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Published: November 28th 2010
Mediterranean Postcard
Rethymno is full of pretty little alleys like this.The bus ride along the northern coast of Crete was a scenic one, as the bus snaked along the rocky cliffs that towered over the aquamarine sea.
Rethymno's bus station is almost right on the water and the building is far too small for the number of people waiting to catch a bus, as tourists and locals alike spilled out onto the tarmac. The staff there were also some of the most unhelpful I have ever encountered.
I had arrived at about 1pm but I knew that the reception at the hostel wasn't open until 5pm so I needed somewhere to dump my bags while I kept myself occupied for four hours.
Having found what looked like a left luggage shed adjoining the bus station, it was unoccupied and locked. At least it was locked I supposed. I then approached the man behind the bus station's cafe counter to ask if they did indeed have a left luggage service and if it was in fact operating today. He then
A Bastion
Looking out to sea from the fortress. pointed me to the hut, before I pointed out to him that there was no-one there. "Just wait a while", he mumbled, annoyance becoming clearly apparent in his eyes.
Luckily I didn't have to wait long before a tall, well-built, goatee-adorned man walked past me without acknowledgement to unlock the shed. As I approached him, he looked at me impatiently.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Can I leave my bags here?" I asked.
"How long?" he asked back, his impatience increasing with every question I asked.
"Until about 4.45pm?"
"This place is closed at 4pm" he replied, before rushing off - leaving me no time to consider my options.
So I guess I will have to find the hostel and see if there is anywhere to dump my bags.
Cretans have been the most unhelpful and unfriendly people I have had to deal so far.
I don't need to mention to you that it was another hot day as I followed my map to the apparent address of the Rethymno Youth Hostel. After circling a block a couple of times and taking a wrong turn, I eventually found the place. It was nicely setup with an outdoor kitchen
Venetian Harbour
Lined with restaurants. and dining area, with all the toilet and bathroom facilities in a separate block. It had a campsite feel to it. Worryingly for me, the place didn't appear to rate security as a high priority as I walked right in to just about every room, searching for someone who worked there. Keeping with the campsite theme, there were about twenty bunk beds on the rooftop balcony, all laid out with sleeping bags. Pretty cool idea, sleeping under the stars - I wondered if I would end up sleeping there.
As expected, there wasn't going to be anyone around to check me in until 5pm, so some fellow hostellers suggested that I could leave my bags in the foyer. So I padlocked my zips and shoved them underneath a wooden bench.
Keeping again with the campsite theme, there was no soap whatsoever in the hostel. I needed to wash my hands. I
really needed to wash my hands. Walking out of a cubicle without doing so is disgusting. And so my tour of Rethymno started with a mission to find soap.
Like many old towns in Europe, Rethymno's centre is walled and pedestrianised, the cobblestoned pavements are all flanked by
Old Arched Entrance
Random door on the street - not sure if it's ancient, but it sure looks it. cute old buildings, some covered in ivy and vines, some with overgrown pot plants sprouting out from the balconies, blooming with gorgeous flowers just like you see on painted postcards of the Mediterranean. It is so pretty, so relaxed. There are lots of cute little cafes built into these cute old buildings, but I don't think I could've got away with using the bathrooms in any of them without ordering anything. Can't eat, drink or hand over cash with dirty hands. Most of them were empty anyway. Another interesting architectural feature of the buildings here are the wooden,
Maltese-style bay windows jutting out of the second stories.
My pretty surroundings weren't really helping my quest to find soap though. I headed outside the town walls and found a park, the municipal gardens. They were very well kept and the perfect place to chill out with nature under the shade of the trees. If it wasn't for the one million crickets screeching in the trees that is. The perfect place also, you'd suspect, to find some public toilets. I found them, but they were closed for repairs.
Back on to the streets outside the old town I pass
two pharmacies -
Venetian Fortress
The Venetian Fortress overlooking the town, the harbour and the sea. both of them closed. It's Sunday. For Christ's sake.
I then spot a small newspaper kiosk.
"Do you sell soap?"
"Yes, over here", replied the shopkeeper, with a now unsurprising unfriendly tone, as he gestured to the other side of the kiosk.
Mission accomplished - well half of it anyway.
I now had the soap, I just needed some running water. So it was back to the hostel.
Old towns have a mazy, labyrinth feel to them, you never quite know which way you are facing. Without a map (I had left it at the hostel thinking I wouldn't be long), I started walking in what I thought was the direction of the hostel. I walked for ages without recognising anything. This didn't feel right.
And sure enough I ended up at the sea, the other side of town from the hostel. Oh great.
I walked back through the maze that was the old town.
Pretty little streets with buildings of delightful pastel colours and cute wooden shutters, decorated with old bicycles made the place feel almost feel like a time warp back to the 50s in many respects, and there was a very strange Parisian feel to the place
Streets Of Rethymno
So pretty and relaxed. I love the blue shutters. in parts. Nice scenery doesn't ease the frustration of being stuck in a maze, though it does provide some consolation. I finally make it back to the hostel, and I wash my hands.
I walk back to the hostel foyer to collect some things from my bags. Two women are now sitting on the wooden bench and I have to ask one of them to shift across so I could grab my bags from underneath it. They both look at me with a mix of bewilderment and understanding as I did this, as if to say "who would steal your stuff dude?".
Which brought me to think about how three years in London has changed me as a person.
Three years ago, as a fresh-faced and excited young man coming to Europe for the second time, I remember being outwardly friendly to everyone I met, eager to start conversation, to make friends wherever I was. London has now fully eroded that excitement and enthusiasm, just like my cousin Nicola had told me it would at the time. Three years living in London has made me cynical and mistrustful. I no longer have the time or interest to learn a
Window Of Opportunity
Looking out south-west towards the new part of Rethymno. few words of the local language when I travel these days, knowing English will get me by. I'm not as open to conversation any more, like a commuter on the tube. Shhh. Keep your head down, don't look anyone in the eye, people are pissed off about being at work all day. Just like you.
To try and save a little face, I ask the cute, blonde Romanian girl not to tell anyone about my bags, that it is our little secret. She laughs, and offers to hang out with me in Athens. Cool, I might just take her up on that.
My soap mission over, I could now walk the streets of Rethymno at a more leisurely pace, aiming to end up at the main sight of the town, the Venetian Fortress. As well as pretty old buildings, Rethymno also has lots of quirky shops and a Turkish-style market area. Cloth and trinkets seem to be the items most commonly on sale here. This area can be traced back to the three-hundred years of Turkish rule. Other highlights in the old town include the Church of Our Lady Of The Angels and the Rimondi Fountain, which is pretty
Turkish Quarter
Cloth shop beneath a Maltese-style bay window. much the centre of town.
After walking up small hill overlooking the town, I arrive at the fortress. Built in the 16th century, it is now just a collection of buildings and ruins on the inside, although it still stands mighty, proud and formidable atop the hill, with views looking over the town and out to sea.
Within the fortress, there is a small network of tunnels - which I love - and various buildings including a mosque, storerooms, bastions, military residences and a theatre.
Back at the hostel, I could finally check in, and lo and behold a friendly local ran the place. All this walking is pretty hard work, so I pretty much passed out for a while after having a shower.
I hadn't had a proper Cretan meal, so I thought now would be as good a time as any. The restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet was right in the centre of town near the Rimondi Fountain and was tourist central. The restaurant was one of many, and the clientele looked rather elderly. Not that something like that should put you off, but it did. I settled for a small family-run
taverna on a backstreet
Taverna
Typical back-alley taverna in Rethymno. around the corner.
For starters I had a Cretan salad, which is crushed tomatoes, grated feta and olives - but with a "base" that is large piece of very crunchy bread. So a huge crouton if you like. It tasted good overall, although I'd probably say I would prefer the texture of a Greek salad.
I sampled the local fish - I believe it was sole - which was battered and served with fries and rice. It was OK, but nothing amazing. In such hot weather, I was really struggling to eat much at all, so I wasn't planning on getting dessert but as a thank you for my custom, the taverna gave me a bowl of the thickest Greek yoghurt topped with cocktail cherries and syrup followed by a complimentary shot of rakija. A digestif that would certainly help me digest my food by burning up everything that I had just eaten. Although the food wasn't that great, I did appreciate the service which was about the first time I had had good service so far.
I then decided to go for an evening stroll, of which every single person in Rethymno at the time had the same
Waterfront
A plethora of restaurants, bars and cafes sit next to each other looking out at the sea, with hundreds of people taking their late evening stroll. idea. It was a lot like
Sarajevo, where everyone just walks in the late evening.
I was pretty glad I did that walk - I discovered a whole other side of Rethymno, that I didn't know existed. I had stumbled upon the old Venetian harbour that was rammed with restaurants. Further around from the harbour, was a whole waterside avenue of bars and clubs and it was heaving for a Sunday night. The whole place reminded me of the Viaduct in Auckland, but with more character and less attitude and tackiness.
Walking the other way along the water from the old harbour was a beachside boulevard that seemed to stretch for miles, with what seemed like a thousand restaurants, bars and cafes on the waterfront. The place was loaded with people milling along the street. This place felt more like Mission Bay in Auckland without the snottiness.
Using instinct to get back to the hostel, I was relieved to finally see the park again after walking for ages in the same direction. Goes without saying that I was stuffed after all that walking - but it was one of the more satisfactory walks I had done as I really felt
I had explored the whole town now.
Not that the tiredness was helping me to sleep. Once again it was unbearably hot and my legs were getting boiled by my leg hair again.
Although you didn't really need a blanket, the hostel was pretty poorly supplied and there were no blankets, towels or even sheets to speak of. Some beds in the dorm didn't even have pillows. Plus the dorm beds were
really close together. I might as well have been sleeping in a double bed - just as well there wasn't anyone in the bed next to me.
I was wondering whether or not to stop by in Rethymno, and I'm really glad I did. The place is beautiful and lively and has a bit of everything - I would liked to have stayed longer. Where Heraklion felt more like a city, Rethymno felt more like a town and was more tourist-centric and inviting. Would definitely have swapped a night in Heraklion for another night here in hindsight - most definitely recommended.
But alas, I have to move on - Hania, is my next port of call tomorrow. So until then...
Andio,
Derek
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