Flying into Crete for the first time I was
struck by how much it looked like
West Texas – rather desert-like instead of
lush green, and with white sandy beaches. It’s amazing what perceptions we have
before we go somewhere that blows our misconceptions sky high! Crete is a
mountainous little island and, as with other mountainous regions, they have a phenomenon
called rain shadow. I was seeing the side of the mountain that gets less rain
than the rest of the country. Parts of Crete are very green, especially where
people raise crops. The olive trees, of which there are thousands, are a
grey-green (that would be olive green, of course), the fruit trees are a dark
green with spots of bright yellow lemons, and the fields of cabbages, beans,
tomatoes, and other vegetables add to the verdant shades that assault your
eyes. There are also a dazzling array of flowers that contrast quite nicely
with the red-brown cliffs and the bright blue skies. The beaches remained a
surprise. If they weren’t craggy, the sand was a dark brown reminiscent of beaches
found in south Texas. Just where would I have to go to see white sand; obviously
not to Crete. We landed near the city of Chania and because of several
delayed/changed/missed flights (see the Around
the Island post on July 6th for reviews) had to make our way to
our Airbnb without the aid of our host. This turned out to be a good thing
because we got to interact with the local taxi drivers. Not only were they
helpful, but they were good natured, funny, and knew a lot about their island. In
fact, we only met one old grump during this trip; everyone else we interacted
with seemed to be happy.
 |
| Sunset at the Old Venetian Harbor |
