Lars Story 5

I hope that you enjoy these stories from the keyboard of Lars Magnusson as much as I. They were originally published on the Interkriti and Explore Crete websites and have proved to be tremendously popular there, so I am delighted to be able to reproduce them here. At the end of each story you may continue on to the next by clicking on the icon at the bottom of each page.

...continued from story 4

...In my driving mirror I can still watch Michalis waving his cap in the air as the Samurai is taking us up on a small hill. The dirtroad seems to be new and waiting for asphalt. We are not sure where this road will take us but the landscape is fantastic so of course we carry on. Up here it is still spring, with a lot of water coming down from the melting snow. The new leafs on the trees are still a little shy to come out but the warming sun above is doing its best to make them show.

We decide to take a short walk and between some hills we find a small and green plateau, covered by yellow and white flowers. With boots on our feet we start walking and halfway down we discover a small house, or what once used to be a house. The colour has flaked off and the house has almost become a part of the mountain behind. There are 3 rooms and a kitchen; it must have been a rather nice house but is now abandoned.

Maybe once there was a happy family living here, proud of their house. Kids running around playing games between the rocks or picking flowers. Today it has become a shelter to the goats and the floors are covered with darkbrown pellets (nicer words for goatshit!).

Down here there is no wind at all and the sun is warm and nice. We  close our eyes for a couple of minutes and enjoy every single second. Time to leave but first I have to use my camera while my co-driver starts to climb towards the jeep.

It is my lucky day, behind some rocks I discover an old, complete goat-bell with a beautiful and rich clang. Of course I have to catch up with Sofia and tell her about my discovery but in my mind a naughty plan is coming up.

With the bell behind my back, sneaking behind some rocks I am slowly closing in on her. She is looking to the right and to the left but not backwards, her speed is becoming quicker and quicker and it is impossible to catch up with her. When I reach the road she is gone, but next to the front wheels of the jeep I can see her feet. " Why are you hiding?" "There was a goat following me all the way up and by the way where have you been?"  "Me? I have been behind you all the time. Look what I have found, nice eh?" If looks could kill I was very dead at this moment but my plan worked, 100%.

I am now driving at a slow and nice speed just to calm down the nerves of my co-driver but still she looks anxious."Anything wrong?" "I am not sure about this road, what do you think?" After a while the view is unobstructed and far away to our left the sea is visable; what a vista this is.

To our right we still have a steepish hill and there is also a small road. "Let´s turn right just to have a quick look" "All right you are the driver" answered Sophia.

As we drive along, we can observe many small roads zigzagging their way down the slope to the bottom of the valley below. It seems impossible to guess which road to choose, but...

About 200 metres in front of us there are 3 men, all dressed in black, discussing something; it is easy to tell from all their gestures. I drive towards them. "Are you crazy, we have a lot money, two cameras and one binocular and look at those men. Don´t you understand they will rob us" Sophia said.

"Ok, they look a little wild but these men are mountain men and they are supposed to look like that" I answered.

She acts very fast and in seconds everything is hidden.

Two young men and one old are coming towards the jeep, window up on one side but down on my side. I try to ask about the road to Prasés and there is immediately a huge smile on the old mans face. He is willing to show us the way and in two seconds he is in the backseat.

"Pame" ("We go")

We are now driving down the hill and the road is very very bad and kind of soft. I can feel the right-side wheels sinking in the mud. This is good, very good!!! My co-driver has changed into a pale-face whispering: "He just want us to drive him home. Then he will leave us to ourselves and we will never find our way back"

From behind we hear the man saying: "Apo pou eisai" (Where are you from?). The silence is broken and we have now reached the bottom and it is very nice down here.

Everything is green and yellow-coloured flowers cover many of the bushes. Some of the trees -maybe fruit trees - are dressed in white flowers. A brook is running along the road and we have to cross it a couple of times. There are also gates to open and Sofia is doing a great job and our passenger in the back is smiling and happy. Chestnut trees, a blue sky and a yellow warming sun above, what could be better. It is almost like a garden.

It is really very beautiful and not a sound is disturbing the peace, except for the Samurai-engine spinning like a cat and the songs from the birds. After half an hour in "Cretan Paradise" we are climbing again and a couple of minutes later we reach the village of Prasés. Our passenger is home and invites us for coffee at the local kafenion. He is very kind and friendly of course and my wife is very grateful to him. He has solved our problem in finding the right road and what a road it has been. It is very easy to make new friends in Crete. A big hug and a kiss from Sofia and we leave him happy together with his friends.

It is time to go back to Chania and as we are now driving on the main-road, we have no problem finding our way. The sun sets in the west and gives the mountains a colour of gold.

When we reach our hotel a new minor problem occurs in finding all the stuff that my excellent co-driver has hidden in the jeep. The problem is soon a memory and I give my wife and co-driver a kiss on her nose-tip: "Thank you, what would I do without you"

End of a true story.

Greetings,

lars and Sofia

PS During the night, I am sure, that she is back in the mountains again trying to avoid the horns from a big black goat. The funny sounds from her bed tell me this…... or are the 3 men, dressed in black, chasing her down the slope??? 

"Kriti stis kardies mas" ("Crete in our hearts")

...continued from story 4

                  Go to story 6