I shared a description of the Kritsa Gorge with Beryl Derby, (author of the great book about Spinalonga called Yiannis), as she wanted characters in her latest book Tassos to walk up through the gorge. I recently bought a copy of the book and to my surprise, saw a note of thanks to me in her acknowledgements.  If you are interested in finding out more about Beryl's books they are all on sale at the Eklektos bookshop in Elounda or available via www.beryldarbybooks.com.

Happy 4x4 for 4 at Easter

Easter, the most important time in the Orthodox calender, and in Crete it goes with a bang!

A stroll around the lake at Agios Nikolaos on the morning of Good Friday showed preparations were in full swing as 'Judas' was already hung on his floating gibbet ready for his fiery execution at midnight on Saturday.  Although we had previously enjoyed the spectacular lakeside events this year we planned to stay in Kritsa where three churches would hold separate celebrations.

On Good Friday evening we joined we joined the throng outside of the large church dedicated to St George to see the faithful start their procession behind the flower decked 'Epitaph' carrying an icon of Jesus as it passed around the church, and then on towards the village carried by men in traditional dress.  Following the crowd through narrow alley ways were emerged onto the high street to meet similar processions from two other churches.  Following shared prayers, all three Epitaphs were paraded slowly down the main street.  The photo below shows the Epitaph from 'our' church.

Easter Saturday saw the start of a very different celebration as Alan had his postponed Christmas present of a  four day hire of a small 4x4 to get us to places that our car can't cope with.  With navigator Phil in the front with Alan, and Hilary in the back with me we set off in high spirits.  The photo below shows the view of the Thripti mountains that we see daily from our balcony; the destination for our first adventure.  Our route took us above the Ha Canyon (V shaped cleft on the right hand side), to the village of Thripti, and ended in the 'dip' on the left hand side, near to the Minoan site of Karfi.

The next photo is the reverse view, taken just above the Ha Canyon, the white oblong nestled in the far hills is Kritsa.  Above Kritsa are the Dikti Mountains, more of them tomorrow!

Alan appeared confident, wrestling with the steering wheel to avoid rock falls and holes in the track so it was a bit disconcerting that he appeared so relieved to quite literally reach the end of the road.

Time to don warm clothes and rucksacks to stretch our legs on the climb to Kastro with views of fantastic rock formations, valleys, and coastline at every turn.  Yes, Hilary really did wear a scarf and gloves!

The site of Kastro has extensive remains and there are information boards to explain what they were - strange that one of the least accessible archaeological sites has such good information when many we have seen have nothing at all.  We found a fabulous wind free nook among the ruins to create our own dining room for a picnic that included smoked salmon sandwiches, hot X buns, and local strawberries.

Back in Kritsa we relaxed all evening, and then went out circa 11.00 p.m. to 'visit' the three main churches to see which had the best Judas.  By midnight we were on the top road above the village to see the Resurrection bonfires and fireworks.  

Our destination on Easter Sunday was the small fertile area of Liminarkos, high in the Dikti mountains above the Lassithi Plateau.  En route we looked down on two reservoirs, the larger reservoir was built in the past few years; strange how the two 'pools' are such different colours.  

Both reservoirs are clearly shown on Google Earth:

The first yellow marker shows the tiny church of the Holy Spirit on Liminarkos, where we were delighted to find the door unlocked so that we could enjoy their Epitaph, decked with locally picked flowers.  As access to this site is difficult, their service had been mid afternoon on Good Friday, rather than in the dark evening.  (As reported by the local on line news site, Anatolh)

Leaving the car, we made our 700 foot x 2k ascent to the ruined shepherd installation 4,300 feet above sea level that made a fantastic picnic spot (yellow marker 47 on the Google map extract).  In the photo below you can see concerted efforts to identify two huge birds.  Larger than buzzards, and too few to be griffon vultures, they wouldn't come close enough to 'match' up to the identification charts, so in the end we all agreed, big raptors!

Alan was probably tired when he got us back to Kritsa, but there was no time to rest until he relaxed on Nigel and Jenny's balcony where it was good to meet Nikos again.

Not that it was a peaceful occasion as we were there to enjoy a bird's eye view of the traditional Easter Sunday evening dynamite explosions in the cliffs above Kritsa.  Thanks for your hospitality Nigel and Jenny, we had a blast!

Another tradition for Easter Sunday is a very loud all night party in the small church literally above our house.  We were so tired we fell asleep as soon as we went to bed and none of the music, fireworks, shot guns, or explosives disturbed us.  The next I knew loud rapping on our front door summonsed me to meet a neighbour bearing traditional Easter gifts of kalitsounas (cross between egg custard and cheese cake) Easter biscucits and red dyed eggs.  My guess is that she had visited us the day before (probably several times) so was determined to catch us before we left home.  I was embarrassed to still be in my dressing gown at 8.00 a.m. so falsely blamed the explosive night.

Good job she woke us - we had another day of exploring to do.  This time we chose not to go so far and went to the familiar Kathero Plateau via Kroustas.  We choose to make the final decent the hard way on foot, via a rocky riverbed narrowly avoiding wet boots.

 After the drama of the previous two days we enjoyed our picnic in a very pastoral spot.  Snowy carpets of daisies, snowy blossom on fruit trees and snow on distant peaks - all in dramatically increased heat that delicate flowers will hate.

Our final 4x4 day saw us heading back up to Thripti to cross over to the south coast - a favourite trip from the days when we drove to Crete in our own 4x4.  Our coffee stop on the south side, was at the lush, stream fed village of Orino.  Always a mass of blooms a huge tub of arum lilies were at the peak of perfection.

The centre of this small village has a stepped theatre with plenty of room for communal feasting.  By the time we arrived a diligent woman was just finishing hosing everywhere clean, so apart from stacked dishes and burnt out BBQ there was no sign left of the weekend's festivities.  The sun had already dried a patch on the steps so we settled down with our flasks of morning coffee.  I recollected how that particular lady had treated us to a dish of freshly washed cherries on a previous visit .  Suddenly the lady materislised at our side with kalitsounas and tot of cherry flavoured raki each.  Yammas!

Almost back at home late afternoon, we bumped into Hilary who wondered if we'd like a kalitsouna - just goes to prove you don't need a scrap of chocolate to have a fabulous Easter!!

Spring Forward

Yes, it’s only a few weeks since we were last in Kritsa, but zipping back and forth is to be our lifestyle for a few years. With this in mind, bargain flights no matter what the day/time are high priorities so we were pleased to find a good price for the first Easy Jet flight of the season on 30th March. Our only problem was to remember to leave home at 2 a.m. as it became 3 a.m. when BST started. Greece is 2 hours ahead of the UK and also put their clocks forward so we didn't really have a clue what time it was by the time we'd been in Crete a few hours..

Our old village house needs a new coat of white paint every year (to hold it together!) so that has kept Alan busy. By the Thursday of Alan’s birthday, he deserved a day off so we enjoyed coffee in the village and watched 50 cyclists flash past in a very well organised road race. After this, it was off to sunny Elounda for lunch and a stroll before returning home for the serious business – the start of a new Scrabble tournament. I won the €10 prize last visit so Alan is keen for revenge. Despite it being his birthday, I refused to give him a head start and enjoyed a resounding win. This may not seem the most exciting of Birthday celebrations, but we were where Alan most wanted to be, at home in Kritsa.

We think Hilary and Phil know Alan well, just look at the bottle of wine they gave him as a birthday gift!

On Friday afternoon, Hilary and I went to a party in Elketos bookshop in Elounda that John & Lynne had organised to celebrate their 2nd anniversary in the shop, the start of summer season opening hours and Lynne’s birthday. Although we only caught the tail end of the live music, we could tell it had been a lively event. This lovely bookshop sells new and second hand (good condition) books as well as lovely unique gifts so is well worth a visit. This is a pic of the party girl.

The weather at present is ideal for walking so on Saturday we set off with Hilary and Phil. They both drove separate cars and we followed behind. No, we hadn’t all fallen out, it was because we wanted to leave two of the cars at a distant point. Then, on Sunday, we will meet up with some other people and use two cars to drive to the start point of a linear walk. Then, as long as the other two cars are still there, we can then all get back to our start point. Anyway, that’s getting ahead of myself because after abandoning two cars we piled into Hilary’s to get to the start point of Saturday’s walk. Bearing in mind it is several weeks since we last donned our boots we were pleased to have so much downhill...at the start!

At first we kept stopping to take photos of various orchids, but we soon realised we’d never get anywhere at that rate as there were so many to see. Here are two of them.

At the midpoint of the walk, we had to cross a dry riverbed and if you look at the photo below, you will see a residual pool behind Phil and Alan. They both ignored my request that they ‘go back a bit,’ but this could be because Alan had hopped onto a rock to reduce the height differential with Phil.

Sunday morning the church bells chimed out to herald the morning services, and made sure we were up in time to enjoy a breakfast of fresh eggs, a welcome gift from a neighbour before setting off to meet Phil and our fellow walkers, Wendy, Phillipa and Nick.

The weather was overcast and the higher into the mountains we walked the damper it became as we were only just below very dark clouds. Unfortunately this meant the wide reaching spectacular views were not a feature of the day - good walking weather though! And, it didn't stop us spotting more orchids - these are Anatolian Orchids, endemic to this part of Crete.

At the high point where we should see across the Libyan Sea, Phil declared a rest stop where Wendy, Phillipa and Nick tucked into their lunch, but had to take his word for it about the view.

So, one week down already...