Beauty that is slipping away

I would say it was luck. Sometimes it blinks on you with a fleeting smile and fades away. Being 20’s years old we’re never thinking about coming back. We have too many things to discover, too many chances to follow new itineraries and as we have a faith in it, we have long life ahead. No reasons to repeat. No reasons to look behind.
Sometimes it happens.
This time we were there in the end of September, when fresh breeze has blown away the majority of tourists and island became almost empty.
Cretan people believe that their island is the most beautiful not only in Greece, but all over the world. They really have a reason to make a statement. Its somber beauty steeled by wars and Turkish annexation couldn’t be compared with any other ones.
This time we were almost aimlessly riding around the island within 2 rainy days, both lost in our thoughts, observing settled rain and storm. Nothing to do on a stormy night we were drinking homemade “raki” speaking of this and that with Manos, working in the family hotel, and his friend Stavros. When conversation moved to the national traditions, Stavros have showed us a video with a national Cretan dance Zeibekiko.
My heart missed a beat. It was more than just a dance; it was the soul of the dancer, all his feelings, his pain and love, his vulnerability and fortitude all rolled into one, expressed by movements. I have never seen before the man who has so frankly and courageously confessed in his own heartache, appearing not helpless, but even stronger than you can even imagine. I was also amazed by another beautiful Greek tradition by which beloved or family of the dancer should drop onto their knees and support the dancer by applauding and throwing flowers into him.
I still have a lot of white spots on my personal world map. I haven’t even discovered the America yet. But I also know that after the million of new places I’ll feel the same fondness, love and light sadness thinking about the places and people I have met on Crete.
Crete is not an island for lazy guests or touristic buses. It’s an island for travelers who are not frightened by rocky hillsides, winding roads and for those of them who are ready to climb by plumb slope in pursuit of beauty slipping away.
Should I ever repeat it again and choose the same travel destination? I shouldn’t. I will.