The Greek economy is as bad as you hear but the island of Crete seems less affected…well that’s what the locals tell us. True, it’s not as busy this August as in the past, with seemingly less visitors. But tourism seems OK and not on life support. Interestingly, no one wants to take credit cards. There are discounts for cash, especially at some hotels. I guess it means they don’t declare all their income. Funny that. We bought towels in Chora Skafion on the south coast. The cost was 16 Euros but it was rung through the till at 10 cents and no receipt. AND there lies the problem…

It’s been 32c every day and after a week I have yet to spot a single cloud. Strangely though it feels more like 40c much of the time, such is the enveloping heat. Walked the Imbros Gorge yesterday …8km. This is where the 24,000 allied troops, mainly Aussies and Kiwis and of course some English, escaped down out of the Crete mountains in 1941 to escape the German paratroopers.

Have just read Antony Beevor’s excellent book ‘Crete – The Battle and the Resistance‘.  It’s very good and he writes this stuff like a novel. The Allies had the battle won until the usual British cockup, (this time from one General Freyberg and a bunch of other senior ranks), turned the tide and a sure victory became a rout. The NZ Maoris particularly distinguished themselves in several fearless actions.

Two Kiwi’s actually won Victoria Crosses here.

One of them being Clive Hulme – the father of Denny Hulme, 1967 F1 World Champion. The other being Charles Upham who went on to win his second VC in The Western Desert and after being taken prisoner he ended up in Colditz. His biography ‘The Mark of the Lion’ is a memorable read.

Cretan memories are long here and Aussies and Kiwi’s are revered by the locals, who themselves suffered terribly under German occupation. They keep buying me drinks! Actually, an uncle of mine was captured here and spent 3 years as a guest of Adolf in an Austrian POW camp. He later owned a very successful transportation company in NZ, with never a Mercedes in the fleet. Interesting that!

:: d ::