Long Last in Vamos and Heading to Tinos

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Since I last wrote, two weeks ago, I have had limited access to the internet. This update is long overdue.

To continue the journey, I went to Rethymno which is the third largest city on Crete. It was located right on the coast and had great beaches. There wasn’t much planned there except for free days that were spent shopping, going to a health club, running along side walls with crashing waves, and laying on the beach.

The next stop was the Orthodox Academy about a half and hour from Hania. I stayed there for two nights and learned more about the workings of the people of Crete to create a better country and community by the year 2020. I also went to an Orthodox church service called Icon Sunday and visited a workshop where they write/paint icons.

Then it was off to Hania for three nights. Hania is the former capital of Crete and an old Venetian town. It has an old port with cafes and shops lining the water with mountains behind it in the distance. It was a touristy city, but very beautiful (at least the part I stayed in mostly, called Old Town). I walked to a light house there and tasted octopus for the first time, which I am not a huge fan of. I also did more shopping here and just enjoying my time in Crete. The power went out in the city one night because the people are on strike. It is a completely different atmosphere in that the people band together for rights and privileges. On the last day, we visited a Jewish synagogue and the guy who was working there was Greek American, was young, and had spent 20 years in living in the US.

From that time until the present, I have been living in a small town slightly south east of Hania, called Vamos. It is a smaller town with a population of about 600 people, yet it seems bigger. I have been living in an apartment which is more like a house with a magnificent roof top balcony with a breath taking view of the mountains. While in Vamos I have visited local olive groves, had a few nights of music (one English ex-patriots playing jazzy music, another with traditional Cretan music in the Art Café, and the last traditional Cretan which was played during dinner), taken hikes to old churches and monasteries, took a hike through a few small towns that included old Venetian wells, and even a 16 mile hike yesterday that led to a beautiful beach and chapel on rocks in the midst of the sea. I’ve had time to relax here and soak up the Cretan culture of time being not an object of importance, sitting and talking to locals until almost two in the morning, eating amazing meals that last almost two hours, and enjoying life in general. I’ve had a chance here to make my own meals, which I had been missing from back home and just having a good time enjoying other people’s company.

Tonight, I am taking an over night ferry to Pireus, and tomorrow morning going from Pireus to the island of Tinos. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far in Vamos. The realization has come that my life will never be the same. This truly is the experience of lifetime.

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Photos

we hiked 8 miles to this beach
total trip was 16 miles that day

church at the end of the rock path
Church of St. Nicolas in Georgeopoulis