A Stop At Matala - Paperback

by Eugene Arnone (Author)

Adventure and mysteries at the heart of the 'hippy trail' in the late 1960's. Young American, Joseph Zerretti, is preparing to travel to India when he meets Lissa, an English visitor, in Athens. After a romance and vows, Lissa returns home, and Joe reconsiders his India journey by detouring to the island of Crete. On the ferry, he meets Heini, a German student, and they discuss the history of Europe's oldest civilization, the Minoans.
At the coastal village of Matala, Joe finds an elaborate cave commune and a beautiful bay with a mythic past. He takes up residence in a cave overlooking the village and the beach cafes, encounters fellow travelers, holiday tourists, and longtime members of the hippy commune. He is also haunted by his separation from Lissa and begins having dreams of her in this ancient setting. To distract himself and following Heini's advice, he explores the island and its mysteries. He also becomes friends with visitors at the two beach cafes and soon is involved in an event that endangers the troglodyte community with the Greek military police. Later, he finds himself in the middle of a contest of wills and brawn between an American friend and a French group over a beautiful young woman in what becomes a strange enactment of the Labyrinth ritual. With normalcy restored, Joe's visit to Crete is ended by the Russian invasion Czechoslovakia in August of '68. Further disillusioned by Western violence, Joe again becomes set on putting his Western civilization behind him, and with Lissa's promises in mind, he continues eastward.