March 5
A very warm 17C, no wind today. Bright and sunny.
Crete is the largest island in Greece. It is 260 km long and 12-60 km wide. The population is over 600,000 but they receive over 5 million visitors a year. Not just tourists, but family members as well. In July, the temperature reaches above 54C. The island has 5000 orthodox churches for 6 villages. The island has 35 million olive trees.
The ship docked in Souda Bay in the northwest coast. Our included tour was called Chania by Foot. Chania (pronounced Han-ya) has a mix of Ottoman, Minoan, and Byzantine influences. Population 80,000.
We had to take a bus 20 minutes from port to get to Chania. In Chania, we walked through the winding streets of the Old Town.
We visited the Church of St Nicholas. What makes this church interesting is that it is the only church in Greece that has BOTH an Ottoman minaret and an Orthodox bell tower. First it was a Catholic church. Then the Turks took over and added the minaret. Then it became Greek Orthodox and the bell tower was added.
While we rested inside the church, our guide told some interesting stories. Here, they don't celebrate birthdays, but they do celebrate Saint Name Days. Everyone here is named after a saint (there are a lot of Nikos and Marias), so you celebrate when it is your saint day.
She asked if we had seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? She said her wedding was worse. There were a thousand guests and she only knew half of them. She received 50 vases that she had to exchange.
We walked to the Venetian Harbour where she left us to explore for an hour on our own.
A 15th century lighthouse:
We walked around a bit, then found a nice bench awfully close to the water's edge to sit and relax.
The water was nice and calm today. When the waves are choppy, the water goes right into the shops and they have to close up.
At the end of our free hour, we could either choose to go back with her to the ship, or remain in town on our own and take the shuttle back. We decided to go back to the ship, as did 3/4 of our bus. We need a little rest!
When we got back to the boat, a whole line of ship staff greeted us dancing and cheering.
We spent a relaxing afternoon on board the ship.
For dinner, we went to the other specialty restaurant, Manfredi's. They served so many appetizers that by the time the main course arrived, neither of us could eat it.
The Apostle Paul likely visited the island of Crete twice. The first time was in 60-61 AD when he was a prisoner being taken to Rome. The ship took shelter from strong storms in a southern harbour called Fair Havens. They were there for some time, and Paul even advised the crew that conditions were not right for sailing on. Luke was travelling with Paul and tells us in Acts 27 that Paul's warning was ignored with disastrous results:
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.
Paul could not resist an "I told you so" but also gave the sailors some hope:
“Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed."
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The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
Paul went on to heal many sick people on Malta before being taken to Rome, still as a prisoner. After being released, it is believed that he returned to Crete and worked with Titus there.
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
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