Off for the Matala Hippie Festival we decided to take the longer route, through the Amari valley, to travel there and the shorter route, Agia Gallini and Spili, to return. After turning off the National highway at Rethymnon we were soon heading south on quiet roads, through peaceful villages, to the musicof John Prine.
Past the Potami dam and reservoir
No crocodiles to watch out for this year!
The scenery was spectacular
Passing through villages we saw many war memorials
This sculpture was particularly memorable
Just across the way from the sculpture was a small performance area with a carving of a Cretan Lyra player
We carried on and turned of to the little village of Amari for a break. Near the entrance to the village we came across the church of St Anna
This church has the oldest dated Byzantine murals on Crete; they were made in 1225, and the donor’s inscription of the church bears the year 1196. This was originally a larger church as the ruins of another aisle can still be seen.
We stopped for a coffee in the tiny village square.
The imposing tower of the church of St Titos
It was, or course, necessary to check the quality of the local Tsigoudia ( raki)
We eventually reached the little seaside village of Kalamaki, a few kilometers from Matala where we were going to stay, checked in at our hotel and had a rest and a meal of salad and baby kalamares before heading off to the main
event.
John Prine, "Ain't hurting nobody"
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