Kaliméra!

Saturday October 5, 2024

Fun Facts

• Legend has it Zeus was born in Crete. His mother, the Goddess Rhea, hid him away there to protect him from his father (the God Cronos) who wanted to eat him. (Weird - right?)

• Most people in Crete own guns, but they are only fired in celebration of weddings. Crete is actually a very safe city.

• Crete is also known for having a very healthy population. Coincidentally, or not, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine was born in Crete.

Kaliméra! (Good Day in Greek). We are back in Crete today, but in a different part of the island. We will be visiting Souda Bay and Chaina (pronounced han-ya). We have an afternoon tour, so we had a leisurely morning on board. It was nice to sleep in a little and not have to rush to catch an early tour.

Souda Bay is on northwest coast of Crete, and is a deep natural harbor. There is a joint Crete/NATO naval base here, and a WWII Allied War Cemetary.

The town of Chania is best known for the many different cultures that have impacted the town over the last century. And the most prevalent influence is from the period of Venetian rule in the country.

Venetian Influence:

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Other interesting pictures: (on the left, a turkish bathhouse; on the right, a cathedral; below, the clear water in the bay, look for the fishes)

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And, to top off the day, Karen got pictures of three new birds for her collection!!!

A White Wagtail

A Great Tit (Really!!!)

A Spotted Flycatcher

Tomorrow is a Sea Day. We are planning on attending a wine tasting and an Afternoon Tea. So there won't be a blog post tomorrow.

Go Padres!