I last left off with anticipation of Zakythos, and now I shall try to bring the blog up to speed... three islands later. Zakythos was quite an interesting stop. It reminded me a lot of Phuket, Thailand, in that the genuine natural beauty is somewhat marred by the deluge of tourist industries catering to loaded, lazy consumers seeking a foreigner-friendly, 'hip' experience. Ever the do-it-yourselfers, Risa and I thought we might be heading to a hidden gem and found that all of Britain and Scandanavia had beaten us to it. People were actually quite surprised to hear American accents. Nonetheless, the island was beautiful.
Looking past the bow of the ship (over the bare breasts of European sunbathers, of course), the island's features were actually bordering on paradisiacal. A few of the highlights included visiting a white pebbly beach with a shipwreck (above), glowing blue caves, and a rock resembling Poseidon's visage (below).
After a short stopover in Patras, a couple bus rides, and a long ferry ride, Risa and I arrived in the port of Souda near Hania on the island of Crete. We took an early morning bus to our final destination of Rethymno, which allowed us the opportunity to watch the sunrise. Watching the slow burn of the creeping sun warm the island was a great way to start the day and left a lasting first impression of the island.
We walked around the charming old section of town, paying a visit to a hilltop fortress (above), a Venetian harbor, and the beach. Then we donned our adventure tourism hats and rode horses on the beach as the sun sank below the horizon. Sun up to sun down, it was the complete day!
We spent the next day in Heraklion, the third largest city in Greece (the second is Thessaloniki, the first is Athens). Through the hustle and bustle, we navigated our way through a maze of narrow streets and busy traffic. We went to the famous Minoan palace ruins of Knossos (below). I was glad to have brought a surprisingly relevant pocket guide to Crete circa 1970 (thanks to my Friends of Fondren membership at the Rice Library), which guided us through the stone complex. Then we wandered around town a bit more and ate our first real Greek salad (baklava for dessert!).
We took a high-speed ferry to Santorini this morning (thank goodness for efficient travel!!) and checked in at our fancy hotel, the Vedema. We toured the complex, checked into our palatial room, and spent some time at the hotel's private section of the island's black beach. We went to a small winery in the evening and tasted three whites, a red, and a sweet dessert wine made from grapes grown on the mineral-rich volcanic soil of the island. Risa and I thought the vin santo was so incredibly delicious that we splurged on a bottle and sipped it by the pool as we read our novels at sunset. Ahhhhh.... :)
Looking past the bow of the ship (over the bare breasts of European sunbathers, of course), the island's features were actually bordering on paradisiacal. A few of the highlights included visiting a white pebbly beach with a shipwreck (above), glowing blue caves, and a rock resembling Poseidon's visage (below).
After a short stopover in Patras, a couple bus rides, and a long ferry ride, Risa and I arrived in the port of Souda near Hania on the island of Crete. We took an early morning bus to our final destination of Rethymno, which allowed us the opportunity to watch the sunrise. Watching the slow burn of the creeping sun warm the island was a great way to start the day and left a lasting first impression of the island.
We walked around the charming old section of town, paying a visit to a hilltop fortress (above), a Venetian harbor, and the beach. Then we donned our adventure tourism hats and rode horses on the beach as the sun sank below the horizon. Sun up to sun down, it was the complete day!
We spent the next day in Heraklion, the third largest city in Greece (the second is Thessaloniki, the first is Athens). Through the hustle and bustle, we navigated our way through a maze of narrow streets and busy traffic. We went to the famous Minoan palace ruins of Knossos (below). I was glad to have brought a surprisingly relevant pocket guide to Crete circa 1970 (thanks to my Friends of Fondren membership at the Rice Library), which guided us through the stone complex. Then we wandered around town a bit more and ate our first real Greek salad (baklava for dessert!).
We took a high-speed ferry to Santorini this morning (thank goodness for efficient travel!!) and checked in at our fancy hotel, the Vedema. We toured the complex, checked into our palatial room, and spent some time at the hotel's private section of the island's black beach. We went to a small winery in the evening and tasted three whites, a red, and a sweet dessert wine made from grapes grown on the mineral-rich volcanic soil of the island. Risa and I thought the vin santo was so incredibly delicious that we splurged on a bottle and sipped it by the pool as we read our novels at sunset. Ahhhhh.... :)
4 comments:
Wow...sounds incredible! In comparison, my journey with Wentworth has proved to be a bit less cosmopolitan. Aside from helping me read up on French choral diction, he's pretty much divided his time between eating, sleeping, and pouncing on my head at 5:30 every morning. He misses you as much as I do!
The wine picture makes me insanely jealous. Enjoy your last few days, Becky!
Another great travel blog - can't wait to hear more when you're in Idaho!
Wow, Becky! Sounds like you've had an incredible trip to Greece. I didn't realize you were going to Crete! When I flew a jet back from the desert a couple of years ago we stopped in Souda and had dinner in the town of Hania. Isn't it beautiful? It's impressive because the village is at sea level and it is dwarfed by a massive snow-capped mountain...probably 10K+ feet tall!
I'm so jealous! I want to take a trip with you, Becky!
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