Wanderers : Greece

Crete is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea. It is also home to the Souda Bay Navy Base. The first thing we did was rent a car for a week -- the first time I had driven a car since October and the first stick shift since we were in Italy 17 years ago. We then headed straight to the Navy base to get much needed supplies: Q-Tips, Glide dental floss and other American products that we could not find anywhere. Go figure, we could not get on because we didn't have an 'access number'. Apparently you have to go through a Greek Navy base to access the US base. And since I didn't have a sponsor, could not get on just to go to the Navy Exchange. No big deal. We just hit a super market for food and beverages before arriving at our AirBnB. We figured (hoped) we would have better luck the following week accessing the base in Sigonella Sicily.

We arrived Friday, 13 April, right before Easter (Easter in Greece was celebrated the week after it was celebrated in the US this year). So... we got to celebrate Easter twice! That night we were walking around and there were soldiers and military musicians and spectators standing in the square in front of the Catholic Church of Chania. We heard a priest canting and decided to stick around and see what was going to happen. Over an hour later, something 'happened'. Clergymen led by alter boys carried an arrangement of flowers followed by a preist and his assistants. Some music played and that was it. The crowd continued to March around with candles and we went the opposite direction to home.

Easter Sunday, almost every restaurant had a spit turning a lamb over coals out front. The restaurants were packed with locals and tourists. We didn't get any lamb particularly because it was sold by the kilo and that was way too much for us to eat on top of everything else that came with it. Most of the shops and many restaurants were closed.

Sharon even put on a dress 👗

How did we get here? We flew out of Naxos Airport, the smallest airport we have been in, even smaller than Key West. When entering the plane they handed each of us a candle 🕯 okay what am I going to do with this. We flew to Athens and then another flight ✈ to Crete. Again we received a candle.

Where did we stay? An AirBnB in old town Chania. It wasn't much from the outside but nice and kind of funky on the inside. And it had a washing machine! Parking was semi challenging but we always lucked out and got a spot right out front.

What did we do? We spent our first three days checking out Chania. The waterfront was fun and packed with restaurants and shops. We had fun walking the back streets and alleys and checking out the old forts, port town and admiring the Venetian and Ottoman architecture.

Monday we drove around the center of Crete through small villages and narrow windy mountain roads. It was beautiful! We took a challenging dirt road as far as we could in search of the Cave

of 99 Saints. We hiked the rest of the way. The hike was awesome! Once we arrived at the opening to the cave, there was a sign recommending a headlamp of some sort before entering. Well... we didn't have one and didn't go very far inside.

Three Men Statue in Lakkio

Agios Antonios Greek Orthodox Church

1866

Samaria Gorge

Holy Temple

Holy Temple Servants of Christ

To the Cave of 99 Saints

This was the road most of the way

Tuesday was 'beach' day. We took more narrow windy mountain roads to Elafonisi Beach, famous for it's pink sand and crystal clear water. It did not disappoint! We stopped at two more beaches before heading home.

Ancient Olive Tree
900 Years Old

Elafonisi Beach

Sfinari Beach

Olive Groves

Falasarna Beach

Wednesday we drove to the town of Rethymno and wandered the maze of narrow streets, Venetian buildings, and Ottoman-era architecture. We strolled through the town and checked out the Venetian Fortress -- built in the 16th century.

Rethymnon Lighthouse

Rimondi Venetian Fountain

Neratze Mosque

I got a nap!

Sunset

Where did we eat? Our favorite spot was Aroma Cafe the service was great and the food was amazing.

Savory Cheesecake
Cretan boureki (cheese) on a crunchy
base barley rusk with zucchini, potatoes
and mint flavored cream cheese

Salmon filet in a sweet mustard crust with
sauteed vegetables 😋

Our Greek Easter Celebration

Chicken Bites served on pita bread in
a rich cream of yogurt and mizithra cheese
Freshly grated tomato 🍅 flavored with
local oregano

Spicy salami and bread

When in Greece it is always good
to take an Italian tour!

Lasagna

Pasta with Ricotta

Dessert

Shots

We were looking for a restaurant in one of the little alleys with an inside since all the restaurants have outdoor seating. We found Tamam Restaurant and we were asked if we had a reservation which, of course, we did not. They found us a seat which was funny because the place was virtually empty. By the time we left, it was completely full. The food was very good.