Around Zaros

On a short drive from Zaos, we visited the Moni Vrondisi monastery gr16 092811541 j Century-old plane trees guard the monastery entrance. gr16 092811370 s That is one old tree. gr16 092811380 s The monastery Moni Vrondisi has a lovely 15th-century Venetian fountain. gr16 092811370 j
Detail of the 15th-century Venetian fountain. gr16 092811402 j Inside the monastery courtyard, we were greeted by a very friendlyand very tiny kitty. gr16 092811460 j The church in the monastery courtyard gr16 092811470 j That was one friendly cat, who just wouldn't leave us alone. gr16 092811501 j x
The bell tower gr16 092811510 j We got lost looking for another monastery, but being lost in such smashing scenery is quite a pleasure. gr16 092812110 s What a landscape! Siv The mountain looming in the background reminds Siv os surrealist painter René Magritte. gr16 092812151 s In Zaros village, we visited the shop of this weaver -- and of course purchased a souvenir. gr16 092812360 j
Lake Votomos is in fact a small reservoir just outside Zaros. gr16 092813570 s The only beach we visited on Crete was this one at Matala. It was used as a port by the Romans. Unfortunately, it is very crowded and very touristic. But the beach is nice. gr16 092912030 j The beach is lovely and the weather was good, so it was quite crowded. gr16 092912031 j The caves in the cliffs above the beach were originally Roman tombs, but were later occupied by hippies, so are now locked up at night. gr16 092912032 j
Lots of people on this very pretty beach. gr16 092912060 j We just stopped and took a quick look at the ruins at Agia Triada, near Phaestos. gr16 092914210 j Agia Triada was destroyed by fire around 1400 BCE. It was a much smaller palace than those of Phaestos or Knossos. gr16 092914211 j Staircases and ruins are quite lovely under the trees at Agia Triada. In the Heraklion museum are many art objects which were found here. gr16 092914212 j
We were amazed at the number of greenhouses covering the ground on the southern shore. Only a few are visible in this photo. gr16 092914260 s Don't know just what this is, but there is a gate and a very fierce-looking do-not-enter-under-risk-of-great-bodily-harm sign at the fence. gr16 092914301 j The small fortified 16th-century church of the Aghios Georgios monastery stands right at a bend in the highway. gr16 092914360 j Driving from Zaros back to Heraklion, we filled up the car tank at a gas station in a small town with a small church up on top of a huge rock. gr16 093014050 j