Wednesday, 28th July 2021
Ebifulumiziddwa: 28.07.2021
Sometimes it just fits!
Get up without an alarm clock, get out of bed and out of the hostel at your own pace... Look at the map and simply choose today's destination! The island of Loutro just 'vis-à-vis' from Chania in the north of Crete it should be today. Just clean the windows of the car and then it can start.
The drive goes steeply up into the mountains and then steeply down to the sea. So some altitude meters and even more curves. We Swiss are fortunately pass experienced and so this is not a new situation for me to drive. I love pass driving. In addition, very little traffic and the roads mostly in good condition. If there were not those hairy pedestrians again! And they even lie comfortably in the middle of the road and surround the car when you want to sneak through slowly! Scandalous! SmileBut, don't worry, this time it was NOT at night and it was NOT a cow (the last such encounter in Greece ended fatally for the cow, badly for the car and with horror for me). So everything in the green area and siga siga (slowly, slowly).
If the thermometer already shows 29 degrees at 9 o'clock, then Daniela is doing very well! Then it only needs groovy Greek pop sound on the radio and it drives itself! Life is beautiful.
Arrived in 'Chora Sfakion', I looked for an affordable parking space and then your ticket counter. Perfect timing! The next ferry leaves in 20 minutes. Otherwise, I would have had to wait 1.5 hours. When it fits, it fits! 10 Euro for the short return ferry ride to Loutro and 4 Euro for the parking. The costs are within limits. The experience, however, not! Pha, once again a big surprise. This Loutro is a little treasure in the true sense of the word. Small, manageable, almost empty (!) and the water.....! If you haven't seen it yourself, you won't believe it.
I usually don't eat anything before dinner. BUT, right here I finally found the Cretans' breakfast: Bougatsa (fresh cream cake. Simply without the anyway stupid sugar lid like in Switzerland). YAMMMMY. Plus a Frape and all this 1 meter next to the bluest water ever, in a small, Greek lagoon village. Man does not need much to be happy! lolAt 12:45, I took the ferry back. From there, it was all the way back down the road. Up, down, left, right, steep.... oh yes, and do not forget the pedestrians!!!
Since I had marked a few things on my map around Chania, I drove around a bit more in the area:- In 'Douliana', I wanted to visit Natalia and her very own products. But, unfortunately, the store was closed. So maybe I will come by again in the morning. On the way, I came across another treasure: a store with all kinds of local artists' products: ceramics, photos, paintings, jewelry, soaps, embroideries, oils, etc..- In 'Kokkino Chorio', I got massively lost (because the description in the guidebook was not so clear). So far until I ended up in a dead-end at the top of the transmitter antenna. But, as always, if the way leads somewhere: it was worth the trip. So if I ever win the lottery, I would buy a house here! Smile. Finally, I found what I was looking for: the glassblowing workshop (unfortunately not in operation today) and the very impressive store with artworks in all shapes, colors, sizes, and price ranges.- In 'Aptera', there was then a bit of culture to visit. For 43 Euros entrance fee. The excavation sites are not worth mentioning. The theater was massively reconstructed (before and after photos show this very impressively). So it's not really worth a trip, I think.
Meanwhile, it was 5 pm and I had to think about where I wanted to eat today. In any case, somewhere by the sea. The peninsula above Chania has a few nice, small beaches. 'Marathi' appealed to me spontaneously on the map. So, program the navi and go.The small sandy beach was still full of people who were bathing or chilling. I found a table right in the front row and let it go well. This time dessert was on the house again. And it was incredibly, mega, bombastically delicious!
Get up without an alarm clock, get out of bed and out of the hostel at your own pace... Look at the map and simply choose today's destination! The island of Loutro just 'vis-à-vis' from Chania in the north of Crete it should be today. Just clean the windows of the car and then it can start.
The drive goes steeply up into the mountains and then steeply down to the sea. So some altitude meters and even more curves. We Swiss are fortunately pass experienced and so this is not a new situation for me to drive. I love pass driving. In addition, very little traffic and the roads mostly in good condition. If there were not those hairy pedestrians again! And they even lie comfortably in the middle of the road and surround the car when you want to sneak through slowly! Scandalous! SmileBut, don't worry, this time it was NOT at night and it was NOT a cow (the last such encounter in Greece ended fatally for the cow, badly for the car and with horror for me). So everything in the green area and siga siga (slowly, slowly).
If the thermometer already shows 29 degrees at 9 o'clock, then Daniela is doing very well! Then it only needs groovy Greek pop sound on the radio and it drives itself! Life is beautiful.
Arrived in 'Chora Sfakion', I looked for an affordable parking space and then your ticket counter. Perfect timing! The next ferry leaves in 20 minutes. Otherwise, I would have had to wait 1.5 hours. When it fits, it fits! 10 Euro for the short return ferry ride to Loutro and 4 Euro for the parking. The costs are within limits. The experience, however, not! Pha, once again a big surprise. This Loutro is a little treasure in the true sense of the word. Small, manageable, almost empty (!) and the water.....! If you haven't seen it yourself, you won't believe it.
I usually don't eat anything before dinner. BUT, right here I finally found the Cretans' breakfast: Bougatsa (fresh cream cake. Simply without the anyway stupid sugar lid like in Switzerland). YAMMMMY. Plus a Frape and all this 1 meter next to the bluest water ever, in a small, Greek lagoon village. Man does not need much to be happy! lolAt 12:45, I took the ferry back. From there, it was all the way back down the road. Up, down, left, right, steep.... oh yes, and do not forget the pedestrians!!!
Since I had marked a few things on my map around Chania, I drove around a bit more in the area:- In 'Douliana', I wanted to visit Natalia and her very own products. But, unfortunately, the store was closed. So maybe I will come by again in the morning. On the way, I came across another treasure: a store with all kinds of local artists' products: ceramics, photos, paintings, jewelry, soaps, embroideries, oils, etc..- In 'Kokkino Chorio', I got massively lost (because the description in the guidebook was not so clear). So far until I ended up in a dead-end at the top of the transmitter antenna. But, as always, if the way leads somewhere: it was worth the trip. So if I ever win the lottery, I would buy a house here! Smile. Finally, I found what I was looking for: the glassblowing workshop (unfortunately not in operation today) and the very impressive store with artworks in all shapes, colors, sizes, and price ranges.- In 'Aptera', there was then a bit of culture to visit. For 43 Euros entrance fee. The excavation sites are not worth mentioning. The theater was massively reconstructed (before and after photos show this very impressively). So it's not really worth a trip, I think.
Meanwhile, it was 5 pm and I had to think about where I wanted to eat today. In any case, somewhere by the sea. The peninsula above Chania has a few nice, small beaches. 'Marathi' appealed to me spontaneously on the map. So, program the navi and go.The small sandy beach was still full of people who were bathing or chilling. I found a table right in the front row and let it go well. This time dessert was on the house again. And it was incredibly, mega, bombastically delicious!
Back to the hostel. Yesterday, apparently, 2 Russian women have checked in. At least that's how they spoke when they came into the room last night (rather this morning). The 4th bed is empty. And today it still seems to be the same situation. Let's see if there is another new arrival during the night.
Okuddamu
Lipoota z'entambula Buyonaani