Free WIFI in the only cafe in this Greek mountain village of 25 residents enables me to write and post. The cafe is self service, with a bowl covered by a pan for payment, and its doors are open 24/7. People help themselves to a beer or soft drink from the cooler, make their own coffee, pick up a packaged pastry or locally made marmalade and pay on the honor system. The owner and cook of the Alfa Cafe (Lucky) has been in the field each day, harvesting olives with the young people who come here on work exchange. He did make his 'world famous Sofia's omelet' for us on the first three mornings, however. We found Lucky and the Alfa Cafe over Workaway as well, but his quota for work exchange was filled. We sort of slipped into contributing our labor and he asked for no payment for our room until now. However, after visiting all the residential options in Azogires, we made a decision yesterday to continue on a day-to-day paid basis. The one house we would have been ready to lease was rented the same day by a man who had first priority. We are not disappointed, however, as what is meant to be will happen. Now we are looking for another living space, either on Crete or elsewhere. It seems many locations on Crete have more than one name or spelling. For example, we flew into Chania, which is also spelled Hania, and the closest beach town to Azogires (Paleochora,) has two or three spellings. There can also be more than one location with the same name. It is all clear to the locals, but can be confusing to visitors. The Alfa Cafe is also spelled Alpha Cafe. The maps show Hania (Chania,) where we first landed, and Azogires, where we are now. The beautiful young couple in the photos are fellow Workawayers, Maurice and Bobsy from Austria, with their delightful almost-two-year-old boy, Anton. They are shown in the common kitchen for Workawayers and motel guests. The other photos are of the motel/housing unit and the cave which faces it. Maurice and Bobsie (as I don't know the correct spelling, and having two fits with Crete), saved our yesterday by offering a ride to Paleochora for grocery buying, just when we'd run out. In 2007-2008, near the Baltic Sea in Germany, one Spring day I walked through the forest and came to a wooden gate opening into a sheep pasture, where the sheep grazed in a stone labyrinth of the classic 7-circuit Cretan design. Walking it every morning became a meaningful meditation, and eventually I drew the design with pencil on paper. A church in the village had a kiln, and I started making finger labyrinths in clay. Then, over the next few years, I started drawing original labyrinth and spiral designs until there were eight in total. The connection between the Cretan labyrinth and our coming to Crete was not of primary importance in making our decision, but still significant to me. I would like to post some of the original photos of sheep walking that Cretan labyrinth in their pasture, when I come across them again.
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