Rainy days and Sundays

My new place is modern and full of light compared to my digs in Myrsini, which was a traditional village home built into the mountain. This home os larger with an open floor plan, lots of sliding doors, and sunrise and sunset views as well. Not to mention reliable hot water, which I did not have at the other place. Here there are land snails, and if they weren’t climbing on the house, they would be cute—like those in children’s books.

From here, I can see the island Gavdos. It’s kind of remote, undeveloped, and a place where hippies like to hang out. The locals believe it is where the sea nymph Calypso from Greek mythology rescued Odysseus and then kept him captive for four years as he was making his way home from the Trojan. Zeus had to send Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus return to his faithful Penelope.

There was also here a natural harbor in ancient times, but a geological event tilted the island and now this area is too shallow. Geologists measure sinking of the eastern Crete by millimeters every year.

Still recovering my long drive and breaking and entering drama, I decided to take the day to relax and just walk into the village. As is expected this time of year, there is overcast and rainy weather, and today was gloomy. (As it can be in Greece!).

I picked a time midday to put on my rain gear proactively and I started up the hill to the village. A straight line would be like a half a mile but since the hill is steep and the road switchbacks, it was more like a mile to get to the kentro or center of the village. Here the taverna is open as well as a blaring and a min market. At the age of town is a dairy where the owner makes delicious sheep and goat cheeses and yogurt. Or so my host tells me.

The dairy wasn’t open so I bought some goat and sheep milk yogurt at the mini market as well as a few other items. The owners young daughters were flirting about in their beautiful Christmas dresses.

By now it had started to rain in earnest and I was glad to be wearing my rain gear and Chacón’s sandals instead of sneakers. I had a quiet day and enjoyed some of the roasted chicken.

My observations of this side of the island thus far are that there is a lot more goats and sheep and less olive trees here. The roads are not as good. Some would be great for a James Bond movie where his car is a sabotaged and he has not brakes and one of Q’s inventions saves the day before he flies over the cliff. There is a lot more washout from rain bringing rocks on the roads AND there are sheep and goats laying on the road, but they seem to know to move out of the way of vehicles.