During the 1960/70s Matala was the not the remote small coastal beach where Zeus galloped ashore 4000 years previously with Princess Europa on his back, or even the quiet little bay that we have just visited. It was a place that was hip hop, and buzzing, where sun seeking hippy travellers, including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Cat Stevens all pitched up and stayed whilst on the legendary hippie trail. They took up residence in the cliffside caves, which are in fact a 2000 year old Roman Necropolis, albeit not old in terms of Cretan history. There are few remains to be seen today of that colourful period apart from the odd wall painting. During that period Matala provided the hippies with an idyllic escape from an ever increasingly hectic world.
It was at Matala Beach that Joni wrote Carey.
Music is my weapon
Peace is in my soul
Music is my weapon
Peace is in my soul
Grooooovy! There is a lot of information about the hippie movement on the internet, explanations, opinions and memories.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happens to hippies when they grow old? One person wrote, and that I liked best: "...they probably have died to be born again." :-)
'Died to be born again' ! thanks for your comment.
DeleteI have a geologist friend who could certainly spend some happy time there!
ReplyDeleteMy eldest son is a Geologist too, I must make a point of showing this to him. By the way David do you get up very early in the morning? I am sure that it is only about 6.00am in Canada.
DeleteI am usually up a tad after 5:00 am, often earlier in the summer. When I go birding I prefer to be at my destination at sunrise.
DeleteThey all moved to Frome, Somerset.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't I think of that?
DeleteBecause their middle-aged children run crystal healing shops in Glastonbury, Somerset, and you got confused.
Deletecorrect
DeleteWe have some hippie friends....They winter on the beaches of Thailand.....
ReplyDeleteFun post. Today I start a four week course on the Folk Music of the sixties.
It will be interesting to do a 60s folk music course. From what you say, I Presume then that hippies remain hippies for the rest of their lives!
DeleteI love Joni Mitchell and "Carey" is a fave!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a great song.
DeleteWhat a wonderful place it must be. I love those caves.
ReplyDeleteAt least what ever the "hippies" did to themselves was reversible. They cut their hair, took a bath, bought decent clothes and went to work. I remember almost fainting when I was in my 30's I found out my gynecologist used to be a "Hell's Angel".
I can just imagine what a shock that must have been Catherine - sometimes you see old aged pensioners that you can guess were hippies in their young days.
DeleteSo dear friend, I want to know if you are the artist here! Love these paintings and see wfvm in the corners - do you have a secret you've not shared before?
ReplyDeleteWe weren't hippies - just a few years too old and already married and starting our family! We lived in NH not too far from Woodstock, NY and those wild goings-on that summer of '69, but were spending those weeks at the beach in Maine and saw the happenings on TV. Didn't get to visit San Francisco until it was all over in Haight-Ashbury - but enjoyed walking through and seeing colorful remnants of the 'counterculture movement' - which still reigns for tourists mostly.
Really sorry to disappoint Mary - these are simply my photos of the paintings that we saw in Matala - I have, however, spruced them up a bit using picmonkey.
DeleteA hippie lifestyle was never on my agenda - I was far too conventional.
Dearest Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteWell, we can always ponder about these ancient cults of Crete. Interesting as they did leave us so much to visit still today.
I've never been a hippy, guess that was before my time and even then, I'm too practical for being swept away by their ideology. Guess I preferred serious study and work more! And most was under the influence of some substance... not the very best the world has to offer and it will always exist in some percentage!
Hugs,
Mariette
I have a conventional nature, so not for me.
Delete🔆
DeleteHello Rosemary, Some hippies turned conventional, some slipped through the cracks and are still living a bohemian lifestyle, despite the lament in Tales of the City that there is no place where it is still 1967. Glad you got to experience at least a touch of 1967 on Crete.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Hello Jim - I don't think that I have ever actually met a hippie.
DeleteQuite a cliff!
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly the first Roman necropolis that I have ever seen in one.
DeleteDid not know that despite being a Joni fan. Good to see a place return to solitude for a change. Apparently The "Beach", where the film and book of the same name occurred, is now so popular, despite being remote, getting it to yourself these days without a tourist crowd surrounding you is a miracle.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that several places claim to have The Mermaid Cafe mentioned in the song but I don't know at which beach they film it.
DeleteAi do believe we still have hippies in some areas of Australia..
ReplyDeleteI am sure that there will be a few old aged pensioner hippies in most countries. Sometimes you see people that you think may have been.
DeleteI enjoyed the idea of famous hippies on Crete...perhaps in a way I think the Ancients are still living there! There certainly are a few hippies left in Australia, particularly in North Queensland and also northern New South Wales, in the rainforest/beach areas. Like you, I was the conventional girl back in the day, although I do remember that 1967 was rather exciting, though I don't actually remember why!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that I recall is that the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album.
DeleteI was not part of the 'Hippy' culture either. Too conservative for that sort of life. You must have enjoyed the warm sunshine, and now you are welcoming Spring.
ReplyDeleteHello Betty - yes, everything is buzzing here - the blossom has arrived - spring is here.
DeleteLove this paintings :)
ReplyDeleteTitti
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DeleteI think there still is a little hippie inside an old hippie . Matala certainly seemed to inspire a lot of hippies, good for us :-)
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