We awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the Mediterranean as we approached the island of Crete. Looking through our guide books before our trip to Greece, we thought that we’d go to the Palace of Knossos. When we got to the port, we thought that we could walk, but after asking a few people, we decided against it. Should we have gotten lost on the way, it might have been difficult to communicate and get back to the port on time for our departure to Santorini.
So, we disembarked from the ship….and at the port, there were a number of taxis swarming the area for unsuspecting visitors like us. The taxi drivers told us that to go to the Palace of Knossos, there would be no way to get back if we didn’t hire them for a few hours. They went on to say that most taxis at the Palace of Knossos have been hired for the day and they wouldn’t be available, then, to hire them from that point back to the port. Hmmm. We asked, then, for a price quote, and depending on who you asked, the range was from $80 – $100 US dollars. Our initial reaction was ‘RIP OFF”. How is it that there’s no means to get back to the port or to a nearby area? No knowing the area, we begrudgingly hired one of those taxis to take us to the Palace.
We got there early and were unable to get in for another 45 minutes. Sunday, however, was free, so we saved on the entrance fee. The driver then told us that because he had to wait longer, that we’d have to pay an additional amount. Instead of waiting, he told us that he could take us to another museum and wait for us. He’d bring us back to the Palace when it opened. Just as he said that, we saw a local bus stopping right outside the Palace. At that point, we knew that this was our way out of what we believed, was extortion. We cut him loose after having paid our one way fare of $10 US. He was a bit annoyed, but what could he say? This place was, at most, three miles from the port. He wanted $80 just to drive us there and back and to wait for us for an hour. NO WAY!!! For anyone going there, just get a one-way fare and take the bus back for a dollar or so.
We walked aroung the Palace for about an hour. There were a few interesting and authentic ruins, but a lot of the restoration involved the use of ‘modern’ material — in other words, CEMENT!! It’s very unfortunate. Had the restoration been done properly, it could have been an unbelievable site.
As planned, we took the bus back to the city center and once again, we relaxed at an outdoor cafe before heading back to the port. We know that there’s a lot more to Crete than the Palace of Knossos and the Heraklion port. Next time, we hope to travel through Crete with our neighbor, who’s Greek and knows where to go and what to see…..
We then set sail for the island of Santorini…..
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