First week in Crete

We had heard Cretans are friendly, and this has proven correct. We first went ashore at the tiny village of Kato Zakros on the east coast. While Brian & I downed a Mythos beer or two in a taverna, Carol & Diane went off to buy some vegetables.
They returned with a large bag full of tomatoes, aubergines, beetroot, parsley, onions, capsicum, eggplant and carrots. They had gone to a restaurant, and asked Carmen, the waitress, where they could buy vegetables. Carmen said there was no shop in the village, but they would be happy to give us whatever vegetables we needed. Later we had dinner at this restaurant and the owner, Costas, told us that his father grew all the vegetables, tending the garden from 5am. Before the night was out they gave us an additional beer crate of vegetables and two bottles of red wine –all for free.
Costas told us that in the 1950s his father was ploughing some of his land and came across some stone slabs and ruins. This turned out to be the Minoan palace of Zakros. The Government confiscated that piece of land, and now charge the public admission to see the ruins.
Like his father, Costas was born in this tiny village, and is now raising his three children there.
We cruised NW to Sitia, where we laid alongside a rough concrete jetty.
The skipper of a neighboring British yacht told us to be careful, as the previous night someone had stolen some expensive mooring lines from his deck, including some in-use mooring lines. Local fisherman were extremely upset over this and were convinced the thieves were not from Sitia, making it very clear what they would do to any thieves they caught. We still understand that instances of theft like this are very rare and we had no problems.
There was no electrical power on the wharf, and the closest water tap was about 150m away, well beyond the reach of our hoses (although we could have lugged it using our 30L jerry cans). Brian and I found a closer tap, half submerged in muddy water, and with a broken handle. We managed to make a temporary tap handle and get our water OK.
From Sitia we went further west to the Spinalonga Lagoon, a large inlet only about 3m deep, with the entrance protected by a Venetian fortress built in 1579. When it was eventually taken by the Turks the Venetian and Genoese defenders were allowed to leave, while the local Cretan defenders were all enslaved. This island fortress later became the infamous Greek leper colony, where lepers lived and died in appalling conditions, the last one dying in 1953. Today the locals still call it “the island of the living dead”.
At anchor during dusk we noticed a snake swimming towards the boat. At first I thought I’d had one rum too many, but we all saw it approach within about 10m. There are several varieties of snake on land in this area, but we were not aware of any sea snakes. The internet advises there are no sea snakes in the Med, as it’s too salty, and that the “snake-eel” is commonly mistaken for a snake. We’re going to believe that, but it certainly damn-well looked like a snake, with its head well up out of the water.We also saw a large turtle swimming around.
The weather has been hot – in the mid to high 20s, but the wind has been exceptionally strong – most days reaching over 20 knots. As the wind is always from the NW, it puts up quite a choppy sea outside of sheltered areas.
We had decided to spend our last few days with Brian & Carol touring some of inland Crete by rental car so went to Agios Nikolaos marina where we are now. This is a good marina, with power and water, in a very picturesque location with swimming beaches nearby, along with lots of tavernas.
We spent two days driving through some of the mountain villages to the southern coast, and spent the night at a great fishing-village-turned-tourist-spot called Aghia Galini. We also visited the famous ruins of King Minos’s palace at Knossos, dating from 1700 BC. This is where the (mythical?) half man, half bull Minotaur lurked in the labyrinth, until a warrior killed it, finding his way out of the labyrinth with a ball of string. The palace, and indeed Minoan civilization, ended with the huge volcanic eruption at Santorini and the ensuing tsunami.
Times are more than a bit tough in Greece. The official unemployment rate is 12%, but probably closer to 20%. Tourist numbers are down, so tavernas, restaurants and shops are quiet. Taxes are going up and all pensions have been reduced by Euro 200 per month (about 30%). Nonetheless, the Greek people are stoic, largely cheerful and seem to think everything will be OK.
We had a wonderful time with Brian & Carol, who left on Friday. We’re now in Agios Nikolaos for the next week (see below), and will then head further west along the northern coast of Crete.
Technical
On the last day of Brian & Carol’s cruise I noticed some oil in the bilge and then found an oil leak from the Borg Warner gearbox. Fortunately it was only a short distance to our destination at Agios Nikolaos marina, and on arrival here an engineer from A1 came aboard and saw the leak. Thanks to my friend Brooke Archbold for arranging a Borg Warner gearbox expert in NZ for me to speak with – James Mobberly of Moon Engines. James was able to give us some useful advice about repairing the leak, which is being done currently while we're in such a nice place to stay. Should be under way again late next week.