And now, dear visitors of the VO website, we will offer you a story about what Crete is today. It is clear that only the ruins of ancient palaces and museums remain on it from the ancient Minoans. However, if you are seduced by stories about the past of Crete, decide to go there today (of course, "krymnash" is great, but it will remain so forever, whereas "abroad" can be covered with a "copper basin" at any moment) to see his story with his own eyes, some information from the person who has been there will not hurt you. And literally my daughter Svetlana has just been there, and here's her story in my literary adaptation …
You sail from the sea to the island of Crete and first of all … you are greeted by some kind of Venetian fortress. This is not surprising, since the Venetians owned the island from 1204 to 1669!
Let's start with when to go to Crete. In summer, it is very hot there, just like in Cyprus, so those with heart problems should go in August-September. The sea is warm - 24-25 degrees, and the same in the air. True, it is warm until 17.00. Then a cool breeze starts blowing and you need to put something on top of the T-shirt. On the south side of the island, naturally (behind the mountains), it is warmer than on the north. There are even palm trees growing on the southern one, and it was there, and not on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that the well-known Bounty ad “Paradise Delight” was filmed.
And there are many different fortresses. So many! So a lover of medieval defense architecture should go there to write a book about the fortresses of Crete for the English publishing house Osprey. If they take it, the trip will pay off completely!
There is, however, one problem. Local people by this time were already "tired" of the influx of tourists. This may affect the menu in the restaurant of your hotel (it may not be as varied as in July), but here everyone chooses for himself.
But the shadow is bad there. Therefore, walking on hot stones, when there is not a cloud in the sky, it is simply hot.
Well, the "little things" of staying abroad are well-known to everyone: you have to leave one euro for the maid at the hotel (some of our tourists even boast that they don't leave them, but then for some reason wonder why they don't like Russians anywhere), leave a little thing from the ticket to the bus driver (and do not pick it up at the exit, if the driver is looking in the other direction at this time!), in a word, behave as befits. You can be drunk in an inappropriate way as much as you like! This is fine. This is how the Germans and the British drink, and then they boast about how well they rested in Crete - well, God help them!
Although many fortresses have been preserved very well! This one, for example. The gate, anyway.
Next, you need to imagine that no one there is particularly trying to deceive you (as some imagine it). The main "cheater" there will be … your own tour operator that will bring you to Cyprus. After all, he is Russian! So, the very next day after arrival you will be offered a package of excursions around the island "from the company" and you … in no case should you be persuaded and agree to their prices. Because the price of the excursion of "our" operator will be 65 euros, but as soon as you leave the hotel and walk around the city, you will easily find a travel agency where the same excursion will cost … 35! And with a Russian guide, mind you! Not all, of course, speak Russian. But you don't need to go there, move on. Finally you have found what you need and … haggle! For some reason, our people believe that if they take care of their money, they will think of them that they are poor, which is a shame. So - to be economical is not ashamed, ashamed to be a fool and overpay where you can not overpay. Bargain, name the price at 25, and then they will tell you: "okay, neither you nor us - 26!" But where it is not customary to save, you don’t need to save! One euro for the maid. Will not enrich you!
And this gate too …
Crete itself is a place … where people, firstly, practically do not work (and if they work, then little), and secondly, where no one is in a hurry! How do you, for example, here is such a work schedule: Monday is a "hard day", so everyone works only until 14.00. On Tuesday they work full day. But from 14.00 to 17.00 siesta, so everything is closed during these hours, and the employees "finalize" later. On Wednesday, “this is the middle of the week,” everyone is working again until 14.00. Thursday and Friday are "full working days", and on Saturday - again until 14.00. Well, Sunday is a 100% day off, you can't buy water in Heraklion, that's how! Of course, this rule applies everywhere, except for the tourist area. There are cafes here that are open on Sundays. But they are overcrowded because there are not many of them !!! And where the Greeks-Cretans actually live, the above rule is strictly followed. And we also talk about some kind of crisis in Greece, huge debts, "the impoverishment of the masses." In fact, as they "worked in Greek", so they work - that's what.
And this is the gate in the wall surrounding the capital of Crete, Heraklion! Impressive, aren't they?
Well, those who do not work … spend time in a cafe. The impression is, by the way, that the entire population of the island is spending time there. They sit with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and … napping (those who are older), chatting (those who are a little younger), and discussing football (young). Both men and women are sitting. Right on the street. It's the same in Paris, in Prague, and in Meissen … but there are mostly foreigners in these street cafes. They join, so to speak, traditions. Here are the locals.
Another gate in this wall. Its thickness is 6-8 meters. In some places next to her lie stone cannonballs, which were fired at her. So they are like pellets to an elephant!
Russians are treated very well. One local said he was a communist and showed a red star and sickle and hammer tattoo on his left wrist in confirmation. He said that he loves Che Guevara, loves the USSR, loves the Russians, and suddenly for some reason sang "Bandera Rosa" - Avanti popolo, Alla riskossa … My daughter picked up and … received the goods with a big discount! So before the trip, it makes sense to recall the repertoire of old revolutionary songs. Suddenly you will also meet this uncle, and you can recognize him by the tattoo on his left hand!
Most of the churches in Crete are like this. And state flags hang on them. I wonder if they will appear on our churches too?
How to rest? Whoever likes it, of course, especially if you have all-inclusive, but remember - here, unlike the same Spain, a set "with you" ("picnic") instead of lunch is not provided. Your lunch was lost because you were late for it - these are your difficulties! In any case, try to take a car and drive it. Then it will be the most delightful adventure of your life. This is driving along a high-mountain serpentine among olive groves, and views, one more beautiful than the other. And then you can go down to a small cozy cove with the purest white sand, where there is no one but you and … swim in whatever your mother gave birth to and just simply forget about civilization.
But this car, in which my daughter drove around, well, not all of Crete, this is an exaggeration, but a significant part of it, both in the north and in the south. It is convenient to ride such.
Car rental - small cars, of course, and it is these cars that all the locals and most of the tourists drive in Crete (if you see a huge and expensive car, in 99% of cases it will be driven by a Russian, and not the richest!) - costs 30- 35 euros per day, but this is with full insurance. But no gasoline. And he is expensive on the island - 1.5 euros. Therefore, the love for small cars is understandable here. As for the local farmers, they drive small Japanese trucks. On a two-seater open car my daughter met in Crete only … a black man from the USA, whom she and her husband had to ask for directions in the mountains! Not a single Greek would rent such a car, even under the threat of being shot. You will be given a car for rent only if you have a license over four years old. They will also give you if your driving experience is less. But already without insurance. From the word "absolutely". So think about your options. On the other hand, you don't need to be particularly afraid. After all, Crete is an island where no one is in a hurry. That is, on the highway, you can easily meet a car with local residents, trudging at a speed of 40 km / h. A speed of 60 km / h is already fast driving. And at a speed of 90 km / h only "abnormal Russians" drive. All Greeks are aware of the fact that “they (that is, we) do not drive like that”, and communication with such reckless people at the rental centers gives them real pleasure. "Well, now it will be impossible to drink!" - some regret was expressed during the registration of the rental. And the answer was received: “Why not? You can have a small glass of cognac! " Such here in Crete … "rules on the road."
The streets in Heraklion are like this, although not all. I do not like "tourist photos" with sweaty bodies on the beach and photographs like "me and a bush", "me and a piece of an old house" (a lot of face and very little at home, you could not go anywhere to take a corner of a house with peeling masonry!), but in this case this man is standing here for scale. Its height is 1.80 m.
There is one more important circumstance. We are used to driving by signs. There are practically no signs on the roads. That is, of course, there is, but very little. Therefore, it is easier to get lost and “turn the wrong way”. Therefore, you need to drive either on the road map, or on the navigator. Otherwise … otherwise you will simply stray! And there is no guarantee that you, too, will meet an English-speaking Negro who is captivated by your fellow traveler - a blonde woman in a wide-brimmed straw hat, dark glasses and a splatter dress in pineapples.
But if you are not a driver, you shouldn't be upset either. Crete has excellent bus connections. Only in Heraklion there are three bus stations, from which you can get anywhere on the island. But the city is also used by double-decker English tourist buses. He sat down, paid 16 euros, and they will take you all over the city and show it all. Moreover, it is especially interesting to look at … the huge fortress wall of Heraklion, which surrounds the city from all sides. In its wall niches there are small museums, and in general it is something in itself … It is also easy to get to the ruins of the Knossos Palace. This place is beautiful! Stone deposits against the background of pines and mountains, blue in the distance. If everything was the same here during the time of the Minoans, then it is not surprising that they lived here for thousands of years, and even the Achaeans did not raise a hand to destroy this palace. It is clear that the palace is a remake (there are no photographs of it here, since they were all given in previous materials). It is clear that in its small rooms, illuminated from above by light wells, only copies of ancient frescoes hang, and even finished in those places where they have not survived. And in UNESCO, the Greeks are scolded for all this. But … but here you seem to be transported to "that time", and looking into the dungeon, you constantly expect that the terrible Minotaur will jump out of there.
Then you can walk around the city itself. Look at the Venetian fountains (they still work!), Ancient churches and mosques next to them, wander along very narrow streets. By the way, you can also work up your appetite. Because the smells from behind the walls of these medieval houses still smell. Cretan cuisine is very spicy, spicy and … expensive. You can have breakfast in a cafe for 3-5 euros, but if you want to choose something local, moussaka, for example, then one dish will cost you 10-12 euros, but a real freshest lobster (they will bring you live and show how it moves claws, then they will carry it to the kitchen!), coated on a platter with all kinds of food - already at 80! So vacation in Crete can be very budgetary, much cheaper than in our south, including the flight (!!!), and very expensive.
Finds are there at every turn. You walk, you walk - and then this Venetian fountain stands against the background of a house made of cast concrete and works!
A very interesting service is "travel on a yacht". The yachts are different and the operators, attracting tourists to them, say something like this: "Our yacht today costs 35 euros, but the one tomorrow costs 25 euros. But why do you need tomorrow, when you can today!" In principle, it is possible for 25 … then your "company" of 5-6 people will be taken for a ride in the open sea, taken to a gorgeous beach in a secluded bay for a swim, local brandy ice - I don't want to drink. Europeans-tourists - they demand mineral water, they say, "it's not over yet", well, and ours are so those immediately to the boiler - that we are day, that night, the difference is small!
But this is just a mountain covered with bushes … Just Crete and that's it!
So this is also entertainment (among others!) And very pleasant, but it's best not to get into the pitching after all these tastings. By the way, Cyprus has very tasty honey. And here's what is interesting: in Abkhazia, we also have advertisements everywhere: "mountain honey", "mountain honey", but for some reason the hives are nowhere to be seen. In Crete, especially when you are riding in the mountains, there are beehives at every turn.
By the way, there is simply nothing to bring from Crete as memorable souvenirs. Of course, there is enough of all the "antique shit" there, but everything is so lurid … brrr! There is good soap in olive oil, there is good chocolate (in olive oil - a joke!), There is Metaxa cognac (whoever likes it), there is rakia and anise vodka (in general … who loves it!), There is olive butter. And so - that's it!
And there are olive trees at every step, a gift from Pallas Athena. And the rule here is: do not buy olive oil in the tourist area! If you have a car, then go somewhere to the mountains, farther, to the village and there immediately buy a canister of at least five liters. This will be the real Cretan olive oil and the best memory of the island of Crete. Perhaps that's all!
