Crete - Rethymno, up the hill

 I have more Carnival photos and will continue to post them but I wanted to break it up, so today's post it is about what I did today (rather then the Carnival which was 2 days ago). Yesterday my legs hurt from standing for so long so I stayed home.

It was Clean Monday, or Green Monday, the beginning of Lent for the Orthodox Greek Church.

Clean Monday also puts an end to the riotous Carnival celebrations that preceded it, inviting all Orthodox Christians to leave behind the sinful attitudes associated with Carnival festivities — and non-fasting foods, which were largely consumed during the three weeks of the Carnival.

As a result, the feast, which is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting foods, as well as the widespread custom of building and flying kites. from Greekreporter.com

It was very windy and I suspect if I had walked to the beach I would have seen families out flying kites but I just took a couple of pictures of the ones I could see from the terrace.

Carnival was exhausting.

It was really windy again today but quite warm, even though it was a north wind. I looked on Google Maps and saw that a road was marked that went from above me, on the hill, across the south side of the town.

The buildings in this area go up the hill, south, for a couple of blocks and then there is just scrub land with occasional houses.

Lots of wild flowers

in evidence and

vestiges of wild Iris. I probably missed them by about a week.

A bit less snow on the mountains.

Where I am staying is all low rise apartment buildings (3 or 4 stories high) with little or no yards. Up here the houses all have property and some have vegetable gardens, fruit trees, vines and chickens. All have dogs.

I followed the road up

until it turned into a track. I am not one to turn back at a track (ask anyone who has driven with me)

and then a path

which led on to the highway. I had no interest in walking on that, so turned back. Still looking for that road from Google Maps.

Nice views from up here.

This was the only "road" that went in the right direction. Maybe Google and I have the same definition of "road".

Hives

Sheep

Down into a little valley and up the other side.

through a gap in a fence and I was headed back to civilization. The town is way more built up on the beach side.

Mimosa.

Right on the top of a hill, directly south of the Fortezza, a new looking church and what looked like it might be a school.

Those ropes to the bells are always soooo tempting.

Heading back down towards the town now, on narrow rough streets, passageways and steep stairs. This was another little chapel but the door in the wall was locked. A little place to light a candle was provided though.

Another church.

and just a bit further down, another one,

which looked like it might be partly in a cave.

Still quite high.

Zig zagging down narrow streets and stairs

until I could see the big church opposite the bus station, beside the big grocery store.

With no car now, I tend to pick something up at the grocery store every time I am near it, so I don't have to do a big shop. I have less that 2 weeks remaining here so I will have to carefully consider the grocery shopping from now on.

I have been buying whatever red wine is on sale as long as it says it is "dry" (they tend towards sweet reds here). This one was about $6 and very nice.