Wind and Wine

All the adults woke up late this morning, tired and grumbling after a poor night’s sleep. The wind had picked up in the night and we were all tormented by the shutters on the window banging against the house all night long. The offending windows were in rooms with kids who didn’t know how to fix them, or were actually broken just enough to be impossible to fix in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar house. We also spent some time in the morning retrieving our laundry and bathing suits that had been hung up to dry from the bushes and gutters around the property where they had been tossed by the wind.

Crazy surf on a windy day

Thea Tina and Melina

Our beach plans were set aside for the day due to the wind. The calm and clear sea we have had for a week was heaving and crashing against the rocks. The beaches near us which were clear and still yesterday were suddenly treacherous and with waves as big as what we get in Ocean City. My immediate thought was gratitude that we had no plans to get on a boat today! But we were also faced with the question of what to do on a windy day on Crete. Much of the family opted to stay in or explore Chania, but we took a gamble and headed out to visit a working farm near the city of Rethymnon about an hour and a half away. Our guide book highly recommended reservations to tour the farm, especially in high season (which it is) and especially on Sundays (which it is). We ignored that and decided to chance it. Thirty minutes into the drive we had to stop at a rest area for a fanta to settle Diane’s stomach, but after a few minutes we continued on. Then we discovered the Greek radio stations. The girls spent the rest of the drive dancing and singing along dramatically. As we got close to our destination I told D, “only ten more minutes,” and she replied with, “awwww! I wish it was ten more hours!!”

D enjoys a fanta to settle her stomach in Kalami

The farm visit turned out to be fantastic! We waltzed in and there were about 10 other people there, total. It was 5€ per adult and kids were free, and we had the run of the place. We walked through the vineyards, olive groves and koi pond with the coolest red and blue dragonflies zooming all around. We saw the old fashioned olive press and water Mill and raki still (raki is a Greek aperitif that we have yet to try, but is everywhere around here). But our favorite part was the animals. There were goats (including the indiginous kri kri, deer, turkeys, chickens, ducks, peacocks, guinea fowl, sheep, and the most beautiful donkey I have ever seen. I honestly can’t say why it was so beautiful except that it was clean and well taken care of and happy, which was in such grave contrast to the donkeys we saw in Santorini. Its face was almost comical and it reminded me of the old Christmas cartoon, “Small One.” Actually, all the animals were healthy and were kept in spacious and clean enclosures with plenty of shade and varied terrain to keep them interested. We all loved it.

Exploring the vineyards of Agreco Farms

Kri kri

Cutest donkey ever

Raki still

Zach as a kri kri

At lunchtime we wandered up to the outdoor terrace and ate a spectacular lunch in the breezy shade overlooking the vineyards. Everything at lunch was local and most was from the farm. It was all so fresh and delicious and the setting was completely relaxing. Melina saw a juice on the menu called “cinnamon squash,” and being my adventurous eater she ordered it without hesitation. It was delicious and tasted like red hot cinnamon candies, only not spicy- both girls loved it. After dinner I drank Greek coffee cooked over hot sand, and Zach sipped a bitter Cretan tea called “40 trees” that is credited with giving long life and good health to the people of Crete. It was excruciatingly bitter, but somehow the bitterness receded with each sip and by the end of the cup he was a fan.

Chilling at Agreco farm

We bought a cute painting for our living room from the resident artist on the farm and then headed out and into the seaside town of Rethymno. Our plan was to grab baklava at a famous patisserie in the old town, but unfortunately we arrived while it was closed for siesta. So instead we wandered the souk-like streets with our gelato for about an hour before heading out.

Rethymno and gelato

On the ride back to the villa Melina was playing with a black shawl I had packed to use for covering up at churches and wrapped it around her arm. Somehow this gave her the idea to play a joke on Georgia that she had broken her arm, and the girls spent the entire 1.5 hour ride rehearsing exactly what they were going to say. Diane’s line was, “Melina broke her arm- I saw it and it was bloody and the bone was sticking out.” She must have said this 30 times with Melina critiquing each time to make sure she got it exactly right. They made me swear that when asked I would back up their story, and kept checking with me to remind me of my promise. I told them I would say we decided not to go to the hospital until we got back to Virginia, and they loved this detail. The scheming continued up until we parked the car at the villa when for the first time they realized they hadn’t prepped Zach on his side of the story. “I don’t know,” he said, “it sounds kind of mean.” We’ll, that’s all it took. Diane could not imagine doing anything that may upset her precious Thea Georgia, and without her accomplice Melina dropped the whole charade. I was a little sad I didn’t get to see the whole thing play out, especially since Georgia would have played along convincingly. Oh well, I guess teaching honesty and kindness is better, albeit more boring.

Melina uses my shawl to dress up like a Greek Yia Yia rather than using it as a sling

After a quick dip in the pool, all of the Martin/Zimet/Hoffman/Gibson/Stricker families converged in the Villa Chryssi dining room for a catered Greek dinner. The wind made it impossible to use the outside eating areas, but it was maybe even better having everyone crowded together in the kitchen. We all talked and laughed and drank and ate, and then drank and ate and talked and laughed some more. This continued through another gorgeous sunset and long after the kids went to bed. The wind is supposed to die down tonight, so hopefully we will all sleep soundly.