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Published: March 27th 2008
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Well yesterday, Wednesday, was an awesome day! We had another free day, so of course we went hiking. Ingrid, Brock, and I went to the travel agency in town and asked for a good hike to do, so they gave us one that led us to a beach. They said normally people just walk there and then hire a cab for the way back, but we thought we should just walk it all. So we got up and ate breakfast in town (Vamos) and then left a little before 10am. The way to this beach was through many different terrains. Sometimes it was paved, sometimes it was gravel, and for a little while it was on little trails through an olive grove. We saw a lot of churches along the way, just like on every hike here in Crete. Some were fairly new and in towns, and some were in the country and were many centuries old. We got to a little town and on the direction sheet it said to walk behind the church and we would be able to see the beach that we were going to. It was gorgeous, but still a long ways down. At this point
we had already walked six miles. The beach was about a mile and a half farther, but it was all downhill... which means that it was all uphill on the way back. Anyways, we got to the beach right around noon and it was a little colder than we expected. Not beach weather at all. Hiking, we were getting really hot, but once we got down to the water, it cooled off. But it was still nice to be on the beach. So we went to a super market and got food for a picnic and just sat and enjoyed our fruit and yogurt (very typical, and very cheap, lunch for us here). There was this little church a little ways out on a peninsula of rocks, so we decided to walk out there. It was a little tougher than we thought, especially because the water was splashing up on the rocks so they were slippery. But we made it out to the church, so that was really cool. The little town that this beach is in was called Georgipolus (or something like that). In the summer it is probably one of the most touristy places on Crete. A 10km
beach and little tavernas everywhere. And gorgeous seaside hotels. But now since it's off season, there were hardly any people there and hardly anything was open. But it was still great to be there. After a couple hours on the beach we thought we should head back because since a lot of the hike was uphill we weren't sure how long it was going to take us. The hike back was very difficult and it was super hot out too. But it was still an awesome hike. We took pretty much the same route back, so there wasn't anything new to see. We made it back in about two hours, which we thought was pretty good for seven and a half miles on hilly terrain. So needless to say, we were very tired when we got back. Dinner that night was all fish too. More anchovies and kalamari for appetizers. They were both ok, neither were as good as the other night. Then, after dinner we got raki, as always, but there were a few of us who just stayed around and hung out for like five hours just talking and drinking raki, including both of the professors. So that
was really fun. This morning in class we were talking about the concept of time in Crete, and it is so relaxed. Just like last night, dinner ended a little before nine and we were just hanging out not even paying attention to the time and just having a good time. That hardly happens in the US because of all of the time commitments people have and just such a tight schedule. Here, it doesn't seem like people plan much, they just live life and have the attitude of come what may. It is so cool! It makes me wonder why I plan so much and don't just live in the moment. So that discussion this morning in class and last night just hanging out with Ingrid, Brock, Erik, and David and Roy til early morning was a great example of that. It is really great to be able to be enveloped in the culture like that. It's going to be weird going back to the US and being on such a tight schedule with work and school and having to plan everything in order to fit everything in. In Crete, it has been so great because a lot of
the homework that we had we did earlier in the trip (the profs purposely front-loaded this semester so we could enjoy Crete like this) so we have been able to enjoy the culture and relax just like the natives here. But anyways, in class this morning we also discussed the hospitality of the Cretans. They will do anything to make each other and us happy. The local shop keepers are always giving us free stuff and wanting nothing in return. At the taverna that we eat at at night here, they have given us free raki and dessert every night, even though that was not supposed to be included in our meals. And everyone just goes out of their way to help us, it is so cool. But again, it's going to be different going back to the US where that is hard to find. Anyways, we are leaving for Chania soon to get on the ferry to go to Tinos for a few days and then a few days in a couple of the other islands. And then it's off to Turkey! So we are coming down to the end of the trip, I can't believe it. It has
gone so fast and been so much fun and such a great experience that I will never forget!
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