Tuesday, July 16, 2013 (Part one):
This was our departure day from Crete and our idyllic mountainside retreat. We packed and left hoping to include one or two more tourist stops on our way to the airport at Chania on the north side of the island. We drove west along the southern coast to catch the main highway going north over the mountains.
As usual, Carol was in the navigator's seat and I was in the back seat next to Sofie with my camera in hand. For several days I had been trying to capture the image of a Cretan wild goat, known as agrimi or kri-kri. We saw them frequently during our stay, but we were on the move and I couldn't get the shot. I was determined this would be the day. Success! Aron slowed the car and I was able to snap a few decent shots of goats balanced on large rocks.
Our first destination was Frangokastella, a fortress constructed in the late 14th century by the Sfakians, descendants of an ancient tribe from northwest Greece who invaded Crete around 1100 BC. The fortress changed hands over the centuries from the Venetian and Turkish invaders and finally to the Cretans who eventually overthrew the Turks and won their independence. At one point, there was a massacre of 600 Cretan fighters and the beheading of their leader at the hands of the Turks. The fort was built next to a popular beach, although probably not so popular back in the day....The construction was pretty typical for medieval times when bow and arrow was the first line of defense.
Inside the heavy walls of this mostly ruined structure, there was a wooden platform or stage erected, so we imagined it could be a great venue for concerts and plays now. The one remaining corner tower had been renovated to serve a three story gallery with displays of handcrafted lace, paintings, and photography.
We took lunch at the nearby seaside café and then continued our trek along the shoreline until we intersected with the northbound route that went up, up, up in a series of zigs and zags to an incredible height.
The mountains in this range include several higher than Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The scenery was spectacular, but I'm afraid does not translate well to snapshot photography. We were at such elevation that the horizon separating sea and sky practically disappeared. Finally, we began our descent and when we saw a sign pointing to a winery, we wisely chose to stop and check it out.
What a find this was! The Dourakis Winery was charming and quaint and I was in heaven shooting the flora and fauna as well as the architectural and wine making features including an old wine press, and casks and bottles of wine. The vintner/owner was Adonis! (No, really! That is his name.) He poured samples of the various white and red vintages and we were all very favorably impressed.
They are a small vineyard and don't export to the US, unfortunately. We were hoping to buy a mixed case to ship back to Tennessee, but alas we were low on Euros and Adonis said they couldn't process credit cards. It's probably for the best. Shipping with tariffs and such would probably cost more than the wine. I offered cash US dollars, but he declined. What a disappointment. So, collectively we did buy 3 bottles to bring back in our luggage at least. Greek wine....Dourakis Winery. Remember that name. It is good stuff!
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