Rethymno, Crete, Thursday March 13th

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We travelled by bus back to Chania and then caught another one to Rethymno, on the central northern coast of Crete. It is the third largest city. On our way to the youth hostel where we were staying, we passed an Australian Hellenic war memorial for the 1941 battles. There was a symbolic circle with half olive branches and half wattle branches. Large information boards form part of the square’s display and describe what happened in English and in Greek.

We did notice in Chania that there were many statues of Cretan heroes who fought for independence and in these cities, it would be impossible not to be reminded of your history during everyday life.

The main road was fairly standard for a modern city but as soon as we turned off it in the direction of the harbour, we were in a maze of streets, lined with two or three storey buildings with no gaps between them. It is possible to become lost – of course this happened to us - and then to find that you are only one street away from your intended destination.

Rethmyno has a harbour for modern boats, but also an ancient Venitian harbour, which is tiny, probably less than 50 metres across, and you could imagine small merchant sailing vessels tying up there to do deals with the waterfront traders hundreds of years ago.

The youth hostel we stayed at was excellent – very clean and with bright new showers and toilets. They didn’t have rooms for two people but they gave us a room for four people to ourselves for 18 Euros ($32) so that was great. There was a kitchen, 24 hour wireless internet for €5, and a clothesline.

We went exploring on the first afternoon and found the 16^th Century Venetian fortress (fortezza). The walls are very well preserved so we could walk around the battlements and look out for enemies on all sides. Some parts of the buildings remain, but most of the civilian buildings have been destroyed. Steps led to chambers below ground level, with grates covering ventilation holes. This fortress was built on the site of the ancient acropolis, so there were ruins from that era too. It was just the right time to be there, with a cold wind blowing through the long grass and the sun setting behind the town. Tucked away in one corner, a small amphitheatre brought us back to modern times with its plastic chairs and obviously currently used stage. It would be a fantastic venue for a play.

Before and after tea we spent time on the computer, catching up on the blog and emails. There were not many other travellers staying but there was a good communal atmosphere with people cooking, playing dominoes, learning Greek and chatting.