So, Crete was not the relaxing vacay we had hoped for. There are details below. As you read this, please know that while it sounds like lots of complaining, Brittany and I laughed through almost everything and still had fun and made the most of it. Things certainly could have been worse, and on the bright side, I got to see a new place and have a few exciting adventures :)
Brittany and I were SO excited to head to Greece for our adventure. We met up around 5:30PM on Sunday night to take our overnight flight to Heraklion, the main city on the island of Crete. We knew it'd be a long night, but we were ready for our adventure and for some relaxation. Brittany and I both grabbed food when we met up. I went ahead and ate my sandwich, but Brittany decided to hang on to her salad... which became the first problem of the trip. As we boarded the bus to the Gatwick airport, the bus driver asked her if the salad was "fast-food." She said no, that it came from a little cafe and that it was just a salad and she didn't plan to eat it on the bus (all true). The bus driver got super intense and demanded she get off the bus, saying that there was NO FAST FOOD ALLOWED and that it was a REGULATION. Brittany and I were both completely taken aback, but she offered to stick the salad in her luggage under the bus and the driver agreed. It wasn't a hot day and it wasn't a huge deal, but we were both shocked about how angry and intense this guy was.
From there, we got to the airport, checked in, and boarded our flight. We were able to sit together, with an empty seat between us, and we thought we were golden. The angry bus driver was forgotten and we settled in for our 3.5 hour flight to Heraklion.
Boarding our flight!
We quickly realized that there would be no napping on this flight due to the fact that there was a 45 year old toddler seated behind us. To be fair, he seemed to be in a lot of pain- he kept holding his hip and moaning and groaning to his friend, and I started to feel bad for him... but then he loudly announced he was taking more pain meds, and then loudly announced he was ordering a few beers (I don't think those things should mix?) and THEN spent the remainder of the flight kicking the backs of our seats. Brittany wanted to say something, but once we got a good look at this guy, we decided against it- he was a bit scary looking and looked like a potential skin head (really aggressive, inappropriate tattoos, a shaved head, and not a nice expression... just the bad vibe type)- so we kept our mouths shut and dealt with a very long, uncomfortable flight. In addition to the kicking, the flight was FREEZING and we couldn't seem to get warm... but at last we landed... and NOW our vacation could begin... so we thought.
We landed around 3:30AM. I had instructions to get us from the airport into the main part of Heraklion and then from there to Agia Pelagia, the beach village where we'd chosen to stay. We knew the bus from Heraklion to Agia Pelagia wouldn't start running until morning, but we figured it wouldn't be a huge problem to get a bus from the airport into the city since flights were coming in. Wrong. Everyone else headed to charter buses and seemed to be really on top of things, but we were not. We headed to the bus stop, which unfortunately was occupied by a very drunk and potentially high Scottish kid who ranted at us about nearly getting arrested for passing out in the airport bathroom. We could only understand about 1/2 of what he said, and we got tired of him really quickly, so we excused ourselves and opted to get a cab to the central bus station in Heraklion. On our walk over to the cabs, we discussed what we THOUGHT the kid was saying... I thought he was here on vacation but Brittany thought he'd come for work... apparently we understood even less than we thought. Anyway, we got to the cabs and there was a sign with posted fares and it should have been 10euros from the airport to the bus station.... but then the guy charged us 15. I only had a 20 euro note and no amount of arguing would get him to give me my change.
At this point, we were exhausted and the trip was not off to the best start, but we made camp at the bus station and settled in for a LONG wait until 8:30am when we could get a bus to Agia Pelagia. We had company in 2 adorable dogs- a little bully breed mix and a spaniel mix- both of whom looked pretty well fed and were friendly. They joined us on our bench and we admired them and read and talked. After about 30 minutes a man approached us asking where we were heading. We were cautious at first, but then he told us he was a cab driver heading to the north end the island to pick someone up to take them to the airport and if we wanted a ride anywhere between the bus station and where his pick up was he would give us a good deal. A cab ride to Agia Pelagia should have been about 35-40 euros... we got it for 10. Nikos, the driver, turned out to be really nice and pointed out some good spots and dropped us off where we needed to be. It was one of the few high points of the trip there.
At this point it's about 5AM or a little after and we can't check into our hotel until 7am. We decided to head to the beach and watch the sunrise over the little cove until check in. We were hoping that NOW our vacation would begin... after all, despite being tired, who doesn't like a beach sunrise in Greece!? And it WAS gorgeous, but it was also pretty cold... and as the sun rose we also began to see that the beach itself was covered in trash/litter and the town looked pretty run down... but neither of us wanted to say that and be the bummer, so we focused on the gorgeous sunrise.
Bundled up in lots of the clothes we packed, trying to stay warm
See the building behind this pretty building- that's our hotel. More on that later.
Once the sun was just about up, a truck drove up and we noticed a nasty smell... it started pumping septic tanks from nearby stores... the smell was overwhelming and we decided to walk around the town and look for our hotel to escape it. We walked and walked and walked and could not seem to find our hotel. It was supposed to be pretty much right on the beach and the little cove wasnt very big, but for the life of us, we just couldn't find it. We kept passing the same little old Greek lady and by the third time she was giggling at us. After asking for directions (twice) we finally realized we'd seen our hotel multiple times, but that you couldnt see the sign from where we'd been. By this time, it was shortly after 7 and so we checked in. From there, we dropped our bags in our room and went to buy breakfast at the store. After a quick breakfast in the room, we went to take a nap. I noticed 2 ant-like, tiny bugs in my bed (not to mention a decent sized brown spider in it as well) but figured that this is a warm climate and there are bugs everywhere so I brushed them out and didn't really think about it again. Keep in mind that at this point we still haven't slept and it's about 8:30 in the morning. We crashed for a few hours and then woke up and decided to start our day with showers...
Brittany went first and came out a short bit later announcing that there was no hot water. I decided to sponge off and forego a shower. Brittany also noticed some bites on her legs, but at this point, we were still groggy and very out of it and did not put two and two together. We went to complain about the hot water (we didn't bother mentioning that we didnt get wifi in the room even though that was supposedly included) and then we headed to this cute water front restaurant we'd seen early while searching for our hotel. Surely NOW our vacation could begin in earnest. I paid 15 euros for what is up there with the worst plate of food I have ever had. Brittany's was equally disgusting. Still, we decided afterwards to change locations, grab a cocktail at a place with wifi and do some planning for the rest of the trip. I wanted to ride horses on the beach and Brittany wanted to rent mopeds and explore a national park on the island so we figured we could still have a great vacation.
Best part of lunch was the view
The cocktails were watery and gross pina colada's. The place where we drank them smelled like sewage, which after the morning incident, we had hoped to not smell again. We gave up and decided to hike around the coast out to a point that jutted into the water. If you look at the 3rd sunrise photo, it's the point the the right/center of the photo. This turned out to be the highlight of the day. The views were gorgeous and the area was much cleaner than the little cove where we were staying.
It was a decently long walk, and quite hilly, but it was really nice to be out and the views were worth it. After exploring, we headed back to the hotel area, stopping by the store to get ingredients to make dinner before we headed back. We opened our bottle of wine and made greek salad (the more traditional kind, no lettuce/greens) of bell pepper, onion, cucumber, tomato, avocado, white beans, and dressed with herbs and a dressing of oil, honey, and lemon juice. While that marinated, we sipped Cretian wine and made rice with chickpeas. We'd hoped to have hummus as well, but we learned after checking every store in the area (the whole time we were in Crete) that hummus is NOT a greek staple (I feel lied to by every greek restaurant ever.) I knew that hummus was more middle eastern, but I thought it had also become a staple in greece... nope. Not only do they not have it in the store, they don't even know what it is often times... ooops.
Making a delicious dinner!
Anyway, dinner turned out to be delicious and with full bellies and the promise that tomorrow would be better, we decided to tuck in for the night. Upon pulling back my covers, I noticed two or three more bugs. I told Brittany and we checked her bed and also saw several bugs. Brittany mentioned that she had some bites on her legs when when woke up from her nap, but didn't think about it being bed bugs (we were both exhausted when we woke up).
Bug bites
At this point, we decided to go see the people in the office to complain and see about changing rooms. The office was supposed to be open until 11pm, but apparently they'd gone home early and no one was there. Since our room did not have the promised wifi, we just stayed outside in our pajamas so I could skype my parents. My dad's reaction was the best. I told him what was going on and asked if he had any advice. There was a loooong pause and then he replied, "Um. No?" Brittany and I were both laughing at this point, and Dad told us if at all possible, we should really change hotel rooms. Of course, we are in a tiny (and crappy) village and everything is B&B style so there is nothing open. We were north of the main city, Heraklion and looked for hotels there, but we didn't really want to have to go into Heraklion for one night and then travel again to get to a beach, so we looked for anything near a beach that had 24 hour reception, was decently affordable, and got good reviews.
Brittany finally found a place and we called- they said that technically the "24-hour reception" listed on the website was the bar below the hotel, but that she'd let them know to expect us and they could get us into a room. I also called my credit card company to warn them that I would be contesting the charge for the hotel if they did not refund my money for the room. They were actually super helpful and nice, which is always appreciated. Brittany and I then went back to the room, snapped some pictures of the bugs (none of which turned out very well) for evidence, packed our stuff, and headed off to find a cab. We expected a cab to be expensive and hard to find- thankfully one was not hard to find- we stopped in a bar in the little town and asked them to call us one- he was there not even 5 minutes later- but it WAS expensive. Brittany was doing a good job bartering, but I totally caved and just agreed to pay him the set price if he'd take us there. I'm not good at that sort of thing.
Anyway, 80euros sounds astronomical... but then we kept driving, and driving, and driving. About 45 minutes later, Brittany with a headache and feeling sick and me trying to stay awake, we pull into the town of Malia. The town itself gets awesome reviews, but we didn't bother reading past the high number of stars and people saying it's a great place to visit. It turns out it IS a great place to visit.... if you are 17 and want a crazy spring break. The place is like Panama City Beach, Las Vegas, and Cancun all rolled into one. Brittany and I were speechless. Our cab driver pulled down the main stretch, inching along as drunk guys stumbled in the street in front of the cab, scantily clad girls danced around club entrances, neon lights flashed, and basses thumped. There were no words. Apparently everyone else in Europe knows Malia as a party destination- much like Ibiza, or the other locations I named. Brittany and I were totally naive to this.
Our cab let us off at our hotel- which also had a bar with flashing neon lights and blaring music, though thankfully was missing drunken teens. A guy named Charlie greeted us and offered to bring us a welcome drink on the house. It was 1:30am and we were exhausted, but we also felt like a drink was exactly what we could use. They brought out some sort of layered rum drink complete with a nude male shaped stir stick, a paper umbrella, AND a sparkler.
Drinking our welcome cocktails
Drinking our welcome cocktails
As we drank our cocktails, the guy who welcomed us also walked us through a few things about the hotel... and he gave us wristbands with the name of the bar/hotel on them "in case we are out late and can't remember where we are staying." Really? He assured us that if we were out drinking and got lost or forgot where we were staying we should should show people our stylish wrist bands. I think that pretty much sums up the night life in Malia. Brittany and I were half horrified and half really amused.
At this point, we were too tired to really function so we headed up to our room to shower and get some sleep. Only... there was no hot water. It seems like a cruel joke, but nope. We were too tired to care at that point, so we just crashed. I slept until almost noon the next day, which is unheard of for me. I apparently needed it. Thankfully when we woke up there was hot water. I will venture to say it was one of the best showers I have ever taken.
After getting ready for the day we decided to take a walk along the beach. We quickly realized that most of the beach areas were pay to access but everyone wanted to "give us a deal." One young, tattooed guy was particularly persistent, promising to come drink with us and trying to be flirty. We were happy to keep walking. We found a few cute spots along the beach, and some crazy looking plants, before cutting inland in search of a site of Minoan ruins.
As we cut inland, we started to see more and more people on mopeds and 4-wheelers and we really, really wanted one. We stopped in at a place that rents them and we got what we think was a decent deal- 20euros for the whole day and 10 euros for a tank of gas. We signed on it, got helmets, and the guy took us outside to our ATV... which refused to start. Brittany and I figured that the way the trip had been going, we shouldn't really be surprised, but we insisted on a different one and the guy relented. This one started and we were off!
Starting our adventure!
First, we headed to Minoan ruins. There wasn't a whole lot to see, and what was there wasn't very well labelled nor was there much information on any of it. Still, I always enjoy imagining what things looked like long ago and letting my mind run wild with the people, the weather, the clothes, the food, just all of it and what it was possibly like. It is worth noting that the Minoans were a separate people from ancient Greece, a much older civilization (dating from 2700 BC to 1500BC as opposed to ancient Greece which is generally say to have started around the 8th century BC and lasted until around 600AD). The Greeks even had myths about ancient Minoans- most notably the legend of King Minos who sent people into the labyrinth to be eaten by the minotaur. They also had their own written language- all in all, a pretty cool ancient culture.
After some exploring, we headed towards a little seaside village called Sisi. It was really cute and Brittany and I both agreed that it was more the pace/look of what we had been hoping for when we booked our vacation. We walked around for a bit, and then went off in search of a cave that we had seen signs for. The drive was gorgeous. There was this skinny hill/mountain with a tiny, adorable church on it and we stopped to hike up and explore. There were breath taking views (from the hill with the church AND other scenic overlooks).
Adorable little church
I loved this weathered blue door
View from the hill with the church
View from another scenic overlook
When we got to the Milatos Cave, we went exploring and it was awesome. The views were incredible. We also had some fun trying to take a time photo that included Brittany running to get in the photo, tripping and nearly face planting into sharp rocks and goat poop. The resulting photo is pretty amazing, but I'll have to wait for Brittany to post it as it's on her camera. I also am not a huge fan of caves, but I did go in this one, and there is a CHURCH inside. It's a little nuts. There were also bees living IN the rock ceiling, and between the buzzing and slight claustrophobia, I didn't stay in too long. Still, I was so glad we explored because it was one of my favorite things we did.
Hiking to the cave
Inside the entrance
Inside the entrance
There was a church inside the cave?!
Inside the cave
That is NOT the entrance behind Brittany... that is an opening that just drops off a cliff.
From the cave, we went looking for the traditional village of Milatos... I am unclear if what we stumbled upon was actually Milatos, but from there we just drove through windy, back mountain roads and soaked in the views, dodged some of the most terrifying plants I have ever seen, and explored some really cool towns, including an ADORABLE village with old Greek men and women who pointed us along the route AND a bigger town with a gorgeous Greek Orthodox Church.
These were truly frightening
Pretty flowers across from the church!
Greek Orthodox Church
Inside the church
From there, it was cooling off and we were getting hungry, so we decided to make our way back to Malia... only we didn't really know which way to go. We'd gotten to the town by back mountain roads and there was no way we were going to be able to retrace our steps. We stopped and asked for directions to get to the main road that would take us back to Malia and off we went. As we headed to the "main road" we realized that the "main road" is really a freeway. I'm pretty sure we must have looked about like this as we merged:
Don't worry- this was take safely at a standstill and is representational only
We rode the freeway for what seemed like awhile. We mostly rode on the shoulder of the road, but at one point we had to merge into traffic to go through a tunnel... I really wish someone had somehow taken a photo of our ridiculousness. Thankfully, we made it safely to our exit and even managed to pretty easily navigate from the exit back to the place where we rented the 4-wheeler. When we dropped it off the guy told us that is was good we dropped it off when we did because "the weather was getting bad." We agreed that it had rained a tiny bit on us on our ride home and he said, "No, not rain. Bad, bad wind."
On our walk back to the hotel, we quickly realized what he meant by this. The wind was whipping around and sand whipping in the wind HURTS. It was stinging our eyes and burning our legs and we wanted out of it! Back at the hotel we did a bit of research to pick a place for dinner and settled on a place called Kalesma. We decided to split a large salad and share several small plates and each had a glass of Cretian white wine. Everything was amazing. The salad was mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, and walnuts with creamy vegetable dressing. We also had grilled mushrooms drizzled in a balsamic sauce that were one of the best things I have ever tasted. We also had pureed fava beans with olive oil, marinated beets, and vinegar roasted potatoes.
We ate outside and this was our cute little view
The amazing food!
After dinner we headed back to the hotel and decided we wanted to have a ridiculous cocktail in the bar and then, since it had warmed up substantially (after dark... weird), we wanted to go hang out on the beach. We ordered some sort of kiwi and tequila concoction that was pretty delicious, and the bartender also gave us a sample of a strawberry daiquiri in a sugar rimmed shot glass. We sipped both and then headed down to the beach to enjoy the warm night. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up even more and we spent most of our short lived time on the beach getting pelted with sand and trying to make sure things didn't blow into us.
Yay! Sugary cocktails!
Strawberry daiquiri samples
Flattering photos of both of us on the beach....
You can see the sand flying around!
Selfie on the beach
The sand was quite painful so we decided to give up and take a walk down the main strip of Malia to check out all the ridiculousness. Almost all of the clubs have promoters who stand outside and try to get people to come into that club. The people are super aggressive and one of the first promoters who tries to snag us? The tattooed guy from earlier on the beach. He scolded us for not drinking with him and managed to drag us into the bar for some drinks. He spoke with the bartender and then went back to his job. To our surprise, the bartender made us EIGHT drinks. EIGHT. Two shots and two cocktails each. Absurd. No one needs that many drinks. We had no plans of drinking them (and didn't) but we also couldn't pass up the photo op to pose with that many cocktails.
Our drinks- all lined up
SO many
Who needs this many drinks?
Brittany was unimpressed by the entire situation
We didn't stay long at that place and quickly left to check out the rest of the strip. I was trying to snap photos of the ridiculous when a guy started yelling at me to not take photos of him... those photos are below :)
Overall though, I didn't like the scene. The club promoters grab you and will try to physically force you into their clubs. If you smile or try to act nice but firm, they act as if you are being coy or playing hard to get. I never felt unsafe, per se, but I also didn't like the way it felt. Plus, the guy promoters will tell you all sorts of things to try to make you turn around or stop- they flirt, they promise you things they clearly can't deliver (free drinks, hanging out with them, etc) and while I clearly was sober and unimpressed, I don't like the dynamic that it created. Brittany and I quickly grew tired of dodging promoters and standing up for ourselves and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep, making a pit stop at the most ridiculous clothing store I've ever seen.
The sign says "Fancy dress, clubbing wear, uv face paint"
Brittany, pretending to be lusting after that tutu
Mimicking the mannequin wearing an "I <3 Malia" t-shirt
We crashed again that night and the next morning we woke up and for the first time since we'd arrived, it was truly sunny! Since it was our last day, we decided we would go buy postcards for a few people, and then write them on the beach, lay in the sun, and maybe do some reading. We got up, showered (in cold water... again), and then got dressed to head out. About the time we left the hotel room is about the same time the clouds rolled in. Still, we kept thinking it would get better and waiting for the sun to come back out... it never did. We still sat on the beach and wrote our postcards and clearly neither of us wanted to be the spoil sport so we wouldn't admit that we were cold and miserable. Finally Brittany said we could go inside "if I wanted." I jumped at the opening and we laughed and got off the cold, cloudy beach ASAP.
We decided we might as well head into the big city of Heraklion and do a bit of exploring so we gathered our things and caught a bus into the city. The views along the high way were gorgeous. We got into the city, went ahead and bought bus tickets to the airport for that night while we were at the bus station, and found a place to print our boarding passes and check in. Then we walked into the main part of the city to explore. It's one of the first major cities that I have been to that doesn't have side walks. It makes getting around by foot not so easy. I also had a duffle bag since I don't have a travel backpack here and the strap was digging into my shoulder quite badly (I was stupidly wearing a tank top).
We spent forever wandering around looking for a decent place to eat lunch, but I am glad we put in the effort. We found a cute market and there was a cafe in it that looked tasty. The lunch didn't quite rival our dinner, but it was still really, really tasty. We had stuffed grape leaves, fava puree, grilled mushrooms, and olive oil fried potatoes. Grilled mushrooms in the Greek way are my new favorite thing. I can't wait to be home this summer so I have a grill and can eat tons of them.
Yum!
After lunch we explored the market a bit and then we headed over to the Museum of Archeology. It was a good museum, though after a few hours we were tired of having our luggage and I think both getting a little tired of looking at pottery. Still, parts of it were really, really cool. Plus, given my new topic for my dissertation, I was surprised and excited to see that the Minoans were all about some octopuses (and squid).
They also liked beetles and all sorts of other things:
View from the museum window
From the museum, it was to the airport and then an overnight flight home. Our fight got in around 1:30 or so and the next bus to Oxford was at 3AM. We waited around trying to stay awake and freezing until we got on the bus. I was really hopeful that I'd get some good sleep but the guy behind us snored loudly the whole ride. I finally slept a bit but not much. We got back to Oxford just in time for the sunrise.
Sunrise upon arrival
I slept when I got home but then that afternoon I met up with a huge group of NSEPers to go punting. We sipped pimms and lemonade and ate chips and fruit and punted/floated down the river. It was warm (pretty much warmer that it had been in Greece) and sunny and it was spent with good friends. It was a nearly perfect way to spend the afternoon. From there, it was to GTC for croquet and relay races and then to Acland for a a bbq.
Friday I finally slept in and then did some work. That night was Brittany's last night in Oxford so a group of us met up at St. Cross to tell her goodbye. We had a nice evening and the next morning I met Brittany at the bus station to get her keys since I'm storing some stuff in her room over the summer. Since then it's just been a relaxing week. Lots of reading and lounging and a few long walks to enjoy the weather. Tuesday was Lisa F's last night so we met up at the Rose and Crown and a group of us hung out. Wednesday I met up with her so she could also store a suitcase at Brittany's and she also graciously gave us all the stuff she isn't taking back to germany (pots, pans, towels, etc) so we have more stuff for the house next year.
Wednesday (yesterday) I met with Jamie (my supervisor) again and my dissertation is coming along... meaning I still don't have an exact research topic but I'm diving into all the reading and enjoying myself. Yesterday evening I watched Blackfish and pretty much spent the evening half in tears wondering why people are so terrible and wondering if I just should have no faith in humanity... maybe not quite that extreme, but the documentary is just heart wrenching.
Today is another quiet day, but I have a fun weekend planned- Friday night I am going to see Andreas, Cato, Rob, and Ben in a play followed by going to see James' and Ben's band (The Infamous Flapjack Affair). Saturday night is a formal dinner at Kellogg with Katherine.
I come home on June 25 and I can't wait to be home for a bit with my parents and to see my horses and Lucy!
