Kriti

This weekend I headed south to Crete, with my flatmates Shannon, Claire,
and Katherine, for a few days in the sun. My environmental studies
teacher has described the Greek climate as nearly bipolar, with cool wet
winters and clear dry summers. Even though it’s been mild compared to
what I’m used to, I’ve noticed all the pictures from my trips had thus far
been gray, gray rocks against gray clouds, a charcoal shaded world. Crete
was full of blinding, glorious Mediterranean light, and whet my appetite
for the late spring to come.



On our first day we went to Knossos, the largest and most important
archaeological site of the Minoan civiliation. The Minoans were an
advanced Cretan people who were building large centers and making
incredible art thousands of years before the birth of Christ, when Athens
was still a sparsely populated backwater town.



The British archaeologist who excavated the site, Sir Arthur Evans,
decided to associate it with the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur and
did a lot of reconstruction and promotion that his peers found dubious at
best and more often outrageously speculative. For example, the room above
was found with a rather humble chair against the wall, so he dubbed it the
throne room of King Minos. While I sympathize with Evans’ critics, his
work made a beautiful and engaging historical destination for modern
times, which is a lot more than I can say for many of the weedy and
decaying Mycenaen sites I saw in the Argolid. I liked being at Knossos.



The Minoans are known for their frescoes – this reconstructed one behind
me shows a ritual called bull-leaping.



We then had a picnic lunch under the orange trees. After I was done I let
this cat clean out the can of beans I was eating, and we caught a bus to
Hania.



Hania is a really gorgeous coastal town in Eastern Crete, with charming
Venetian architecture and a well-preserved old quarter. It was so breezy
and warm by the water, but we could also see snowy mountains a few miles
distant. There were a lot of cafes down on the harbor and we spent a lot
of time there, sitting outside drinking coffee.



The next day, after a long night out, we walked out along a narrow pier to
a lighthouse at the end of the harbor and proceeded to eat oranges and nap
away much of the afternoon.



I’ve never lived in a large city like Athens before, and I love it, but
it’s hard, it’s crowded and polluted and often smells like exhaust and cat
piss. Thus it was a godsend to be away….particularly with midterms coming
up this week. Tough to accept that they’re already here.

After much hand-wringing and debate, I’ve decided to island hop in Greece
for spring break. There’s so much of the country to experience, and I
want to see as much as I can while I still have some of the language and
practical knowledge at hand. My goal is to hike a lot, camp at least a
little, and get to areas somewhat less frequented by tourists – currently
the itinerary includes Naxos, Santorini, and Crete.

Well, I must be off to bond with my books for an extended period of time,
although I must admit that all I really want to do is fall asleep,
listening to the birds chirping and dogs barking outside the open window.
Wish me luck.