Monday, July 19, 2021

Greece's public transport

I started the morning off comfortably. The 3 girls had already flown out early. So I could have fun in the room. Smile

First, I had to figure out the bus system here in Chania. Well, I thought it wouldn't be too easy and transparent. We Swiss are already super spoiled. Here, most bus stops don't even have a timetable. And there's no overview of where each bus stops either. So I just have to stand at the bus stop and wait...

In addition, I also looked into Santorini. According to the travel guide, a day trip should cost about 100 euros. Think again! Since it's peak season now, it costs a whopping 160 euros. Since I only rented a car for 1 week, I'll invest the money in a day trip to the beautiful island of Santorini. Yay. Now I just have to book the ticket online. But I can do that in the next few days. The only thing that bothers me is that I have to drive all the way to Heraklion. That's over 2 hours. Departure is at 9am and you have to be there 1 hour earlier. That means: departure at 5.30am, then I have to find the way, park, and get a ticket. Phew, that's a bit inconvenient. But oh well. Santorini is just soooo beautiful. I have to go through with it! (PS: sometimes things turn out differently...)

So, now out of the sleeping cabin and into the sun. According to our reception, the bus stop in front of the hotel is actually served and that's where I'm waiting for the bus now. After 20 minutes, it actually arrives. The bus driver tells me that I have to ride to the final stop (in the middle of the city). Because there's the 'KTEL' bus company, which operates long-distance routes. There I can get my ticket to 'Rethymno'. Said and done. The ticket to the 1.5 hours away Rethymno costs 12.60 euros (round trip!). Unfortunately, I missed the bus at 11.30am by 5 minutes. So I had 1 hour to spare in Chania Town. On the way here, I saw a travel agency that offers tours to Santorini! Snap and my plan to book this trip in the next few days is done. And how! Because I'll be picked up directly at the hostel (at 5.50am) and brought back here in the evening. Phew! So everything is taken care of in terms of transportation, etc. Perfect! Santorini, here I come! And it's on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to it.
Including the trip on one of those giant boats. When we were on vacation in Santorini back then, we could already hear the speedboats from a distance (before we saw them)! It's incredible, the amount of water displaced by the monster engines. Accordingly, the noise is very impressive... I can only imagine what it sounds like for the marine creatures. Hmmmm.

The trip to Rethymno was pleasant. I sat in the air-conditioned coach at the front and had a view of everything. The place is very beautiful. Narrow streets, lots of taverns in the shade of old facades or huge bougainvillea bushes. There are also many shops with the leather goods typical of Crete. Also jewelry in abundance. Most of it is nothing special. Only rarely are there really cool shops with unique items from local artists and not mass-produced goods.

I discovered a great ceramic shop at the entrance to the fortress. So I've already partly bought gifts for those back home. Smile.

The fortress is huge and apparently it was originally planned to move the village up here. But the former residents of Rethymno didn't want to, so there aren't many buildings there. But even just the wall is impressive. Not to mention the view. Even though the wind has made the heat somewhat more bearable today, it's still an incredibly hot 34 degrees. Drinking is essential and taking breaks in a breezy spot to cool off. My circulation does somersaults sometimes; that's why it's always important to take it slow! Smile

A great excursion, which ended with a great return trip to Chania. Just a quick stop at the hostel and then off to the tavern. Right next door, I quickly dropped off the first postcards. Although, I'm not sure if the cards will ever reach Switzerland. At least the intention is there. Hehe.

A new face just came into the room. The girl is from Israel and has been traveling through Greece for 1 month already. Now she has moved up her flight by a week because Israel wants to put Greece on the risk list. The Ukrainian girl will leave early tomorrow morning and is now going out with the Irish girl. Their goal for tonight is to get drunk. So I'm curious to see when the two of them come back to the room and one of them has to climb the ladder to the upper floor. Smile