Hotel Kronos Platanias

... Jewish settlers brought in from Venice. The owner/waiter was a little rude, more intent on flirting with two middle aged blonde women of indeterminate origin, than serving us. The meal was fine though.

Our driving has improved – Chris navigates and Kevin drives in a much more relaxed manner than our earlier expeditions, negotiating the narrow, crowded streets even overtaking slower drivers on the motorway. A far cry from ...

... seemed to be 60km/h, but the traffic flow was generally double that, so we moved as far right as possible and let everyone pass, whether in no-passing areas or on blind bends. After about an hour, as we drove beyond Rethymno we could see another road to seaward where we reckoned Platanes should be, but could not find a way to get to it. The instructions from RCI were from Iraklio and mentioned a village called Scalletta. We found that ...

... donkeys wait to take any unlucky hiker who couldn't finish and had to be taken back.

At the end of the hike, we only had to walk 2 km more to get to the Libyan Sea, the perfect place to jump in after a long, sweaty hike. This end of the island was super remote and we ended up in one of the tiniest villages I've ever seen. There wasn't an ATM either, so luckily Brenden had cash, otherwise we would've missed the last boat to the last bus in Chania.

We ended up taking a bus to a town called Rethmynos to see this big old fortress with a mosque and a church within it, overlooking the water. It was interesting enough, but then we headed to the main part of town, which our "trusty" Lonely Planet had referred to as the second most charming city in Crete. I can only come to the conclusion that Crete is full of some **** cities. It was a weird ghost town full of ...

... the sunrise by the nearby waterfront, and now I'm sitting at a cafe getting breakfast. This is an experience I would highly recommend.

I've been exploring the harbor and old town for about two hours now and I'm loving the Venetian architecture and the relaxed atmosphere. The rest of the day was spent trying in vain to rent a car-you have to be 23, and then taking a bus to try to get to some cool monasteries. Of course, afer being ...

... bus bound for Chania.

Arrived in Chania after 9pm, and made our way to the Spirit Lounge, where we met up with Debra, Willie and Neasa and collected the keys to our Splantzia townhouse!! Enjoyed a few draught lagers and a burger before retiring to the house. Been on the go for some 30+ hours !!!

... worth noting that one Cretan woman told us she wouldn't be putting away her winter clothes for another two weeks, which is about the second week of May. Most Cretans are still wearing long sleeves and pants (often black), and some are in fleece and woolly sweaters. The tourists stand out because they are in shorts and tank tops! CONTEST QUESTIONS! 6. Name the wild, endangered, protected mammal found only in the Samaria Gorge. 7. What beverage is often served after your taverna meal?

... the tomatoes taste so fresh in Crete! After that, we drove down the west coast of Crete, along some harrowing roads that dropped off the edge of the mountain. The roads WERE dropping off, as there were several areas sloughing off into the gorges below! The roads all follow the mountain contours, so you drive up, then down, then up, then more switchbacks down (repeat constantly). We stopped in ...

To my little sister

- And jealous? :p Oh we really should have brought Ollie with us - so many cats to play with! What do you think mum & Babe would think if I brought one (Cesar) home? *g* Lots of love from sunny Crete

Sis & Eve

~*~

To Tini

-As promised a card from our next destination. Still on crete but 2,5 hours further on ...

... sitting here :o) It took quite a feet to get here though. I Malame we had to wait at leats an hour for our bus. Every busdriver that passed in a bus said "the next bus!" We wondered if we ust imagined reading about the bus to Kastelli. We wlaked to the next bus station when - finally- a helpful man from the bus told us it wouldn't be here for another 20 minutes.