of all the islands i've been to so far, crete remains my favorite. it is the largest island but i just love how relaxing and slow the pace is there. i think it feels less touristy too because there is so much land for people to disperse themselves among. we got into heraklion and got on a bus headed to chania. upon arriving, we rented a car (that we later named hercules) and then drove to the hostel. if you're ever in chania, stay at the niriis hotel just 4km west of the city. the owner, george, is awesome. he is super helpful and tells you the best places to go and eat. not to mention, his brother is a professional basketball player for the greek national team so he has some good stories to tell!
renting hercules was key because the next morning, we drove 2 hours south to my favorite beach in the world, elafonisi!!! cat and i went last time we were here after having it recommended to us by our hostel owner and we had a blast. i was so excited go to back--so excited that i left my camera on my bed but had 2 extra spare batteries and a memory card. go me. pert and rachel were nice enough to take some more pics for me to make up for my idiocy! even though i knew where we were going and what it would be like, i was still mesmerized once we got there. it is absolute paradise there! we stayed for an entire day before heading back to chania.
once returning, we met our new dorm mate jon, from kansas. we all headed to this vegetarian restaurant in town that was recommended by george which was to die for. the food was all organic and incredibly tasty. we showed up with a map that george had drawn for us and that had listed out what special cretan delicacies we needed to try. after reading off the list, our waitress asked where we were staying and low and behold, she just broke up with georgie boy 5 days ago! haaaaa. for only knowing her for 5 minutes, it was amazing the amount of information she divulged. later we helped her deliver a note to george that was taped up in masking tape and written in pink pen. perhaps it was a take me back note? we will never know.
the next day, we headed to balos which is a lagoon that was also another 2 hour drive away. this was a true test for hercules because we had to drive on a dirt road for a while, but he survived! did i mention that hercules is a daewoo matiz from the early 90's (we are guessing with no power steering? yes, all part of his charm. after arriving in the parking lot, we had another 20 min hike down to the beach. along the way, we saw a lot of mountain goats which was really kind of random, but whatever floats their boat. the hike was totally worth it because the view of the lagoon from the top was stunning. it wasn't quite as 'beachy' as elafonisi, but still a great way to spend our day. we found a little sand bar and threw up the umbrellas that george let us borrow (see, he's the shit) before camping out for the remainder of the afternoon. we were the first people there in the morning which was great but more ferries showed up eventually and it was filled with people in a few short hours.
after leaving balos, we booked it back to chania before pulling everything together to leave. we had a great goodbye dinner with jon and rachel in town eating some seafood before getting dropped off at the airport. it's been great how many wonderful people we've met along the way. now i have a couch to stay on in melbourne or kansas city if i ever go! after flying to milan and spending the night in the airport, pert and i are off to spain!
renting hercules was key because the next morning, we drove 2 hours south to my favorite beach in the world, elafonisi!!! cat and i went last time we were here after having it recommended to us by our hostel owner and we had a blast. i was so excited go to back--so excited that i left my camera on my bed but had 2 extra spare batteries and a memory card. go me. pert and rachel were nice enough to take some more pics for me to make up for my idiocy! even though i knew where we were going and what it would be like, i was still mesmerized once we got there. it is absolute paradise there! we stayed for an entire day before heading back to chania.
the next day, we headed to balos which is a lagoon that was also another 2 hour drive away. this was a true test for hercules because we had to drive on a dirt road for a while, but he survived! did i mention that hercules is a daewoo matiz from the early 90's (we are guessing with no power steering? yes, all part of his charm. after arriving in the parking lot, we had another 20 min hike down to the beach. along the way, we saw a lot of mountain goats which was really kind of random, but whatever floats their boat. the hike was totally worth it because the view of the lagoon from the top was stunning. it wasn't quite as 'beachy' as elafonisi, but still a great way to spend our day. we found a little sand bar and threw up the umbrellas that george let us borrow (see, he's the shit) before camping out for the remainder of the afternoon. we were the first people there in the morning which was great but more ferries showed up eventually and it was filled with people in a few short hours.
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