Last Day in Crete Greece and we discovered Joni Mitchell

A fertile valley in Crete.

It was our last day in in Crete, Greece and we were based in Heraklion which is where we would later fly out of.  We woke up and had some coffee in our kitchen, we had rented a two-bedroom unit in the central core of Heraklion and we were beside a beautiful church right outside our balcony. 

Greek Orthodox Church beside our rental.

We walked down from our apartment and went into the most gorgeous bakery you've ever seen.  Everything looked delicious and so professional looking, with decent prices. I bought a yogurt cup and a fruit cup to have for breakfast. We went and picked up our car at this crazy parking lot and paid our 11.50 Euro for an overnight spot. There's no parking in the Central core of Heraklion, which makes sense as it is an ancient city.

We drove to Knossos which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and Lisa and I were there to see the Palace, which is an ancient Minoan settlement that evolved and eventually the Palace was built in 1900 BCE.

As you walk into Knossos

Foundations of the city of Knossos.

It was a very interesting site but when Sir Arthur Evans discovered this site in the 1800s, Evans and his crew began the archaeological dig. It states he was an archaeologist but he seemed to perhaps not be a very good one. He imagined things and then rebuilt certain parts of the Palace to his imagination.  According to other scholars and historians and archaeologists he wasn't always correct. There are certain areas of the Palace that were compromised due to improper concrete on reconstruction etc. Regardless, it is an ancient site with numerous pillars.  The colors are very different compared to anything else I have ever seen.

Beautiful colorful murals.

The stone used to build the Palace was gypsum blocks and mica stone which is beautiful. Unfortunately it breaks down at a quicker rate.  I doubt the Minoan Prince considered it lasting as long as it has which is 4000 years.  They painted their pillars red with some substance perhaps pomegranate as they do grow in Crete.  There were colorful murals throughout the site, it would have been a very colorful Palace in its day.

Beautifully preserved mural

We walked around for about an hour and 45 minutes and we were quite interested, imagining aspects of the structures. The site could have used more descriptive plaques to give the payee more information.  It was 20 Euro to enter which we felt was a bit steep but worth it. 

Various clay vases were pieced back together.

People walking down 4000 year old stone staircase which leads to one of the oldest roads in Europe.

We walked back and found Darren who was sitting and painting on his IPAD. Darren hates old rocks so he chose to stay back with the car and we continued our drive towards Agia Thomas a very picturesque village with gorgeous scenic lookouts.  The views along the way were absolutely stunning. There is so much agriculture in Crete and the people are very much into nature and each family has their own olive trees that they harvest for olive oil, etc. There are numerous little villages concentrated around Orange and Olive groves and Grape Vines for wine making and other agricultural growth. The valley was full of plots of land and anywhere we could have stopped to take a scenic picture. It was beautiful. 

Agia Thomas view.

Gorgeous countryside

In the verdant valley full of Olive groves, vineyards and Orange Trees.

Olive Groves

We continued on our way and made it to Matala. Matala is a pretty seaside town famous lately for being a drawing card for Hippies in the 70s who took over the cave dwellings of ancients.  We arrived at Matala and paid 4 Euro for a parking spot. Lisa was really keen on Matala because it is basically an old hippie town or that's what it's well known for. But actually the history goes much further back to Neolithic times when the caves were dug out. Neolithic time frame is 10,000 BCE to 2000 BCE.  In Neolithic times these caves were used for homes and there is at least 60 homes in these rocks.  Later the caves were used during Roman times as tombs. Then it wasn't until the 1960s and 1970s when the hippies discovered Matala with it's cool beach vibe and free housing. There were beautiful views from  the caves and the rocks are quite stunning in the sunshine. 

Caves of Matala

Neolithic peoples lived in the cave as
cave dwellers.  Then the Romans used them as tombs and then Joni discovered them.

Lisa roaming the Caves.

Joni Mitchell, the Joni Mitchell from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and Bob Dylan actually were part of the hippie community that lived in the caves in Matala. Joni wrote the song Carey, which is on her album Blue released in 1971.  She was inspired by the beauty of the rocks of Matala and the song has the lyrics "The night is a starry dome...beneath the Matala Moon". Unfortunately for the Hippies, the Greek government shut the Cave Dwelling Hippie Community down in Matala because they did not want the Greek youth corrupted by the Hippie movement. 

Joni's famous song lyrics.

Beach of Matala Crete.

We decided to find a restaurant at Matala Beach and have dinner.  We had an excellent meal of Sole fish and homemade french fries and a tiny salad and it was €10 and the wine was 3 and it was all really good. It was a nice end to the last day in Crete. We had an hour and a half drive back to Heraklion and then we had a plan  to go to the local bakery and buy Baklava.

Cats are ever present when you are eating.

Great views of the Caves while enjoying dinner.

The Caves as the night comes.