Today we were in Crete (official name: Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece). What did we find? It was something like a Caribbean Island, with a Greek flair. Rather than take a bus ride to Knossos Palace on the precipice of a high mountain, we decided to save our energy for two days in Cairo starting tomorrow. So there was this cute little open air train that took tourists around the island -- sorta like those big red double decker busses in a lot of metropolitan cities. So we decided it was an easy way to see Crete -- especially since we were only in port for 6 hours!
About Brad and Angie. Apparently a couple of weeks ago they helicoptered to a fancy resort ($35,000 a night) on “Long Island” in Crete where there is a golf course, the ocean, pools and no way to get there but helicopter. And, I can top that! It used to be a leper colony for like 100 years! And noone from Crete would go there, so the lepers were left to their own devices... BUT they kept breeding and the kids were not lepers, so finally they let them come on shore in Crete and turned the island into this stunning resort!! So, with the Brad and Angie thing, I think it means that we are close friends now, since I SAW the island and resort they stayed at AND Brad is from Missouri and so are we. So there... six degrees of separation at least!!
Actually,n there are vestiges of the Minoan civilization here, including the Palace at Knossos. And Roman colonists, the Byzantines, Arab invaders, Venetian colonists and Ottoman pashas all put their marks on this not so little island.
What you see now though, is lots and lots of vacation condos, houses, villas, lots of them being built or empty. And cobblestone streets. And tourist stands. And kinda high class outdoor cafes mixed in with the ones the locals go to. The island has 7,000 people year round and in the summer the population swells to 14,000. Which means there is still plenty of room for you guys to buy up a villa (250,000 euros) and plan to spend summers on the beaches of Crete. One difficulty...getting here. I didn’t see an airport and it is probably too hilly to have one anyway, so I guess you’d have to buy a yacht or at least a motor boat to have a summer vacation in Crete!!
On to Alexandria/Cairo, Egypt, where we’ve been told we need a fan in the Egyptian museum or we’ll collapse (no a/c and stagnant air inside) and watch out for the pickpockets. But, on the other hand, I’ve been promised fresh mango ice cream and drinks at the mango stands! Maybe that makes up for the other.
What you see now though, is lots and lots of vacation condos, houses, villas, lots of them being built or empty. And cobblestone streets. And tourist stands. And kinda high class outdoor cafes mixed in with the ones the locals go to. The island has 7,000 people year round and in the summer the population swells to 14,000. Which means there is still plenty of room for you guys to buy up a villa (250,000 euros) and plan to spend summers on the beaches of Crete. One difficulty...getting here. I didn’t see an airport and it is probably too hilly to have one anyway, so I guess you’d have to buy a yacht or at least a motor boat to have a summer vacation in Crete!!
Thats an interesting factoid about the leper colony turned resort. Kind of like developers' plans for the Salton Sea in California.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure fresh mango ice cream can make up for a lot of things. I would like some fresh mango ice cream. It might make up for the fact that I really, really a lot want a diet soda really, really badly (when I'm near them, I can SMELL the yummy soda smell) and I can't have one.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
Although, they probably won't allow fresh mango ice cream into pregnancy bubble, either.
Damn.
Fear not, Betsy, soon you will have a kid and with that you may be able to have a mango ice cream float in soda once in awhile! ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen are we getting word on the Egypt leg of the trip??
ReplyDelete