We have been on the move.

We drive over Athens first major water supply, the dam wall is made of marble.

We have visited Thermopylae the site of the 300 Spartan’s stand against a massive Persian army. We also see Marathon and the site of another great battle between the Athenians and Persia and the burial tomb of those Greeks lost in that battle. Both battles are significant in the preservation of democracy. We visit the Marathon Sport museum, it is worth a visit. All the modern day games are celebrated.

We stay in a small village called Molos situated in the hills not far from Thermopylae. We enjoy the peace and quiet of rural life dining at a local taverna. A very large German Shepherd and Labrador appear on our door step and become our guard dogs. Once again the local canines seem to take a liking to the tourists.

We travel to Crete and visit Knossos, the palace of the ancient Minoans and the site of previous Neolithic settlements. We hire a trained guide (3 years of study is required) who we have now had plenty of experience with, they are knowledgable and wonderful guides.

Our home is a traditional Cretan house located at Agios Myronas in the hills about 20km from Heraklion the capital of Crete. The locals are friendly people and appreciate travelers to their town the food is great and as always not expensive.

The Natural Museum and archaeological museum are both worth a visit. The Natural museum has great Ecosystem – wildlife displays some are live exhibits. The Crete Aquarium is great. We take happy snaps of fish and of course seagrass! Crete seems to have a great institutions for learning. Their main university one of about 5 on the island and is recognized as world class. Their museums and archaeological sites like mainland Greece are superb. The emphasis on exercising the mind is engrained in Greek philosophy and culture. In contrast it seems our prime minister is quickly gaining an international reputation for what he is doing to our minority groups, science community and education system, he is affectionally known as ‘dumb dumb abbot’.

As with the mainland there are massive wind farms and solar power generation systems. Somehow we think the Europeans are far more advanced on renewable energy systems than Australis.

We walk around the remains of the Venetian walls and fortifications at Heraklion, ancient structures are everywhere.

Crete food and people are wonderful. If they see you navigationally challenged they often stop to help. Crete is certainly more ordered than mainland Greece but their driving is no different. We think things are still pretty tough for the Greeks so they appreciate the tourists.

On our last night the owner of Traditional Cretan Houses takes us out to dinner and in true Greek style treats us to a wonderful dinner, drinks and evening. Dust has started to blow in from the Sahara Desert reminding us that we will in a two days (all of which will be spent at airports, ugh) be back in Australia trekking along dusty roads in outback Queensland.