We were on our way again to Chania (pronounced 'Hanya', remember?). We checked into the Ammos Hotel, a bit north of Chania. For the next 5 nights this would be home!
The view from our room was amazing, as we checked into our room right on sunset, it was a spectacular sight.
The photo doesn't exactly do the sand color justice, as in some areas it is a much brighter pink. I was tempted but restrained myself from absconding with some. We have since discovered there's other beaches with pink sand. But the water and sand here is something to see! After several hours of swimming and sun baking we sought out a shower and change room and prepared for the trip home.
Quick change and out to find somewhere for dinner. We walked up the Main Street about 1 1/2 kms to get our bearings and settled on a place almost right next door, oh well we had our exercise before dinner this time. It was a restaurant that served traditional meals and they were exceptional. We are becoming quite deft at ordering meze. In particular the main points of our interest are, cheese pies served with a drizzle of Cretan honey, fried zucchini balls, fried vegetables, of any sort, mainly zucchini or eggplant but also onions, mushrooms and pretty much any other vegetable that will hold up to battering and frying. Tomatoes go into a fritter due to their high water content. Now I know it sounds pretty unhealthy, but they are lightly fried, in olive oil of course, and it's very much lighter than a tempura batter, it bearly coats it, but OMG the taste is exceptional. We will be serving them at our next dinner party I expect.
After a meal in which we had a main also (Greg had dessert to) we caught the waiters eye and requested the bill, now i don't know if we had been living in a holiday fog or something for the past few weeks but it suddenly occurred to us that each time you request a bill you receive watermelon and raki!
For the uninitiated, raki is a spirit the locals make from the discarded skin of the grapes they use for making their very enjoyable wine. Not letting anything go to waste, and akin to the current food craze that is sweeping the world ie using every part of the produce. I suppose it could be compared to arak, the Balinese locally made spirit, but think, clear liquid in a vessel that holds around 6 shots and the taste, well I think if you put it with milk you could say it was metho! (Yes, old city warbs still drink metho and milk!). No seriously its rocket fuel that smells and tastes like metho but stronger! If your lucky, the restaurant that you are currently eating in, may take pity on your poor unitiated taste buds and provide you with some watered down fruit juice to add to it, it doesn't make it taste any better but it does lengthen the experience! The thing is, they get offended if you don't drink it. They don't mind you telling them it's rubbish, but they really pressure you to drink the stuff!
We finished our raki, yes Greg too, and retired back to the hotel where we fell into an alcoholic type haze that could be, I suppose regarded as a coma!
Needless to say we slept in a bit and after a lateish start we headed for Elaphonisi Beach on the other side of the island. This is a beach that is renown for its pink sands, sadly they are not so plentiful due to tourists stealing the sand.
The change rooms a a little box on the beach with a door,some doors are smaller than others and as there was only one change room it can be a bit in demand. If you are aware of the Europeans and their lack of understanding of personal space, I wanted to scream, excuse me! if you come any closer you will see the scars from me giving birth!
Now I may not of mentioned just how popular a spot this beach is and parking is at a premium and totally disorganised. Once we located our hire car that goes anywhere, we discovered that some #%*^ing idiot had parked not only us but around a dozen cars in with his hire car......bloody tourists! At least one of which had already discovered this dilemma and taken appropriate action. By this I mean the scrawling of the word idiot with a distinctive German accent across the rear window, the snapping off of all windscreen wipers, thoughtful placement of large rocks on the bonnet, the same rocks I assume that were used to smash his windscreen!
After much contemplation we discovered that we may just squeak through a tiny gap if we both breathed in, stuck our tongues out and held our heads in just the right angle! Hire cars are amazing, they can go anywhere, including very large boulders.....
We made it home and we're off again to dinner at a local restaurant on the water called Bamboo. Not too bad, but I again had another 'home made' chocolate soufflé.....seems it was made at the same home the previous restaurant's 'home made' chocolate soufflé was? Very nice nonetheless.
The next day, we did some research and attended the Allied World War II cemetery at Suda Bay, on the north side of Crete, near Chania. In 1941, the 2nd ANZAC Corps (of course, the 1st ANZAC Corps were deployed to Gallipoli during World War I) were sent with English troops to assist the Greek Army repel the German invasion of Greece. The Allies were hopelessly outnumbered and were withdrawn to Crete.
However, whilst the allies numbers here were more evenly matched, the German control of the skies and Aegean, meant no supply or artillery support. It was a battle that could never have been won. After three weeks of fierce fighting, including a huge Geman attack with paratroopers and gliders, many soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. In fact, over 5,000 allies became prisoners of war and spent the remainder of the war, fighting starvation and disease, in prison camps throughout Europe.
Some years ago, the Australian War Graves Commission arranged for the various grave sites around Crete be moved to the war cemetery at Suda Bay. Here, some 1,500 soldiers are buried, with many headstones marked 'Unknown Soldier'. The place is extremely peaceful and quite beautiful, overlooking the large impressive bay. The place is immaculate, with manicured lawns and gardens and of course, lots of small Australian flags and messages. Even though this war commemorated its 75th anniversary, to see the ages of the men lost, many between 18 and 23, still is very sobering.
After leaving a note in the visitors book, we drove to the Old City in Chania. The place is very crowded, and parking was a bit of an issue, but we were soon walking through the ancient Venitian walls and into beautiful narrow laneways, choc a blok full of shops. We made our way, after some shopping, to the old harbour,where we found a taverna for a late lunch. Then home. Dinner tonight was at another absolute waterfront restaurant named 'Salavantes'. We enjoyed the company of a local puppy dog, which had the saddest eyes and happiest tail. He patiently waited for any bits that may have fallen from our plates...we were clumsy that night (must have been tired???). The food was very good. And guess what? They also had 'home made' chocolate soufflé!!! And yes, Raki......
The next day, we planned on heading to a northern beach named Balos. Apparently it is exceptionally lovely. However, the winds were very strong, and it was expected Balos Beach would have been blown out.
So we headed to the south of the island to a tiny fishing village called 'Hora Sfakion'. We found out that this was the actual place those allied troops marched to for attempted evacuation. The drive alone is death defying! When the allies retreated south, carrying whatever supplies they could, they were pursued by the Germans. To see the march the soldiers made, over some 60 kms of extremely steep and high mountains AND back down (about 12500 feet). It's amazing to think that over 11,000 troops were saved from this tiny place as landing boats picked them up and ferried them to British and Australian ships. The little village has a significant memorial and still flies the Australian, New Zealand, British and Greek flags. We were able to have a swim at a beach nearby called 'Illingis'.
That night, we again attended the Old Town and went to an old fashioned Greek restaurant named 'Xani'. They cook their meat in old olive wood fired stoves, in ceramic pots. The lamb is delicious!!
Last day in Crete, we slept in, laid around the pool, had a massage each and ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. All very very nice! So sad to leave this place.
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