Crete 2008

Being a contributing photographer to the Blue Guides, these days I find myself going to all kinds of interesting places that I probably would never have seen if I hadn’t been sent a list of photos for a forthcoming book. It had never occurred to me to visit Crete.

On arrival I was in for a few surprises. Despite the temperature being up in the 30s (or 80s if you prefer) the online deal I had booked apparently did not include air conditioning - which cost €5 a day extra. The instructions for the air-con were written in Polish and, with the exception of a few Brits and a French couple, everyone else in the hotel seemed to be Czech. On my first evening there, the phone in my room rang and I found a Czech woman on the line - my time in Prague had taught me just enough to tell her I was English and she had a wrong number but I went to bed at midnight feeling strangely jetlagged, despite the lack of time difference from Gatwick. But there was a balcony, a decent pool and, most importantly, a bus stop right in front of the hotel.

The people in the Blue Guide office seem to delight in sending me photo lists of dark flaking frescos in obscure medieval churches in the middle of nowhere, that are always closed and unreachable by public transport - but I like a challenge. The buses on Crete are extremely good - frequent, reliable and wonderfully air-conditioned (at no extra charge) so a couple of hours in a comfy seat with a good book and some quite spectacular scenery came as a pleasant change from lugging my camera bag round Heraklion in the midday sun.

My first trip was to Knossos, the most famous, and popular, site on Crete. I recommend going there independently on a local bus, as early as possible in the morning, before the tourist buses arrive. I think I turned up at the tail end of a coach party, and was cheerfully greeted at the gate - in Polish. ‘Dzien dobry’ I replied, rather than complicate things.Knossos is spectacular, if controversial. There has been a great deal of  ’restoration’ at the site, using a considerable amount of reconstruction, not to mention concrete - with a result often criticised by modern archaeologists. But it has to be seen. Go straight to the Throne Room on your arrival - it is the one place inside that you have to queue for, and the queue will just get longer by the minute.

Despite the fame and popularity of Knossos, I found I preferred the hilltop Minoan site of Phaestos.There’s nowhere near as much to see in the way of Minoan remains but it is worth the trip south just for the view. An added attraction for me as an insect photographer was the abundance of swallowtail butterflies - including what we call the ‘Scarce’ Swallowtail, though here the name really doesn‘t apply. I noticed one that kept returning to a particular tree - resting on a low branch between frequent patrol flights. I positioned myself within range, perfectly still, and waited for it to settle again. After checking me out and apparently deciding I presented no threat to its territory, it did settle - on my head.  Twice. Very entertaining for the onlookers but a little frustrating for the photographer. 

Rethymno, Hania and Agios Nikolaos were other day trips offering plenty of time for air-conditiond book-reading - all coastal towns with direct bus routes from the capital and each with plenty to see and photograph.

Ierapetra, the most southerly town in Europe and a three hour bus ride from the capital, was another place to be visited - a larnax, or painted clay coffin, in the small museum was high on the picture list. After a long, cool, very scenic ride through the interior I arrived with one hour to spare before the museum closed. Ten minutes later I was at the entrance ready to buy my ticket. I decided to check with the lonely-looking woman sitting at the desk that photography was allowed, as it had been in every other museum I had visited. “NO!” she replied with unexpected venom. Not even without flash? “NO! Nothing! One hour ago I call police because tourist taking photos. Nothing! No.” I left, without paying to go in, before she called the police again. At least I had a couple of hours to wander around the town photographing some churches and dead octopus.

Catching 43 buses in 10 days may not sound much like fun, but the inland mountain scenery, the sea views, the variety of towns and villages within a couple of hours of Heraklion make the travelling well worth it and I do get bored after about 40 minutes of lying by a pool. I got into quite a routine before too long - breakfast; bus to central Heraklion; intercity bus elsewhere; lunch; photography; bus back, and return to the hotel that put the ‘con’ into air-con for a quick swim before supper.

Crete is not one of those Greek Islands of spotless whitewashed houses with bright blue flowerpots on every step as seen in all the calendars - but for those interested in history, architecture, archaeology and spectacular scenery, it has plenty other things to offer.