HIGHS AND LOWS

 We had enjoyed our few days with Kimon's school friends from yesteryear. It was absolutely fascinating to find out what everyone had been engaged in by way of career, families and places in the world they had settled. We thought it a testament to the school itself that they all seemed to have gained the confidence to make a go of whatever enterprise they were engaged in and all were extremely interesting in their own particular fields. They had telephoned one of the housemasters whilst here and all taken turns to have a chat with him. Even after so many years, touchingly, he remembered them all perfectly and put me in mind of a scene from Goodbye Mr Chips. On Sunday, they had to fly back and with a little anxiety on our part and trepidation on theirs, we helped them to the bus stop at Panormo. We assured them that the bus was the best way of seeing the sights in Crete in comfort, at a very reasonable cost, and the airport was a very short taxi ride from the Heraklion Bus Station. We hope that they could see so much more than they would have done in a taxi cab all the way. Perhaps we were carrying our Hellenistic leanings a bit too far, but I hope not.

The bus stop with a difference - at Panormo

Well, it had to happen that life in the Cretan idyll had its down side and this week it happened. We couldn't work out whether it occurred whilst watering and weeding in the garden or taking a meal where there were lots of cats about, but somewhere along the way, I picked up some enormous flea bites. This is the week after K had recovered from a horrible bout of illness which had lasted the best part of a month. Fortunately, the anti-biotic from the Health Centre worked well and K is back to nearly fighting strength but I have been driven mad by nasty bright red itchy spots which could not be from mosquitoes.

... Was it from the cafe cat?

... or gardening for giant spring onions and minute carrots?

The frenetic activity that followed in washing clothes, bedlinen, rugs, vacuuming and house cleaning was almost comical and very hot work - so three days on, smothered in tea tree oil, garlic and insect cream repellent with a shiny, bright home, I am beginning to feel less sorry for myself but it was horrible for a while. Boo, boo, boo – what a palaver. If the bites came from the garden, these vegetables are only just worth it! My greek lessons have not yet given me enough vocabulary to read the small print on the back of Aerosol cans, but fortunately, Google translate came to the rescue.

A rare shady spot at Sougia on Sunday

On Sunday, the CIC had planned a trip down to the South of Crete stopping off at various haunts on the way. A 30 seater bus picked up parties of people all along the North coast as far as Kalives and then set off for Sougia making the long climb through the White Mountains and getting some spectacular views of gorges, wooded slopes and at one high point a view of the Cretan sea in the North and the Libyan sea in the South simultaneously. We stopped briefly on the Omalos plateau on the way back from the south coast parking at the entrance to the Samaria Gorge (the long walk down this is fantastic but not for the faint hearted – especially in the really hot weather … however, it has to be mentioned as Crete's most famous challenge) 

Entrance to the Samaria Gorge

and then stopping off at the Botanical Park for a late lunch before the long journey back. It was the hottest day yet this year and everywhere was shimmering in the white hot sunshine which affected all my snap shots. We had an energetic tourist guide who was trying to persuade us to climb Mount Psiloritis, go up into the mountains with the goat herds while they milked their flocks and made their cheese, set off for a two day trip to Gavros – he had all sorts of exhausting suggestions but it did make us think about ideas for the Autumn when the CIC trips will start up again and we are all hard pressed for fresh ideas. The lady I met on the bus and I timidly wondered about a gentle wild herb gathering ramble and I wanted to see the Amari – which is only a short drive from us anyway and could be tackled under our own steam. Not very adventurous and K and I realise that there are so many places we have not yet seen – what on earth have we been doing with ourselves for two years? It would be good to do some travels to the different regions of Crete to fill in the gaps in our knowledge and notebooks. We think that there are many places which we could tackle by bus and we have been consulting maps for historical sites, interesting places and possible expeditions in the cooler weather.