Villa Stella Apartments Plakias

Our first view of Crete was of mountains rising in sheer walls from the sea as we approached this Mediterranean jewel (the most southerly of the Greek Islands) late on a Monday morning.(Nov 9). The sun was shining and the temperature was about 19 C so we were set for a glorious afternoon as we docked in the charming and animated port town of Aghios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas). Hilly, with narrow, steep streets that provide alluring sea views, the town was a ...

Well I suppose we were pretty spoilt in Santorini. But I have to say Crete wasn't exactly what we had in mind!

We left Santorini on the slow boat (took about 3 hours) to Crete (which we heard was fabulous) and were sorely disappointed!

The weather was grey and pouring with rain - like really p!ssing down - and neither of us had any wet weather gear (or cagoules). Bugger. Not such good weather for people with yucky head colds!

Anyway, we ...

... a few wrong turns on the way home over a winding mountain road with not a lot of signage and it was about 8.30 by the time we got back to Platanes, and dark, which made driving even more difficult. Lidl supermarket was still open and we bought more tomatoes and cucumber to go with oil, bread, sausages and fetta cheese for dinner. Chris had some left over baklava for his dessert, of course.

We never made it to Phaestos or Gortys.

... person per day that would have been a lot for an unknown, and would stop us from trying the local cuisine.

The apartment has most of the usual facilities, and the toilet is the usual Greek affair – don’t flush the toilet paper, which is guaranteed to affect the bowel habits of any delicate western person used to flushing with abandon.

We wandered around the local area till we found a genuine supermarket – ...

... necessary as well, as the sun gets brutally hot in the gorge as the day gets later. Along the way, there were some cool curiousities such as abandoned settlements and ruined stone buildings. Apparently the Samaria Gorge was also a key place for refugees to escape to during the battle of Crete. We caught sight of a couple mountain goats, this breed being one that apparently only lives in Samaria Gorge. Another fixture of the hike was the donkey station ...

... to come visit me in Ireland and this guy Gareth he is from Ireland but living in the UK he is going home for 2 weeks around Christmas and he said he would come find me so that is great! And the Lisa the girl he is dating she is from New York but has dual citizenship in Germany she will be in Germany for like 2 months- at the same time I am in Germany and we might be able to meet up hopefully while I am there!!! I have met ...

... are sitting on a terrace sipping fresh orange juice, enjoying baklava and listening to Grecian radio. Nex t week we will try to take a ferr to Italy so whish us good luck! I hope you are well and not becoming too jealous *g*

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SMS from mum

- Liesel are you wlaking through the (Samarian) Gorge now? At the end you can take a boat. Love mama

_OdwiNOTE: SEEMS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU THE DISTANCE TRAVELED BY BIKE IN KMS...... WELL WE ARE STILL GOING TO DO THAT BUT UNTIL TODAY ALL ENTRIES HAVE BEEN IN MILES AND NOT KMS ON OUR BIKE COMPUTER SO WE HAVE NOW RECTIFIED THAT Tuesday 19th June, 2007 Well this morning we were up bright and early as we were catching the ferry to Hora Sfakion (pronounced Hora S-fake-ion) it's a tiny port town in the mountains. The Ferry made 4 stops on the way ...

... I can't keep picking up my stuff every two days. I just want to stay somewhere. I don't want to go and you can't make me!" I am now five years old and totally fed up. After an hour of breaking down, I get back up and head off. After all, I have told Emlie that I will be there and I can always go back to Naxos for more rest afterwards. So I finally get there and I have to stay that it was the best time I've had since I left home. For me, Plakias was more ...

... that some abominable ******* dumped in a box at the side of the road, so they're weaning them. These little dudes must be the youngest creatures I've ever seen. they can't be more than a week old, they fit in the palm of my hand. They haven't opened their eyes yet. I spent a couple sweet hours napping with them in the garden yesterday afternoon, with one under my shirt and one up each sleeve. OK, I'm gonna go find someone to cover me in yogurt.