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Month: November 2014

Greece 2014 – Day 12 – Western Coast Crete

Greece 2014 – Day 12 – Western Coast Crete

Nov 30, 2014 | ,

Phalasarna: We continued our drive as far as we could west to the beautiful beach of Phalasarna (above) that faces unobstructed open sea until Tunisia.  After a great swim playing in the small, warm and immensely clean waves we slowly made our way south all the way down the western coast until we arrived in the late afternoon at another spectacular beach, Elafonsi (below). The roads in western Crete are two-laned, generally windy and often cut sheer profiles without guardrails.  There is little traffic and the major hazard tends to be complacency or the occasional tourist bus on a blind curve.  Passing...

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Greece 2014 – Day 11 – Ravdoucha

Greece 2014 – Day 11 – Ravdoucha

Nov 30, 2014 | ,

On a recommendation from the hotel owner in Hania we found ourselves in Ravdoucha for a night.  We drove west from Hania to the next northern extending peninsula and wound down to the end of the road where we found the lovely Taverna & Studio “Rock On The Wave”.  Just four rooms, a taverna and a beach, it was perfect. The owners are a friendly young couple, hospitable and very hard working. As we found typical in Crete, the food and wine are local and delicious.  We were delighted to be offered an entire jar of home made marmalade...

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Greece 2014 – Day 10 – Zorba!

Greece 2014 – Day 10 – Zorba!

Nov 30, 2014 | ,

We took a day trip from Hania to visit the village of Stravros on the northern point of the Akrotiri peninsula, site of the final scene of Zorba the Greek and the “hilarious disaster” (above) – a great movie if you have not seen it. Back in Hania we continued to enjoy ourselves...

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Greece 2014 – Day 9 – Hania

Greece 2014 – Day 9 – Hania

Nov 30, 2014 | ,

Hania is a very ancient and delightful port town located on the north coast of Crete, west of Heraklion.  Full of small windy streets and a clean harbor the city remains largely reminiscent of Venetian period architecture. A more careful look illuminates the markings of its entire storied history and the fascinating story of Crete. On the hill across the harbor (pictured), bronze aged peoples settled thousands of years ago.  The indigenous and highly evolved Minoans made the same hill their home approximately 3000 to 1450 BC.  Post Minoan Crete was to be followed by 3500 years of foreign occupation and...

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Greece 2014 – Day 8 – Heraklion

Greece 2014 – Day 8 – Heraklion

Nov 30, 2014 | ,

The plan was to visit the Heraklion archeology museum, rent a car and move on to Hania (leaving Knossos until our return), which we did. Yet we discovered the heart of Heraklion was interesting, historical, approachable and very much worth a casual day and so we lingered. Still, the museum is the highlight, without question.  If you go to Crete, do not miss it.  The beauty, quality and state of preservation of the Minoan artifacts rivals any museum in the world, … truely! And Heraklion had another surprise for us.  A  hip dining scene oriented around locally grown, organic food and environmental sustainability.  Peskesi turned...

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