Saturday,
July 20, 2013—Myrtos, Crete, Greece
Feeling considerably
better, to the point where I'm getting a bit bored: I'm forcing myself to lay
low because I know I'm not full speed but I'm close enough that doing little
has become a job. I did manage to make it to a new destination at least. I'm
now in Myrtos on the southeast shore of the island. This place is almost
exactly what I expected it to be. But more on that later. I want to say a bit
about the bus ride down here first …
It took a route that sliced thru nearly the center of the
Lasithi province (which geographically amounts
to roughly the eastern fourth of the island. The richness of the valleys and
foothills I saw on Crete's eastern coast increased dramatically as we veered
inland and south; I realized that I was seeing the edge of this part of the
island's very productive agricultural
zone. The olive trees were everywhere of course, as were all sorts of vegetable
plots, plus some vineyards and other kinds of orchards; things were greener
here that on any other part of the island I've been to, including the center of
the Iraklio province, which was extremely productive, impressively so.
A we came out on the southern side of the mountains
things became a bit less fertile, though there was still much more green than
I've seen anywhere else on this island's southern shore. Soon, though, as were
neared the city of Ierapetra, the greenhouses this area is famous for began
appearing. One of the reason this city and the areas around it have such a bad
rep is that these contraptions, frames covered exclusively it seems with
stretched white plastic of some sort, as seen as being a major eyesore. I've
seen these things in other parts of Crete but in nothing approaching the number
they have around here. In small numbers they didn't bother me; I hardly noticed
them, actually. Seeing them practically coating the coast here, though, I
quickly came to the conclusion I agreed with their detractors: these things are
pretty damn ugly. Still, the produce is almost uniformly good here and a lot of
it is grown in these tents. Seeing that I've eaten and enjoyed my fair share of
it I don't feel I have too much right to complain. That doesn't mean that I
have to like looking at the things, though.
Nor does it mean that I have to keep entirely quiet on the subject …
Ierapetra itself also has a pretty bad rep: the tour
guides pan it en masse and I've never heard any traveler have a good thing to
say about it—for most of them it was a place you had to get thru to get to
somewhere more interesting. After the bus came out of the hills we hugged the
coast for a while to the east of the city (this area was surprisingly touristy
and built up, like a mini, far less intense version of the coastal tourist
strips in the north). Finally we came around and down a bend and could see
Ierapetra. After being on little island and Crete's relatively empty east coast
it seemed shockingly large. Lonely Planet calls it a dusty agricultural hub, or something to that effect. Later, as the
next bus I took moved thru it to its western outskirts where the number of
greenhouses increased exponentially, I could see where this description comes
from (my guess is that this become even more pronounced on its inland fringe,
which I did not see). What I wasn't ready for was the ritzy, trendy, and
frankly lame-ass fashion tourist atmosphere I also would encounter.
I had to wait about two hours before the next bus left
there to Myrtos, so I decided to wander the town a bit and track down something
to eat. I couldn't really get too far, both because I had to stay relatively
close to the bus station and because I had my full pack with me and I didn't
really want to lug it around town (I was still feeling slightly feverish from
the illness of a couple days past). I quickly found myself on a waterfront that
was lined with trendy cafes that really could have been anywhere in Europe.
Backing these were the same silly tourist shops one can find pretty much
everywhere. The place was completely characterless: it reminded me of certain
sections of Iraklio, which has got to be one of the ugliest cities in the
entire Aegean. I was starving so I picked a café (they all looked pretty much
the same, so based my choice mostly on which one seemed to have the cutest
servers working there). After eating a boring club sandwich I walked around
some more and, yep, everywhere I went reminded me of a lower-key Iraklio. I got
so annoyed that I went back to the bus station a half hour earlier than planned
and waited things out there …
Myrtos is far more pleasant. As I said, it looks pretty
much exactly as I thought it would. It's a semi out-of-the way little beach
village, moderately touristy, but with a bit of a Greek feel to it still. It
reminds me of a bigger version of Lendas, the little beach enclave on the south
shore of the Iraklio province where I more or less ended my trip last time thru.
Houses climbing up fairly steep hills. A small flat coastal strip. Restaurants,
shops, but real places too, like an actual Greek bakery and some shops where
everything seems written in Greek only. A decent beach, not very crowded
because this place it a touch off the beaten path. Little to do in town do besides
swim and eat and decided when and where you next want to swim and eat. It looks
like it will be a nice low-key place to wind away a couple of days, to finish
healing from my illness. As of right now my impression of the place is that
I've been to similar little beach towns I like a bit better (such as the
aforementioned Lendas). Still, I do like this place a lot—it's got a really
good vibe and is definitely pretty (it's also on a beautiful stretch of coast,
now that most of the greenhouses have been left behind). I'm glad I've come
here …
I didn't get into town until about one this afternoon. By
the time I got a place (a nice room with a kitchen nearly on top of one of the
hills that backs the town—I have a fantastic view—for fifteen euros a night
less than I was paying for basically the same thing in Kato Zagros) and
explored the town a bit all I was really up for was a little beach time.
There's a Minoan site I want to see here that's back up in the hills a ways and
another hike thru this cool looking gorge I want to do, so that will be my day
tomorrow (plus a little more beach time). And then I'll be off the next
morning.
Suddenly
feeling a little tired. Thinks I'll call it a night on this writing.
Myrtos from above
Myrtos from my Balcony
Myrtos waterfront
Beach at Myrtos
Greenhouses on the shore
The steps up to where I was staying
Minoan site above Mytros
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