Our ship docked in Agios Nikolaos, Crete by 8 this morning. We rented a car and took off to explore the sites. Some sites were closed, as today is Monday. Papa and I didn't let that stop us! We followed the fence around Gournia until we found a break. We explored Gournia, the site of an ancient Minoan complex, that sits on a hill overlooking the sea. Our next stop was at the Minoan ruins at Vasiliki. This time we went under the fence.
The Minoans civilization developed and ruled the island of Crete from about 3600 to 1400 BC. As their civilization grew, they built great palaces, which they are known for today. We explored the site of one of those great palaces, Malia, located by the sea. Malia continues to be excavated. Malia covers a large area and much of the ruins are covered by earth and large bushes, with lines of stones visible, so that we could imagine some of the structures underneath.
We drove through miles of olive groves. Once we got back to Agios, we visited a couple
of small shops and bought salad tongs made of beautifully veined olive wood.
We had a good day and enjoyed our visit to Crete.
