Crete day 2

After a hearty breakfast the group boarded the bus, picked up our guide Katarina on the way, and we drove to our first stop Krasi, a picturesque little village in the mountains.

The village is one of the prettiest in Crete, with a lot of springs. Due to the free running water , it is covered with walnut trees, plane trees and all kinds of vegetation. Next to the spring in the middle of the village is one of the oldest and biggest plane trees in Crete (its root has a circumference of 22 meters!). It is about 2400 years old.

Next stop was a monastery Panagia Kera.

The Monastery is dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos (Nativity of Mary) and it is one of the most important monasteries of Crete. Today it is a nunnery and accommodates 6 nuns. We could not take pics inside which I found out from a very irate nun!

Next stop was lunch on top of the mountain. The 400 year old windmills were scattered on the hillside. The view was breathtaking. But the highlight on the Mount was a call back home to Joe - you appreciate your loved ones all the more when you are so far away!

After lunch we would our way down the Mount and stopped off at an Olive farm. It was fascinating to hear how the olives were collected and processed into the beautiful oil which we sampled. Crete has over 13 million olive trees!!

Back home we enjoyed another afternoon by the pool at this lovely resort.Read more