Overnight, the boat traveled to Rethymno, Crete, arriving around 8:00 AM. This is a smaller city than Heraklion, Crete’s capital city and financial center. After another excellent breakfast, we took a van, along with about 18 others, to the east side of the island to see the Knossos Castle. It dates from 2,000 BCE, but we were told that there were inhabitants there from 5,000 BCE. That is hard to believe, although there is evidence to prove this. The drive with our guide, Maria, took a little over an hour through beautiful mountains, dotted with olive trees. Although it seemed crowded, we were told that this was a good day to be there, with minimal visitors.
Walking with our guide, we could hardly hear her due to the cacophany of noise from cicadas in the trees. Sadly, although the ruins have been partially preserved, many frescos that adorned the walls have disappeared due mainly to neglect. Many of the original frescos have been moved to museums, fortunately leaving replicas at the site. This is the oldest castle in all of Europe. Still, it boasted an amazing plumbing system and many modern elements unknown in other civilizations outside of Greece.. The Greeks were far and away ahead of the Romans or Phoenicians.
The guide knew her information, but her delivery was difficult to comprehend. Maybe it was the external noise. The pictures don’t adequately give you a sense of what we saw. It is a Bronze Age archaelogical site, a major center of the Minoan civilization known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. Excavations were begun in 1900, revealing a palace that was very sophisticated, as it was built about 1600-1400 BCE, and some parts as early as 2000 BCE. The first human inhabitants probably came there from what is now Turkey in the 7th century BCE! An elaborate systems of drains, conduits, and pipes provided water and sanitation for the palace and had paved roads.
We returned to the boat around 2:00 PM and decided to have a light meal, since we were having dinner on the boat later. We enjoyed being with Kristine and Dixie, two lovely women who are traveling together from the Tyler, Texas area. Dixie’s partner of 20 years, Alan, does not travel as much as she does, and Kris has been traveling since the 1970’s, both on her own and previously with her husband, who passed away in 2017. She has touted the fun and benefits of traveling solo and recommends it to any woman who wants to experience travel in a unique way.
Once we returned to the boat, we relaxed until 6:45 PM, when we were regaled by a local dance troup, in traditional costumes, with dances common to the island. After they did their first set of dances, they changed into simple outfits and begin taking us all onto the dance floor to enjoy the music and fun. Even Jim danced to the songs you hear of typical Greek music. Everyone was smiling and laughing. We took a group picture of everyone, still with our happy faces.
At 7:30, we had dinner, which again, was delicious. Eating that late has its downsides, though. For some, it was difficult to fall asleep, especially after the complimentary ouzo cocktails. If you have never had this Greek drink, it is heavy with black licorice and ginger flavor. It is an acquired taste, at least for me. Now, if they had a red licorice flavor, I could handle that much better!
The boat left at 8:00 PM for our next destination, Kythira, traveling while we slept. Another day, another island. Every day is a new adventure!