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A Pure Crete holiday "Crete in Bloom" 4th-13th April 2017. We were a party of 31, with sunny and dry but disappointingly cold weather, lead by Clive Daws and Steven Waters

I am happy to receive corrections! (see "Home" for email) Helen's Website is at: http://www.fands.org.uk/1.FANDSCrete-again-title.htm

Tuesday 4th April Up very early to catch the 04:20 train to Gatwick. We caught the one before and arrived by 05:45!
My Geotags for the holiday	Our plane at Gatwick Airport	Hania Airport on the peninsular	Our Bathroom
Zantedeschia from the Garden	Our Courtyard. We heard a Scops Owl squeaking away at night	Water Bottle Tree in our garden	Orange Blossom, it gave an exotic smell by the front door
Our cold bedroom , no heating!	Metoche Family House sitting room has a wood burning stove which did heat the room	Olive Oil Lamp	Our house at night. After the briefing at the Taverna, we had a meal plus wine, of many different Cretan starters, then I had a Moussaka , on Pure Crete
Wednesday 5th April; We Visited the Aptera Archaeological site with Steven's birthday meal in the evening
Helen's Geo-track in pink of this day	In Aptera village. After shopping in Souda we walked to the archaeological site on the headland, walking via the village.	Guard dog	Bermuda Buttercup, Oxalis pes caprae, a foreign import
The half-built house opposite ours	The view from our "Pick up Point" to the White Mountains. Mount Pachnes is 2,452m	Mallow	Galactites tomentosa
On the track up to Aptera, it was too big a group for every one to see every plant of note	Chrysanthemum coronarium	Mallows	Vicia hybrida
Aptera ruins, more overgrown since our 2008 visit	Red backed bumble bee	A visiting family in the Monastery Courtyard where we ate lunch	The Turkish fort
Poppy, Papaver rhoeas	Restored wall beside the track	Echium plantagineum	Thyme
Ready to unfurl	Cistern's Arched roof	Euphorbia helioscopia	G checks sound at the Roman theatre focal point
Adonis microcarpa	The village seen from the Aptera ruins	Mating Lygaeus saxatilis	Ranunculus asiaticus, We saw them all over the island
Ornithogalum	Poppy and Anagallis Arvensis	Painted Lady. We saw very few butterflies this time, probably it was too cold.	Olive tree and sheep
Echium plantagineum	Nepeta scordotis	A Second World War gun emplacement, marked as such	Muscari comosum
Wild Marigold left and Hawkweed right	Italian wall Lizard	Chrysanthemum coronarium	Long view of the Aptera site
Nepeta scordotis	Hawkweed and Muscari	Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum	Watching us
Flooded Roman cisterns		Milkweed Bug kills a cricket	Guardhouse ruin
Lunaria annua	The deserted Monastery		Almond tree
The Roman Theatre	C at the sound focus point		Looking down at the coast road
Psoralea bitumosa colour variant?	Euphorbia dendroides at rear left	The ruined city wall	Naval base on the opposite side of the bay and seen from our sitting room window
Disused prison	Old Fort on the opposite side of Souda Bay	C walks past the fort	Towards the White Mountains
Gynandiris sisyrinchium	Crepis Rubra	Gynandiris sisyrinchium	Psoralea bitumosa, it was not smelling of pitch at this time
Papaver rhoeas	Hottentot figs, an import from South Africa	Orobanche ramosa	Ophrys cretica
Scabious	Aptera ruins	Tragopogon sinuatus, Salsify	The passage through our house
The Coffee Bar on the Aptera village square	Cretan Corner Taverna	Inside "Taverna ta Aptera " building	Pensive H with empty wine can
Stevens birthday "do" on that evening. Only the Annex was big enough for all of us.	Stevens birthday cake with a really bright candle! (joke)	Steven at his birthday "do" with Clive	In the Annex. I had Beef Stifado this time.
Thursday 6th April Ormalos Plain 1050m via Vrysse
The Ormalos Plain	Admiring the view from the Pick up Point where we got on the coach each day	Our stop for coffee, buy honey etc at Taverna Gephyra. The rain soon stopped. They were slow to produce the coffee but were manning the stall on the opposite side of the road too.	Easter Painted Eggs in the cafe
Orange Tree	Loquat tree	Vrysse Cafe as we drove past	Helen beside the river in Vrysse
The river in Vrysse	A swallow lands under the eaves	Our Coffee Stop cafe. We sat under the trees opposite	Our Group, the waitress ran across the road with coffee.
Wind driven water pump on the river	Freesia	Shops	Granddads
Spiral Staircase	In the shade	The through road	Off home
	Permanent Discussion Group	On the Main Square	Well fed
Catching up on the news		Broadly based	A Grandma, Vrysse
Vrysse side street		Clive returns to the coach	Looking down the Samarian Gorge (closed that day) We had lunch here.
A brief roadside stop, where I lost my glasses in 2008 (no sign of them today)	C walks past some goat cropped sessile oaks	Daphne Sericia	Geranium Lucidum
A glimpse of the Omalos plain from the approach road	Reasonable grazing for sheep on the 1050m high plain	Ranunculus ficaria	Anemone coronaria
Omalos plain	Anemones	Anemone Pink form	Ormalos Pond
Tree Frog by the pond, not a tree in sight	Stoney habitat	s Anemones coronaria	Tree Frog (hiding)
Tulipa bakeri	Tulipa bakeri	Tulipa bakeri, the only open one	A new reservoir under construction on the plain. That evening I had Lamb Stifado which might mean "hacked to bits" But the wine goes down well and leaves no hangover
Friday 7th April Vrisses, then the Minoan Slot Tombs at Armenoi, the dunes and an evening meal in Maza
Aerial View of the site	The Olive Grove around the Minoan tombs	Asphodel aestivus	Cistus salivifolius
Resting between the tombs after lunch which we ate here	Serapias	Searching for Orchids
Ophrys scolopax	This enlarges!	Ophrys scolopax	Orchis italica
Gagea Graeca	Orobanche	Lupinus albus ssp graecus	Serapias
C amongst the Asphodels	Star of Bethlehem
Balia robertiana	Ophrys tenthredinifera	Anthemis filicaulis?	Trifolium repens
Ophrys tenthredinifera	Cyclamen creticum	Ophrys scolopax	Blue Pea
Ranunculus	Arabis Verna	Ophrys tenthredinifera	Anagallis Arvensis
Ophrys episcopalis	Entrance to a slot tomb	Inside the tomb	Asphodel
Lathyrus annuus	Lathyrus aphaca	Biscutella Laevigata	l Lathyrus cicera
Anemone	Ophrys scolopax hybrid?	Erodium ciconium or Gruinum	Ophrys scolopax
Ophrys tenthredinifera	Ophrys scolopax	Hawkweed	Ophrys
7th April The Dunes
The Dunes	Clive photographing in the dunes	Roadside shrine where we parked	Spotted Pollen Beetle
Yellow horned Poppy	Sea Holly, Eryngium Maritimum	Medicago marina	Silene colorata
Brave swimmers	Pattern	G paddles	Shadow
Orobanche ramosa	A poses	Double Oxalis pes caprae	Medicago marina
Rumex bucephalophorus	Sandy Habitat	Galactites tomentosa	Fumaria capreolata
Gynandriris sisyrinchium	Scarlet Pimpernel (anagallis)	Rumex bucephalophorus	Silene colorata
Oxalis pes-caprae curled up	Chrysanthemum coronarium	Mixed Beach Flora
7th April Georgioupoli
Georgioupoli from above	The Quayside still has working fishing boats		Chapel
The only bit of street art I saw	Not busy today	Window Box
Curious cat	Central Square	Sleepy dog at the Police Station	Garden Ornaments for sale???
Mending his nets			Solid sofas
Decay	Sheep lorry	Inland of the Bridge	D, C & H waiting for ice-cream
7th April The Spring, the Start of Almiros River
Satellite view	The pond, home to lots of ducks	Lizard	Steven snaps the lizard, the spring, start of the river, is pictured bubbling up beyond
Gaganey Ducks		Lantana camara
Terrapins	More terrapins	Spanish Broom Spartium junceum	Little Ibis
7th April Maza Village for our evening meal
Arriving at Maza for our evening meal, 20€ each	Closed houses	Maza Taverna	Getting ready for us
R and S	The old Raki Still	The condenser tank	Where the Raki Still is stoked
Dead car, there are a lot of empty house in Maza	Curious old lady	Alert	Farmyard
Maza Taverna Bar	Yanni and C and puppy	Locals check their smart phones	The Duo played during the meal covered by a whip round later
Thinking	The Duo	Is L saying "Naughty!" ?	Learning to Greek Dance: S, Yanni, G and C
Saturday 8th April A free day when we explored Aptera village and attended the 25 year celebration in the evening
White Bryony "springs"	Looking down from the road to the church	The Village Church that broadcast their services on a loud speaker	Lantana
The road to Souda. We saw men gathering Mountain Greens from the road verge	The Village shop opens at 10am	Silene Vulgaris	Farm Guard Dog
Our guide round the village, right, and a wheezing guard dog seeing us past	Farm House	Dracunculus vulgaris, about 4ft high	Empty Farmhouse. We met an old women near-bye collecting snails to eat . Yanni later told us how to prepare them
Monkey Orchid	Coronilla parviflora? pink form. There were "trees "of water meters dotted around with one meter for each olive grove	Figure curled up (olive tree bark)	Government Office at village centre. I believe a Wi-Fi server is here, private routers are throughout the village. Cables run along all the main roads
Small Brown Job some way off	Chapel on the road down to Souda	A tired smile on the rock's face	Scabious
A smart mansion, with a garage in the basement access from behind and down hill	White Mountains In the Clouds	Giant Fennels	Bin Robbers (Most cats have been neutered under a village scheme)
Road back from the Aptera Archaeological site	A cat lady supports many cats and a dog here in the village	Shadows	The village and our route around
	Pure Crete kindly decided to celebrate 25 years of "Crete in Bloom" by having a meal with wine for the Group, with Traditional Greek Dancing at the "Taverna ta Aptera". A pleasant surprise for Steven and Clive. The dancers worked very hard and encouraged participation!. One later challenging L's boyfriend to a press-up contest	A still from a video of the young dancers, I should have used flash!	The light was low and the dancers later changed out of traditional dress
Sunday 9th April: Imbros Village, along the Imbros Gorge to the Taverna Dionysios in Komitades
Map	Turkish hill top fort beside the road	Out of the coach window. We stopped in Imbros village for coffee or freshly squeezed orange juice and Sfakian pies, a sort of cheese filled pancake	Trifolium uniflorum
Iris Tuberosa	Almond Blossom	Forget-me-nots	Erodium
Anchusa variegata	Asphodel lutea not quite out	Stone Guard Horse at the entrance kiosk to the11Km long Imbros Gorge.	Picnic Table?
Anthemis filicaulis?	Ranunculus ficaria, Lesser celandine	Arabis Verna	On our way down the gorge
Saxifraga chrysosplenifolia	The winding path	Ricotia	Arabis Verna
Ricotia cretica	Orchis Lactea	Euphorbia acanthothamnos, Greek Spiny Spurge	Ophrys Lutea
Ophrys tenthredinifera	A headless dancer?	Side of the Gorge	Club Moss on the rock wall
Arisarum vulgare, Monks Cowl	Getting narrower	Olive log	Pea
C strides out	Linum arborem, high on the cliff face	Valeriana asarifolia	"Rock Gate" ? Probably a poor translation.
A cluster of snails	What were they up to?	A.. looks at blue rock. It was suggested that some of the cobbles were put down by Royal Engineers in 1940	The minimum width of the gorge is about 2m
Salvia fruticosa	A natural arch.	Asphodelus Lutea, fully open as we are lower down	View from the balcony of Taverna Dionysios, our Coffee and Loo Stop, as we waited for those who avoided the Gorge with its rough path. I tried Bourecki at supper that evening, it was very good
Monday 10th April Spili and on to Phaistos archaeological site
Main Street Spili	Opposite our Cafe	The Spa Spili	Burglar?
G and C try Yoghurt, Fruit and Honey	Local embroidery shop	Various gifts were bought
Long view from the bus	Cafe Society	Phaistos Archaeological site	Roses
Drainage	Seats at the forum	A cave with Pythoi	Well
Giant Molded Pythoi	More Drainage	The Church next door	Overview of Phaistos where the Linear A and Linear B disks were found amongst other treasures
Satellite view of Phaistos	Convolvulus elegentissimus	Trifolium stellatum	Ophrys Cretica
Anacamptis pyramidalis	Swallowtail	Nosed Grasshopper (look at those thighs)	Gladiolus italicus
Swallowtail	Red Pea, Tetrangonolobus purpureus	Pink tipped Ranunculus Asiaticus	Orchis collina
Muscari comosum	Ebenus cretica	Ophrys Cretica	Allium
Scorzonera cretica	Echium plantagineum	Snakes Tongue Orchid, Ophrys phryganae	Anchusa italica
Mandrake with its fruit	Gynandriris sisyrinchium	A different Swallowtail (reduced red spot)	Gynandriris sisyrinchium
Bees at Work on Salvia Pomifera		Chrysanthemums
Vetch	Ophrys Italica	Orchis Laxiflora	Balia Robertiana
Orchis Quadripuctata	The Group Botanising	Coronilla yellow form	Poppy
Tuesday 11th April Visit to the Allied War Cemetery, Souda then Hania Town
Long Horned Beetle	Wild Carrot, Daucus carota	Goat up a tree	Mole Cricket
A local shepherd, he thought he deserved a fee to pose	Early morning rowing practice in Souda Harbour	Acacia another import	A detail
Debris collected from the shore-line	Resting	D in the Allied War Cemetery Souda	Dark Clouds
Pallensis spinosa	Lupinus albus ssp graecus	Mallow	Serapias
11th April Hania Town, Agia Reservoir and the Therisso Gorge
Satellite map of Hania	Hania Harbour after our look at the Cemetery and Yellow Cretan Wagtails	Hania Sea Front	Hania Old Town
	A carpet Shop


Red House	Down to the front	Another alley	Enetikon" for a light lunch where we had mixed Cretan Pies (Like Samosas) and cheese croquettes
	A pottery shop	Main Square Hania	The Main Market
Femme Fatale	Turkish Bath, Hammam	The closed Mosque, now a museum	Long view of the front
Harbour view			We explored the Old Town a little, but did not have time to do much
On the sea front			Museum
	Just fishing	An odd parking spot	Bracket Fungus on a tree at the coach park
11th April Agia Reservoir
	This is primarily a spot for bird watching, but most birds were too far away for my camera	Henbane, Hyoscyamus albus	Red stemmed Euphorbia
Judas Tree, Cercis siliquastrum besides the reservoir damn	Borago officinalis	A swampy area	Horses tails
Muscovy Duck	Ruined Mill	A huge plane tree in the mill ruins	Gaganey duck. We had had drinks and a complementary rose jelly at the Enasma Cafe beside the reservoir
11th April Therisso Gorge
Map of the Therisso Gorge	Gorge side	Cyclamen Creticum	Rosularia serrata
Carob Tree	Petromarula pinnata	Umbilicus paviflorus	Rusty backed Fern
Therisso Gorge	Sedum rebens	Looking back	Enlargement, NB Goats, enlarges more!
Crepis Auriculifolia	Phlomis Fruticosa	Sheep skull??	Snapdragon
Wednesday 12th April To Spili for Coffee, Shopping and then on to Spili Knoll
Granny bringing the coal in	Spili Old Town

		Cretan Pottery for sale	Dereliction
12th April Spili Knoll
Map of the Knoll	Iris Cretensis	Erodium Gruinum	Hemlock
Orchis Laxiflora	Dutchman's Pipe	Aristolachia Cretica	Rose Chafer
Ophrys scolopax	Orchis quadripunctata	Arisarum vulgare	Ophrys Italica
	Where the Aristolachia were found	Orchis quadripunctata	The field above Spili
Two forms of Orchis quadripunctata	Anemone	Ophrys tenthredinifera	Off back to the coach
Ophrys heldreichii	Ophrys episcopalis	Tulipa doerfleri	Ophrys
Ophrys fusca	Ophrys	Orchis lactea	Orchis pauciflora
Ophrys heldreichii	Ophrys Italica	Ophrys Italica	Orchis pauciflora
Anemone	Anemone heldreichii	Orchis Lactea
Iris Tuberosa	Iris Cretensis	Bumblebee Orchids	Bean (broad?)
Iris Tuberosa	Daphne Sericia	Orchis Lactea	Ophris episcopalis
Orchis Laciniata	Tulipa saxatilis with black stamens	Tulipa doerfleri	Bee on a Helychrysum Heidreichii
Ophrys	Ophrys	Ophrys tenthredinifera	Mallow
Thursday 13th April: To pack and return home
From the Internet Orobanche Crenata, Bean Broomrape (for Alison)	We saw Cretan Festoon but this from from a previous visit	From the Internet "Taverna ta Aptera" at night. It serves Cretan village food.	We arrived at Hania airport 2.5 hours before the flight and ate a sandwich lunch. After a uneventful flight we reached Gatwick on schedule and quickly caught the train to St Albans where a taxi took us home for a meal cooked by Matthew