leave Elounda Crete and the east for the almost deserted natural beaches
of west Chania and the Greeks, relaxing with their families, made Skilaki more than welcome.
We stopped at a typical Greek taverna for lunch. When I went to place an ashtray with some fresh water down for Skilaki, the Greek lady stopped me, insisting the 'bowl' wasn't good enough for a dog to drink out of, she rushed inside and provided Skilaki with fresh bottled cool water in one of her best bowls plus a huge amount of lamb bones, most with a lot of meat on them! In the east of Crete dogs would be poisoned quicker than watered.
the harbour around Chania old town was equally welcoming for us all. Around the old harbour there are a lot of stray dogs and also dogs 'owned' by some of the local shopkeepers. One big old dog came towards Skilaki growling, suddenly the 'owner' appeared, came towards us calling the dog by the name 'Jerry' and softly told him off... explaining that this was a 'little dog' (skilaki) and that he mustn't be angry with him! The rest of the animals following Jerry came over to check out this skilaki, they were all a bit timid, which is not a bad thing, but they didn't show aggression. These strays were being fed by the local tavernas and bars of Chania old harbour.
