On Crete, I had 2 of my all time favorite animal encounters that I really didn’t expect!
We went to Greece from Turkey to meet up with Samantha and Zack, Glenn’s daughter and son-in-law. We were going to meet them in Athens on the 30th of October but we were on our way out of Turkey 2 weeks before that so we decided to check out Crete while we waited for them.
I had read about the historic and charming town of Chania and thought it sounded ideal and Glenn wanted to visit the Palace of Knossos, the stars aligned!
I just want to give Glenn a HUGE shout out here: we rent cars all over the world and he drives! He deals with all the unknowns, the wrong side of the road, of signs in other languages! I mean seriously badass stuff! Even the gear shift, windshield wipers and turn signals are on the wrong side!
I entertain him, provide the snacks, and keep a lookout. Our iPhones do the mapping.
Anyway, we had a scramble to get the rental car after a LONG day of flights, and it was dark by the time we finally got to our place. We rent a lot from Airbnb. I could write a book on it, renting or hosting. BOY do I have a lot to say!
The place I found for us was okay. Not great. It was in a pretty good spot, the best feature of which was across a road to the ocean. The road was noisy, and we were above a restaurant–NOT IDEAL. But we were not hanging in the apartment and decided to make the best of it.
There was a cluster of rocks off the shore that looked fun to explore but the tide was high most of the day for the first few days we were there.
We went to lunch on the beach finally when the tide was out and went to explore the rocks, now accessible. I was poking around behind Glenn when he said, “What’s that? I think it’s an octopus. Yep. It’s an octopus.”
I couldn’t believe an octopus would just hang around like that, so exposed! But sure enough, when I got to where Glenn was standing and looked into the tide pool, there was a large octopus scooting along, moving its tentacles under rocks, looking for lunch.
I had stepped into the pool and froze, so I wouldn’t spook him.
He slipped under some rocks and I lost view of him until a thin tentacle, gently touched my ankle and then slipped around like an anklet.
You must know that octopuses are one of my favorite sea creatures. I am ALWAYS looking for them on any snorkel or dive we do. We have a couple of friends who know how to find them and gain their trust, but I have not perfected that yet. To have this one just reach out to connect with me was so incredibly amazing, I gave a twitch, and he let go and moved on. We watched him for a few more minutes until he slipped back out to sea.
The beaches on Crete are so worth the efforts to get there, many are off windy mountainous roads so the scenery is spectacular. Olive groves everywhere.
The Italians and the Greeks seem to plant olive trees wherever they can. Even if it’s one or two, every plot of land has olive trees.
They can pick and weigh their own olives to take to a bigger oil producing farm and sell their crop. Or of course they can make their own and it seems like everyone does! And they ALL say theirs is the best! It’s actually pretty cute.
I think there is something in the Mediterranean water and air that makes the people just HAVE to brag about their food, wine, animals, parties, you name it. In Turkey we heard how the Turkish baklava was far superior and of course when we were on Crete… you guessed it, Greeks INVENTED baklava! So of course theirs was better. I actually liked the Turkish better. But the Greek wine was SO much better. Turkish wine is… well. If you can’t say anything nice…
The food WAS fantastic. It was also fantastic in Turkey.
Okay, I meant to make this post about something else entirely!
We found some incredible places on Crete, to hike or drive to. There was an amphitheater we really wanted to visit because well, it was a THEATRE!
And it was delightful.
I kept hearing the “baahhhhs” of goats or sheep on the other side of an overgrown fence, covered in brush and prickly shrubs. For some reason I really needed to see those animals.
So on our way out we walked up a very rough dirt road, listening to the “baahs” and bells. I thought for sure they had to be goats.
After a few minutes we could see sheep in the little trees and scrub. Finally, we came to a gate large enough for a big vehicle and there were dozens of ewes and their very tiny lambs!
I was astonished and completely charmed. When I was tiny, my parents rented a farmhouse in central Illinois. There were a LOT of sheep, one cow, some pigs and chickens. I used to climb into the lambing pens when the babies were tiny and the ewes were separated off to be sheared. For the day, the lambs were alone and cried constantly, so my little 4 or 5 year old self would climb into the pen through split rails to comfort as many as I could . I absolutely loved those lambs.
To see them now brought an unexpected powerful joy.
Then, a miracle happened. A TEENSY new baby stood unsteadily from the place she was sleeping under a bench. She was bawling loudly for her momma and came right to the fence. Then, she just slipped right through!
She hugged my leg and cried. So I picked her up, worried for her, and when I held her to my face she started to lick me frantically. She was hungry and needed her momma but no ewe came for her.
I have some pictures Glenn took, but none captured what was going on in my heart. I kept putting her back into the paddock and she kept popping back through the inadequate fencing.
Glenn and I were trying to figure out what to do.
Finally, I opened the gate and walked inside the enclosure and put her more deeply in amongst the ewes hoping her momma would realize her baby was needing her. The other ewes pushed her away and she kept crying.
Then, she saw me again. Glenn said, “Come on! Run!”
And we did scoot away but I was so worried about her. Logically I knew her momma was around and would care for her, or the farmer would. But I also dreaded her fate. I could hear her bawling, and kept looking back over my shoulder. She didn’t come back into the road, and hopefully her momma was there with her.
I do cherish the memory of how she felt, so soft, and how she snuggled to me. She smelled sweet too. My heart.
To have these two animal encounters in a short span of days was mindblowing for me. These were iconic creatures for me! And they both went to me! Usually Glenn is the animal whisperer. On all our adventures, only 3 animals have preferred ME.
The last one is MUCH much larger.
I start talking about them in the June Magazine (read that one here! https://www.patriciatallman.com/2023-motivational-magic-ezine-issue-two-june-2023/), but I may need to do another article.
Stay tuned!
