Rethymno and Iraklion Crete

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Built around a Venetian Fortress, the streets were cobblestone and the alleyways were again packed with shops, which were all slumbering at the moment we arrived.

We found our hotel (Hotel Faro – meaning lighthouse) and when the keeper showed us to our room we thought there had been a mistake.

“I know, I know, it’s okay, I know,” he said in a soft Greek accent as if to calm us from the shock of looking at a full suite complete with a large balcony that looked over the waterfront restaurants.

A part of the Venetian fortress stood proudly in our view, making the whole scene even more poetic. Luck had smiled upon us due to the fact that another guest had decided to stay in the room that was supposed to be ours and because we had made the reservations on hotels.com the price was guaranteed.

We relaxed with some wine and watched the fan fare on the waterfront. We decided to take a walk and explore the town. I must have taken a hundred pictures of alleyways. I just loved how so much activity and color filled each alleyway. Any space was fair game to set up chairs for a near by café or hang clothes to sell.

Once again we stumbled upon a vegetarian restaurant called Soul Kitchen. We sat and had some fresh juice and coffee listening to a band’s sound check.

After returning to our balcony for some more Greek wine and hearing from the shop keeper that all the seafood is imported from Thai fish farms, we decided to head back to the same Vegetarian restaurant for a macrobiotic meal.

It was lit up with the funky rhythms of the band flowing in full swing. We sat and listened to covers of soul, reggae and funk next to the ruins of the Venetian fortress. The passerby’s began to stand and listen dancing in the street. We felt one with the world partaking in the ancient ritual of food, music and dancing.

The next morning we left our suite and headed to Iraklion for a night so we could catch an early ferry to Santorini. Iraklion was nothing special; Just a big city with lots of Tourists passing through on their way to other more interesting sites.

We took a bus to Knossos to see the ruins of an ancient Minoan society that lived in the region. After so many ruins in Turkey it was hard to keep our interest. We went out of respect for Theo who told us it was a must see.

A local restaurant spoiled our taste buds that night. As we tried to pay the bill and leave the waiter asked us to sit and we were reminded again of the Greek tradition to provide dessert and raki on the house. The waiter brought us a carafe of raki, watermelon and chocolate crepes with ice cream for free!

I love Creete

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