Our ferry arrived in Iraklio, Crete at about 5:40 this morning. We stumbled off the ship and found our bus. Nothing is open at 5:40 in the morning and we couldn’t go to our hotel yet, so the bus parked in some parking lot and we tried to curl up and get back to sleep…we were exhausted! I think I could have slept anywhere by that point.
At 8:00 am, we visited the Minoan ruins at Knossos. The site wasn’t as impressive as I had hoped because most of the city was a reconstructed version, not the actual preserved city. The excavator, Sir Arthur Evans, unfortunately relied more on his imagination rather than accuracy when he excavated. After exploring the site, we went to the museum that accompanied. There were some beautiful artifacts here. I was impressed with the jewelry and how elegant and detailed the gold necklaces looked. It still amazes me at the artisanship the ancient people and that these objects still exist today!
Once we had seen both the site and the museum, we got back on the bus and took a two hour ride to our hotel in Hania. The rest of the day was free for us to scope out the city. We stayed at a nice hotel just outside the old city. After showering, Sara Kokkila and Rachel Fenske and I went walking toward the harbor. We saw the ancient Venetian walls and decided to go climbing on some rocks in the Cretin Sea. We walked along the strip of the harbor full of restaurants and shops and then walked down the strip to the lighthouse. It was such a cute city and it was relaxing just to be outside and near the water.
I brought sandwich food, fruit, carrots, crackers, and a trail mix of nuts and dried fruit for the weekend. On my way back to the hotel to eat, I saw demonstrators down the street and a line of police with big, clear shields, and thick sticks following them. I’m not sure exactly what they were protesting or demonstrating, but it has to do with the upcoming elections. Greece is holding elections on October 4th. The country had to call early elections because I guess the current government or leader is unfit to lead. People are happy to be able to finally oust the current leader out and choose a new leader.
After supper, Sara, Melanie, Rachel and I sat on a bench next to the water and people watched and talked. It was a nice evening.
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