Crete

So, it’s that time of year where the summer winds down and the guests who have kept us busy all season head back home and the opportunity to take a much needed and well deserved break and head off for a release once again presents us with options. This year I chose Crete. The largest island off the coast of Greece.

The journey started with the idea and the selection of the location and began over five months prior to boarding a plane. So much preparation went into the adventure, including a packed spreadsheet with the itinerary mapped out for each of the 14 days I would be gone. I would touch down in New York, Moscow, Crete, London, and Chicago. I would stay in an all-inclusive resort, a quaint cottage in the mountains, a splashy hotel on the Magnificent Mile, and finally a family members house in the suburbs of Chicago. From the mountains to the sea. From bustling cities to small town charm.

I boarded a plane out of Savannah bound for New York and spent a couple of hours waiting to fly to Moscow. Once in Moscow for a five hour layover, I waited to board a flight for the final leg, finally reaching Heraklion Greece. In the Moscow airport I watched the sunrise, rented an egg shaped pod to rest in, and sat at the bar drinking beer and watching Russian music videos. Of course, it was about 1 in the morning where I came from.

Heraklion greeted me with 70 degree weather and little wind but all I could think of was getting to my SWEET rental convertible. The little bit of a splurge but so worth it!

Then it was off to Creta Maris, the all-inclusive resort maybe an hour and a half away. Top down, and I was on the road. I drive on the proper side of the road, meaning the American side but the roads are narrower than what I am accustomed to and drivers consistently move over to the shoulder to let you pass and I do the same for those behind me who need to get somewhere faster than I do.

I make it to Creta Maris and get settled. My surroundings are beautiful and ready for exploration. My room is located at the far end of the resort on the corner of a building with views of the ocean out two sides of the room with a large balcony.

While I did enjoy the amenities of the resort, including a Michael Jackson tribute in the open air theater, new friends at the bar from London and Germany, karaoke and dancing, plenty of food and drink, ping pong outside, and coffee on the veranda, I am not one to lounge and so I had some day trips planned. The first was a trip to Spinalonga Beach where you can see the old leper colony of Spinalonga from the beach. Strangely, I could not find lunch at noon but only drinks and “snacks”. So, I checked out the beach of large pebbles and went back to the resort.

I also visited Knossos, known as perhaps the oldest city palace in all of Greece.

Because of the time difference, I found myself awake at 5 am the first day at Creta Maris so I went for long run though the streets in the dark, exploring. I came across a restaurant perched up on a cliff overlooking the ocean, just above what turned out to be a nude beach, and down the road a bit from a point where an old church stood. This turned out to be very fortuitous for me and ultimately led to some calamity. The place was called Saradari and I made it a point to come back when they opened for dinner. Great choice! I stopped in for a beer or several and had some of the best food I could have dreamed of. Fish balls (balls of fish), the biggest and best fried calamari anywhere, unusual but delicious ceviche, and my favorite, shrimp in Ouzo sauce. Ouzo is the local drink and is a black licorice flavored alcohol similar to Jagermeister. It is here that I met Banos, my server. He told me about a beach called Preveli that I must find. Challenge accepted.

As I bid farewell to Creta Maris, I headed to a town called Rethymno. I had read great things about this quaint Cretan city and was excited to explore. Arriving in Rethymno I parked, illegally of course and paid a $50 ticket for that. I stopped for a beer and some awesome pizza at a corner cafe and people watched for a while. Then toured the streets of the town taking in true Cretan charm and many historic landmarks.

After Rethymno it was off to Preveli. The drive was intoxicating and challenging but I found the parking area and began the 15 minute hike down to the beach. I found a perfect cafe at the bottom and after swimming in crystal clear water and scooping up a bunch of sea glass, I enjoyed a beer before hiking back up.

Once back in the car and heading to my cottage in the mountains, I decided to take a small detour to Lake Kournas, the only inland lake in Crete. Reaching the lake around sunset, I skipped a couple rocks, jumped in the car and continued to the cottage. Now, this was an AirBnB called Mamma Vasso and my host was Giannis. I had been emailing him with my updated arrival time. As I drove away from the lake on a narrow gravel road in the dark, I promptly hit a major pothole which immediately led to a flat tire. Stranded in the dark in a foreign country on a back road? No problem, I will just put on the spare tire and get back on the road. Not so fast! The lug nuts were so tight that I literally bent the lug wrench trying to loosen these stubborn bolts. Oh, and it started to rain. Waived down a passing car and with his help I arranged for the rental car company to send someone to assist. Good news, he was only an hour away! So, a brief nap in the car and the guy showed up. Swapped the tire and I was once again on my way. Giannis updated.

Now it gets real fun! The roads are incredibly narrow and wind through the mountains relentlessly. Did I mention that it was dark? Or that the headlights were like that of an old flashlight with worn out batteries that lights up but provides almost nothing resembling a tool for guidance. So, I wind through the mountains, around corners where the road is wide enough for one car so I must pull to the side if a car approaches. I guess it was good it was dark because below me it was quite a ways down. Then, something unfamiliar was spotted around a bend. A stoplight. Not understanding why there would be a red light in the middle of this place, I naturally proceeded to drive. It was only a moment before I realized the purpose of that well-placed signal. I approached a one way tunnel through the mountain. Since there is no where to turn around, I proceed cautiously and exit the tunnel without incident. I would make the reverse trip in the morning, in the dark again, as I raced to meet the bus to Samaria Gorge.

GPS. Giannis. Phone battery. What could go wrong? Well, lets start with the fact that I paid no attention to Giannis’s instructions to meet him in the town square. Then as I pass what the GPS says is a left turn into my final destination, I make a u-turn and head back looking for a right turn now. At what could only be the turn I find an entrance that looks like it drops straight down and is barely wide enough for the car. It doesn’t help that I am on a spare tire so I bottom out trying to crest the entrance from the road to the “driveway”. Now I find myself in deep darkness, no lights on in the residence and no idea where I am. I email Giannis that I think I am here but lost. He informs me that I did not follow his instructions just as my phone completely dies. As I sit in darkness wondering what to do and what I have gotten myself into, Giannis walks out of nowhere toward the car.

Giannis gives me the lay of the land. I ask if there is anywhere to get food as I am starving and have to wake up in six hours to drive to the bus. He makes a call and his friends open their Taverna for me. I follow Giannis to the Taverna and am greeted by the most hospitable couple who own the place. I settle in to a back room and strike up a conversation with Paul from London, order lamb chops or maybe goat, pizza, and Giannis buys me some wine. Paul was drunk but had lots of good info. I bid farewell and returned to Mamma Vasso.

I woke in the dark and headed to Chania to catch the bus. Waited for the red light to turn green at the tunnel and made it just in time. Got on the wrong bus but it worked out. I was headed to Samaria Gorge. A very strenuous hike down and down and down to the beach. There I would chill and take a ferry to another town for a bus ride back to Chania. The bus stopped for a quick breakfast at a cafe outside the park and I loaded up for the hike.

Once inside the park, I began the journey down. Six hours later I exited the gorge. In the gorge I experienced many river crossings, overtook obstacles, encountered goats, visited the old Samarian village where the Cretans moved all of the inhabitants out in the 1950’s to make it a national park. You know, like the American Indians. So cool though. The churches and other original structures dating back to the 14th century that sheltered 4,000 women and children in 1770 from the bloodthirsty Turks.

Outside the park exit I enjoyed a cold beer and massaged weary feet. Then, walked to the beach with a nice couple from California. I had some crappy food and some more beers, napped on the black pebble beach, caught the ferry, road the bus, got stuck in fog, pulled over randomly to pick some dude up who had to be extracted from the hike earlier in the day, waited for the goats to clear out of the road. Drove, once again, in darkness back to Mamma Vasso. Stopped for the red light again.

Woke up and headed to a perfect little town called Elos and had breakfast. Of course, this was the first time making the drive in the daylight and it was stunning. Dangerous, but stunning. All meals I have found include having a bunch of stuff brought to you before the food, such as fruit or veggie plates, bread, etc. No charge. Each meal ends with some kind of fruit again and a small bottle of the local alcohol called Raki. In Elos I had a great breakfast omelette in a charming spot and even hit them up for lunch on the way back. My destination today included beaches such as Kissamos, where I bought a new tire and had it installed and the ever popular Balos beach. Kissamos was not interesting but Balos did not disappoint.

Leaving Balos Beach, I headed back through Elos, stopped for dinner and some cough medicine, hand creams, and lotions at the Pharmecia. Went to Elafonisi beach for the sunset.

Woke and headed to a small shop in the village and met the owners. A nice couple, Antonio and Kiki. They invited me to have coffee with them so I sat out on the patio and enjoyed some Greek coffee and learned of places I must visit, including a great place in Chania for dinner. So I was off!

I stopped at a cool place in the mountains that the shop owner recommended in a place called Milia. His cousin works there and it is a lodge of some type with 14 rooms and no electricity except in the restaurant. I had a great meal outside with a great view. More coffee, some snails, pastitsio, goat ravioli, etc. Oh, and Raki.

After lunch it was off to some beach that came highly recommended but the name escapes me. It was a glorious drive to an equally magnificent secluded beach. Access to the beach required a very technical hike down. That said, I hiked down to the beach. Did some cliff jumping into more crystal clear water. Took a cool picture of a goat. Hiked back up barefoot as I didn’t want to get my socks wet and sandy. Then it was off to Chania for dinner.

I made it to Chania and found the dinner place Antonio recommended, made a 6 pm reservation and went to explore the town for a an hour or so. Not impressed. The restaurant sat me on the shore and served a mediocre meal. The view was great and the sun set right on time. Back to Mamma Vasso, again.

Woke early, drove to the airport in Chania, paid the parking ticket, and boarded a plane to London and then Chicago. My hotel in Chicago, the Hyatt Centric, was perfect! Had dinner at Luxe and crashed. Got up early since I was back on a jet lag situation and walked to the lake, Lake Michigan, for a sunrise stroll. Took some pics. No filter kids.

Walked back to the hotel via Dearborn through a super charming area and had a wonderful breakfast in a small cafe.

Walked the city and took in the sights. Had lunch at a great place with awesome food. Then dinner at Lou Malnatti’s Pizzeria.

Took a pic of a building I marveled at. It’s on the right and has our presidents name on it!

Eventually, I packed up my bags, shipped a bunch of stuff back home, mainly clothes and shoes I had shipped to the hotel in Chicago since I was only doing carry-on luggage for the trip. Walked around in the freezing 26 degree weather. Had some drinks at a pub while it snowed. Caught a train to the burbs. Got off the train to cold and wind that blew my cap cap literally right off my head. My brother and his wife picked us up and we took the longest route possible to the church where we would be celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary the next day. We set the place up and went out for dinner at Fattie’s. Not a health food joint.

Attended church in the morning and the celebration and then went by my parent’s house to chill and chat.

Woke the next day and went to Proforce to work out with my brother and his wife and then headed into Geneva for the day. Quaint little town. Had a very nice breakfast at Egg Harbour and walked Third Street in perfect 60 something weather. Then, I made my way to The Little Owl for a drink. Of course, I couldn’t pay for the drinks because I forgot my wallet. So, I left my car key with the bartender and went to find that. Back to The Little Owl for another drink and to settle up. Lots of reminiscing for me, as I walked these streets every day for many years.

I bid farewell to the town but made my way back in the evening for a visit to one of my old haunts, Villa Verone, for true Italian food courtesy of Pietro. I forget the name of our server but he loved to sing, in English or Italian, and made the night unforgettable.

Wrapping up, I woke up, my sister-in-law drove me to the airport and I headed to Savannah.

Phew! Done. A long, eventful two weeks. And when home and walking the beach the next day I wondered why I ever leave this place to go anywhere. I find no place as beautiful as the place I call home and yet my nature is to constantly explore. To expand my horizons and to see things I cannot see from the shores of Hilton Head Island. To feel the culture, to taste the food, to survive, to navigate, to negotiate, and to seek and to find. Already, I want to know where I will go next…….

Journey Man

Category: Crete

The Journey Begins

Posted at 12:26 am by mkombrink, on October 27, 2018

Posted at 11:36 pm by mkombrink, on October 26, 2018

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