A 25 minutes hike up the hill to Cave Lera above Stavros, near Chania, Crete. The cave and the beach were sets of the movie Zorba the Greek (1964) with Anthony Quinn and his famous dance "Sirtaki".
Back on Crete for a short break from our seven-month-long Covid-19-curfew. We picked fresh mulberries from the trees, climbed up the hill of Stavros to watch sunset from Lera cave, found a dead sea turtle, strolled through Chania's old town and swam in the turquose water of the hidden beach Seitan Limani.
I had forgotten about the Cretan sun in October. But destiny - in combination with a low-fare-airline - granted me another few days of summer in paradise! So I went to the ancient site of Lissos, near Sougia, at the south coast of Crete, and had an unexspected fantastic day with sun, sea, boat, beach, swimming and hiking!
Pink sands, turquoise waters: The bayou of Elafonisi is truly a beautiful beach! But: still too many tourists although it was already September (barely distance - #covid19). I'd never come here in high season. We walked for a good mile through shallow water, passing the crowds, before we found a lovely spot for our own.
Every local, every tourist on Akrotiri knows this hill - although probably only a few might actually have explored its top. Well - I'm still not quite sure whether we were allowed to be here. But the gate up the narrow road was open, I was with a Greek and the distant view is spectacular!
At Arkadi monastery, symbol of Crete's fight for freedom from the Ottomans. On November 8th of 1866, after a day-long-fight of resistance, the last surviving Cretans - mostly women, children and priests - blew themselves up by lightening barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender to the Turks (read more here).
Days 371 to 379: so much time did we already spend on our favourite Greek island, since we started to come here 23 years ago. How do I know? Ask my scrapbook... This time, we actually did nothing else than relax. Which included friends, sun, sea, swimming, diving, laughing, drinking and eating. That was it. Good enough. Who knows, for how long this paradise for us all might continue...
It was only 1969, that the necropolis of Armeni was discovered ten kilometers south of Rethymnon. The cemetery goes back to the late Minoan age (1400 - 1200 B.C.). So far, around 230 tombs have been uncovered, that were all dug into the rock. They consist of a corridor and a chamber - the latter the larger, the more wealthy the deceased family used to be. In some of the chambers you can even stand, while most of them are not bigger than a small car's trunk.
Back on the island at Giorgi's Blue Apts, we enjoyed a week full of sun, sea, relaxation and philoxenia. Here are some impressions to dream about. Next time you come with us? We will again be visiting Crete in September!
Just a few picture memories of another wonderful stay on the island of Crete. Or, as we tend to say: our second home - 'cause we are part time locals, that stay in Chania for two to four weeks every season, while the rest of the year we have to work for our living in Germany... (13 pictures).
