Crete from Chania to Heraklion by Coach 7 Oct

A snapshot of Crete history which is pretty amazing:
Prehistoric Period - 6000 BC to 2600 BC - a great female deity was worshipped. the Mother Goddess. She remained the main figure through the Minoan Period. Protectress of fertility and nature.
Minoan Period - 2600 BC to 1100 BC. Considered the first civilized Europeans
Subminoan/Archaic period - the Dorians occupied Crete - 1100 BC to 500 BC
Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Periods - 500 BC to 330 AD
Byzantine Period - 330 to 1204 AD
Venetian Dominance - 1204 to 1669 - the Venetians purchased Crete from a Crusader and then ruled for centuries.
Heraklion fell to the Turks in 1669.
Turkish Domination - 1669 to 1898
Autonomous Cretan Republic - 1898 to 1913
1913 onwards - part of Greece
1941 - 1945 - Nazi Occupation (heavy resistance by civilian Cretans throughout the occupation).
On Oct 7 we take a bus from Chania to Heraklion (Hercules) - may be Europe's oldest city!
It was cooler this morning - 21 degrees C. The high today will be 27. Right now in the shade of our patio I am wearing a light cardigan.
We can easily walk to the bus station. 16 E each. I buy a sandwich to eat on the bus - oh oh no food on the bus, drat. It took us 40 minutes to figure out the AC & you twist the metal ring around the air vent. We stop periodically to pick up or drop off passengers by the side of the road. The lady at the bus station had told us that wasn't done. Anyway it took two hours and forty minutes, the scenery along the way was breathtaking, the very blue sea, mountains, dramatic coastline, beaches, hillside homes. The coach was very clean and modern and had a non-operational toilet (WC) - the bus had to make an unscheduled stop to let one lady use a bathroom. Which was weird as none of the rest of us were allowed off the bus for the duration and for a time there were two attendants on board whose main job appeared to be collecting the fare from people we picked up on the side of the road.

We had hoped to be let off closer to our seaside apartment but ended up at the main bus station, a long ways away. The idea of taking a taxi now or local transit seemed daunting but there was a hop on and off desk right there and for 20 E each we got tickets. We could take it to within walking distance to our apartment and then ride it out to Knossos tomorrow. Plus the lovely lady - she really was, and restored my faith after those grumpy bus attendants - assured us we could take it back to the station the day after tomorrow. If that works it will be good - even though it seems like a really lame tour from what we saw and heard between stops 1 and 6. Tip - not the most interesting Hop on Bus in Europe!
We waited for the bus for a good 20 minutes, the stop was beside a gypsy encampment next to a parking lot. Not an auspicious location, on a very dreary street with a run down litter strewn shelter. We stood near the road and Jeff almost got run over by a bus.
They were sitting around on lawn chairs visiting and very quickly four little tattered kids came over, they were pretty scruffy but cute and held out their hands very persistent, their mother watching nearby. I talked to the kids a bit, shook my head and eventually did the slashing hand signal that they seem to understand - and they scattered off. No use encouraging them, it's a way of life for them but a nuisance. How did they end up here????
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, all over Europe, gypsy children begging while their mothers watch nearby.
We got ear phones on the bus and the commentary would boil down to fewer than six sentences in the half hour we were on board - the rest was Greek folk music.
But we did see the Venetian Fortress and the 13 century church below.

Venetian fortress in the old harbour of Heraklion in Crete, Greece.

The church of St Peter and Saint Paul was a Catholic church built in the 13 the century, turned into a mosque under Turkish rule and has recently been restored

As we walked from stop 6 to our apartment another gypsy kid about 6 approached us - I just did the hand slash and he scampered away.
Our apartment is really clean and has a kitchen and washing machine. I did a load of wash and hung it outside to dry. The machine could have a drying function but we couldn't figure it out - all Greek. There is bottled water in the fridge. lots of clean towels, cookies and candies. A double bed and a single bed. Quiet. No air conditioning but there is a fan and we are comfortable. Nice sitting area outside and beach is close but Jeff not feeling good yet.

I prefer staying in the old town such as we did in Chania but this is a nice apartment for two nights.
This is our fifth European country in the past 15 days. We have used three currencies and it's a relief to be sticking with the Euro for a period of time. (Kroner, pound, Euro). One Euro is worth about 1.5 Canadian, our dollar is weak.