Iraklio, or in English Heraklion, is our arrival point into Greece from Italy. It's a short flight from Naples, easy, peasy. We have planned to follow temperatures south during this trip, and the island of Crete is the furthest south we can get within the EU. Upon stepping out of the airport, we are rewarded with a 5-8 degree Celsius warmth increase from Naples. Happy! We take a cab to our next AirBNB apartment, get in no problem, we have everything we need, including the 52 stairs up. Oh well, Marc handles our bags, God bless him. View from our balcony, love the surprise of the mountain ranges surrounding us, some with snow, and the view of the Venetian Wall that encloses the old city.
It's a much quieter city than Naples!, and we spent time on our balcony watching life go by, Greek beer and wine, tea, food. We notice the water and heating systems atop every roof, wondering if it's pumped from the ground. Over the coming weeks we'll figure it out, but yes, solar panels are everywhere!
We head out for our dinner and end up with one of the best souvlakis ever, from a fast food joint on the corner, we pass by a fencing school with teenagers working out, wander for a short while before heading back in for bed. Transitioning countries and historical time periods -we've now moved into BC territory - on this next leg requires a whole mental re-set! We awake refreshed, head out for groceries and then down to the port, a lovely 15 minute walk through quiet, white-washed streets. Iraklio is home to 200,000 people, is the largest city on Crete with a bustling port.
On our way, we come through the main square, a Christmas Market. Talk to a guy who's booth is a 3-D printer, and he'll make you into a plastic figuring in 2 days! We realize it's an opportunity, but we're not here long enough. The second spot is the skating rink! Not ice, but skates.
The first port building we spy thrills us with a depiction of Daedalus and his son Icarus flying, Icarus obviously on his way down. This is the 3-storey image that greets every ship coming into port.
Marc spies this old dog and declares that it might be the sister of The Aphia, his dad's boat, with many a tale attached to it.
Definitely a working harbour.
A long, long stone pier and castle protect the harbour from the sea. A relic from the Venetian era, we are happy to recognize lion and eagle emblems, and some similar design traits to what we've already seen it Italy. It is not in use, seems to be restoration going on, but whether that is current and active, we're not really sure.
Lovely picnic spot for this day!
Our grocery shop is a little more difficult in Iraklion, not as much English on packaging as there was in Italy. Produce is fresh, can't find olives!, and the 13-23% tax on every food item is a bit of a shocker. €66 for 3 days worth of food is our biggest grocery bill to date!
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