Saturday, 24th July 2021
E phatlaladitšwe: 24.07.2021
Today in 5 months is Christmas! lol
But for me it was already today 'almost like Christmas'!
Although the night was very bad again, but the day all the more great. At 7:50 am I had to be ready at the front of the traffic circle at the courthouse. And was picked up on time. Then we went to the next hotel, where a single woman got in. Then further from hotel to hotel until the minibus was full.
In total, we were then 1.5 hours on the road to the port in Kissamos. There the tour guide bought the tickets for us and we were allowed to fill out a Covid slip. That's how me and Rosalinda got in touch. She is Italian, 45 years old and has been living in England for a few years. Having worked in a home office on and off even before Covid, she is now traveling around and working from wherever she pleases. Last in Cyprus, now in Crete and maybe soon in ??????.
Again, the temperature reading at boarding. On the big ship it had about +/- 500 passengers. But all in all, everything was very well distributed. At 10:40 a.m. we could finally set sail and at 12 noon we arrived at the first destination of the day: the world famous BALOS beach. It is one of the few in the world with partly pink sand. In Crete there is a second beach with this phenomenon: Elafonissis.After the ship opened its belly, everyone poured out like a living wave. However, since the bay is extremely large, the crowds were also very well distributed here. (There were 2 other, slightly smaller boats unloading their passengers at the same time).
We fastened our beach towels with stones (!) and went shortly into the warm water. Since the wind also provided waves, the swimming was not so nice and comfortable. But at least ME was in the water too! Pha!
Some photos and a break on the beach towel later our slot was already over and we had to go back to the boat. We had a stay of 2.5 hours. It is incredible how the blue tones reflect the water. It is not from nowhere that Greece is second in the 'Blue Flag' awards in Europe, which stands for top water quality, clean beaches and local safety. Simply paradise here!
The second destination was the island of Gramvousa. After a short drive we arrived there. This has a Venetian fortress at a height of over 130 meters which could be reached in a mini climb of about 20 minutes. Yes, would be. In this heat to climb up there I do not go! I prefer to lie down in the almost shallow water and enjoy the sea. Here it is much more pleasant than on Balos. Much quieter; although massively smaller and correspondingly 'narrower'. Fortunately, some have scrambled up the mountain! Smile. Here we could stay a total of 1.5 hours.
The return trip to the port was then a pleasant end to a great day. In front on the sun deck with a light breeze which made the heat really bearable. After the hotel tour, I and Rosalinda were then again the last two. Since she lives near me, she has shopped right next to the hostel to be perfectly equipped for the morgrige mountain tour.I went under the eagerly awaited shower and washed the sand, sunscreen and salt thoroughly from my skin. Not however, my memory of this great place and the colors of Greece. I feel fortunate to be able to experience all of this.
And another happy thing: my rental car is already in front of the hostel and so tomorrow I can actually start with my original plan and experience the island independently. Stop where I want, stay as long as I want; all without waiting for the buses or not knowing exactly how I'll finally get to the destination, etc.. Yuphii!Actually, I am already quite tired and yet I suddenly have more hunger than expected. So off to the 'Mozzarella'. There the candles shone on every table, the house music in the background was cool, the service great, the food delicious. Perfect.
Just now Karo from Bavaria moved into the empty bedluck. She just came from Ireland and wanted to offer me Whisky. Smile. She will have to change rooms tomorrow (into the mixed dormitory), but all in all she will probably stay here until mid August. Also gone is the French girl who checked-in yesterday. Instead there is now a Bulgarian woman. Next to her is the Russian.
Now I have to check my map to explore my first destination by car. Tomorrow you will find out more, where it has taken me.
But for me it was already today 'almost like Christmas'!
Although the night was very bad again, but the day all the more great. At 7:50 am I had to be ready at the front of the traffic circle at the courthouse. And was picked up on time. Then we went to the next hotel, where a single woman got in. Then further from hotel to hotel until the minibus was full.
In total, we were then 1.5 hours on the road to the port in Kissamos. There the tour guide bought the tickets for us and we were allowed to fill out a Covid slip. That's how me and Rosalinda got in touch. She is Italian, 45 years old and has been living in England for a few years. Having worked in a home office on and off even before Covid, she is now traveling around and working from wherever she pleases. Last in Cyprus, now in Crete and maybe soon in ??????.
Again, the temperature reading at boarding. On the big ship it had about +/- 500 passengers. But all in all, everything was very well distributed. At 10:40 a.m. we could finally set sail and at 12 noon we arrived at the first destination of the day: the world famous BALOS beach. It is one of the few in the world with partly pink sand. In Crete there is a second beach with this phenomenon: Elafonissis.After the ship opened its belly, everyone poured out like a living wave. However, since the bay is extremely large, the crowds were also very well distributed here. (There were 2 other, slightly smaller boats unloading their passengers at the same time).
We fastened our beach towels with stones (!) and went shortly into the warm water. Since the wind also provided waves, the swimming was not so nice and comfortable. But at least ME was in the water too! Pha!
Some photos and a break on the beach towel later our slot was already over and we had to go back to the boat. We had a stay of 2.5 hours. It is incredible how the blue tones reflect the water. It is not from nowhere that Greece is second in the 'Blue Flag' awards in Europe, which stands for top water quality, clean beaches and local safety. Simply paradise here!
The second destination was the island of Gramvousa. After a short drive we arrived there. This has a Venetian fortress at a height of over 130 meters which could be reached in a mini climb of about 20 minutes. Yes, would be. In this heat to climb up there I do not go! I prefer to lie down in the almost shallow water and enjoy the sea. Here it is much more pleasant than on Balos. Much quieter; although massively smaller and correspondingly 'narrower'. Fortunately, some have scrambled up the mountain! Smile. Here we could stay a total of 1.5 hours.
The return trip to the port was then a pleasant end to a great day. In front on the sun deck with a light breeze which made the heat really bearable. After the hotel tour, I and Rosalinda were then again the last two. Since she lives near me, she has shopped right next to the hostel to be perfectly equipped for the morgrige mountain tour.I went under the eagerly awaited shower and washed the sand, sunscreen and salt thoroughly from my skin. Not however, my memory of this great place and the colors of Greece. I feel fortunate to be able to experience all of this.
And another happy thing: my rental car is already in front of the hostel and so tomorrow I can actually start with my original plan and experience the island independently. Stop where I want, stay as long as I want; all without waiting for the buses or not knowing exactly how I'll finally get to the destination, etc.. Yuphii!Actually, I am already quite tired and yet I suddenly have more hunger than expected. So off to the 'Mozzarella'. There the candles shone on every table, the house music in the background was cool, the service great, the food delicious. Perfect.
Just now Karo from Bavaria moved into the empty bedluck. She just came from Ireland and wanted to offer me Whisky. Smile. She will have to change rooms tomorrow (into the mixed dormitory), but all in all she will probably stay here until mid August. Also gone is the French girl who checked-in yesterday. Instead there is now a Bulgarian woman. Next to her is the Russian.
Now I have to check my map to explore my first destination by car. Tomorrow you will find out more, where it has taken me.
Karabo
Dipego tša maeto Gerika