What a wonderful, informative piece, Claire! One of your very best. I knew nothing of Elounda's role as a hub in the history of intercontinental air transport. Commercial flying must have been an ordeal in those days by our standards. Low altitude, slow as syrup, the noise must have been deafening given the size of those propellers and proximity to the cabin. Your Cessna must be like flying on silk compared to the 1930s. And the last half of the video was a revelatory portrait of Cairo back in the days when camels outnumbered autos. I could practically smell the spice markets and hear the chaffers of the hawkers and braying camels. =Doug & Elysoun
Thanks, Douglas. Don't know whether anyone who has ever flown a Cessna would say it was like flying on silk, but I had lovely moments of 'tumbling mirth' on my 'laughter-silvered wings' as in that famous poem 'High Flight' as well as my hairier moments! We've also had days in Plaka where you really have to hang onto your drinks, or the wind will just take them. Scary that this was the safest option on the North Coast for a flying boat - but also a fascinating time to be in Elounda, pre-war
I learned to fly on a Cessna 150 back in the late 1960s (dating myself a bit there), in Hawaii. I would fly close to the sheer vertical cliffs of Molokai watching waterfalls so high their droplets would vaporise and disappear before reach the beach. And Elysoun learned on a Cessna 172 in what is now Zimbabwe. Her waterfall memory was 200 feet above Victoria Falls, which is nearly a mile long and utterly thunderous even in the distance. We would love to circumfly Kriti some day, but -- alas -- a bit beyond our budget. These days drones will just have to suffice.
We love your stuff! It's a race between us who gets to read you to each other.
Oh - both of those flying experiences sound so much more interesting than flying over the Midlands in the UK! Flying over the Peak District was lovely. Using the M6 and the West Coast rail line to navigate, sometimes useful, but I’ve never flown over a waterfall to my knowledge! How fantastic!
Absolutely fascinating! I’m reading Edward Lear’s journal of his trip to Crete in the 1860s, and it’s amazing to think how things changed in the next 70 years!
Thank you for this piece Claire. I read this one aloud to my husband, as we rented an apartment up the street from the old Imperia Taverna last October, so we passed it every day and pondered its history. We hadn't heard about the 1930's plane tragedy, or even that Elounda was such important point, so thanks for this information. We also loved looking at your photos taken from Mount Oxa. We commented, when we climbed it last year, that it felt as though we were flying, so this blog post really resonated. Thank you!
I enjoyed this article, Claire, I knew, of course, of the flying boats service, but not of this tragedy. Very well written and unique, at least now. I hope you have given up piloting Cessnas and having a more peaceful life . . .
I continue to enjoy everything you write and what a service you do informing us on the history and details of places we are familiar with, but never knew more about them.
Please know I hope you will continue doing what you do so well.
Fascinating Claire! What an incredible history of getting mail around the globe. Watching the video, I see the baggage handlers were a lot more careful in those days 😉 More chance of your bags getting damaged due to movement in the hold during a rough landing.
I know - I like how they get on the plane in Croydon, and then the next caption is 'three days later'. I think I would have liked that way of getting to see the world - and I would probably still have been travelling with my camera! The uniforms are all very smart too for baggage handlers and everyone else in the airline. Love a man in uniform!!!
Careful Claire 😉 I think one thing we can be grateful for was the invention of the camera. I know prior to that we had the amazing paintings, but how much quicker to snap a photo. Gives you such a good perspective of how life was all those years ago. You’d have been up front taking snaps from the cockpit. With the men in uniform….
What a wonderful, informative piece, Claire! One of your very best. I knew nothing of Elounda's role as a hub in the history of intercontinental air transport. Commercial flying must have been an ordeal in those days by our standards. Low altitude, slow as syrup, the noise must have been deafening given the size of those propellers and proximity to the cabin. Your Cessna must be like flying on silk compared to the 1930s. And the last half of the video was a revelatory portrait of Cairo back in the days when camels outnumbered autos. I could practically smell the spice markets and hear the chaffers of the hawkers and braying camels. =Doug & Elysoun
Thanks, Douglas. Don't know whether anyone who has ever flown a Cessna would say it was like flying on silk, but I had lovely moments of 'tumbling mirth' on my 'laughter-silvered wings' as in that famous poem 'High Flight' as well as my hairier moments! We've also had days in Plaka where you really have to hang onto your drinks, or the wind will just take them. Scary that this was the safest option on the North Coast for a flying boat - but also a fascinating time to be in Elounda, pre-war
I learned to fly on a Cessna 150 back in the late 1960s (dating myself a bit there), in Hawaii. I would fly close to the sheer vertical cliffs of Molokai watching waterfalls so high their droplets would vaporise and disappear before reach the beach. And Elysoun learned on a Cessna 172 in what is now Zimbabwe. Her waterfall memory was 200 feet above Victoria Falls, which is nearly a mile long and utterly thunderous even in the distance. We would love to circumfly Kriti some day, but -- alas -- a bit beyond our budget. These days drones will just have to suffice.
We love your stuff! It's a race between us who gets to read you to each other.
Elysoun, too has some beauties recently posted ... https://elysoun.substack.com/ .
High-five to Craig!
Oh - both of those flying experiences sound so much more interesting than flying over the Midlands in the UK! Flying over the Peak District was lovely. Using the M6 and the West Coast rail line to navigate, sometimes useful, but I’ve never flown over a waterfall to my knowledge! How fantastic!
Absolutely fascinating! I’m reading Edward Lear’s journal of his trip to Crete in the 1860s, and it’s amazing to think how things changed in the next 70 years!
Thanks for this tip. Sounds interesting! And so glad you're still reading and enjoying the blogs. I think you've been reading from the start?
Thank you for this piece Claire. I read this one aloud to my husband, as we rented an apartment up the street from the old Imperia Taverna last October, so we passed it every day and pondered its history. We hadn't heard about the 1930's plane tragedy, or even that Elounda was such important point, so thanks for this information. We also loved looking at your photos taken from Mount Oxa. We commented, when we climbed it last year, that it felt as though we were flying, so this blog post really resonated. Thank you!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. It's all great history for such an unassuming and beautiful place!
I enjoyed this article, Claire, I knew, of course, of the flying boats service, but not of this tragedy. Very well written and unique, at least now. I hope you have given up piloting Cessnas and having a more peaceful life . . .
Thanks Ray. Yes the world is a safer place for all of us, now I am no longer flying little aeroplanes!!
Claire,
I continue to enjoy everything you write and what a service you do informing us on the history and details of places we are familiar with, but never knew more about them.
Please know I hope you will continue doing what you do so well.
What a lovely comment! Thank you, Patricia! I'll try my best!
Fascinating Claire! What an incredible history of getting mail around the globe. Watching the video, I see the baggage handlers were a lot more careful in those days 😉 More chance of your bags getting damaged due to movement in the hold during a rough landing.
I know - I like how they get on the plane in Croydon, and then the next caption is 'three days later'. I think I would have liked that way of getting to see the world - and I would probably still have been travelling with my camera! The uniforms are all very smart too for baggage handlers and everyone else in the airline. Love a man in uniform!!!
Careful Claire 😉 I think one thing we can be grateful for was the invention of the camera. I know prior to that we had the amazing paintings, but how much quicker to snap a photo. Gives you such a good perspective of how life was all those years ago. You’d have been up front taking snaps from the cockpit. With the men in uniform….
Well - we know how that worked out once before.......! :-)
Exactly 😂
Cool, well researched.
Thanks, Tom!