Iraklio, Crete, Wednesday March 19th

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We are in a bit of a routine here – late night, late rising, siesta, late night etc. The church bell rings at 5 pm to wake people up. All the museums and many businesses close from 2.30 or 3 pm until then. So after a late start, we decided to consult the Greek Tourist Authority since we had heard that the Samaria Gorge may be opening early and may in fact be open now. It had been a goal of ours to do the walk down Europe’s longest gorge, but we hadn’t realised until we got to Crete that it is closed during the winter months until April or May when there is no risk of rain and flash flooding. We knew that today was National strike day so it was no surprise to see crowds with placards gathering at the square, nor to hear speeches over the loud speaker.

The Greek Tourist Office was open and a very helpful lady rang her counterpart in Chania to ask about the gorge. There was no answer and she explained that, with the strike, she had decided to come in to work but that many places would decide not to. The strike was for government employees, who wanted the government to guarantee that their pension and insurance conditions would not be negatively affected in the required, but not fully outlined, reforms to bring other employee’s conditions up to European Union standards. We used the Lonely Planet to find the phone number of a hotel in a village near the beginning of the gorge. We rang and were assured that it was not open and, to their knowledge, would not open until May. We decided that we would walk the gorge next time we come to Crete!

We crossed the road to the Archaeological Museum. It was undergoing a massive rebuilding project but there was an excellent exhibition, with an overview of the collection and the most famous items on display. We appreciated the care taken in presenting the exhibits and the clear and informative labels. The simple craft work of the Neolothic period (from the 7^th Century BC) showed that, even then, most of the basic functions of community and family were in place and people had the skills to make functional items and also to consider aesthetic appeal. There were sophisticated vases, jewellery and frescoes from the Minoan periods, many of which could have been on sale today. It helped that we had been to Knossos and knew about the complex and sophisticated society that had produced them. The Phaestos disk was on display. It was discovered at another Minoan palace site, Phaestos, and has spirals on both sides with characters on them. It has not yet been deciphered. It looks as if tiny stamps were pressed into it, since repeated symbols are identical, and it has hieroglyphic style pictures as well as symbols that may be letters.

A complicated clay model of a house has survived from the Middle Minoan period which showed the advanced architectural features that were evident in the palace ruins. There was an impressive black stone bull’s head that had gold horns which I have seen in photographs, and which is regularly used today as a symbol of Minoan times. Early religious sculptures from Knossos included snake goddesses, who looked very earthy and simple. They are significant because they are amongst the earliest figurines with raised arms, which is believed to indicate that they would have been worshipped. The originals of the frescoes from Knossos were in slightly more subdued colours and were smaller in size, however it was clear that the copies at the Knossos site were generally true to the originals. Incredible really that, given that the main Minoan era ceased in 1450 BC, the colours survived at all, let alone still remain as vibrant as they do.

Heading for the Historical Museum, we were blocked by the strike march, which included a broad range of the working community, students, children, old people and, since it is Greece, stray dogs. There were many banners and the chanting was vigorous. Further down at the harbour we encountered another branch of the march, this time making their presence felt outside the regional government building, with police keeping an eye on the proceedings.

The Historical Museum was closed – a note on the door said that they were on strike. We strolled back intending to visit the Koules Venetian fortress. The lady there was just locking the door with what must have been the original enormous iron key. She was not opening for business because she supported the strike. A walk around the harbour and the town walls to a park for lunch, and some exploration of the Venetian fountains and buildings around the city brought on the feeling that it was siesta time, so we returned to the hostel.

My new book is excellent reading and mentions lots of details that are meaningful to me because of what I have learnt while here in Crete. It centres on a family who live in the village of Plaka in Eastern Crete and who have two family members who contract leprosy. They are sent to the island of Spinalonga so it is the story of the leper colony there as well.

After tea we decided to brush away the cobwebs by going for a long invigorating walk along the water front. After about three kilometres we came to a new and very modern stadium that was built for the Olympic Games. We went in and watched the last half hour of a soccer match between Iraklio and Athens, part of the Greek Cup Series. The small crowd was extremely vocal – chanting, responding to drum rhythms and singing. Our team, Iraklio, were wearing white, while the wily Athenians wore green. There was much skilful foot work and quite a deal of dramatic acting. The crowd was beside itself when not one, but two goals slipped past the Athenian goalie. Victory seemed assured with time wasting tactics being employed and only a few minutes to go. Unfortunately I was chatting to my neighbour about her job when a vital free kick was given away by one of our white gods. Keith could not explain what had happened, even though he was watching. With one minute to go, a wall formed in front of the goal and the green devil kicked to no avail. Cheers filled the stadium. A whistle blew, commands were shouted and the whole thing was re-run, this time with the ball smashing against the netting at the back of the goal. We didn’t care; surely 2 – 1 was a win? Where was the victorious reaction, the noise and the cheers? The couple beside us explained that Iraklio had lost to Athens in Athens, and that it needed to win well to stay in the top eight teams who would remain in the competition. Unfortunately a one goal win was not enough and Iraklio was done for, out of the tournament for this year. The crowd poured out of the stadium to collect the hundreds of motorbikes that were parked outside.

Motobikes of every size are extremely common here. Two people often ride together, with about half the people wearing helmets. Old ladies sit side saddle without a concern in the world. Two children are often transported at once and motorcycles are given all the rights of pedestrians in walking only areas.

We are planning to leave Crete soon to visit a couch surfer in Epidavros, on the mainland, so we needed to make contact and plans. A phone call later we knew that we were invited to be there on Monday night. We will be sad to leave Crete – we have loved every aspect of it in the villages, the countryside and the cities. Keith has just reminded me of the current stench of the uncollected rubbish after ten days of the strike, but we know that that is temporary, so even rubbish issues can not mar this beautiful place for us.