European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Isle of Crete a amps photos by Ken George passengers Board a ferry at the port for Lohutro a secluded spot accessible Only by boat or on  tips a who goes there Crete is a popular destination for Mainland greeks As Well As germans britons scandinavians the dutch and americans. A when to go May june september and october Are Ideal. The Peak season of july and August despite evening breezes is awfully hot. Hotel Rales plummet As much As 40 percent during the Low season nov. 1 through March 14. A prices refreshingly Low lunch  simple Laverna need run no More than $5 and a Fine dinner can be had for $10 to $1 a it. Cost of a double room with breakfast runs about $40 per night in a decent hotel and about $30 in a private House. A a getting there. Mac flights to both Iraklion and. Souda Bay Crete Are available from Vetious places in Europe. I a knee Tours Ini lulling flights Anil accommodations Are an economical Way to visit  service trom the greek Mainland and other islands is lie quell and inexpensive. Quot. A j. King Cruger  sea Crete i a amps Pele Jaeger continued from Page 3. An open door. A Aaan old woman emerged gave  Friendly greeting in greek and before the couple could give her their. Order went Back through the open door. In a few minutes she returned bearing a modest repast of sandwiches and wine the couple enjoyed lunch and then summoned the woman in order to pay the Bill. In broken English the old woman explained that there was no Bill to pay because she did not operate a Taverna but Only had the table and chairs outside her Home so she could do her sewing in the fresh air. Crete has some of the most hospitable warmest and. Open of people the local language has just one word Xenos to mean both stranger and guest. V. Quot we have no need for two words. The one word is Good enough says Evangelos Vrentzos Community relations officer at Iraklion air station a . Air Force communications facility 10 Miles East of the Island s. Principal City. / a. A a a. A a. Crete sitting Between Europe North Africa and the Middle East resembles a big smile in the a a. Mediterranean. It condenses onto one Island the infinite variety that is Greece. Its beaches offer some of the Mediterranean s finest bathing its mountains Are a famed for hiking and its archaeological Sites Are spectacular a a. A. A a Crete is blessed with an astonishingly Low Cost of living 300 Days of Sunshine a year and unpolluted air. And water. A a a a a a a. A a. Getting to Crete used to be a bit of bother. Flights were infrequent and ferry service from the greek. Mainland although regular was decidedly spartan All that has changed. Crete is Riding  tide of fashionable travel and charter flights swoop Down on Greece s largest Island every few minutes in summer. In 1970, a scant 63 flights carried tourists to Crete. Last year More than 12,000 flights brought in 1 million visitors. A a a a 7, it once you arrive it is not difficult to get around. Even the remotest villages Are linked by bus to the principal cities and it is possible to go from one end of the 160-mile-Long Island to the other Crete is 40 Miles wide for no More than about $1 5. Be warned however that buses Are not air it conditioned and the cretan summer can be. Horrendously hot. A a a last August i travelled by ferry to Crete. Getting a aboard the evening ferry at Piraeus the sprawling port outside Athens used to be a sweaty chore for Luggage burdened passengers As they struggled up Steep boarding ramps and stairways now boarding is a snap because newer ferries have internal escalators. The Cabin aboard my ferry was squeaky clean the food was simple but Good and Best of All dinner Cost All of $5. The Tariff for the overnight crossing Complete with a berth in a four bedded Cabin came to about $20. A a a a. A a7 the ports of Chania and Iraklion along the Northern coast Are Crete s principal cities. Our destination was Chania where we arrived shortly after Dawn s Early Light. A a. A. A the venetians who were in Chania for 465 years made a Good Start toward setting up the City As the Venice of the East. 7 a. 7. A. Chania s Renaissance Harbor cradled by a Long. Breakwater of Golden Stone ending in a Graceful Lighthouse is one of the most delightful ports in the Mediterranean. Starting at about 8 p.m., the whole town floods into the Harbor area for the evening promenade a Mediterranean institution that seemingly takes the place of gossip column and singles bar. Whole families turn out in their Best to saunter along the pedestrian Only waterfront. They stroll past the old Stone customs House the arched Arsenal and a 17th-Century mosque before sitting at one of the Many Waterside cafes \ a around Sunset open air tavernas on a nearby Quay fill up. There with fishing boats Bobbing a few feet. A away a modest outlay will buy course after course of the freshest seafood. Start Oil with tiny crispy Fried fish. Known As White bait they re gobbled whole. Follow that appetizer with Fried squid or potted shrimp. Linger Over a Creek salad stripes Magazine March 14, 1991