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Ravine of the Dead We survived the night without being swept away by the tide and were up at daybreak to watch the sunrise. Breakfast, however, was a long time coming. We rode fifty kilometers before breakfast. In that mountainous terrain it was too long. Sharon had wanted to stop and eat at the palm beach only a few kilometers from where we had camped, but alas, we had no water. Instead we set off for Zákros. At least that was the plan. We bought bread at Palekastro. Then I took the wrong way out of town toward Sitia instead of Zákros. It wasn't until we crested the five kilometer hill separating Sitia and our missed junction that Sharon realized I had made a wrong turn. She finally caught up to me and informed me I was going the wrong way. Tired, hungry and weak from lack of food she wasn't happy about my error. Somehow I was able to persuade her to turn around and retrace our steps rather than ride to a nearby beach where she wanted to spend the rest of the day reading. Returning to Palekastro we stopped and treated ourselves to a sugarcoated doughnut. One doughnut cost more than a loaf of bread. I sure wouldn't be buying a dozen of them. We bought one and split it-savoring each bite. Leaving Palekastro we climbed another appallingly brutal hill out of town. Sharon informed me she had to stop and eat-"Soon!" Soon did not materialize. I was correct if I thought Sharon was grumpy. At Ravine of the Dead or "Dead's Gorge" as the sign read, we ate bread with peanut butter and Nutella. After she had been fed and watered, her disposition improved-marginally. We sailed down the hill into Káto Zákros silently cursing the steep downhill grade. We knew we would have to climb the same road to leave Zákros. Predictably, all the gradient signs read ten percent! Zákros had a marvelous beach that we enjoyed for an hour while we relaxed and read. The archeological site was closed. Dead's Gorge, with numerous caves in its bright orange walls, terminated at Zákros. We followed it for a short distance, toying with the idea of trying to ride its entire length. In hindsight it was a good thing we abandoned the plan-it became very rocky in places. There was no way we could have navigated our bikes through it. We went back to the main road and grunted up the steep winding hill. Sharon must have been wondering I ever talked her into going there. At a bus shelter above Dead's Gorge we made supper. Sharon went in the gorge and looked for a camp spot while I checked the adjoining olive orchard. I found a spot with green grass and clover that looked suitable. But when we stumbled over in the dark we couldn't find a flat spot. We tramped around in the wet grass for almost half an hour before I was able to find a semi flat spot. Sharon was some upset. |
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