We drive thru the city of Kissamos and I spot a Chinese Market store. Have to stop and see what's in there :) Lots of stuff from kitchen items to clothes. I walk out with a 5E umbrella that I am sure will be coming in handy :) And not one of those short foldup jobbies but a full length one with a nice curved wooden handle. Something I can use while walking to LOL!! We continue on to Falasarnia.
We get to the top of the hill looking down at the beach and we see a lot of greenhouses all over the valley. These are all used to grow tomatoes. We've previously seen in other villages greenhouses used for growing bananas. We then go look for the ruins of Falasarnia, but what we find is a fenced off area that is closed. Doesnt look like a lot to see even if we got inside.
This is definitely a beach town because everything is closed! There are a few hotels open but other then that not much. But it is a beautiful big beach and the water is very calm for being out in the open - its not within a bay. We walked to the waters edge and Dwayne said the water was a little cool. Found a great place to park if we had a camper van :) but nothing was open for us to have a coffee :(
This is definitely a beach town because everything is closed! There are a few hotels open but other then that not much. But it is a beautiful big beach and the water is very calm for being out in the open - its not within a bay. We walked to the waters edge and Dwayne said the water was a little cool. Found a great place to park if we had a camper van :) but nothing was open for us to have a coffee :(
 |
| Greenhouses |
 |
| Coastline near the ruins |
 |
| This was a nice spot for camping :) |
 |
| Yup can pretty well pick any spot to put your towel down today! LOL! |
So up the hill we go and instead of going north we followed the road going south. I check map.me and we can get to the ancient Acropolis of Polyrinia.
Once we get to Polyrinia the rain had stopped. We park the car and start walking. This seems to be an old city that has been rebuilt in areas and people are now living in the old homes. Kind of a cute little village built on the side of the mountain. This was a village started back in the 1500's.
As we walk thru the narrow streets we find signs directing us to different sites. The first was the aqueducts. So walked down the stairs and found where water was being held, but nothing looked like an ancient aqueduct?? We go back up and start walking in between nicely rebuilt homes with lovely gardens. We then follow the signs to Ancient Polyrinia ruins. We see homes that had been carved out of the rock - well what was left of them. We walk up the road and come to the church that was built in 1894 with stones from the temple ruins. As we are walking around it starts to drizzle and where is my umbrella?? Yup back in the car :( From what I read later the actual Acropolis of Polyrinna is further up the hill behind the church. We didnt see any signs but then again it was drizzling and there is no way I would have wanted to walk up any further.
We find a path to take us back down to the "newer" village to head back to the car. The path is a little dicey in areas, but me and my Marks Warehouse sandals are getting down! NO slipping or sliding- and that's a good thing ;)
Once we get back to the car we start to head the opposite direction we got here, just to see other sights. The road will eventually take us back to the main highway. We drove thru lots of quiet villages, saw lots of olives being harvested.
We get back home just before dark - another full day of checking out western Crete
As we walk thru the narrow streets we find signs directing us to different sites. The first was the aqueducts. So walked down the stairs and found where water was being held, but nothing looked like an ancient aqueduct?? We go back up and start walking in between nicely rebuilt homes with lovely gardens. We then follow the signs to Ancient Polyrinia ruins. We see homes that had been carved out of the rock - well what was left of them. We walk up the road and come to the church that was built in 1894 with stones from the temple ruins. As we are walking around it starts to drizzle and where is my umbrella?? Yup back in the car :( From what I read later the actual Acropolis of Polyrinna is further up the hill behind the church. We didnt see any signs but then again it was drizzling and there is no way I would have wanted to walk up any further.
 |
| Walking thru the old village |
 |
| Wouldn't say that the foundation of this house is really stable looking anymore! |
 |
| Remains of an old house |
 |
| Starting going up this path but nothing there "but them chickens" :) |
 |
| Interesting construction |
 |
| Looks like bamboo used in the roofing |
 |
| This is one of the pretty gardens |
 |
| Really cool looking rocks |
 |
| Another cute courtyard |
 |
| On our walk up the the ruins - seems to have been used for water storage |
 |
| We see this quite often but I cant find what it is used for |
 |
| Garden is now planted where a house use to stand |
 |
| Can see all the way to the Bay of Kissamos |
 |
| Home built into the rock |
 |
| Sign states - Excavation of Hellenistic house - which is period from 325BC- 31BC |
 |
| Church built in 1894 with some of the rock from the Polyrinnia temple ruins |
 |
| There is alot of marble here |
We find a path to take us back down to the "newer" village to head back to the car. The path is a little dicey in areas, but me and my Marks Warehouse sandals are getting down! NO slipping or sliding- and that's a good thing ;)
 |
| Hard to tell how big this squash it but its BIG! Probably 3 ft long |
 |
| Love this! Some of the white flowers have pink tips - Beautiful! |
 |
| Back in the "newer" village with Venetian arches |
 |
| The back road we take back to the house gets a bit narrow in spots |
 |
| showing a portion of our drive from Polyrrinia (many different spellings for this place!) |
Lovin' it!
ReplyDeleteWe found there were marble quarries everywhere. Matter of fact they would use chunks of marble to hold up stop signs so they wouldn't blow over in the wind. Big enough to a marble countertop in your bathroom. LOL