Guest Appearance by Paula

Hello all, this is Paula, my first "guest appearance" on the blog. (Per said I coundn't check email unless I blogged. If only I had tricia lenssen's creative writing skills I'd be more up to the task. Neveretheless, I'll try not to bore you.)

So here it goes...

Since last Per wrote, we have watched 4 more soccer games and spent another 2+ hours on the internet trying to obtain tics to the Liverpool v Newcastle football match. Have no fear, they were obtained and are being shipped to scotland as we speak. (note, the immediate task after I finish is to spend another 5 bazillion hours on the computer trying to get Roma v Fiorentia tics...per tried calling fromt the cave of Zeus's birth but to no avail...He is persistent though and I don't doubt he will prevail...not even Zeus can stop him!)

Anyway, as for the rest of our trip...

We left Iraklio, barely making it out of the tiny streets unscathed in our mini rental (which gets remarkable gas mileage I must say.) Per evaded walls and cars and went the wrong way down one way streets numerous times while I cried and panicked in the passenger seat. Honestly he did great...I would have crashed! Then we headed to the east side of Crete. Went first to where Zeus was born, a big cave up on a beautiful plateau in the mountains. Per though it would be funny to have picts of him taken being "born" in the cave...if I could post them I would. The cave (Dikteon) had lots of stalagtites, mites and a little pond. Apparently was a place of cult worship at one point because of it's association with Zeus.

We wandered from there around the the towns surrounding Lasithi plateau. It was once a rich farming area with 20,000 windmills on the plain. Now many of the towns are in disrepair though quite quaint and cute in their own way. Seems to be quite the potato farming area now as all the abandoned building are full of spoiling potatoes...not sure what that is all about but interesting nevertheless.

We drove for a long time then around the eastern side of Crete and despite the moratorium on ruins, stopped at Lato which is a Dorian site. I fought glondor in the circle of death, won easily of course, we watched a goat stand on his hind legs and eat olives and decided we'd seen enough of Lato and headed on to Myrtos for lunch. Thus far, this lunch was my worst...8+ (I know I'm prone to exaggeration but this is not one) cats surrounded us the second we got our food. One stared at me through my whole meal but I had to resist the temptation to feed them because the last time I did that I got bitten and thought I might get rabies. It was hard, they looked sad and hungry...honestly, there are a lot of cats in greece and to that point they'd all looked very well taken care of.

We ended up that nigh in Zaros, a pleasant mountain town where we stayed in a super cute tradition pension. The owner was lovely...spoke rapidly in greek constantly...we nodded and smiled. Went for dessert at the place she recommend (just dessert mind you because we had a large late lunch)...a little more miscommunication and we ended up with 3 side dishes, a large salad, bread, and 3 or 4 main dishes....our tummies were quite full. then came the raki (traditional liquor of Crete...basically moonshine.) Per and I were doing our best to take it down with smiles on our faces when, low and behold, the TV popped on behind us and you'll never guess what channel it got turned to...wait...try and guess...yep...go ahead...that's right CHAMPION'S LEAGUE!! woohoo! Ended being quite fun as we watched the game and chatted with a couple of the people our age that live in the village. they were a lot of fun and it gave us a lot of extra time to finish the Raki...unfortunately when you finish, unbenownst to us...they just bring you more. In the morning we had another copius cretian meal, which was delicious, and headed to Rouvas Gorge to work off some of the massive calories we'd consumed. It was a fun hike, lots of cute goats and beautiful scenery.

Per wants me to stop writing now...getting too long...and he needs the computer to find tickets, so quickly. We spent the rest of that day at the beach listening to Harry Potter (that's right, you all know I love it). Saw some nude folks enjoying themselves. Sorry mom, Per and I did not partake in the nudity...I know you are disappointed with us. Forgive us. Today has been another mainly beach day as well. Went to Prevali Beach after visiting the the Preveli Monastary which has a rich history of being a center of resistance in Crete, both against the Turks in the early 1800s and again during WWII where the monks (armed in both cases with major weaponry...monks + guns = sweetness) helped allied forces escape the Germans. The beach was fab. It is at the base of a gorge with a palm forest and freshwater stream flowing into it. I stuck a toe in the water, a first (way too cold for me) and per enjoyed his hammock (thanks mom and dad).

Ok, that was long. we're off to hike some more tomorrow and then we'll enjoy Greek easter! much love to all