Who has not heard about this mountainous island, tracks of which can be found in the old legends and hundreds of up-to-date words? Stretching from the West to the East for over 260 kilometers, surrounded by three seas this Island is famous with its sun, sea, mountains, vineyards and olive groves. Every year I am trying to visit this hospitable land but last year I found myself in South Africa which was wonderful as well but thoughts and recollections constantly turned to Crete I was really missing it and this year, having even not packed enough things, I darted off. Crete I came to you! Everything around is so much familiar and homelike. People are smiling and, what is really nice, still remember me recognize me in the restaurants and taverns, in the shops and in streets, they stop me to ask me about my parents and work, about my friends and my city. They really remember me! Little has changed here during these 2 years. Cats are still roaming about the beaches, birds are singing in the morning and the owl is hooting in the nights. The sky is blue in the midday and dark with stars in the nights mountains that make me crazy � I really love Crete. Probably a specific atmosphere- heat and sea air - in Crete turns all thoughts to another direction, the romantic mood is flying in the air, filling everything around with love and flirt incentive. Crete and Greece in general are the best places for shopping and souvenir purchasing I have ever visited. There is everything one might wish and it is terribly cheap. A towel with the picture of the island cost me, for instance, 4 euros, leather sandals - only 8 euros. Beside this, heaps of ceramics, clothes, footwear, suitcases and trunks and many-many other things that can be brought from this trip as a souvenir-present-surprise. Ladies on the beaches leave much be desired - To my astonishment ladies are getting naked paying no attention to the cellulite and fat depots on their bodies. Some of them even decide to perform demonstrative jumps into the swimming pool raising tsunami like waves in the pool. I was making my travel notes near the swimming pool when a lady made such submergence. I was nearly washed away with my papers, certainly some notes suffered from this Pythagorean law. For what do we come to another country during our holidays? I was completely disappointed by the Palace of Knossos. I managed to watch everything in it within an hour. Probably it was once a giant and tremendous building, but now, hiding under the earth it is simply a small group of ruins and remnants of the former glory. For me it is a tradition to jump up early in the morning and to run taking photographs of the sunrise above the sea, to catch the moment when the space above the horizon is growing lighter, the sky turns to red and very-very slowly the sun edge appears and rises higher and higher. Bright red! And with the feeling of a done duty I return to my bed to sleep. It is my third day in Crete and other 11 days are forthcoming days full of pleasure, tender sea and pleasant people? See you again when I get back to this blog with my notes on my trips to Heraclion and Hersonissos. (0)