Day #18: 18 July 2013

Today was a busy field trip day! We started by getting Hailey's ATM card back from the bank. We then ventured to the farmer's market in Heraklion. It was interesting to see all of the people milling around. I had no idea that there were that many farmer's around Heraklion willing to sell their fresh produce. There were many things that we have in the US but the assortment was interesting because I feel that it highlighted what people were eating in their diet. There were many okras, oranges, tomatoes, beans, lentils, lettuces and cucumbers. There was not a lot of pre-made items except for olives. There was also little starches and bread available. I was also surprised at how there were people selling fresh fish in the market.

Tons of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

We then went to the little village where Maria's cousin lives. We saw the old house where her grandparents lived when they operated the farm. It was interesting to see that even in the front yard, food was being cultivated. They had grapes and lemon trees. The grapes were delicious! We also tried fresh goat's milk, which I did not like but I don't like milk typically anyways. The uncle gave us fresh cheese that he had made from the goat's milk and I liked that slightly better. It did not have the goat smell as strong. We also saw the horses that the family has.

All the Goats

The Goat's Milk

We ventured to a cooking school in Heraklion where we learned about the traditional Cretan diet. It was fun cooking. I love cooking at home and trying new things so this was something that I was very interested in. I loved playing with the dough and rolling it out. It was also interesting to see how they use Raki in cooking as a levener instead of yeast. I was surprised at how many of the dishes were so simple but so flavorful. I think that this shows how good quality ingredients will flavor without much salt or pepper added. My favorite food that we had was the zucchini cakes because I loved the texture and the flavor, especially with the tzaziki.

Such a Full Table

Cheese Pita

Our last stop was the Cretan Aquarium. I also love fishes and watching them swim around. It was so peaceful and relaxing walking around the aquarium. The fishes were interesting, they had such different sizes, either very large or very small. The large ones were about eighteen inches long. The smaller ones were about eight inches long. I think it was interesting that there was no in-between size. I also liked seeing some of the more odd creatures like the lobsters, octopuses and the eels.

Fish

Weird Eel

Some Sea Plant...

Sleeping Sea Turtle