By John Freedman
June 4, 2021
I try not to let others speak for me too often. But there are times when that is the best way to cut right to what you have in mind or heart. For example, take a look through these photos taken all over Crete - from east to west, north to south, mountains to seashore - then let a little Bruce Springsteen slip into the mix: "And the poets down here / they don't write nothing at all / They just stand back and let it all be!" It's not what Bruce had in mind, but it's surely what I have in mind when I take myself out to encounter the land I have made my home. My relatives are sick of hearing me say it: "Crete has everything. It has all climates, all kinds of nature. But it's in miniature. Someplace else you might have to drive an hour or two or three to get from the forest to the valley field, to travel from the mountains to the beach, or even longer to pass from barren desert to lush foliage. On Crete you pass through entirely different ecosystems every 10 or 15 minutes." Crete, the largest Greek island, the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea, and the 88th in the world, is a self-contained cosmos in a limited space. It covers an area of 8,336 square kilometers (3,329 square miles), running approximately 260 kilometers (160 miles) from furthest west to furthest east. It is a narrow island with the smallest distance from north to south being just 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), and the largest north-south distance being 60 kilometers (37 miles). The coastline surrounding the island covers 1,046 kilometers (650 miles). A lot of the terrain is rugged and mountainous, so it will seem like there is much more of it when you're trying to traverse it. You spend as much time heading backwards as you do going forward on the twisty, winding, rolling mountain roads. The island looks endless when you stand high on top of an outcropping looking out over a gorge. The inviting, ever-present roadside tavernas and the infinite stunning vista points drag the journey out even more because you'll find yourself wanting to stop for a bite to eat, or to photograph what you're seeing every 15 to 30 seconds. Getting out on the roads of Crete is a dense, intense experience. Life seems to thicken and grow more pungent. Time slows down, and, in those lucky moments that may visit you at any time unexpected, it will just plain stop. Take a few deep breaths when that happens. Don't miss the experience. Those are minutes and seconds you will never forget. Today's collection of photos was inspired by Nikos Kazantzakis and his novel, Zorba the Greek. When I read a passage this morning from an early section in the novel, I began seeing my own photos in my mind's eye. Soon enough, I had to drop the book and come to the computer to share my version of what Kazantzakis wrote. You see what I had in mind above and below. Here is what Kazantzakis wrote: "To my mind, this Cretan countryside resembled good prose, carefully ordered, sober, free from superfluous ornament, powerful and restrained... But between the severe lines one could discern an unexpected sensitiveness and tenderness; in the sheltered hollows the lemon and orange trees perfumed the air, and from the vastness of the sea emanated an inexhaustible poetry."
All texts and photos in this post are © copyright 2021 by John Freedman. All rights reserved. Should you wish to use some text or photo/s, please ask - it will most surely be possible.
I want to come and visit you and your beloved home:)