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  Heraklion, Greece
Thursday, September 13, 2007

Arrived by bus in Heraklion after 1 hour or so coming from Rethymnon.  This the capital city and feels pretty urban, dirty, and really not much to do and nothing very beautiful to see. I checked into a dorm room at Hellas Rooms near the center of town. I had read really bad reviews about the youth hostel so I didn't even bother to try it.  This place is 4 levels with a rooftop bar/restaurant (more cheap wine woo hooo). My room is on the first floor so I don't have to hike up all those stairs!  When I got to the room there was only 1 other girl in there and she says hey I know you.. and i have no idea who she is, but then remember she was on the bed above mine at the last hostel and we talked briefly.  Funny how you run into the same people when traveling.  She's somewhat of an archaeologist, she has her bachelors in it, so I don't know if you could call her that, it would be like calling me an Anthropologist just because I have a degree in it... but she is over in this area of the world and has been working on excavations

Knossos, once a priests house

.  We discussed our educations and archeology and what not, and I got the feeling she was trying to show me up, of course she knows more about it than i do, I didn't really study archeology in depth and I graduated 4 years ago and can't remember it all perfectly like she seems to have done!  We got along ok and had Greek salads and wine and talked for a couple hours about our views on religion and strong opinions regarding it.  Her beliefs or like thereof such as mine, are interesting because her father is a priest or something, for the Catholic church.  No doubt they have some very heated debates around their dinner table!!  I really enjoyed speaking with her, it's nice to talk to someone with a similar education so the person actually understands what I'm talking about. 
She was going to bed early but it was barely 9, so I set out to find a cool place to chill at.  Walked around and around, and the only big gatherings of people were politicians giving speeches, the elections are next week. Everyone is required to return to their home cities to vote. 
I was about to give up when I passed a group of girls and decided to ask them if they new of a good place to go.  They said just come along with us!  They were a group of Greek girls, all teachers. It wasn't difficult to remember anyone's name because 4 out of 5 were Maria.  We sat at one of the dozens of outdoor cafes buzzing with people

Knosos, religous ceremonies performed here

. It's part of Greek life to go out for a few hours and sit and talk, drink.. eat..  I how people live their lives here. You go to work in the morning around 8 or so, then there's a midday break from maybe 3-5, then back to work, till 12.. I don't know I'm just guessing but I love how everything is open so late. People eat dinner very late and stay out late, so I guess that's why you need that little break in the day to take a nap cuz your so tired from the night before!
Anyway I had a very nice time chatting with the girls and they were happy to practice their English with me.  It was very interesting to learn about the situations for teachers and the politics. They make such a poor salary, not quite 1000 Euro per month, but they say they try to do something about it, such as a strike they went on for 2 months which resulted in a increase of 17 Euro per month!! The government says there is no money for more school funding.  And we thought our teachers are underpaid, this is just ridiculous, I don't know how they get by, they must really love their jobs. 
This morning I went to Knossos to see the ruins of the palace.  They are thousands of years old, and excavated by Sir Arthur Evans for 30 years beginning in 1900.  His work is controversial and he did some restoring according to his own interpretations of what might have been what, or how it might have looked.  This site was home to the Minoan civilization, the oldest civilization in Europe, they lived during the same time period as the Egyptians so they were influenced accordingly and have many similarities

Jars once filled with honey

. 
This palace is where the legend of King Minos originates from.  The king and the labyrinth with the minotaur.. if anyone knows that Greek mythology story.. I really couldn't tell it all properly.  I paid 10 euro extra to do a guided tour so as to be sure to learn something from this site!! It was much much more interesting with a guide so I actually knew what I was looking at and was more able to picture what it once must have looked like.  This place is thousands of years old, but they had plumbing with running water, air circulation system and adequate lighting even to the bottom floors.  There were no artifacts or original fresco's here, they are all in the archeology museum.  I couldn't quite bring myself to go to another museum today!  I visited the Historical Museum yesterday and found 2 sections interesting.  One of them went through Crete's involvement in WWII and this section included a letter to the Prime Minister from President Roosevelt! It was so cool to see his actual signature!  I also enjoyed the section that displayed information on traditional village ways of life, clothing, wedding/baptism ceremony, etc. 
So that's what I've done so far! Off to Santorini tomorrow morning!

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My room in the hostel in Heraklion

Maria, Helena, Me, Maria, Maria, Maria!

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