Beach bums

The boat ride to and the one back from our cooking class were probably eight or nine hours apart, and there's a good chance our group may have run the place out of wine.  It was pretty late when we went to sleep, and my inexplicable need to wake up early was something I wished I could turn off this morning.  Nevertheless, I was awake at 7:30 am.  I spent a little time washing out some clothes in the sink and hanging them to dry. I took a moment to organize my luggage a bit. I finally probably woke Cas up just by moving around.

Once we were up, we headed for breakfast, then on to the place that rents out kayaks.  I had never kayaked before, and there's no better moment for a first time than now.  

It was a fun time.  I actually thought it would be more arduous and less rewarding, but I could see that we were really making progress.  I hate the feeling of working and working without any visible signs of motion, but this was perceptible.  Also, I took a selfie of us kayaking.  Enjoy: 

Apparently, I am better at kayaking than I am at hiking.  Either way, both things resulted in me arriving where I wished to be.  

After the kayak ride, Cas and I stopped for lunch.  I had some particularly flaky and wonderful sea bass, and he had octopus.  I tried a bit of his, and he tried a bite of mine.  I was the clear winner.  The sea bass was strikingly good.  

Following that was a trip to the only bar in town that had cider.  Cas is a big hard cider fan, so when he saw yesterday that this place served hard cider, we immediately planned a trip there.  After that, it was actually nap time.  We slept for an hour or two, then we decided to wander about until dinner time.  There isn't a long way to travel in this town, so we walked up the main drag and back.  When we were near the end of town, we saw a mojito bar.  They were growing their own fresh mint out front.  Why not?  

I have to say it was amazing.  

Following that, we walked back to the hotel by way of a place that sold wine.  We bought a bottle, took it up to the hotel roof and opened it up.  The stars were so pretty last night that we needed to verify they were still there.  They certainly were.  I think the whole group may have had a bit more wine and a few extra mojitos in this town. It's a very relaxing place, and we didn't have anything we needed to do early in the mornings here. After the gorge hike, we were all ready, I think. 

Anyhow. Tomorrow, we go to Irakleon.  I think we will be going to the palace of King Minos.  I'm not entirely sure at this point. But I will keep you posted.  Until then, good evening.  

Moussaka

The morning in Agia Roumeli was beautiful, but at this point in the trip, it would be strange if a place wasn't.  After breakfast, we walked to the pier where we boarded a ferry boat.  That took us to Loutro, where we will be sleeping for two nights in a row.

We walked around and checked the place out for a little bit, but that was a quick process.  It's such a small place that I didn't see motorized vehicles.  Everything was pushed up against the coast, and there was one little walking path in front of it all. 

We put our luggage down and went to lunch with our group.  I had swordfish souvlaki, certainly a new one on me.  It was amazing. 

From there, we had just a few moments to get ready for a trip in a small boat to a small place just up the coastline. All sixteen of us were learning how to make a traditional Greek moussaka from scratch.  It was a bit crowded in the kitchen and I didn't stick around long, but we had a good time.  Here is Cas frying up some eggplant with me. 

We made the meal in shifts, so the only thing I really figured out how to do was prepare the eggplant.  If you want to know about the meat, the potatoes or the béchamel cheese on top, you're on your own.  

While that was cooking, a few of us went for a walk along the beach.  Again, it was a rocky beach, but it was a really pretty walk.  Besides, I am getting pretty good at walking on rocks.  

When it was time to eat, it became a multi-hour endeavor.  Greeks start their meals late in the day by American standards, and thy don't end them with any deft speed.  We sat for dinner at the super early time of 7:30 and got back to our hotel after midnight.  

On the way back, we were on a small boat again.  While we traveled on the sea at a safe pace (considering the boat was at capacity with half of the tour group), we looked up.  I don't know if I have ever seen that many stars.  I have been to some beautiful places and some remote places.  I have been to Alice Springs, Australia in the middle of nowhere.  I have looked skyward from Hawaii.  I have never seen so many stars in the sky all at once.  We had a clear view of the Milky Way, the likes of which I have only seen in a planetarium show.  It was breathtaking.  

I am pretty tired, but I wanted to close with the image we saw as we got back to the place where our hotel is.  This is Loutro: 

I know, right?  Anyhow, good night, everybody.   

Rocks, stones and pebbles

Agia Roumeli has a rather interesting beach.  I didn't have time to explain that part last night, but it's really something.  The Greeks have divided the Mediterranean Sea into different parts, and the town we're in as I am waking up this morning is on the part of the Mediterranean they call the Libyan Sea.  

Cas looked at a map and saw that we're about as far from Libya as we are from Athens at the moment, so it's not exactly like we can see it from our hotel balcony.  What we can see from the balcony (and what I am seeing as I sit and write this) is a beautiful beach. When we first arrived here, I thought it was black sand. When we got to the beach after the hike yesterday, we discovered it was black pebbles.  Of course.  Everything here is rocks, stones or pebbles.  The streets are made of stones.  Let me tell you, that was a harsh surprise after yesterday's hike, when all I wanted was a nice, flat sidewalk with no bumps at all...  

Though hot to walk on at first, the pebbles ended up feeling pretty good on our worn-down feet.  We figured the whole beach experience was a bit like a spa treatment for our weary legs.  When we walked out into the water, the pebbles swallowed our feet.  We had what felt like a hot stone massage (with pebbles) and a salt water scrub in the Lybian Sea.  It was the perfect thing to do after a hike like we had.  

Last night at dinner, everyone else was talking about the difficulty of the hike.  Aha!  So it's not just me.  People who are on this trip with us all agreed that it was a very hard hike, and several of our traveling companions are avid hikers.  We all have a late breakfast coming, and I don't think anyone has a problem with that.  The group could probably use the rest.  

My alarm isn't due to go off for another 30 minutes, and I have already been awake for 30.  I am just up earlier than Cas- for no reason whatsoever- and I came to sit out on the balcony.  I mean, why sit in a room with the curtains drawn, when this black pebble beach is your view from the balcony? 

I think I will take a moment to get my luggage organized, but not right away.  I think I will stay on this balcony and enjoy the spoils of waking up early for a few more minutes.  See you in Loutro.  

Gorgeous Gorge

Somehow, in the back of my brain, I remember hearing that there was a professional wrestler named Gorgeous George.  I Googled him just now- he died in 1963, so any memories I have of him were reruns or retellings of a story.  Nevertheless, the stage name popped into my head today.

We hiked through Samaria Gorge.  It was a gorgeous gorge.  In total, it was about a 10 mile hike, and I am fully capable of walking ten miles.  The trick is, Samaria Gorge is never just walking.  When they say "hike" on Crete, they mean you walk on mostly stones, and a majority of those stones are not all that flat.  Having the limited hiking experience of a three mile stroll in Hot Springs National Park earlier this year, I feel I was ill prepared for this hike.  I also feel like it was my first REAL hike.  Hot Springs was a literal walk in the park by comparison.  

Everything was beautiful, but I hate the feeling of being bad at something.  I was the dead last hiker to finish, though when I told people that it was my first real hike, they seemed amazed.  Apparently, this isn't exactly the bunny slope of hiking.  I managed not to need the emergency personnel to take me out.  I left on my own power.  Good thing, too, as evacuations are done by donkey.  

Cas stuck with me the whole way.  I imagine he could have gone faster, but I doubt that would have made him happy.  When we got to the end of the hike, it was only a few miles to the hotel.  By the time we arrived on foot, we decided the wisest course of action was to put on our swimsuits, walk into the water, get back out and drink some Ouzo.  

The water felt amazing, the drinks were extra-delicious, and the shower I just had was just about as therapeutic as a shower can be.  I think Cas felt the same way about his shower.  

We leave Agia Roumeli tomorrow by ferry for Loutro, where some local folks are supposed to teach us to make Mousaka. We actually have a cooking class.  How cool is that?  

Anyhow, We're exhausted and in need of more Ouzo. And some dinner.  Here's a gorgeous gorge for you- Cas has more in the album.  Go look.  

Island time

When we arrived in Chania, our tour group went to the hotel.  It was before 8am, so our rooms were nowhere near ready.  We went just to drop our luggage off and establish a home base for our walk.  From there, we walked to a good restaurant by the pier and had breakfast.  Following that,we had a little more time to walk around while Charlie showed us points of interest in the town itself.  

There are a lot of parts of the city built in different times under different rule.  Parts are still present from the Ottoman Empire, while some things are from when the area was dominated by Venetian traders.  There are some buildings that look ancient, with modern portions.  Lots of the stuff on the Greek mainland has been preserved as world heritage sites or as archaeological sites, but it appears Chania is just good at incorporating what was there already into the place it is now.  It seems, too, that they've always done that.  

When we split from the group, Cas and I headed back to the hotel for a moment just to apply sunscreen.  We had been so dazed and exhausted from the rapid departure from the ferry this morning that we had failed to apply any.  We needed it, too, because our next move was a walk all the way out the light house at the end of the pier.  

It was absolutely beautiful, but there was no shade whatsoever.  No matter, though- here is the aforementioned lighthouse: 

It was pretty cool, and the view was amazing.  The water was gorgeous, and we plan to find some time to get in it soon.  

We're checked into our hotel now- they mercifully let us in early- and cleaning ourselves up.  I just had a very welcome mid-day shower, and Cas is taking his now.  After that, I think we may take a little ride on one of the boats that goes to a prime snorkeling spot.  We may do that, or we could go to the beach.  We may walk around or take a horse-drawn carriage.  Not sure yet- but we plan to have a great time.  

We have a long hike through a gorge tomorrow.  It's the Samaria gorge, and I didn't know this, but for people who like hiking, it's supposed to be a thing they put on their bucket list.  I have some tennis shoes with me, and so does Cas, and we've been told that will do the trick.  I'm pretty excited.  Wish us luck! 

Disembark

The ferry was a good deal fancier than I suspected it would be. Since space is limited, we were assigned four to a room. Cas and I were placed with the other married couple on the trip, a teacher and an engineer from Australia. 

We got on, checked in and went to where they served food. Partially due to low expectations, we had brought apples and snacks with us. The food on the ferry looked pretty good, but we opted for a cheese pie (basically a flaky pastry with light colored cheese of some kind in it) and the apples we had brought along. 

After that, we shared a bottle of wine with our new roommates on the top deck of the boat, then brushed our teeth and went to sleep in our bunk beds. 

The ferry was supposed to have an alarm that sounded 30 minutes before we were to meet our group. That did't happen. One of our roommates set a backup alarm 15 minutes out. That was the winner. We had just enough to time to brush our teeth and swipe on some deodorant. No wardrobe change. Needless to say, we're hoping for an early check in at he hotel. 

Check out what it looked like when we disembarked: 

We're in Chania (pronounced con-ya) now. More to come. 

Off the mainland

Cas and I left the first fortress and headed immediately for the second one.  That fortress is in the middle of the water, so a boat trip was in order.  

The second one was not as well maintained, but it was interesting nonetheless.  Cas has some really great photos from both of the fortresses in the album he's keeping.  

After we left there, we walked around and found a place to eat lunch.  The food has been good in every moment of this trip so far, and we have been promised that the islands will be just as good, though the seafood will be even better.  

We wandered through the street market as all the vendors were closing up for the day.  Apparently, there is a farmer's market or a street market in Nafplio every Wednesday and Saturday.  

When we finished the walk, we had a beverage in a nice, shady street cafe, then we went to a grocery store to get some apples and a few granola bars.  

We have just spent two hours on a bus, and we have boarded our very fancy ferry boat in Athens. Time for dinner and a little wine as we leave the mainland and head for Crete.