Day 4 was a day in the countryside. We started off at the Arkadi Monastery. This Monastery was a key point in the uprising against the Turks in the 1800’s. Today it is mostly rebuilt and a very easy place to visit.

Next we headed to the Melidoni Cave, site of a massacre during the Turkish occupation.

A good portion of the afternoon was spent at the most traditional meal we have had to date. It lasted two and a half hours and was the best meal we have had so far. Head to Mina’s Taverna if you ever get the chance!

The meal started off with an appetizer of homemade feta cheese, olive oil and bread. This was accompanied by a bottle of homemade Raki and a homemade orange liquor. Our host cheered our meal by sharing a shot and every subsequent entry delivery. I don’t think I can stress enough how much we enjoyed this meal and the hospitality. It was like nothing we have ever experienced outside of someone’s home.

Our host could not have been more gracious. Her husband even dropped off some freshly picked oranges and had yet another shot with us. For those of you who know me, no I did not drink anything.

After the very lengthy lunch we zigzagged through the hills of Crete to find a traditional windmill. But we did see some of the downside to living is such an arid region.

On our way back to our lodging we did run into a bit of traffic.

The drive back often felt like the road was folding back on itself as it wrapped its way around the hillsides. Going west one mile often took several miles of driving north to south around very steep valleys.

In the evening, we decided to change it up a bit and had Indian for our final meal in Crete.

I’m pretty sure at least one cat passed by but I missed it.

Crete has been very welcoming and incredibly warm, they’ve been going through a heat wave. We would have loved to explore more but we are on our way to the mainland tomorrow.