The ferry to Iraklion, Crete, left Piraes, the hot-headed port town of Athens, at 9:30 pm, allowing us time to explore. We visited the Piraes Archaeological Museum, home to the oldest bronze statues from the area, and had dinner port-side.
The ferries that make the 200 mile journey to Crete are almost the size of the massive cruise liners that dot the tropics. ours had four passenger levels, the first holding restaurants, an arcade, and shops. While they provided ample seating for those who had deck seats, and airliner-seats for business class, it was nearly impossible to get any rest. At 4:00 am I took a stroll around the open top deck and was treated to the moon shining down on the distant Crete through the remnants of a squall. The sunrise an hour later was stunning, arriving just as we entered Iraklion port, on the northwest of Crete
Iraklion, and Crete in general, are quite different from Athens, though how is hard to pinpoint. We took a room at the El Greco Hotel -- which was built for people far smaller than the 5'3" me. The upside, however, was the working A/C unit. though we had been up most the night on the ferry, sleep in the cool parts of the day is out of the question. Instead we journeyed across town to the ruins of Knossos -- the Minoan palace. The details of the palace that were preserved are beautiful, and the reconstructions of the art and architecture are remarkable.
After a siesta, we returned to the streets. We met a shopkeeper in her 80's who manned a place along the main pedestrian walk. She told us of her family-owned olive groves in Chania to the west, and explained how smaller olive make the best oil. She ran the shop for two of her sons, since her husband had died -- her eyes misted as she described the seven years she had been without him. Not knowing the words in English, she pointed to photographs of her 9 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and put her hand over her heart. No one needs words to understand the bittersweet pride of "Our legacy."
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