Crete, Greece

Our sea day was very relaxing and gave us a chance to recoup after a very busy week. We had breakfast at 8:30 out back by the pool, then attended a Mariner's Society function at 10:30. We met a very nice couple from Ottawa, Canada (Eve & Elise) while enjoying a couple glasses of wine and good conversation. Come to find out, they too have done a lot of sailing and look forward to rough (fun) sea conditions, but our adventures seemed to pale compared with theirs. It's always nice to meet folks with common interests, and hope we see them again. After the Mariner function, it was time to resume our Rummy games - I'm such a glutton for punishment! I WAS able to improve my record - I was previously 0-3...I'm now 1-4 after five games. Once again, I blame it on the Bloody Marys, but I need to give Cheryl a little credit too - if I'm wise! We attended a wine tasting event at 2:00, and after four glasses, we decided to grab a late lunch and take a nap. My nap turned into about 12 hours of sound sleep, so I'm up at 4am checking email. To my surprise and ultimate delight, I received a note from our oldest sons' (Chris) fiance of five years (Shana) sharing their wedding date - October 24th. They've been engaged well over a year and we've all been waiting for this special moment - she's such a sweet, wonderful young lady, and it'll be an honor to officially have her in the family! I immediately woke Cheryl...(something I'd never do before 7am without a shield and loaded pistol) and shared the wonderful news! Needless to say, she's absolutely thrilled, and we then shot a quick note to our other four kids. All will be happily married except our youngest son, Bryan, but he's been in a relationship for the past 3 years with a great gal, and we're hopeful something comes of that eventually. I have a Board meeting (retreat) in Charlotte the day before the wedding, so we'll need to catch a red-eye back to Phoenix to attend the wedding - to be held on Mt. Lemmon, just a little north of Tucson. Happy Days!!

We're heading toward Crete, Greece, and will arrive at high noon on Monday, just about 6 hours from now. We will have sailed 42 hours from Naples. Weather continues to be good, and with the exception of a couple days over the past nineteen, we've been blessed with moderate, very nice temps & dry conditions. The forecast for Crete today is 92, with a slight chance of late afternoon rain.

The largest of the Greek Islands, this will be our second visit. Crete has a very lush cultural history and many interesting sites to see. Today, the island is a thriving metropolis with a wide variety of activities. There are many Minoan archaeological sites, particularly Knossos and Phaistos which we plan to visit today. It's the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. We'll be docking in the capital & largest city, which is Heraklion. Current population is approximately 675,000. The island itself has an elongated shape - it spans 160 miles from east to west - 37 miles at its widest point, and narrows to as little as 7.5 miles close to the city of Ierapetra. Crete covers an area of roughly 3,200 sq. miles, with a coastline of 650 miles to the north, it broaches the Sea of Crete to the south, the Libyan Sea in the west, the Myrtoan Sea, and toward the east the Karpathian Sea - and it lies approximately 100 mles south of the Greek mainland where we're heading Tuesday.

Crete overall is a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits, such as its own poetry and music. It was once the centre of the Minoan civilization (c. 2700–1420 BC), which is currently regarded as the earliest recorded civilization in Europe. As I mentioned earlier, we'll be touring one of the Minoan archaeological sites later today. The island has a number of dramatic gorges and waterfalls, though we've not ventured outside the city itself to explore them, but perhaps on our return trip through in a couple weeks. We're told they're quite beautiful.

UPDATE - POST ARRIVAL: 

It was sizzling hot when we arrived in Heraklion - just north of 90, and quite humid. Of note - the port itself is just south of the airport, the second busiest in Greece next to Athens. Low flying planes were skirting the ship every few minutes during our stay. We were off on our tour by 1:00, following early morning card games by the pool. I think I've finally found Cheryl's weakness, and that being mixed drinks at 9am. I won two straight rummy games - my record is now 2-4! While we were playing, an older man slipped on the wet deck...his coffee flew in one direction, he in another. Cheryl was the first on scene to help him, but he appeared to be OK.

Anyway, off we go to see the ruins. We had a very sweet, very thorough elderly guide who spoke pretty good English. The Knossos archaeological site is less than 5 miles from the ship port, so not a lot of time for a local update. I know from our past visit that the economy of Crete is predominantly based on services and tourism. However, agriculture also plays an important role and Crete is one of the few Greek islands that can support itself independently without a tourism industry. The economy began to change visibly during the 1970s as tourism gained in importance. Although an emphasis remains on agriculture and stock breeding, because of the climate and terrain of the island, there has been a drop in manufacturing, and an observable expansion in its service industries (mainly tourism-related). All three sectors of the Cretan economy (agriculture/farming, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdependent. The island has a per capita income much higher than the Greek average, whereas unemployment is at approximately 4%, one-sixth of that of the country overall. I will say, as important as tourism is, Heraklion itself is quite worn, and some areas of the city are pretty nasty. Lots of litter, debris, and graffitti - though the people are very welcoming. It's one of the oldest cities to begin with, but I think they need more focus on some of the basics. 

As in many regions of Greece, viticulture and olive groves are significant; oranges and citrons are also cultivated. Until recently there were restrictions on the import of bananas to Greece, therefore bananas were grown on the island, predominantly in greenhouses. Dairy products are important to the local economy and there are a number of speciality cheeses such as mizithra, anthotyros, and kefalotyri. I mentioned earlier how hot it was when we arrived - the hillsides are visibly parched, and the guide told me directly that they average over 300 (hot) sunny days each year. I'm surprised they have any significant crop production at all.

Our tablemate (Roger) was here in Heraklion and went through the ruins 45 years ago. He said they've made significant progress with excavation efforts. Cheryl and I left the tour group and ventured off on our own - we were able to walk the entire area in just over an hour. It's not an easy walk - large stones & stairs make it a challenge in some places. One elderly man slipped on a boulder and slightly injured his elbow - could've been much worse. Seems this was our day to witness slips & falls! On our 1-10 scale, we'd give these ruins a high 3, maybe a 4. In contrast, Luxor and the Tomb of Kings in Egypt (and that general area) rank among our most admired - all 9's & 10's.

We were back on the ship by 4pm - showered, and went to dinner. Showtime was 8pm, shortly after we set sail. A great juggler by the name of Luke Barrage was on stage - awesome act - very entertaining!

Now on our way to Santorini - arriving 8am. Forecast for the day is 74, with chance of rain.


Will attempt to post 100+ photos tomorrow - ship internet connection on its knees this morning!