[2022]
[Wednesday 18 May 2022]
Mediterraneo Hotel, Λιμένας Χερσόνησου, Crete
08:30–16:30 Jeep Safari €174
This is a screen-capture from the e-mail attachment. The print was in fact a greyscale one.
“Reasonable sleep,” Janet wrote. “As usual, not enough, really. I was up at 6.45am and was a bit dismayed to see ‘Flash Gordon’ weather. Dark. Very windy (palm trees swaying), and very cool. I can get this back home in Dear Old Blighty. I don’t come on holiday for this!”
Screen-capture images from Chapter 1 of 1938 movie serial Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars
I shaved and showered after Janet vacated the bathroom. Then we went down for breakfast. My contemporaneously written statement — equivalent to
Janet’s, above — was this: The hitherto smooth sea of various blues was today more or less uniform grey with wind-blown breakers.
Thursday 19 May 2022 08:14:06
The hitherto smooth sea of various blues was today more or less uniform grey with wind-blown breakers.
I took this photo when we were back up in the room after breakfast, just before we left to wait, at the same bus stop as yesterday, for the “jeep”. According to
Janet, “At 8.20am we set off for our pick-up ‘jeep’. We only waited until 8.40am.” There were also some French people, who came and waited there. When a “jeep” came with “Safari Experts” painted on the side, their names were listed and ours not; but a second “Safari Experts” one came shortly afterwards, and the driver did have our names on his list. “It was driven by Vangelis,”
Janet’s account continued, “(his wife is from Leeds): an extremely affable fellow!” Some words, which in Received Pronunciation are pronounced with a “ʌ”-sound, he did pronounce that way; but others, he pronounced with a “ʊ”, presumably because of his wife’s influence. “Already on board were two black ladies from London (one was ?Eleanor), and a Scottish couple, Steve and ?; and we then collected Hans and Leila [who were] from Belgium. We were the eldest, but we got on with everyone. We all ‘clicked' and got on really well. Great banter.” We wore masks at first, but later on didn’t bother to do so. After our various stops we would change our seating positions, sometimes bumping around in the sideways-facing rear seats, sometimes sitting in the more comfortable, forwards-facing seats. At the time,
Janet and I had no idea of where we’d be going, apart from a vague notion about “Lasithi Plateau”, mentioned a number of times in our “welcome meeting” on Tuesday. However, in writing this, I have the advantage of access to the “Safari Experts Crete” website. It appears that, of its six named routes, ours was “Cretan Life: Cooking Lessons”. This is the route map posted on the website:
This is a GoogleMyMaps map, customised by Safari Experts Crete to show the route of their “Cretan Life” tour. It wasn’t followed exactly in every detail; e.g. “A” is supposedly “Pick up”, but we were picked up at the bus stop near the Mediterraneo Hotel (which I’ve added in yellow).
As we proceeded southwards up a valley into the hills, Vangelis pointed out two pillars to the right which he said were Minoan ruins.
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:01:46
Minoan ruins
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:01:54
Minoan ruins
He told us about Cretan weddings. There are always many guests at a Cretan wedding: about 1000 at his. Some 800 of them had been invited by his mother, most of whom he didn’t know. Associated with Cretan weddings is the shooting of guns (“there is a strong gun culture in the island of
Crete”—Wikipedia), particularly at road signs, and he showed us one that was thus peppered with holes.
A couple of times, he halted briefly to pluck herbs growing in the roadside hedgerow. I took the photo below after the first time. On one occasion, later on, when I was in the front offside seat, he asked me to reach out and pick some. From the song “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”, I think only “parsley” was lacking. There were also oregano, anise, and I can't remember what else.
Janet too remembered this happening, and more: “At regular intervals, Vangelis picked herbs for us to sample, and pointed out trees: walnuts, pomegranates, cherries (we sampled those: same as ours [at home]), pears, citrus fruits,
etc. Also crops of vegetables and fruits such as strawberries, in the Lasithi Plateau.”
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:13:22
Herbs from the hedgerow
“Shepherd’s Paddock” (“B”), just north of the village of Potamiès
- Shepherd’s Paddock
There we will make our first stop, in a traditional mitato [“shelter” or “lodging”] where we will meet a local shepherd with his family. We will see how the cheese is made after first milking the milk from the goats and then we will learn how the flour is made in the traditional herromily [χειρόμυλος: hand mill]. Those who wish can taste from the traditional products of the shepherd, such as cheese, rakí and oil.
For “shepherd” one should read “goatherd”. “Our first stop,”
Janet wrote, “was a farm in the mountains. At first everyone (apart from me, of course!) had a rakí. (It was just after 9am!) [John] also had mine! I mentioned that it was [John]’s 72nd birthday. (I hadn’t realised earlier until I checked to see if my phone was OK. [John] had forgotten too!) To [John]’s delight he was presented with a bottle of home-made honey rakí — how very kind! There was also local olive oil to try (I declined) and then we were shown some millstones… and I was the first to have a go. Such hard work! Some people tried milking a goat.”
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:15:12
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: Vangelis setting up bread and oil, and honey-infused rakí
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:16:38
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: bread and oil, and honey-infused rakí
I did sample the bread and oil, which Janet declined; and, as
Janet wrote, I had her glass of rakí as well as mine. Because Janet had mentioned its being my birthday, Vangelis came up and presented me with a little bottle of what I assumed to be the honey-flavoured rakí. The photo below shows the bottle with which I was presented, still unopened (right). (The bottle on the left was purchased from the duty-free shop at Heraklion airport just before our departure, and proved disappointingly to be not as pleasant as the τσικουδιά I enjoyed on numerous occasions in Crete. The honey liqueur version on the right, though, proved to be just as agreeable as I remembered from having it here at the
mitato.)
Friday 27 May 2022 12:17:34
Τσικουδιά (left), and a honey-infused τσικουδιά liqueur (right)
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:24:12
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: hand mill
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:25:08
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: hand mill
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:25:44
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: Samantha
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:26:04
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: trying to operate the hand mill by pushing
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:26:26
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: operating the hand mill by walking
The goat employed for milking was called Samantha. One of the people from the
mitato showed how it was done, then some of our people tried it.
(Janet and I didn’t.) At one point I crouched down with my mouth open, and received a taste as the jet was directed there: warm and sweet. (Why did it come as almost a surprise that the milk would be warm?)
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:29:38
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: milking Samantha
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:32:46
“Shepherd’s Paddock”: milking Samantha
Near an enclosure for the other goats were trees bearing clusters of seeds, and some of us picked these to feed the goats.
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:41:44
“Shepherd’s Paddock”
There was also freshly made goats’ cheese to try. It was the first time that I’d seen fresh-curdled cheese and the liquid left behind in the process, and guessed that these must be the “curds and whey” from the nursery rhyme, which I quoted to Vangelis and company:
- Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
There came a big spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
Janet recalled that she and I “sampled some freshly made goats’ cheese, and then we went for a pee together. When we emerged [John] remarked, ‘The family that pees together, stays together’, which made everyone laugh. Myself included.”
Our next stop was at an olive oil factory. It is not shown on the detail from the “Cretan Life” route map, above, because according to the website (emphasis mine), “We
end our day with a tour of an olive oil factory and learning how to extract olive oil”; but I guess it was on the stretch of road running east–west on the above map, or on the map below, above the label “Ποταμιές”
(i.e. in the village of Potamiès).
- Olive oil factory
The Olive Oil Factory where we will be guided inside in order to learn all the details of exporting olive oil. After the tour we will have the opportunity to enjoy authentic local olive oil and local products.
For “exporting” I would read “producing”. There’d be one of these serving every couple or so of villages. The factory wasn’t actually in operation on the day we visited. There was a table where oil and other merchandise was available to purchase.
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:02:38
Olive oil factory
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:03:04
Olive oil factory
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:04:12
Olive oil factory
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:04:32
Olive oil factory
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:05:02
Olive oil factory
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:06:10
Olive oil factory
Aposelemis Dam (“C”)
- Aposelemis Dam
A few minutes away is the dam of Aposelemis, the largest water project in Crete. In the area was the village of Sfedylli, which is now submerged in the water of the dam. The spectacle is impressive and you will have time for photos as apart from the buildings that are faint, there are also birds with a variety of
colours.
We didn’t actually observe any birds here, though.
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:26:16
Overlooking Aposelemis Dam: site of the village of Sfedylli
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:26:34
Overlooking Aposelemis Dam: the dam itself (left)
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:28:40
Overlooking Aposelemis Dam: the dam itself
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:30:04
Overlooking Aposelemis Dam: photo by Vangelis
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:30:04 (detail)
Overlooking Aposelemis Dam: photo by Vangelis
Janet’s account doesn’t mention the visit to the dam, or more accurately to the reservoir created by the dam; following on from the visit to the
mitato, it continues: “It had started to rain as we set off up the mountain. We were very high up. Terrific views. Reminded us of our Turkey ‘jeep safari’. We saw vultures: [they] looked like condors! As we ascended fog set in and before long it was a real pea-souper.”
Ebassas Gorge (“D”)
- Ebassas Gorge
Then we will start our ascent using dirt roads, we will pass through the gorge of “Ebassas”. The view of the imposing mountains and the wild beauty of nature will reward you. At the short stop, the guide will collect various local herbs (oregano, thyme, sage) as the Cretans used to do.
It was Vangelis who pointed out a vulture here and one there; and I just succeeded in snapping a photo of the latter. And indeed, Vangelis added to the catalogue of herbs he’d already picked to show us.
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:41:28
Ebassas Gorge: vulture
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:55:08
Ebassas Gorge
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:55:28
Ebassas Gorge
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:55:52
Ebassas Gorge
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:58:14
Ebassas Gorge
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:59:00
Ebassas Gorge: carob tree
Thursday 19 May 2022 10:59:56
Ebassas Gorge: carob pods
Estiatórion Selí Ambélou, Tzanákis Michaíl, Σέλι Άμπέλου (“E” and later “H”)
- Cooking lessons — Windmills of Lasithi
The ultimate experience of local gastronomy with a cooking lesson from locals and professionals of the genre just next to the windmills of Lasithi plateau with the wonderful panoramic view.
Janet’s account continues, “We arrived at the restaurant where we would observe our lunch being made. People were asked to participate, but I declined. I was
so cold — I wasn’t the only one — so before I left I bought a black decaff to go. I drank this in the ‘jeep’ and it warmed me temporarily.” There was another party in the restaurant being addressed in German, but Vangelis interpreted for us. (I don’t remember catching sight of windmills in the vicinity.)
Thursday 19 May 2022 11:23:56
Estiatórion Selí Ambélou, Tzanákis Michaíl: cookery lessons
Thursday 19 May 2022 11:24:32
Estiatórion Selí Ambélou, Tzanákis Michaíl: cookery lessons
Thursday 19 May 2022 11:25:48
Estiatórion Selí Ambélou, Tzanákis Michaíl: cookery lessons
Thursday 19 May 2022 11:33:34
Estiatórion Selí Ambélou, Tzanákis Michaíl: cookery lessons
- Ceramic workshop
There you will find the family pottery workshop where we will visit in order to learn all the secrets of pottery from the family and even to make our own ceramics.
I already quoted Janet when she wrote, “Vangelis… pointed out… crops of vegetables and fruits such as strawberries, in the Lasithi Plateau.” It was this that we now partly crossed, partly skirted. It is enclosed by hills, so rainwater and snow melt-water run into it, bringing alluvium and making it very fertile, and it is at an altitude of 840 m (2,760 ft), giving it its own temperate climate. Both factors make it suitable for growing a wide variety of crops. At one point, Vangelis stopped and spoke to an older woman who was taking advantage of the rainy weather’s bringing out snails to go collecting them. Snails are commonly eaten in Crete. We reacted with an “ugh!”, though not the Belgian couple, nor perhaps the girls from London. Vangelis also mentioned a tunnel conducting floodwater from the plateau to the Aposelemis Dam reservoir. After her mention of Lasithi Plateau,
Janet’s account continued: “We visited a real cottage-industry pottery run by a husband and wife. He made everything and she decorated it. We watched a demonstration. So clever. Then [we] bought our souvenir: a ‘Greek’ jug. It was only 5 euros! Everything was so cheap.”
From Estiatórion Selí Ambélou, Tzanákis Michaíl, Σέλι Άμπέλου (“E”), around to the ceramic workshop (“F”)
Detail showing the location of the ceramic workshop (“F”)
The photo below shows us descending to the basement workshop.
Thursday 19 May 2022 12:01:12
Ceramic workshop and shop
Thursday 19 May 2022 12:02:48
Ceramic workshop
Thursday 19 May 2022 12:03:24
Ceramic workshop
Thursday 19 May 2022 12:12:16
Ceramic shop
Friday 27 May 2022 12:14:58
Amphora (right) in the souvenir cabinet back at home
- Coffee stop
Stop at one of the local cafes where we will have the opportunity to meet the locals and chat with them.
Janet’s account continued, “Just down the road we went to a café/bar for drinks and we were each given a free glass of rakí. [John] had mine.” One would assume from the “Cretan Life” route map that this would be the location marked “G”.
Detail from the “Cretan Life” route map, showing the positions of “F” and “G”
But “G” isn’t “just down the road” from the ceramic workshop “F”; and, what’s more, my next photographs
were from a location that were “just down the road” — in the opposite direction!
Detail showing the relative positions of the ceramic workshop “F” and “Βρύση Ψυχρού”
Thursday 19 May 2022 12:30:44
Βρύση Ψυχρού (Fountain of Psihro)
Thursday 19 May 2022 12:31:00
Βρύση Ψυχρού (Fountain of Psihro)
As we sipped the τσικουδιά/rakí, I remarked to Steve that this was the regular, normal version that I’d been drinking elsewhere, and that what we’d had earlier was a special version, not typical.
- Traditional tavern
Immediately after we will enjoy delicious authentic food, baked in the wood oven in one of the best traditional taverns.
Hardly “immediately after”, for we had to travel all the way from “Ψυχρό” near the bottom of the map to “H” near the top, to the restaurant we’d previously visited (then “E”).
From near “F”, back around to “H”
“We then departed for the restaurant and our lunch,”
Janet wrote. “It was lovely and warm in there. Much better. I’d been so cold all day. We ate our meal, some of which had been prepared by some of our group, and it was an extremely pleasurable experience. Lots of free flowing booze and plenty of food. I had chicken, salad, and a slice of bread. Fine by me!” I had more — my appetite didn’t let me down — but don’t ask me to remember details. “Then I had a big black decaff. Hit the spot! When we left at
ca.3pm it was shocking. Thick fog. Cold. Wet. Yuk!” My impression was somewhat at variance with this: cool, not cold; misty, admittedly.
- Krasi: Ancient plane tree
The last stop will be in the traditional village of Krasi, reaching the village square, one will see the three huge planes and
fountains[i] dominate. Among them stands the largest and perennial plane tree aged 2400 years.
[i] The website has “Vryses”, left untranslated, here; but “Βρύσες” is Greek for “Fountains” or “Taps/Faucets”.
Janet wrote: “On the way back, we saw some very ancient plane trees, and we bought George” [later changed to] “Giannis.”
Before we got to Krasi, we had a brief stop in the grounds of the “Home Sapiens Museum” where at a sharp bend in the road there was a viewpoint.
From “H” northwards to Krasi (“I”). Also shown: “Home Sapiens Museum”, from where one could see as far as Aposelemis Dam (“C”).
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:52:34
Panorama of views approximately north-west from “Homo Sapiens Museum” towards Aposelemis Dam
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:52:38
Panorama of views approximately north-west from “Homo Sapiens Museum” towards Aposelemis Dam
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:52:44
Panorama of views approximately north-west from “Homo Sapiens Museum” towards Aposelemis Dam
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:53:28
Aposelemis Dam
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:53:36
Janet’s photo of the scene
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:54:20
“Homo Sapiens Museum”
Thursday 19 May 2022 14:54:38
“Homo Sapiens Museum”
We weren’t the only Safari Experts party there in Krasi. There are two “jeeps” in the photo below, and I don’t think they include ours. Vangelis and another driver appear in the photo “15:11:02”, below; I think the latter’s name was George. And there was a third driver, whom they referred to as “Jesus” because he had a long beard (on the
Safari Experts website, though, I later found his name to be “Andre”). We walked along, from where we parked, to the “fountains” (the arches in the distance in this photo), where opposite them to the left was “the largest and perennial plane tree aged 2400 years”.
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:04:04
Krasi
I didn’t have a map with me, and had no idea where we were relative to our starting point. Just as on
Tuesday
17 May 2022, when “my glance at the sign ‘Municipality of Hersonissos’ convinced me that this was where we were” (we were, in fact, in Koutouloufári then), so it was now: the sign said “Municipality of Hersonissos”, without any further qualification, so I assumed that we were finally in the village of Hersonissos. (We never did, in fact, get to the actual village that bears that name.) On the way Vangelis must have mentioned “Krasi” more than once, as he described to us where we were going and what we would see; but that fact escaped me.
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:06:54
“Monumental Plane Tree”, Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:07:54
“Monumental Plane Tree”, Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:08:56
“Monumental Plane Tree”, Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:09:44
“Monumental Plane Tree”, Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:09:50
“Monumental Plane Tree”, Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:09:56
“Monumental Plane Tree”, Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:10:08
Μεγάλη βρύση (Great Fountain), Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:10:08 (detail)
Μεγάλη βρύση (Great Fountain), Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:10:54
Μεγάλη βρύση (Great Fountain), Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:11:02
Vangelis and George, Μεγάλη βρύση (Great Fountain), Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:11:02 (detail)
Vangelis and George
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:12:00
Μεγάλη βρύση (Great Fountain), Krasi
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:12:32
Μεγάλη βρύση (Great Fountain), Krasi
Next door, or next door but one, to the fountains there was a gift shop, where, as
Janet mentioned, we bought a teddy bear. We were going to call him “George” but finally decided on “Γιάννης”.
Friday 27 May 2022 12:13:06
Γιάννης (right) with his new pals
Before the end of the tour, Vangelis gave us a “Safari Experts” card, and encouraged us to post good reviews on
Tripadvisor, etc.
He wrote his name as “Vagelis”; the Safari Experts Crete website has “Vangelis”; both are presumably transliterations of “Βαγγέλης”.
Janet wrote: “On the way back we stopped for a panoramic view of the north side of Crete. Sensational. It was sunny down there!”
Descent from Krasi (“I”), with my guess at the location of the viewpoint marked with a yellow arrow
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:45:22
Panorama of views from the road descending from Krasi to Malia
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:45:28
Panorama of views from the road descending from Krasi to Malia
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:45:34
Panorama of views from the road descending from Krasi to Malia
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:45:42
Panorama of views from the road descending from Krasi to Malia
Thursday 19 May 2022 15:45:56
Panorama of views from the road descending from Krasi to Malia
“We were dropped back in our hotel grounds at ca.4pm,”
Janet wrote, “and we all said our goodbyes. We’d made a good group. Lots of fun and laughter. We’d enjoyed the day so much (a good one for [John]’s birthday). It was such fun — as I knew it would be.” Just before we arrived, I was singing an adaptation of
Alabama Song, “Oh show me the way to the next rakí bar…”
Janet continued: “At last, it was warm in our room (still cold and windy out) and I finally warmed up. At last. We ‘sorted some bits’ then went for a drink.”…
In the lounge bar adjacent to the restaurant, Janet recalled, “John had two beers, and I had a cola (it’s not great, so that’s another reason I’ve been drinking water instead!) then a black coffee. They had no decaff, even if I paid (ridiculous these days), so I thought, ‘What the hell’, and had a regular black coffee, which warmed me up. Back in our room I sorted more stuff out then we went for dinner.”…
In the restaurant, according to Janet, “it was extremely busy, as everyone was inside today. Nevertheless, we had no problem finding a table for two, and enjoyed the meal. Afterwards we went to the bar and I had another regular coffee, and [John] had a water and a rakí. We were back in our room just after 8pm.…
We both went to bed at ca.10.30pm. It had been an excellent day.”
[Friday 20 May 2022]
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