Traveling Through Tolo

Dear Friends and Family, Friday was to be our day out of the sun, so it was relatively quiet. I did take a good walk through the beachside town of Tolo and thought you might like to follow me along through pictures. When you come out of Ingrid’s, you head, more or less, west, heading for Kastraki and the crag that is called”Ancient Asini.” Actually, we learned last night that there has been a new archeological discovery there and it may, in years to come, be a more prominent sight and perhaps help the tourist business in the area. Anyway, Kastraki is the little place with a lovely taverna and a very rocky beach.

Once you pass Kastraki, you head up the hill and look down over the primary beach for the town of Tolo

Then you come down off the hill and head into town. Tolo is really kind of in 2 parts. The first stretch is not very interesting as it is mostly hotels with a small bakery, some beach supply stores and one of the town’s 3 markets. With a slight bend in the main street, you come to the downtown section of Tolo

That stretch is about half a mile and is filled with taverna and bars and a couple of more markets. At the end of the town sits the harbor

It is filled with fishing boats and a relatively small cruise boat that takes people to a couple of the outer islands. We did one of those last year and it was quite nice.

I then walked out to the end of the pier and took a shot of Tolo, looking back to the east.

Then, I began the long climb to the upper road. It is about ¼ of a mile straight up, but does give you another perspective on the town.

Once you are up there, the land is rocky and quite barren.

From there you walk along that road for about half a mile before heading down.

From there I walk along a road heading out of town before coming a to roundabout that takes me back toward Ingrid’s. While making this last trek, I glanced back a small church at the top of a rock.

I am hoping that will be my goal for Sunday morning. When I got home, Polley was quick to have me grab the camera as the Mama

And her baby

Were together on the bed

Very cute! The rest of the day was spent doing some shopping errands, drinking a bit of wine on the square in Drepano and then having a lovely dinner at dusk

At the little Taverna at Kastraki When we were at the store, Maria, the owner, told us of a celebration at an antiquity called Tirython out near Napflio. We head out but did not have any success. Festivities start so late here, often after 11, so, while we found the antiquity, there was nothing going on. So we came back to Ingrid’s and drank champagne and celebrated the full moon. Actually, a blue moon as it was the second of the month. Tomorrow will be beach day and we have plans for a visit to a wine festival in Nimea on Sunday. I think I will take a break from the blog and bring everyone up to date on Monday. That’s it for now.

A Lovely Day

Dear Friends and Family, After our disappointment with the rocky beach at Kastraki, we decided on another beach day. After a cool, but invigorating morning walk into Drepano, we got our act together and headed for Karathona Beach, which is a great expanse of sand and crushed shells just over the hill behind the small city of Nafplio, located about 7 kilometers from our bungalow. We drove over the hill that looks down on the bay

We wound our way down to a kind of public park that sits beside the bay

Unlike the day before, there is no charge for the lounge chairs and tables. You just pay for drinks and enjoy the water. For the price of a Mythos beer (4 euro) we had the place to ourselves and could have stayed there all day. However, we are trying to be careful with the sun here. It is very hot and, in fact, for the first time since we arrived, I got a bit of sunburn. We did about an hour, perhaps a bit longer, and then decided to have lunch out since is was a lovely day. Actually by the time we left Karathona, the wind was really beginning to pick up, so we chose to drive to the Plaka beach, about half a mile from Ingrid’s. There it was very calm and we tried an old, traditional taverna that we had once enjoyed years ago, but which has been closed when we have visited out of season. It was the right choice. One way you can tell, is when you see a large table to Greeks eating there. That is a good sign.

We had a Greek salad and a half liter of wine. Both were excellent. As I have mentioned, the tomatoes right now are wonderful. Why would you have anything else. Then it was home for a siesta. We spent some time reading out books and just relaxing in the room. About 6 we went down to the bar and our little German friend, Jasmine was there waiting to talk with “real” Americans. After about an hour and many questions from Jasmine that do begin to take their toll, especially on Polley (an American ideal for a young German girl), we headed for dinner. This time it was into the heart of tourist country: Tolo. We decided to escape the calm and quiet of country/village life for the hustle and bustle of the “city.” As I have said, Tolo is a typical small beachside town. It is actually the home of Aristotle Onassis.

There is an unimpressive little gyros shop (can’t really call it a taverna) that we were introduced to last year. The owner, Ilias, catered the party that we had at Ingrid’s and we also attended a dinner at the place with some friends of this Italian film director. Each time the food was very good. So, we went back and visited Ilias. First it was a glass of ouzo at a little local bar a couple of shops down from Ilias’. It was very reasonable, which was not surprising as it was filled with locals. Locals drink where the prices are low. Then it was back to Ilias for dinner. Ilias himself was the waiter and he actually remembered us from last year and that we were staying at Ingrid’s.

He gave us a long list of specials, but they all seemed very large. We opted for what we thought might be smaller, but in fact, was too much as well. We had fried courgettes, something that was called “Russian salad,” a mayonnaise-based salad with bits of pepper, okra and potato. Not too bad, but not something we need to have again. They we tried a pork gyro. It was huge, with grat pieces of pork, several pieces of pita with tzatziki and a great heap of fries. All for 12 euro, including wine. We will be having pork gyro for lunch today! As we finished the wine, we just watched the tourists pass by in downtown

Following dinner, it was back to Ingrid’s. Obviously the sun had done us in. We went to our bungalow almost immediately. No late night carousing for us. Not a lot accomplished, but it was a lovely day.

Little or Nothing?

Dear Friends and Family, Well we have completed 3 days at Ingrid’s and so far our biggest challenge seems to be deciding where to have dinner! As I have said before, in Greece the taverna offerings are generally all the same unless you opt for pizza or the occasional Italian restaurant. Very few other choices. You just have to find your favorite chef (usually the wife of the owner). Last night we tried a new place, but, perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. The day began without a cloud in the sky, but the morning was cool. Polley and I actually pulled out long-sleeve shirts for the first time since leaving Portland! We sat out on the front veranda of bungalow #5, enjoying our coffee, but feeling a bit cool. Then it was off for my first walk to Tolo, the very typical beachside town, about ¾ of a mile away. It was nice walk past the various places that we frequented last year. We were, of course, here for a month last year, so we had sampled many options over the course of that time. I think Thursday night we will go into Tolo for dinner. After finishing my walk and doing the blog entry, Polley and I decided to go down to the beach at Kastraki, just below the taverna that we dined at our first night here. The taverna rents umbrellas and lounge chairs and it appeared to be a nice setting.

And it is.

The problem with it, as we found, is that it is very rocky. Getting into and out of the water is a real challenge . . . and not much fun. So, while it is nicely maintained and the chairs are very comfortable, with the sun so warm, and the need for cooling off quite frequent, the place was less than convenient. So, after about an hour, we abandoned our rented cabaña and retreated to the taverna itself for some wine and a view of the Acropolis of Asini

Then, as you no doubt know by now, it was home for lunch and our siesta. Polley and I are both very much into our books, so the nap was short and we spent a good long time reading, before joining Ingrid and Yorgos at the bar. While we were there, a German family that are good friends of Ingrid’s came to visit. The mother is actually the sister of a woman we met last year, Irena, and she was accompanied by her daughter and son. The daughter, Jasmine, was an amazing young woman. She may be the most sophisticated 15 year old I have ever met! Her English is excellent and she loves America. She must have spent nearly an hour talking with us. She promises to come back and see us tonight so I will try to get a photo. Finally, we were able to break free from the crowd and head to dinner. As I said above, we tried a new place down on another beach, Triton II, which is connected to an elaborate camping establishment. Ingrid had heard good things about it and it was quite good. We just had some fried kalamari and what they call “tomato balls.” We were too curious! They turned out to be their version of tomato fritters like we had had in Crete. They were good and would have been quite acceptable if we had not had the ones at Neromilos in Sissi. Those were in a whole different category! We are nearly at full moon, so as we were leaving the taverna, I did catch this picture of the moonlit night

Then it was home. They family was still there, so we chatted a bit more before retiring. As we headed back to the room, were visited by a little friend. I managed to capture this photo of him as he posed on our bed

It was a nice day, but we will search for a better beach location tomorrow. There is a lovely place near Nafplio that we discovered last year. More on that adventure tomorrow.

Tropical Greece

Dear Friends and Family, What a difference a bit of wind makes! Monday we were sweltering with temperatures in the high 90s, at least. Tuesday the wind came up and it was delightful, with one of the nicest evenings we may have ever experienced in Greece. My day begin with a good walk to the village of Drepano, a real Greek village with none of the pretentiousness of tourist locations. Tolo, the beachside village to the west provides that completely different ambiance of a tourist beach location. More on that tomorrow. After the walk, Polley and I mostly just relaxed with our books until about 10:30 when we finally needed to face the reality of getting some supplies in. So we got in the car and headed to reacquaint ourselves with Maria, the proprietor of the market in Drepano. Maria is a delightful little plump lady of about 40, with the slightest smattering of English. However, when we got there, a young girl, perhaps Maria’s daughter, was working and she had quite good English. In fact, one of the things we were looking for were a few more hangars. She gave me the Greek for “hangar” (Kemastra) in exchange for the English. Anyway, we gathered in the usual initial supplies: paper towels, ouzo, tuna, eggs, mayo, etc. Once done, we rewarded ourselves with a little wine at a very local taverna on the town square

For 2.50 euro we had a very dry and quite nice local rosé, poured straight from the barrel. There was that breeze blowing and we just enjoyed sitting there watching the daily life of the village pass. One thing that proved kind of funny, was while we were drinking our wine, two local guys sat at another table chatting. Later, in the evening, we had dinner at a place called Nikos. When we arrived, the same two guys were sitting there still chatting away. It may have been all they accomplished all day. Once the wine was gone, and the shopping done, and a quick picture of the Drepano church taken,

we came back to enjoy the fruits of our labors; we had lunch! The rest of the afternoon was a combination of reading and resting. We did go to Ingrid’s little bar for a drink around 5 and had a nice conversation with Yorgos. We have always enjoyed the social interaction around that little bar. So far it has been a bit quiet, but business is expected to pick up as we move into September. Then Polly and I headed for dinner at the “Tavernetta.”

It does not seem particularly small to deemed a “Tavernetta,” but Nikos is a pleasant fellow and as I said, the night was so nice that we just had a leisurely evening, sipping on ouzo, and enjoying a very nice Spanakopita (spinach pie) and stuffed tomatoes and stuffed peppers.

We had been hankering for these, but they were not on the menu last night. We had seen them on Nikos’ menu last year, but he did not have them because it was too early in the season. Last night, they were there and they were delicious. One thing to know about eating at Greek tavernas, it that basically their menus all read the same. What you must look at is which dishes have a price opposite the item. If a price is listed, they have it, if not, you will not find it in the kitchen. Not to belabor the point, it was a lovely, almost tropical evening with a nearly full moon

Then it was back to Ingrid, where both Ingrid and Yorgos seemed really charged up. We had more to drink, mostly what Ingrid kept pouring in our glass and finally around 11 we gave up and staggered to bed. It feels so good to be here.

The Peloponnese and Dear Old Friends

Dear Friends and Family, At 6:15 am we bid adieu to Stuart and Angela and headed for the Heraklion Airport. All went smoothly and much to my relief (and surprise) there was no baggage fee! Just about on time, about 8:30 am, we headed for Athens, arriving about 9:15. We had a little trouble locating the agent for the rental car agency, but within a half hour that problem was solved. It seems that while they urge you to keep them apprised of any changes in your schedule (and we had a couple), they don’t seem to read them. So they had a different flight number and the wrong time. But, as I say, it all turned out find and by 10:30 we were on the road to Assini, about 2 hours away. We did make a lunch stop in Korinth. There is this little local taverna, filled with a bunch of old guys, nearly none of whom have English, but for some reason a few years ago we began making a ritual stop there for lunch. So, we stopped and had some of the best tzaziki I have ever tasted. Nearly took the top of your head off with the amount of garlic. Fantastic. After 45 minutes or so we were back on the road, only to make instigate our second brief ritual: buying two liters of Retsina from a little roadside stand that we pass each time. A woman runs across the road from the nearby taverna and fills two plastic one-liter bottles from an old wooden barrel. With our Retsina we can survive anything! About half an hour later we arrive at Ingrid’s.

It is really like being home. We have known them since 1994, and have taken friends and family there or recommended it to others. With the energy of Ingrid, it is a very different energy from Crete. For about an hour we sat at the little bar

And caught up on the last year and a half since we were there. They are well and Ingrid is looking especially good. She did say, however, that it has been a hard year. With so many fears about the future of Greece, many have stayed away so that just when Greece needs help, tourists are abandoning them. However, as Ingrid says, she and her family “are suvivors.” They will make it work. In fact, she told us of her proactive approach to the season as she contacted all her former guest and urged them to help her by considering her place as a vacation this season. Many of them responded. But even so, Europeans seem to be cutting back on the length of vacations as well, so many hotels in the area standing nearly empty. Very hard times. After a bit of catching up, we went to our room.

We settle in and tried for a nap, but it was very hot. Apparently the last day of a prolonged heat wave of 6 days with it near, at, or above 100 degrees. It is supposed to break tomorrow and be in 80s. We stopped at the bar again before going to dinner and spent a bit of time with Yorgos, Ingrid’s delightful husband. Then it was off to our favorite taverna, Kastraki, just a quarter of a mile down the road on a pretty little bay that looks over to the tourist town of Tolo.

It is a lovely setting and the food it excellent. We had a couple of our favorites, the “small fish,” also called White bait and their delicious fried potatoes which are cut as very thin rounds and fried in olive oil. Amazing! While we there, down on the beach just below, we saw the strangest sight: a bride and groom who had come with their photographer for some wedding pictures.

It was clearly after the wedding, because eventually both bride and groom kicked off their shoes and got into the sea

Later, the bride was literally lying in the water with the waves lapping over her dress. It was great fun, but you had to assumed that she had no future plans for her dress! Then it was home for a last drink with Ingrid and we turned in for a relatively early night. This place it so comfortable that I feel there will be little to report for a couple of days. However, I will stay in touch.

Trading Paradises

Dear Friends and Family, We have reached our last full day in Sissi on the isle of Crete. It has been wonderful and the weather has been near perfect. As I have said before, in terms of actual temperature it has been very hot, but with the ever-present breezes, for us, it has been delightful. Yesterday, was about the same as I have reported to you since our road trip ended on Wednesday. A good walk, an hour by the pool, a little trip into Sissi for a drink and a bit of peeking at the tourists, home for lunch, a siesta, and then out for the evening. Yesterday was much the same and, I trust, today will be nearly a carbon copy. The one difference was that last evening we took our hosts, Stuart and Angela, out for drinks and dinner. At 7 we went down to the harbor for a drink and to watch the sun set. Then it was up to the little garden restaurant, Liofito, for dinner. Stuart and Angela had never been there so it was fun to introduce them to a new place in their very own village! We started with those wonderful tomato fritters that we have been raving about and Angela added an order of Cheese Saganaki (a kind of fried cheese: feta, of course). Stuart and Angela were very impressed and as we moved to the entrées, they were looking forward to the meal. Stuart and Polley shared roasted rabbit (from the Liofito farm), Angela had chicken and enjoyed a Greek salad. We also enjoyed a couple of liters of white wine and polished it all off with the white-lightening Cretan “raki.” Actually, it might be more appropriate to say that the Raki always manages to polish us off. Caught this photo of Polley the other night after the Raki

Just kidding, but a little of it can have that effect. The other entertainment at Liofito, aside from the meal and the occasional strolling “bad musician,” are the two cats, Charming Charlie and his brother who remains “Anonymous.” While Charlie was around, he was mostly being abused by small children, however, he seemed to relish the attention and never put up much of a fuss, regardless of how the little monsters carried him. The brother, however, gave most of his attention to us. He and Angela became quite close

and she was even threatening to steal him away and take him home. It was a wonderful 5 hour evening and we all dragged our butts up the hill about midnight. For any other you interested in Crete, I highly recommend Stuart and Angela’s place. With the pool and the quiet, rural setting, it is ideal, and Sissi is a perfect little coastal village that has charm, but still remains largely unspoiled. I am not sure when we will be able to return, but it will always remain a very special place. So now, I will be away from the blog for a day. We catch an 8:30 am flight for Athens in the morning and head out to Ingrid’s on the Peloponnese from there. We spent a month with them last year, so you may already be familiar with our time there, but we are looking forward to our couple of weeks there. It is so comfortable and is a very different rhythm from Sissi. That is largely due to the energy of Ingrid, but also because here in the apartment in Sissi we have had the place to ourselves. Ingrid’s has 9 bungalows and there is a little bit more of a social atmosphere. As I say, it will be change, but I think we are ready for that. I will report more on Tuesday. So long from Sissi, soon to be in Ancient Assini.

Anothere Wonderful Day of Nothing!

Dear Friends and Family, Savoring the last days in Crete! Did very little yesterday. Got a nice 5 mile walk through the village in and then is was back home where Polley and I just read and relaxed by the pool. When we got to the Peloponnese there will be no convenient swimming hole (except for a portion of the Mediterrean!), so we are taking advantage of the last couple of days. Around noon we made our trip into Sissi and sat by the harbor enjoying the always-present breeze that has been a constant life-saver from some very warm days. Temperatures have regularly been in the low to high 90s, but there it never seems oppressive. I did go to the ATM machine yesterday and am now making a regular habit of it as the dollar seems to be weakening some. 400 euros now cost about $10-12 more than when we first arrived. As the fears about the euro seem to, at least temporarily subside, the dollar seems to be losing a bit of its strength. So, buy now. I know we will spend it. Came back home for lunch. I always enjoy the last few days where we stay as you get to finish up the last bits of all that you have previously enjoyed. Sort of the greatest food hits of the last week. I probably don’t need to mention that we got another siesta in, but will. We hit the pool a time or two more and then, about 6:30, headed down to the harbor for sunset. Again, you will be pleased to know, I resisted yet another sunset photo. The one thing that was amazing last night, was how much cooler and the sun went down. Often it remains quite warm, but last night there was a dramatically noticeable difference as it set. From there is was to dinner at Neromilos, one of the two restaurants that we visit. Last night the place was packed, but we had a lovely “romantic” table. We had to order the friend courgettes (for about the 3rd time) as they really are to die for. Then we went with a traditional Greek moussaka, an eggplant, potato, minced beef dish, a sort of Greek comfort food, that was nicely washed down with a litre of white wine. Our bill: 20 euro. In fact, it seems that no matter what we order at Neromilos, it is always 20 euro! The other night, it was 22 euro, but when Nikki, the owner/server brought the change back from a 50 euro bill, she had dropped the 2 euro and gave me back 30! It just seems to be our fixed price. Nikki and her staff are great (not just cause they only charge us 20 euro!) and they were truly scrambling all night. Part of the reason we are charged a flat 20 euro may be that no one has time to add up the total. So they guess on the fly. Tonight, Saturday, will be heading back to Liofito with our hosts, Angela and Stuart Stugis. Should be a fun evening and I might even be able to include a photo in tomorrow’s notes. Best to all until then.

No News is Good News

Dear Friends and Family, Well, yesterday’s blog was extensive and I can say that today’s will be brief. Still suffering the effects of the two day road trip, we did as little as possible. It was a bright sunny and quite warm day. Polley and I enjoyed the pool and our books. I finished a pretty good mystery, The Fatal Tango, written by a German and set in Argentina. I also made a good deal of progress on A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. It won the Booker Prize for Literature and, having read other Booker winners, we were prepared for the strange. While Polley did not particularly like the book, I am enjoying it, despite the angst-driven protagonist who looks back at the disappointments and disillusionments of his life. Cheery stuff - - - NOT! But well written and, as one who now has the time to look back, it has some things that seem to resonate with me. There are “Chick” books, so I guess there can “Old Retired Guy” books. After the pool episode, we went down into Sissi for our daily wine or beer and sit and watch the other tourists. At times, a small tour boat will arrive and leave off a group for an hour or so in town. Always fun to guess the nationalities and play “fashion police.” It is amazing what European holiday-goers manage to put together. It was home for lunch, a bit of the left over lamb kleftiko from Agia Galini and some Greek salad. Tomatoes are really coming into their own now and every salad is fantastic. The requisite siesta and a bit more time at the pool. We need to take advantage of the pool as our place in the Peloponnese won’t have that luxury. We then went down to watch the sunset at Ormos Café. Their internet was down, so no news from home and none again this morning. Amazing how dependent you get on that communication. We then went to Leofito for dinner. We have now set reservations for the last nights here, alternating between Leofito and Nerolylos. Tonight it was Leofito and we had their delicious tomato fritters. They are fabulous. Also, on the special, they had fried snails. They are in the shell, but fried in oil, vinegar and rosemary. They are a little tricky to get our of the shells, but it is well worth the work. We rounded out the meal with too much wine (the slow service just seems to call for a second half-litre) and the local raki just to add to the alcohol consumption for the night. However, no complaints. It is a lovely setting and we plan to return on Saturday night, taking our hosts, Stuart and Angela, as it is a place they have never tried. I would promise you more news tomorrow, but don’t count on it – we are already preparing the shift gears for the Peloponnese, where we are arrive on Monday.

Memories of a Good Road Trip

Dear Friends and Family, We are back and still alive! Actually, when you are driving in Crete that is quite an accomplishment! We have completed our two day road trip and had a very nice time discovering the south coast of Crete. It is very different, quieter, and more traditional. We headed out on the National Highway for Heraklion as we have done several times before. This time, instead of continuing west, we turned south and wound our way through the dramatic landscape of craggy cliffs and juts of rock mixed with endless groves of olive trees and lush grape vines.

Our first stop was the Palace of Phaistos, a Minoan settlement that was at its heyday around 1500 BC. Homer mentions it in the Iliad as a populous city. We arrived there around 11:30 and it was hot!

It sits at the very top of a mount on a kind of plateau. But there was nothing in the way of protection, so our strolling about was a bit limited.

It is a struggle to fully imagine these settlements as so much is, naturally, crumbling. There were some interesting urns in places were food and wine were stored

But our primary reason for making the stop was the connection Polley had as for the last 7 or 8 years she has been wearing a copy of the famous Disc of Phaistos, which is a still untranslated tablet that was found at the Palace.

When we finally escaped the punishing heat, we did find a nice spot at the little café on site and enjoyed a very cold beer before hitting the road again. While we had one other antiquity that we wanted to catch, we decided to catch it first thing the next morning when it would be cooler. So we headed for the seaside village of Agia Gallini. This had been recommended to us by a colleague at the University, so I got on-line and booked us a room. We arrived about 2 and checked in to the most delightful little hotel, called “Idi.” It was a lovely, simple room with a very nice balcony that looked at the sea

Agia Galini is practically all hotels and tavernas. But unlike Rethymno that we visited last week, Agia Galini is a peaceful tourist destination. There were lots of people there, but it seemed to be a crowd that appreciated the opportunity to get way from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just relax. We loved it. We found a place for some lunch and took a rest before planning on dinner. The proprietor of the hotel recommended two possible choices for dinner on the beach. We chose the nearest one as walking in Agia Galini is a real challenge: everything is built up the side of the mountain. We ate at a terrific place. Couldn’t have chosen better. It sat right on the beach; it was Stochos

It had the most wonderful staff, especially our wait-person. She was funny, quick, efficient and seemed to be someone who full loved her job and the people she served. She immediately informed us of a special that was not on the menu, but was available tonight: Kleiftiko. This is almost more a process that a dish. They take baking potatoes, onions and chicken and lamb and put it all is a large clay oven and seal it up and cook the food for hours. A few minutes after we arrived they unsealed the oven

And a few minutes later, we were delivered this huge portion of lamb with all the fixings

It was fabulous. There also was a wonderful garlic-infused olive oil that you dripped over everything. Amazing. We staggered back up the hill (partially from the challenging climb and partially from the wine and raki that we had consumed. It was a great day, however! The next morning we arose about 6. Breakfast in the hotel was not served until about 8, so trying to find some coffee was my first order of business. As I walked about, I found nothing open. However, I thought there is assuredly some local place where old, fat retired guys gather each morning swapping lies. Sure enough, I find it and 10 minutes later had two cups of coffee to go. After the coffee I did a short morning walk around the town and out onto the breakwater that serves to protect the port from the sea in harsh weather. It gave me the opportunity to take a photo of the town from the sea looking back, as the sun came up

At breakfast, which was excellent as well, featuring coffee, a variety of breads, a crepe and fruit, we had a lovely conversation with a fascinating woman from Milan. She had very good English and had traveled extensively, including a couple of years in the US. I was sorry that we were not staying another day or two to get to know here a bit better. However, if we have the chance to return to Crete we will including more time it Agia Galini. It was a delight. Again, about 9, we headed to the antiquity at Gortys. It was not far and the day was much more comfortable in the early morning. Gorty is a newer settlement and apparently replaced Phaistos as the most influential city in southern Crete by about 200 BC. There was a quite nice basilica

Along with a theatre

There was also a very interesting Code of Law for the town that was inscribed in stone on the wall behind the theatre.

Gortys was quite large. We had to walk down the highway about 300 meters to see another portion of it.

By that time, the day was warming up quickly and there was little protection from the Cretan sun. So we headed back to the car and started our journey home. We headed east on the south coast highway. Our goal was a little coastal village called Arvi that Stuart and Angela recommended as a wonderful place to stop for lunch. Arvi is about 12 kilometers off the road, winding down to the sea, with switchback turns and hairpin curves that make the trip seem twice as long. However once we arrived, in was a quiet charming little place and we headed into the first taverna we found, right on the sea.

There was not a soul in the place, it was just the family sitting about. With our order for tzatziki and fried fish, the family sprung into action. Well, that may be overstating it; they began to move. It was worth the wait, however. The food was fresh and perfectly cooked. There was a lovely sea breeze and we had a pleasant hour in this largely unknown spot on the coast. Then it was back up the mountain and we began to head for home. About 2 hours later, we pulled into Sissi as we were schedule to have dinner with our hosts, Stuart and Angela in their home, just upstairs from our apartment. The food and company were wonderful. We had a sampling of very Greek starters (Mezes) including stuffed grape leaves, meatballs, tazatziki and even some Greek-style chicken wings. Stuart grilled some pork and we all consumed a healthy amount of wine. We also got to catch a sunset from there balacony

It was a lovely evening and we are looking forward to returning the favor as we will take them to dinner on Saturday evening. All-in-all, it was a perfect break from the routine of Sissi, but we were glad to be back and look forward to our last few days here just relaxing and embracing the ambience of Sissi and Crete.