Crete

Crete, our first Greek isle. Actually a big island, I think the biggest and some large towns, Chania, where we stayed and Heraklion being the biggest.

Cooking facilities

From the balcony

After surviving the Ryan air flight, we took a bus to town and walked a few short blocks to the Bnb. The owner also runs a bookstore on the ground floor and his mother was there to greet us. It was a nice little flat, all the conveniences of home, and then some, and a quiet side street. We were able to walk a short way and were then inside the walls and the historic old town and harbor. Old town is a warren of small streets, filled with shops and cafes and sidewalk tables. A lot of typical tourist stuff but some nice things and good bargains. Lots of tourist and all pedestrian. We wandered thru most of the streets over 2 days, along the harbor wall, ate at cafes, had cool drinks and gelato. All good and pretty cheap. One meal we got 3 different dishes, typical Greek, Tzatziki (yogurt cucumber dip) yum, chicken souvlaki and a gyro. We tried it all and will repeat as necessary. Also got some good wine, olive oil, chess and bread for our own happy hours. Loaves of bread are only 1 Euro and a liter of water 22 cents! There are lots of squares and some beautiful churches and a part of town has some archeological digs, dating back over 4000 years ago and old.

Lighthouse at Chania

Coast drive

Church along the way

We were scheduled to stay here 4 nights but in order to get the ferry to Santorini, the next stop we needed to take a 3 hour bus ride to Heraklion. The one and only ferry leaves at 9:30a,so that meant getting up to the bus station at 5:15 AM. So, we opted to find lodging in Heraklion for that night and take an afternoon bus there. A much better idea, then we were able to stroll the street of Heraklion near the flat, eat and enjoy the harbor view. 

The drive was interesting scenery. Crete is basically a desert island, dry, cactus and grows olives, grapes and potatoes. The coast has lots of coves and a few sandy beaches. Some picturesque holiday areas and villas could be seen along the way.

The one night stay in Heraklion was right down on the port, the main road and bus station near. The flat was really small, had nice views from the balcony but a bit noisy with the motorcycles needing to blast around the streets. All buildings are stone, no sound proofing and noise just echoes all over the place. Our host was extremely helpful in meeting us, showing places to walk to and stroll and eat and took us to the travel agent to buy ferry tickets. His flat is pretty basic, doesn't really have a kitchen and a new bathroom experience for us. It was basically a wet room, all tile, with a small sunken area to step into when you shower for the water to be contained and drain. But nice hot water.

Next stop Santorini!