Blogs from Chania, Crete, Greece, Europe

Ok I actually slept really well on the boat?? The cabin was def worth it - in fact I only woke up as we were basically getting into port lol. No problem, takes a while to dock anyway and then forever for everyone to get off so there was no real rush. I wandered down the street hoping I was going the right way (I was, bless) to get to the bus station t o head to Chania (boat arrived in Heraklion). The station's super organized and clean... I wouldn't say overly obvious English info, but if you know the Greek name of where you're going it's super easy to find the correct bay/gate. The only English name I saw was "Chania" which I mean... I guess is what most tourists need to know anyway lol. ... read more

Après cette belle visite... du musée archéologique nous voici à Chania, Rania ou La Canée... Nous prendrons une calèche pour ne rien rater...promenez vous avec nous... Comme nous sommes tout de même loin de notre hôtel d’Elounda, nous passerons une nuit ici pour nous rendre dimanche midi chez Dominique qui nous a si gentiment proposé de venir déjeuner chez elle... Nous ne pouvons que vous conseiller de venir par ici car c’est vraiment très sympa...... read more

We're up at 5am for our long awaited day of hiking through the Agia Irini Gorge. I think that maybe it’s only me that the “long awaited” bit applies to; I suspect “long dreaded” may be more Issy’s take on the subject. We are picked up just before 6am, and we join a busload full of fellow hikers for the long drive up into the White Mountains where our hike will start. We originally considered hiking the 16 km long Samaria Gorge, which is apparently the longest gorge in Europe, before deciding that the Agia Irini, at a paltry 7.5 km, was a bit more our style. We assume that everyone else on the bus is also a fellow Agia Irini hiker, but we soon discover that it is only us and one other couple who ... read more

We’re tired after yesterday’s long drive, so we sleep in. We really sleep in; we miss lunch. Issy wants to spend most of the day relaxing. She must really want to relax; she says she’s even willing to let me go out driving on my own. I did happen to mention something about a monastery which may have played a small part in her decision. Issy’s not really into monasteries. I head off out through endless rows of olive trees and grapevines to the Agia Triada Monastery which is on the Akrotiri Peninsula north east of Chania. I read that it was built in the early 17th century by two Venetian brothers. Its church has three domes and has been built in the Byzantine architectural style, and the monks live in rooms off the cloisters surrounding ... read more

We’re a bit tired after a long day of travelling yesterday, so Issy glues herself to a lounge under an umbrella next to the hotel pool. Every effort to prise her loose fails, so I take the opportunity to read up a bit about Crete on the ever reliable Wikipedia. Crete is a serious island. It‘s the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean. Its major historical significance is as the centre of Europe‘s first advanced civilisation, the Minoans, who apparently thrived here from 2,700 to 1,420 BC. They then declined or disappeared, and one theory is that they were wiped out by the Thera eruption which created the famous Santorini caldera. That must have been some eruption; Santorini is more than 150 kilometres away. The Mycenaeans from mainland Greece were the ... read more