We got to our serviced, self contained accomodation which is located in a small village named 'Koutalafari', which overlooks a larger seaside town named 'Hersonissos'. The towns are about 30 minutes expressway drive from the main port of 'Heiraklion'. Our accomodation and little village are both beautiful, with lots of varied restaurants, bars and shops. We wandered down to Hersonissos and that place is FULL of lovely restaurants, bars and shops!! It is a very popular spot.
The next 10 days will be our first that we have to fend for ourselves, breakfast wise, so we went to the local market and stocked up on cereal, juice, yoghurt milk etc beer and wine and stocked the fridge.
After a good nights sleep we managed to watch the Sharks win their 13th game in a row on the Internet, then hired a car for 9 days, as we would be driving through to Chania (Hania) and we want to see as much of the island as possible.
We headed down to Agius Nikolous, another large seaside holiday town. We looked about the place, which is very picturesque, before deciding upon a lovely taverna for lunch. My tummy is getting broader and broader! We then walked and shopped for a bit, and finally decided on a dip in the water at a small stoney beach. The beaches usually have a shower, so we always have a change of clothes at the ready. Much nicer driving with the salt content filled rinsed away. The water in the Aegean has a very high salt content and a sea snake was enjoying it right along with us.
I had picked up a book in Naxos when I finished the last one. It looked interesting, as everyone who knows me, knows I read fiction to escape. The book is based in Crete so I thought maybe I might learn something before I get there. The book is by Victoria Hislop, 'The Island' is about a Greek/English girl curious about her mother's past in Crete. Well I was excited to learn the places referred to actually existed with a fabulous if tragic history. 'Spinalonga', google it! We found the place on our way back from Agius Nikolous, opposite a beach called Plaka. It looked so interesting, we decided it would need more time than we had, and the beach looked great too, so we would be coming back!
Our drives provide some great opportunities. Firstly, we see parts of the country you would never see on a guided tour, we get to pick out some great beach and swimming spots to cool off from the heat, we stumble upon fantastic food in sensational little Greek Tavernas and restaurants and get involved in some unusual things. Such as, after leaving Agius Nikolous, we followed a backroad to view some hidden beaches and cliffs. The road was only a car width wide, and we occasionally negotiated the odd vehicle coming the other way without too much trouble. However, in the tiny little village of Perampela on mount Xera Xia we drove upon a funeral procession. The town would not have had 20 people living in it, but there were hundreds of mourners following the hearse on foot out from the small cemetery and up to a cafe/restaurant for the wake. We had no other option but to follow the mourners, whilst other mourners followed us! I'm pretty sure we could have joined in on the wake? Home we went, and actually enjoyed a very different meal at a restaurant called Bejing to Bali.
The following day, we headed to the southern side of the island to a beach called 'Matala'. Although a stoney beach, it was very fine stones, so we were able to lie on the beach and not have to hire one of the seemingly thousands of umbrellas and sun lounges. There is a magnificent stone wall siding this beach. The natural stone has been hollowed out by the ancient Romans and early Christians to form many caves. However, in the early seventies, this was Greece's San Francisco, and hundreds of hippies came here to live, visit or experience. Some remain.......!!
There are markets everywhere, and hippy paintings scattered all over. It has a great feel to the place, and the water was lovely! After a late lunch at a local Taverna overlooking the magnificent beach, we headed home.
The next day we planned on getting going early etc etc. We slept in instead. How good are holidays!?? But eventually, we headed off to Plaka Beach and Spinalonga. The drive down was great, mostly highway, but then a turn off to a long windy road down some breathtaking mountains and through some terrific little Greek villages. We got to Plaka, and jumped on a little motor boat to get out to the island. It was initially built by the Venetians when they ruled the world. It housed their valuable trade of spices, silks and chattels from marauding pirates of the day. But later, it was used as a leper colony, right up to the late 1950s. During WWII, the Germans occupied all of Greece and Crete, but refused to enter Spinalonga! We ended the tour and returned to the beach at Plaka, where we lay in the sun, this time we did hire the umbrella and sun lounge (large stoney beach!). Here, we also had waiter service for drinks and food! An interesting sidenote. Although we would never swap our beaches for the Greek stoney beaches, although the water is magnificent, today was a very very windy day. On a Sydney beach, we could not have stayed. But on a stone beach, no problem!!
Home again, and tonight we had a late dinner at the Roof Top Garden, very nice setting and lovely real Greek food. We woke to another hot sunny day and decided to spend the day by the pool. Which was convenient, as we were able to watch the final State of Origin game. I had a couple of beers....we stayed put in the hotel for their Bar B Q night....pretty basic feed....I had a couple more beers, and Cathy made me have a couple of cocktails! (Twisted his arm I did! NOT.) he found a Scotsman to drink with and I left them to it.
Today, we left Koutalafari and drove towards Chania. We pulled into another large seaside town of Rethymnon. This place has 20kms of sandy beaches, and 20kms of beach umbrellas and sun lounges! We hired ours and swam and lounged, but it was SO hot, we left looking for a drink....of Coca Cola, iced water - anything but alcohol (still seedy!). We arrived at our accomodation at Chania and checked in. We are right on the water, and the rooms are very nice. After getting some supplies, having a shower and writing the blog, it's dinner time! And maybe a beer?
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