Since leaving Egypt we have been busy discovering new places.. flying to Crete, Greece the arrival flight took us over the mountain range all covered in snow, green terraced olive, citrus and grape lands spanning down to the bluest sea waters. We spent 3 weeks driving throughout the Island, visiting the beaches, it was off season however Amir did take a very cold swim in the crystal clear water in a beautiful bay with the locals for whom this is a daily ritual. We witnessed a rare fresh snow that covered the mountains from a quick cold snap that passed through most of the Greek Islands. One very wild afternoon saw the winds turn into a near hurricane and we were very concerned for the Jet sitting on the airport apron right on the sea coast, with the airport operations not allowing any personnel to enter the apron unless preparing for a flight. We drove to the airport fence and noticed the Jet had moved in the wind. It was unacceptable that we were unable to rectify the situation so we contacted the FBO who had been checking on the aircraft and had also been trying to call us. To get to the aircraft it was needed to go through security clearance and limited permits issued, all this bureaucracy in the middle of a full on snow/ ice storm was crazy but finally Amir was cleared to attend to the aircraft and able to turn it into the wind - having lost its engine plugs and broken its wing tie downs and wheel chocks. The best that could be done in this icy storm was hope for the storm to pass soon. By the morning it was all back to blue skies! Heraklion the new capital and Chania was the old port and original old city dating back to 1500s’ a lot of fun, being the only tourists in both places we were able to enjoy with all the locals, eating takeout on the streets and talking to many Cretan people it is clear they are very different from the rest of Greece. Crete during WWll was of strategic importance and many battles were fought against the Germans we visited the war memorial on the Bay of Souda, walking along the memorial grave stones of many ANZACs British and 1 Israeli.
Crete had a really “good” feel about it and we would definitely go back again and again.
