After exploring the fortress, with its wonderful views from its rooftop, we find that it is now very hot, and decide to explore Heraklion by one of the many hop-on hop-off buses (right). We manage to get aboard a bus that is not open-topped, thus getting some protection from the intense heat of the sun.

 

The bus's route takes us out to the Palace of Knossos, but we remain aboard, as we do for the full length of the route, which takes 1½-hours. We do not see many historic sites, but the ride provides us with a rest as we get our bearings of the city.

 

The high level of our seats on the bus enables us to get good views of the city walls.

Our exploration of Heraklion continues on foot on the pedestrianised 25th August Street. There is some interesting architecture on both sides of the street up to the Lion fountain, including the Basilica of Saint Mark.

Another excellent meal completes an enjoyable day - with the main course of pork being the highlight.

 

Another very hot and completely sunny day in which we drive to Spinalonga,

the island that was formerly used as a leper colony.

From the hotel, we drive east on National Road 90 towards Agios Nikolaos. We hope to bypass Ag Nik but unexpectedly find ourselves driving through its narrow streets. We get glimpses of the town's small lagoon and its attractive harbour, but have to concentrate hard to negotiate a short, but extremely steep, street. We manage to navigate along the coast through Elounda to reach Plaka, where we stop for fresh orange juice before getting the nearby ferry to Spinalonga

Spinalonga is a well visited tourist site, mainly due to its history as a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. The last inhabitant, a priest, did not leave the island till 1962. We walk a complete circuit of the small island, absorbing its interesting history and admiring the views across to the mainland of Crete.