Dreams in the shade of Crete Part II

The last of the pictures from my Cretan escapades.  Cretan sunrises and sundowns are some of the most spectacular i've ever seen. The whole world seems to stand still, hush and limp as the sun exits or appears imposingly over the horizon. I tried to capture this, if only partially through the lens of my camera though ultimately no picture nor eloquent language could ever replicate such resplendent moments. I've also included a few shots of my first attempt at taking photos over half a minute or more worth of shutter speed and a song by Nikos Xilouris, the bygone archangel of Cretan music whose house I was fortunate enough to visit whilst wandering around in the mountains West of Heraklion. The hospitality that was shown towards my travel companions and myself whilst we traipsed around the mountain villages of Anogeia and Zoniana made a deep and lasting impact on my life. Crete for me was epitomised most imminently in these rustic settlements where I wined, dined and listened to traditional Cretan music with gunshots ringing in the background in tandem with the pronounced, poignant sounds of the lyra in the foreground of the musical landscape. The manner in which those we met invited us into their establishments and shared their food and drink with us for no charge will forever linger in my memory.  The comparitive selfishness of other societies in the world endowed (or cursed) with a lot more wealth (monetarily that is) became all the more obvious after my escapades in Crete, which added to travels through Portugal and Spain only serve to accentuate my affection for The Mediterranean and its homely people and culture.

Efharistoomay Κρήτη, Thank you Crete !