The last organized trip is the one "to the middle" of the island, which is south of Hersonissos and our hotel.
Once again we admired the skills of our coach driver on a very winding road leading to an altitude of approx. 840 m above sea level.
The guide recommended closing the eyes of those who are afraid of heights, which is said to be done by the driver each time.
The goal is to see a plateau which, with its fertility, has perpetuated the opinion of Crete as Rome's granary since antiquity.
Before reaching the plateau, we visit a monastery run by three nuns. The monastery has its merits in resisting the invasions of the Ottoman Turks.
Lassithi Plateau
“Picturesque karst plateau situated 840 m above sea level in the Dikti Mountains.
Lassithi is a flat area of 5 x 8 km, covered with fields. Cereals, potatoes and also fruit trees grow here. You can see windmills with white sails all over the plateau as the fields are irrigated by wind pumps. Currently, windmills are being replaced by electric pumps. Intensive rainfall in these areas could cause flooding. Preventive Romans built a system of canals that allowed for regular irrigation of the plateau. The current canal network comes from the Venetian rule."
A few more kilometers winding up the serpentine and we are in the parking lot, from where we walk sharply uphill for about 20 minutes, you can look into the Dikte cave.
Dikte Cave
“Dikte Cave is located on the Lassithi Plateau. Steep stairs lead to the cave. The cave itself is vertical. On one side, the stones are covered with moss. There are various dripstone forms deep inside the cave. The cave is poorly lit and makes a much more modest impression than, for example, a Bear Cave (in Poland).
One of the myths says that Rhea, wife of King Kronos, was to give birth to Zeus in it."
And so we made our "mythical" circle: we started with Zeus and this is where we end our tour of Crete, where the epochs pass one after another, and the Cretans are still bravely going on.
(There will be one more mythical theme).
Watching the Cretan villages, I have an overwhelming impression that despite Greece's presence in the EU since 1981, the standard of living of its inhabitants is not comparable to that in other EU countries.
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