The restaurants, to qualify must:
-Only use Virgin olive oil from Crete
-Have the correct ingredients for a Greek salad
-Offer at least 2 Cretan cheeses
-Fresh potatoes must be used and fired in olive oil for fried potatos
-Offer real Greek coffee, made in the traditional way
-Must offer olives or olive paste, or local tapa-like appetizer and cretan rusk or local black bread included in the cover charge
-”Taste” must be acceptable as “Cretan” cuisine (read more about Cretan Cuisine http://www.cretetravel.com/Cretan_Diet/Cretan_Diet_1.htm )
- Must offer Cretan wines
- Acceptable standards of cleanliness in kitchens, dining areas and bathroom/toilet

OK – enough of the tedious list here is a more interesting one, the names of the restaurants:

AVLI – Rethymno; VILLA ARCHANES (a place to stay
http://www.crete-hotels-rooms.com/Reservations/Villa_Arhanes.htm )
- Arhanes village; ENAGRON – Axos; KYRIAKOS – Heraklion; BALCONY – Sitia; PANORAMA – Spili; PITHOS – Hersonisos; SYMBOSIO – Rethymno; CHRISTOS TAVERNA – Rehtymno.

I know there are many, really many, other restaurants in Crete that fulfill and dramatically exceed these terms and specifications and offer the true Cretan dining experience – but more tend to cater to foreign cuisine-influenced expectations with chicken nuggets for children and packaged dinner plates. So it is a worthwhile addition to have this new reference point for all it might do to encourage both those certified and other who may understand the appeal to both visitors and local residents.

I’m getting hungry at the thought….

The ship built in 1996 (a good year) has a capacity of 600 pasengers and 148 cars and travels at speeds up to 30 knots.

The route :
Heraklion – Ios – Santorini – Pireas – and return
Rethymno – Santorini – Pireas – and return

A little more expensive! Taxis now “start their clocks” or initial metered charge to get in and sit down (!) at 0.85 Euros (85 cents) and then it’s 30 cents a kilometre locally and during the day.
The extra charge taking a taxi to or from an airport is 2.00 Euros, from rail stations, port areas and bus stations it is an extra charge of 80 cents.

The main junction on the New National Road (sic) at Heraklion, still retains traffic lights but the widened 4 lane bridge to the east has eased traffic flow at this bottleneck. It looks like it will be many months at best however, before the traffic lights are completely eliminated and this section deserves the title of “New National Road” and results in the free flowing traffic the moniker suggests.
At Rethymno progress is more advanced – traffic lights have been removed, but there is still a detour in play until new sections of underpass for the main road are complete. I estimate completion around July this year (but I’m not betting on it!).

Spring flowers brighten up the landscape – yellow, purple, red and violet colours can be spotted in between old buildings and on some wild scapesof Crete – the very earliest signs of spring flowers welcoming the next season of our island year. All this highlighted by the laquered, white icing of snow on the mountops.