Wednesday morning I had to get back to the Heraklion airport to meet up with my kayaking group. I had set up a transfer from the hotel with the husband of the tour guide I met on the bus. He seriously overcharged me, but then proceeded to stay with me for an additional hour until I found my Northwest Passage people. The two couples I met turned out to be hikers rather than kayakers, but as we were to meet up for dinner together all week, I was happy to get to know them a bit.
We set off to tour the archaeological site of Knossos, an ancient Minoan palace that predates the Trojan War. I had just spent a glorious day at the Heraklion Museum that housed the artifacts from Knossos, so I was thrilled to visit the site. Eventually, we left the North side of Crete and drove to Matala, a sweet seaside resort town on the Southern coast. Back when I booked my trip, I asked if anyone was willing to share a room. There was someone; Christie (from Tennessee) and I roomed together all week and got on together very well. She even joined me for yoga a morning or two. Our yoga space in Matala was on the roof of our hotel, the Zafiria. We practiced early in the morning with a view of the town, the mountains and the Libyan Sea.
Our first two meals were a sign of things to come. Lunchtime found us at the place with the best gyros in town. They serve their gyros with french fries inside, but I don’t think they were too offended when I declined the fries. We did some snorkeling and napping that afternoon then had a great dinner overlooking the water. Our guides ordered a huge variety of appetizers – then we had dinner, unnecessary by then, but that did not stop us from having some of everything. Greek food tastes better in Greece – no question.
We did not know it at the time, but every Cretan restaurant and family makes and serves their own Raki. Here’s the scoop:
alcoholic beverage, grape-based pomace brandy of Cretan origin that contains 40%–65% alcohol . …made by distilling of pomace, i.e., the pieces of grapes (sometimes including the stems and seeds) that were pressed for wine. The pomace is kept for about six weeks, in a tightly-sealed barrel, and then the fermented mush is distilled. Often home-produced in villages throughout Crete, the alcohol content varies. Every family and restaurant insists theirs is the best. It is always offered (no charge) and yes, every one we tasted was the best.
Later, stuffed and happy, we fell asleep to the sound of music from the nightclubs across the street.
