Backblip


Many of the main roads in Crete are lined with beautiful red oleander shrubs which have been planted as a barrier mainly as a deterrent to stop wild goats crossing the road because all parts of the plant are poisonous.   It was interesting to see so many beautiful wild flowers, some of which are more familiar to us as garden plants.
Our time in Crete was very varied and informative due to our excellent guide who told us about the ancient civilisations, past and recent history, philosophy, family life, mythology and showed us places associated with the gods and spoke of their links to the environment and plants.  We visited a large botanical garden with a guided tour explaining the uses of hundreds of plants and then enjoyed Greek yoghurt with crystalised flowers. We also sampled wine at a vineyard and were presented with baklava after watching a tiny piece of dough being spread on a 2 metre table to make one of the layers of pastry for baklava.  Some of the local villages are renowned for their pottery and we watched a lady turn a small lump of clay into a decorated pot in about five minutes.   We saw very many olive trees and had chances to explore several very attractive little villages among the rugged mountainous landscape with patches of snow still visible on several mountains.
Before our late flight home there was time to get a local bus and travel up the hills to the War Museum passing beautiful flowers and butterflies on the roadside.  On such a day it was hard to imagine the terror facing the locals as many were massacred by the Nazis in 1941 while they tried to hide in gorges and caves in the treacherous terrain. Our guide the previous day recounted how his grandmother lost many of her family but had escaped taking her toddler (his mother) but leaving the young baby behind lest the cries revealed their position.  Several days later an old lady offered to return for the baby, knowing that the very old and babies were less likely to be killed.  The Cretans have had a tempestuous existence under various invaders over the years and even now are still under threat of earthquakes due to being on one of the most unstable parts where the tectonic plates meet. During the last night several of us were aware of slight shaking and doors rattling due to an earthquake under the sea not too far away but there was no real damage although some paths in the gorges were closed as a precaution.