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Cuisine November 10, 2017

First Impressions: How Your First Meal Sets the Stage for Your Vacation

It begins when you disembark. You step off the plane, or the ship, that you’ve been on for several hours now. Maybe you’re lucky, and you’re only two, maybe three hours away. Maybe you’ve caught a casual four-hour flight, and you’re looking forward to a nice three-to-four-day weekend away. Maybe you’ve just gotten off an agonizing seven or nine-hour flight and your legs are cramped, your eyes are dry, and despite (or perhaps because of) the airline’s attempt at bringing you a decent breakfast, you’re desperate to get off the plane and to find something that satisfies you. But, and odds are you’re in this predicament, you may be forced to wait for another few hours in an airport on the mainland, waiting for your connecting flight that will take you to what you hope will be an island paradise. Perhaps you grab a coffee, ignoring the rumbling in your stomach. Maybe you even cave and grab a pastry. You pray that something will be open by the time you land in Crete, because anything, anything¸ is better than dry, overcooked airport food. Next to you, backpacking teenagers sit slumped in their seats, snoring slightly. You wonder if they’ll be seated next to you on the next flight. You hope they won’t be. Once you’re on the plane, the caramel you’re given by the flight attendant only seems to remind you of how absolutely starved you are.

But from the moment you step outside of the airport doors and set foot on the island of Crete, things start to look up. A friendly face, a representative of the company you’ve booked with, has come to take you to your villa. They seem enthusiastic, despite the time, and their attentiveness warms you. Maybe you make small talk, about the flight, about the island, about the villa itself. But you can’t quite focus on it. You’re just wondering when it’s appropriate to ask: Where’s a good place to get some dinner? When you finally get up the nerve, (or maybe you’ve gotten lucky and your new friend on the island has broached the subject themselves), you’re happy to know that, in your case, your villa is right next to a wonderful taverna that your new friend knows very, very well.

The taverna is called Meteora, named after the mountain range on the mainland that holds some of the world’s most spectacular monasteries. The name is appropriate, as this restaurant is nestled on the side of a mountain, overlooking the sparkling lights of Heraklion down below you. You’re seated on the balcony, listening to the sounds of the ocean, of the music playing through the speakers, and if you’re not mistaken you can even catch the faint braying of a donkey. “From the church below. They have a donkey,” you’re told, and you smile at the image of a local priest riding to his church on his steed. The owner, Tasos, greets you warmly. He’s a great big bear of a man, tall and bearded, and simply exuding friendliness. He knows you’re staying in the villa next door, and he’s happy to welcome you. You’re overwhelmed by all the choices on the menu, he can tell. So, he brings you the best of everything.

Suddenly your table is covered in plates, a feast to end your day of fasting. Goat cheese paired with the sweetest of honeys. The Cretan version of bruschetta, a lovely compliment to your white wine that you sip like water. Dolmades, or stuffed grape leaves, are small but packed with flavor. “His mother, she makes them,” your friend tells you, and points to Tasos. It’s a family affair at Meteora, with his mother helping in the kitchen and his daughter helping him serve. You can’t quite understand all that’s being said, but you understand laughter, and smiles, and the toasts to your good health and good time. You cannot believe your luck when they finally present you with lamb, cooked to be so tender and flavorful you cannot believe you’ve ever eaten it any other way. It melts on your tongue. “Crete’s favorite vegetable,” Tasos jokes with you. They’re so flavorful, you’re told, because they spend all their days eating the wild mountain herbs. They flavor themselves, you think. It’s almost like they do Tasos’ job for him.

Just when you think you can’t eat anymore, you’re presented with a plate of fresh fruit…and something else. Small, clear glass bottles full of a clear liquid. Water, you think, but no: it’s the drink of the gods. Raki, as you’re soon to learn, is a smooth but burning liquor to rival the alcohol content of American moonshine. But how delicious it is, and how warm you feel once you’ve had a couple sips of this ambrosia. And as you sit there, listening to music and happy chatter, that you’ve had quite possibly the warmest welcome as anyone could get.

There’s a comfort in finding your place in the warmth of a dish made with care, or dare I say love. For the people you meet, and I mean everyone on this island, they all put all the love that they have into all of the food that they make. And if your food is made with care, and if you’re met by the smiling face of people who love what they do and want to share the best of that with you, well then…what better way to say it?

Welcome to Crete.

By Katarina Kapetanakis

Destinations October 29, 2017

The Land of the Wine Dark Sea

The blind poet Homer once sang of the mighty hero Odysseus, sailing across the Wine Dark Sea as he passed the craggy shores of Crete. It is the land of Minos, king of an empire so great it once brought Athens to its knees.It is the place where Zeus was hidden from his ravenous and jealous father, Cronos, raised in a cave where soldiers clashed their weapons to cover his mighty cries, born into darkness in the depths of the cavern in Lasithi, where tourists flock today in droves to descend into this haunted place, a cathedral of stone with spiral ceilings and thick cool atmosphere lead any visitor to understand how the legend was born in that place. The land of Crete lends itself to curious imaginings. Caves that look like entrances to the underworld abound in the island. A hike through the bucolic countryside will find ancient sites and olive hillsides covered with the ubiquitous olive tree, sometimes with trees 4000 years old. It is easy to become lost in the mythology of the very air.

The ancient songs of Homer ring through the Cretan countryside disguised as the blowing winds. Standing on stop of that plateau, you can picture the heroic king Orpheus playing his lyre, calling his wife Eurydice out of her crooked tree. In the gorge of Samaria, goats fearlessly climb impossible rock sides of surrounding mountains as one hikes through, still imagining that the wind carries the song of the king, looking for his lost love, hiking a trek very much like the one you’re walking on right now. Though his goes to a darker destination than the path you’re following. Looking to either side of this gorge, one gets a perspective of ones’ place in this incredible land. But perhaps you feel like searching for history within the island? It is a history that is intertwined with myth, so much so that the lines between reality and mythology is blurred. You can visit the labyrinth at Knossos, where the monstrous Minotaur was held, though today it is much less a prison for a beast and more a fascinating archaeological ruin. Walking through its once great halls evokes a feeling of wonder and mystery, and you cannot help but picture the palace and the labyrinth beneath in their respective heydays, glistening with vivid color and beautiful murals. The image of the bull is shown throughout the palace, and you can’t help but wonder as you step through the ruins…that perhaps reality isn’t as separate from fiction as one would like. Could there be more truth to the story of the half man, half bull? Could the stories of the heroic Theseus, wandering the dark corridors of the labyrinth, holding his breath as he listens for the monster, sword in hand and magic thread in the other, be true? In the land of gods and monsters, perhaps, just perhaps, it could be.

Even when we seek rest and sustenance with food and drink, the ancient spirit of Crete is alive and dominate over the modern land. Mythology has even woven itself into the very fabric of Cretan customs. The ancient rule of Philoxenia, the law of hospitality, wherein travelers and strangers are to be protected and entertained with respect, is still practiced today in every Cretan household. The belief was born from the myth that wandering gods, taking on human form, would pay surprise visits to the mortals in an effort to test their hospitality. Nowhere is philoxenia more prevalent than in local tavernas, where a visit will prove the Cretan adherence to the law of hospitality. No one leaves the table without first a toast of raki, a drink that is certain to both delight and fascinate, and a sampling of local fruit as dessert. The traveler is always made to feel like a friend-that is the Cretan way. After all, you never know if your next dinner guest is Zeus in disguise.

Crete is the land of heroes and marvels. Legends lend themselves to the gorgeous Cretan landscape and rugged terrain. Listen to the distant sounds of the bells placed around the necks of goats, and the cicadas hum, and one will instantly be transported to the time of Homer and his gods and heroes.

By Katarina Kapetanakis

Destinations October 29, 2017

The Allure of Crete: An Introduction

If you looked the island of Crete up in an encyclopedia, or perhaps, looked it up on Wikipedia, it would tell you all about the physical makeup of the place. It would tell you that Crete is the largest island in Greece’s archipelago, and the 88th largest in the world. It would tell you the exact number of miles the span of the island covers from east to west, (160, or 260 km). It would tell you how many mountain ranges Crete has, (three main ones), or how many gorges, valleys, and rivers cover the island, (almost too many to count). It could tell you the population, the general climate, the flag, every numerical, geographical, and statistical fact you could possibly dream up.

But it couldn’t tell you about the sight of those rolling mountains, dominating the horizon. It wouldn’t be able to tell you how the sunlight crowns the island, outlining it in gold with every sunrise and sunset. It wouldn’t be able to tell you how the wind sings to you through the gorges, through the olive groves, of the songs of ancient gods and man that once walked the earth. It wouldn’t be able to fill you with all the beauty and grace that Crete bestows upon its people every day.

Crete possesses sprawling forests, with gorgeous running streams of crystal clear water; dramatic cliffs that tower over the blue sea, fertile plateaus nestled between mountain ranges, deserts and incredible beaches. Exploring Crete is a labor of love which rewards the explorer with wonders for all his senses. The plant life is a diverse ecosystem that can sustain the knowledgeable with nutrition and food for life. The terrain is both imposing and dramatic but a hike among the craggy cliffs and footpaths will lead you into a meditative state reserved for only the holiest of churches. A walk in the Cretan countryside will soothe even the most frazzled of nerves.

Have we enticed you yet? Can you feel the dappled sunlight on your face as you walk through the olive groves? Feel the gravel under your feet as you trek through the gorge? Can you feel the cold kiss of the waves as they splash against your skin as you wade in its depths? Have you fallen in love with Crete yet? You will.

Welcome to the blog of Wine Dark Sea, where you’ll learn to love all aspects of this gorgeous island just as we have.

By Katarina Kapetanakis