It's getting warmer...!

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Happy Mother’s Day to all! We’re hoping to be able to get a call through to Mom, but as our international cell phones do not seem to be able to pick up a network on this side of the island, we’re not exactly sure how that will go!

Last night for dinner we headed back in to Matala and found a small place overlooking the beach. We hadn’t really had a good look at the beach earlier in the day, and it’s lovely! There are sandstone cliffs that come down on the right-hand side of the beach, with Roman caves dug out of them. (Apparently in the 1960’s, American hippies occupied the caves for some considerable length of time, and Matala still has the shreds of that reputation.) No one is now living in the caves, however, but they are lit up at night; really lovely!

To be honest, after having such a late lunch yesterday, neither of us was very hungry by 8 p.m. but figured that we should eat something anyway. Ordered dakos (rapidly becoming my favorite – hunks of bead with olive oil, chopped tomatoes and feta on top) and Robert had a spicy tomato and feta cheese spread; both were excellent! (Although I remember Stew LaCasce telling me that after his trip to Greece some years ago, it was a long time before he could look at a Greek salad again!) For main courses, we both had chicken – Robert’s was grilled with a parsley butter sauce, and mine was in crème fraiche with mushrooms … Robert won; his was much better! Again, we did not order dessert, but one appeared anyway! This time slices of a cake roll with cream filling…along with several shot glasses of a very clear liquid! We asked what the liquid was and were told: Cretan water…right…Well, the dessert was yummy, but the “water” -- well, as I was driving, R enjoyed both glasses! Then back to our hotel. We slept with both sets of sliding doors open at either end of the bungalow, and had a marvelous breeze all night. And, as there were no other guests, we were lulled to sleep by the sound of crickets! It was great!

Up about 7 and out for breakfast at 8 a.m. Took the computer down to check email, and actually, to make a reservation for tomorrow (Monday) night. We decided that while we enjoyed Valley Village, with no near internet connection, no other guests, and especially – NO HOT WATER, that we’d head out of the hills for civilization a day early. The Lato Boutique Hotel didn’t have any vacancies, but we got a good price on the hotel next door – the Megaron. The Megaron is VERY fancy, so we’re hoping for the comforts of home…we’ll see! Also figure that this will give us a chance to get yet more laundry to Perfect Laundry, right down the street! YEA!! Breakfast was fine – a plate of salami and cheese, bread and more freshly squeezed orange juice, along with coffee for R.

Our first stop this morning was to Gortys, a Minoan palace about half an hour up the road. We’d gone past it yesterday, but didn’t really like to stop with all the luggage in the car. Gortys was interesting, especially as the Romans had built over the Minoan civilizations, and the Byzantines after that – so there was a real hodge-podge of periods going on. We saw a lovely odeion (theatrical area) as well as the loggia which now contains the Minoan law tablets that had been preserved at the site. Not too many other people, although there was one American university group following a guide and assiduously taking notes!

From Gortys we headed back toward Faistos (My Palace!) and turned in to Ayia Triadha. Triadha isn’t considered a formal Minoan palace, because its layout isn’t traditional; rather, it is considered to be a villa with town built around it. Lovely area; had a good look around. Some of the finds from this site we’ve already seen in the Iraklion museum; neat to see where they were located! From here, we next headed to the second of three beaches that surround Matala, called Kommos. This is another big archeological site, although as it is still in excavation, it is not yet open to the public. However, the fencing is chain link, which provides lots of opportunities to see what they’re turning up. The beach itself is lovely; this was the former port for Faistos and Ayia Triadha. Not many people at all on the beach, although it is turning into a really hot day!

By now it was past lunch time, so we returned to Matala. Found a place on the front facing the beach – not bad, but certainly not as good as the food we’ve had recently! Many more people here in the water, including some young men jumping off the sandstone into the water – which actually looked good to me! I had my dakos again – only because the bread was so hard, I ended up WEARING part of it! R had a Marguerite pizza – which was very good! Back to the hotel for much deserved naps, especially as the day has become REALLY hot!!

More later!
m
x