Amazing Crete -Photographs from the magical island of Greece

The soundtrack of Greece.

Every place has particular sounds that it is associated with. On the Greek island of Crete (And all over Greece) it is the sound of the Cicada. These small creatures are found on the bark of trees and make a screeching noise all day. Imagine 1000 000 of these creatures going off at the dame time. Oddly enough,one gets used to the sound and it does not become as irritating as one would have thought in the beginning. These small insects are pretty docile,you can actually walk up to the tree and pick them up without startling them them.

The afternoon heat and the sound of Cicadas will constantly remind you that you are in Greece. It is remarkable how you find yourself really "in Greece" because of these two elements :The heat and the sound of Cicadas.

Foliage

Flora and Fauna on the island. I was taken aback by the variety and striking colors. It was a mixture of the fresh, drying and the decaying plants that gave such a rich feel to the landscape.A continuous cycle of life in different stages right before your eyes. The light there is very good too so you get sharp clear photographs.

There are a lot of undisturbed patches of land that really have a good ecosystem thriving. This reminded me how much we interfere with natural processes.

These majestic mountains are where the gorge is located. Caves are seen clearly from a distance. There is a lovely cafe with in the mountains where you can take a break while on the gorge trail which runs for miles down the mountain.

The cafe exudes the full exotic experience where you can step out of the blazing Greek sun and into the cool shade filled with the delicious smell of Greek salad and coffee.

When we arrived at the Cafe we were greeted by very friendly hosts. As our Greek was limited as much as their English was, we communicated mostly in gestures, pointing and nodding became the order of the day.

Just about 20km from Rythmno is a fantastic gorge where you can walk for miles in between 2 large mountains. During our walk we came across some old mill ruins which had a poetic quality to them. Used in the bygone era, these mills now stand majestically in a natural surrounding, the foliage taking slowly taking over the space as the walls crumble.

The decaying walls look surreal, as if a Salvador Dali painting had suddenly come to life. Brilliant oranges contrast with a million shades of brown as leaves and roots decay around the walls of the mills. It is very strange to walk through an arch that was once a doorway and now stands in the middle of nowhere leading to the open natural planes.

We came across this chest.As if the Pirates of the Caribbean had stopped by and emptied their loot leaving the carrie behind.The chest was in good condition which could suggest recent use.One wonders what it is doing in such a remote area.

I really liked the color scheme used to paint the chest. Judging from the paint, it did not look too old which suggests it might have been recently dumped there.

This chest also added to the magic of being out in the forest and coming across very unexpected objects.

Carry sunscreen, a lot of it. The sun can be extremely brutal there.Mostly, just get ready to relax, when the afternoon heat is at its peak, there is nothing more to do than layback and enjoy it. It is too hot to do anything but swim maybe.

Research thoroughly about the areas you are interested in visiting, every traveller knows this but I just thought I would mention it.

Learn a bit of Greek, it will win you friends quickly, a few words will do, it really broke the ice nicely for me in a lot of new interactions.