Saturday, July 24, 2021

Today in 5 months is Christmas! lol

But for me, it was already 'almost like Christmas' today!

Although the night was really bad again, the day was great.
At 7:50 am, I had to be ready at the roundabout in front of the courthouse. And I was picked up on time. Then we went to the next hotel, where a single woman got on. Then on to hotel after hotel until the minibus was full.

In total, we were on the road for 1.5 hours to the port in Kissamos. There, the tour guide bought the tickets for us and we had to fill out a Covid form. That's how I met Rosalinda. She is Italian, 45 years old, and has been living in England for a few years. Since she had already worked from home before Covid, she is now traveling and working from wherever she likes. Recently in Cyprus, now in Crete, and maybe soon in ??????

Once again, temperature measurement when boarding. The large ship had about +/- 500 passengers. But overall, everything was well spread out. We finally set sail at 10:40 am and arrived at the first destination at 12 noon: the world-famous BALOS beach. It is one of the few in the world with partially pink sand. In Crete, there is another beach with this phenomenon: Elafonissi.
After the ship opened its belly, everyone rushed out like a living wave. But since the bay is extremely large, the crowds also spread out well here. (There were also 2 other slightly smaller boats unloading their passengers at the same time.)

We secured our beach towels with stones (!) and quickly went into the warm water. Since the wind also caused waves, swimming was not as nice and cozy. But at least I was in the water too! Phew!

Some photos and a break on the beach towel later, our time slot was already over and we had to go back to the boat. We had about 2.5 hours of stay. It is incredible how the shades of blue reflect the water. Greece ranks second in Europe for the 'Blue Flag' awards, which stand for top water quality, clean beaches, and local safety. Simply paradise here!

The second destination was the island of Gramvousa. After a short ride, we arrived there. It has a Venetian fortress at an altitude of over 130 meters, which would be reachable in a mini climb of about 20 minutes. Yes, would be. I'm definitely not going to climb up there in this heat! I'd rather lie down a bit in the almost shallow water and enjoy the sea. It's much nicer here than at Balos. Much quieter; although significantly smaller and accordingly 'narrower'. Fortunately, some people climbed up the mountain! Smile. We could stay there for a total of 1.5 hours.

The return trip to the port was a pleasant end to a great day. At the front on the sun deck with a gentle breeze that made the heat really bearable. After the hotel tour, Rosalinda and I were the last ones again. Since she lives near me, she bought some groceries next to the hostel to be perfectly equipped for tomorrow's mountain tour.

I took a long-awaited shower and thoroughly washed the sand, sunscreen, and salt off my skin. But not my memory of this wonderful place and the colors of Greece. I feel fortunate to experience all this.

And another pleasant thing: my rental car is already in front of the hostel and I can actually start tomorrow with my original plan to explore and experience the island on my own. Stop wherever I want, stay as long as I want; all without waiting for buses or not knowing exactly how to get to the destination, etc.. Juphii!

Actually, I'm quite tired already, and yet suddenly I'm more hungry than I thought. So off to 'Mozzarella'. There, candles seemed to be on every table, the house music in the background was cool, the service was great, the food delicious. Perfect.

Just now, Karo from Bavaria moved into the empty bed slot. She just came from Ireland and wanted to offer me whiskey. Smile. She will have to change rooms tomorrow (to the mixed dormitory), but overall, she will probably stay here until mid-August. The French woman who checked in yesterday is gone already. Instead, there is a Bulgarian now. Next to her is the Russian woman.

Now I'll check my map to explore my first destination by car. Tomorrow you will find out where I ended up.