Farewell Crete - our last day!


With Rosita and David on their last day

After six weeks on this island, our time on Crete ended yesterday.  On Saturday we said farewell to David and Rosita as they flew out from Chania to Ireland. It had been so good to be able to spend this time together. Then yesterday we needed to make our way to nearby Souda to catch our overnight ferry to Athens.

But first we managed to squeeze in one last bike ride.



You may have heard of “Zorba the Greek”, a book and movie. The movie starred Anthony Quinn and it was made in 1964. It contains one very famous scene where Quinn and his co-star do this dance on a beach. The dance is known as the syrtaki and the music they danced to is very recognisable. You can check it out here  and I'm sure  it will sound familiar.

Frank showing his moves on Stavros beach


That beach, Stavros, happens to be about 20km northwest of Chania, so we decided it would be a good cycle for our last day. It felt great to get back on the bikes again after a week of not too much exercise.

Frank Quinn!


Later on, as we were riding back towards the ferry, we went through a little village where we heard music and saw a gathering of people obviously having some kind of party. They waved to us to come in. Turns out they were celebrating the making of raki, Crete's famous moonshine. I'd read that they do this around this time of year. It's often a community affair, a great reason to have a party. I'd hoped we might get a chance to see, so we were thrilled when this happened!



We were made welcome by the kind home-owners
Wine and raki were flowing freely, and SO much food!
Delicious home-made desserts. Orange cake soaked in honey,
and chocolate biscuit cake were my favourites

Raki is made from what's left over from wine-making. The residual grapes and stems go through a boiling and distillation process to produce a strong, clear alcohol. Watching the procedure was fascinating. And with a group of about fifty friends and family of the home-owners, we had the honour of tasting the results, and to feast on all kinds of homemade food. What a treat! A local man, Alex, told us how Cretans pride themselves on their hospitality, so it’s quite normal to invite visitors to a gathering like this.

Tester and taster! The owner is checking the alcohol content
Tonya, her mother and brother who welcomed
us so warmly, standing in front of the raki "apparatus"


With full stomachs and not yet overly wobbly, we headed off towards the ferry. En route, we did manage to stick with our plan to visit the Souda WW11 Cemetery, where 1527 Commonwealth soldiers are buried, most of whom died in the Battle of Crete in 1941. It's a beautifully maintained cemetery, but a sad reminder of the young lives lost on both sides.  Earlier in the trip we had cycled to the German Cemetery in Maleme, west of Chania, where close to 4500 German soldiers are buried. These are very sobering and touching places to visit.

Souda Commonwealth Cemetery
Plaque at Souda Cemetery showing breakdown of nationalities 
Organising gear before boarding ferry
for eight-hour overnight crossing to Athens.



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