GREECE - May 2022

Monday May 9 Athens

Pretty easy flights - MSN-ATL and ATL-ATH. The second leg was over ten hours. I watched three movies (Momma Mia of course), and we arrived a little early actually. We breezed through passport control, picked up our checked luggage and arrived at the spot to meet our driver about an hour early! I sent him a message, but we had 45 minutes of great people watching as we waited.

Our driver, Christof, was friendly and full of information on our 40-minute drive to the old part of Athens. He gave us advice for what we should see, and thinks we’re a bit crazy for our upcoming cycling portion of the trip on Crete. He said just walking across the street in Greece is dangerous with the terrible drivers!

We checked into our hotel, Electra Palace about 12:30pm. We felt tired, but not as bad as previous overseas flights! We got settled in the room, ate a snack, and took 90-minute naps. We set out on foot about 3pm, to see as much of the city as we could.

We walked through the botanical garden, around the parliament building, then down a street that was closed to car traffic with lots of shops. After a while, we deviated down a side street and found several interesting restaurants with outside seating with views of the ruins and great people watching. We chose a place with live music and ordered an arugula salad, zucchini fritters and salmon to share, along with a Greek beer and a bottle of mineral water. It was just 5pm, early for dinner by Greek standards, but we were hungry after having eaten just airplane snacks for the previous 24 hours!

At 6pm, we met Colleen and Yanni from CycleGreece for fitting our bike and attaching our pedals. They also gave us our Crete trip packet with maps, hotel vouchers, and jerseys, and will send the bikes to Crete ahead of us on a ferry. They’re friendly, helpful people and it appears they’ve set us up for a great adventure!

We walked back from there, climbing to the Acropolis gate. We’ll go back tomorrow morning to go inside, but it felt good to climb the hills, and it gave us great views of the homes and their gardens below. I can’t imagine driving here, at least in the old part of the city.

By 8pm, our energy was waning, so we headed back to our hotel for baths and cleaning out some email and getting organized for tomorrow.

Tuesday May 10, 2022 To Santorini

There is nothing like overnighting on a plane to make one appreciate the luxury of stretching out on a bed, especially for a stomach sleeper like me!

We probably went to bed about 10pm. Just after midnight, Jeff’s phone rang. We were both quite discombobulated and he said “wow, a fast night!” He declined the call and we realized it was still the middle of our night and went back to sleep. I was awake just before our actual alarm went off at 6 am.

We had a nice view of the Parthenon from our room, but when we walked into the glass walled eighth floor hotel restaurant for breakfast this morning, my eyes welled with tears when I took in the 360 spectacular view. They had an amazing continental breakfast spread, with a slight Greek twist with tomatoes, olives and other unique fare. We tried to control our portions, but I had a wave of bliss wash over me when I bit into my favorite chocolate croissant (Pain du chocolat) which you can get in the states, but the one I had today tasted like I was in a Parisian Café!

By 7:30a, we were back on the street working our way to the main gate of the Acropolis. I was on my game and was able to walk the twisting route we’d walked last night and get there without using the Google map feature of my phone. We arrived there about ten minutes before the gates opened and I was able to buy our tickets online and therefore we were among the first in the gates. It was nice to be in there early on a gorgeous morning!

It’s hard to wrap your brain around how old these structures are; similar to those we’ve marveled over in Peru and Mexico - how did they mine all this marble and get it up to the top of this mountain, and build these structures that are still standing over 2500 years later?! Since there were few other people in the early morning, it was great to take the time and read the signs that explained affiliation with various Greek gods and goddesses, or royalty. We could see the early 1800 attempts at restoration, which did more damage than good. From afar, the various cranes and scaffolding kind of ruins the view, but it was neat to be up close and see some of the work that has already been completed, and what’s in progress. Most fascinating is the puzzle work of fitting the pieces of various columns and façades back together.

After 90 minutes, we had seen enough. The day was heating up and we hadn’t brought water with us. As we headed out a different gate, the crowds were starting to stream in - perfect timing! We walked along the upper road, looking down into the Agora ruins - the site of what had been a crowed shopping center - and the origin of the term “agoraphobia!”

We cut down a narrow side street, with lots of steps so we were confident there wouldn’t be car or motorcycle traffic. As soon as the steps ended though, a taxi came roaring around the corner - we jumped onto the tiny sidewalks and started paying attention to traffic. We bought a bottle of water and kept walking downhill making right and left turns. We didn’t exactly know where we were and enjoyed seeing different Cafés, stores and residences. All of a sudden there was our hotel (last night we missed it and walked two blocks beyond it).

We had about an hour to kill. We finished packing, Jeff took a nap and I did a 30-minute Peloton yoga session - great to stretch after all this travel. Our driver picked us up just before 11am and we had an uneventful drive back to the airport. He was also friendly and knowledgeable. When we were talking to Yanni last night, he said the natural friendliness of the Greek people has also been their downfall as it has allowed people to take advantage of them!

We checked into Aegean air. Like we’ve done in Europe before, the kiosk spits out your luggage tags and you’re supposed to stick them on the bags yourself! Lucky for me, Jeff knows how that’s supposed to work and he rescued mine after I peeled off the wrong side (probably again)! Our boarding passes had the word “lounge” on them, and happily enough, they got us into the Aegean lounge where we helped ourselves to more yummy Greek sandwiches and cookies, even though we didn’t need to eat again!

The gate was crowded with mostly young Americans - college aged kids and newlyweds. They loaded us onto two buses and drove us out to where several Aegean Airline planes were waiting, and we walked up the stairs to board. BrightStar had booked this flight for us and we were surprised to find ourselves in the first seats. I generally tune out the preflight briefing, but the flight attendant told me I had to remove my noise canceling headphones for takeoff and landing! So, I looked at the screen and was surprised to find Giannis Antetokounmpo (African refuge who was raised in Greece, and is currently NBA star for the Milwaukee Bucks) starring in the movie - and it was hysterical. Understandably, he’s a national hero here!

It was about a thirty-minute flight, but we had full beverage service with a lunch bag (which we kept for later since we’d just filled up in the lounge). The service and the attendants were what I imagine classic airline stewardesses to be: all pretty, thin, young women. They all had long straight dark hair pulled into a chignon, and had these adorable pillbox hats and pantsuits. When they were serving the drinks/meals, they all put on aprons. Felt like we were in an old Bond movie.

We landed in Santorini, claimed our bags and found our driver - also found Virginia BrightStar owner Dan Price and his partner, May. They’d been delayed in their flight and were routed onto ours. Together we traveled north to the village of Oia, and our driver stopped at the steps to the Mystique resort. We were told to forget about our bags and head down to reception. It was reminiscent of Tanzania as we felt guilty about someone having to schlep our 50-pound bags down all those stairs!

Maria checked us in and gave us a tour of the magnificent property. We got settled into our room for the next 5 nights, and then set out to work on relaxing - it’s shouldn’t be so hard, right? I took my iPad out to our patio and laid on the chaise and read my eBook and napped a bit. I can do this!

Then we dressed for dinner and met the BrightStar gang at the resort restaurant Lure. The night had cooled off and despite heaters at each end of the table, most people were cold. We were served course after course of amazing appetizers, starters, main course, deserts, all with champagne and a local white wine, followed by Metaxa, a Greek liquor. Because of the chill, we departed for our individual rooms, but it was a fun night and we were up past midnight - unusual for us no matter what time zone we’re in!

Santorini - Wednesday thru Sunday

We had nothing scheduled on Wednesday so Jeff and I decided to check out the 9km hike along the caldera (volcano rim) towards Fira and we were delighted when David and Amy Strassburg decided to join us. We didn’t know them very well, but heard from so many sources what amazing people they are (and they are!). They own seven locations in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Amy is an internal medicine doc and doesn’t work in the business, but they have an awesome DOO, Amie, who runs the show.

We had breakfast in the outdoor cafe next to the pool. The sun hadn’t yet reached the deck and it was a little on the chilly side. Rather than a continental buffet, we ordered from the menu and gorged ourselves anyway! We had a bread basket (with chocolate croissants) a fruit plate, and each ordered a different kind of omelet and smoothie.

After breakfast we got ready for the hike, with a plan to meet David and Amy at the top of the hill outside our resort. We immediately missed the turn for the trail, but a friendly shopkeeper rescued us and walked us around the building to get on course (and I included him in my requisite pre-hike selfie).

In every direction, the views were amazing - and we stopped a lot for photos on the way there. The morning light made the landscape very clear. From our resort, we look across Moyzaki Bay at a village called Imerovigli, which at first looked like a snowcapped peak to me (until I recalled I’m in Greece in May).

After the initial climb, we could see the sea on both sides of the narrow island. Santorini is part of a group of islands (about 200) called the Cyclades. The name refers to the way they circle around the sacred island of Delos. Santorini is built on the rim of a volcano - water comes from a desalination plant and we have no idea how the buildings and infrastructure are anchored into the rock!

Nearly every quarter mile, we’d come to a stunning white chapel, often with a blue rounded roof - the iconic image of Santorini.

We hiked and chatted all morning, the time passed quickly. There were others out hiking the trail in both directions, but it was typically quite wide and we could easily walk side by side and chat. We got to Imerovigli and stopped for a water/toilet break. The shopkeeper that helped us out this morning said it’d be one more mile to Fira, and we decided we didn’t really need to hike into the larger city. Instead, we hiked out to a point where the ruins of the castle Skaros were (past the sign that said “Caution - Danger. Access to Skaros castle after this point is extremely dangerous and is strictly forbidden.”) We took that as a suggestion and joined the dozens heading out there too. We walked around the back of the ruin and about halfway up. From there, it would have been a haul/scramble with lots of others going up and coming down the same chute, so we said “good enough.” David has even more acute acrophobia than I do, so we were all in agreement. I know if our pal Tam was with us, she’d have scrambled to the top in a second!

As we hiked back towards Imerovigli, Jeff was walking slightly ahead of me when all of a sudden, he teetered on the edge of the trail. He was too far away for me to grab his pack, and I watched in silent horror as he fell several feet to a ledge below, where he rolled - stopping just before the next ledge which would have been catastrophic. In typical Jeff fashion, he popped up onto his feet before any of us had a chance to react. We got him to sit down, take off his pack and assess. He had a number of cuts, abrasions, and later developed a sore shoulder joint. All in all - very lucky. Seventy years old, and still his highly coordinated self. I pulled the first aid kit out of my pack and we cleaned the dirt out of the bigger wounds and bandaged them. Several weeks ago, he had his two-year post heart attack / stint placement visit with his cardiologist, and was able to stop taking Plavix (blood thinner) which we were very happy about - and especially good after today’s fall. As it is, he developed several large bruises, but they won’t be as ugly as those he’d developed while taking the Plavix!

We stopped for smoothie / ice cream break before progressing back along the path to Oia. We talked about taking an Uber back, but a gorgeous day in a spectacular setting, it felt good to walk. There was a man selling strawberries and cold beer about halfway along the trail. We had chatted with him on our way down the trail and stopped to buy strawberries on our way back. I was really tempted by the cold beer, I thought it was best to wait till we got back.

My Apple Watch died on the hike, so I have no idea how long the hike took, but Jeff said it was just over ten miles. I haven’t worn my watch since, deciding I don’t need to fret about the time or closing my exercise rings this week!

When we got back to Oia, we stopped in the restaurant at the top of the hill called Mia’s. It looked like a fancy place but it was after lunch and before dinner and they welcomed us in (sweaty, smelly and dusty). We ordered beers and cold water and celebrated our great day. From there we walked down the hill stopping at Strasburg‘s patio. David brought out glasses and his bottle of Metaxa and we had a few more drinks. Jeff and I emptied the snacks out of our bags, Kirkland nuts and figs that Colleen had given me and we contributed that to the party. Dan and Mae’s room was next-door and they came over and joined the party as well.

Patrick had made reservations for dinner at Roko, in the pedestrian area of Oia. We had to scramble to shower and get ready, and were a bit late to dinner. It was a really fun evening, we started with a ginger cocktail and yummy Greek appetizers, two bottles of Greek red wine, and various wonderful entrées. Most of all, a lot of laughs. Near the end of the evening, I went downstairs to the toilet, and when I came back up, I saw Shelly and Gloria there also for dinner. They came to our table to join us for a few laughs. It’s been a really special, yet different, Super Nova event with just four couples. Easier to have really great conversations and get together as a small group.

Patrick let us back towards the hotel by walking through the street versus the pedestrian zone. It was great to see a different side of town, but a little more dangerous in the street. We had told Patrick and Jennifer about Jeff’s fall and his resulting sore shoulder. They told us they had something called “Tiger balm” that their daughter, who is a physical therapist, recommends for deep joint pain. They had stocked up last time they went to Malaysia, so they brought Jeff a jar of it and it really seems to be making a difference.

We had a lazy morning Thursday morning. I woke up about 9 AM, changed into my yoga clothes and did a little yoga session while Jeff finished sleeping. We went down for a late breakfast and it was blissfully warm sitting in the sun. After breakfast we met with Shelly for about 30 minutes; great to check in with her.

I had made advance reservations for a couples massage and we had a 60-minute candle-wax massages, followed by 30-minute facials. After that, it was all we could do to walk the two flights of stairs up to our room so we could have a nap. The rest of the day passed away in a state of deep relaxation.

The afternoon excursion was an ATV ride, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect! The bus picked us up, and we had about a 40-minute drive to the other side of the island. The scenery was very different without the extreme cliffs of the caldera. We passed beaches, housing area and miles and miles of vineyards (the terraces we could see from our hike yesterday). We passed the airport and continued south. We passed several old windmills - an odd site here!

Finally, we pulled into a dusty parking lot with 6 ATVs. Initially, I was disappointed that we had to pair up. But Jeff let me drive first and I got that out of my system and after 30 minutes I was happy to be the passenger!

Our first stop was Black beach, which was exactly what it sounds like! There were many restaurants there, and chairs and umbrellas for rent - no one in the water though as I’m guessing it’s cold! We took a quick break for some of the others to catch-up. I asked the guide about the steep peaks across the sea that looked like snow - houses, he said … fooled again!

We turned inland down some dusty gravel roads. I was glad I wasn’t wearing my contacts and I was glad I had a neck gator to cover my nose and mouth to keep the dust out! We stopped in a little village called Emporio, where we walked around between the houses, saw a small castle ruin, several churches, including one that’s only used one day a year (St Maria’s Day?).

From there we drove towards the caldera, through Vineyards with low, wide grape plants that appeared to be growing in sand and rock.

Back to the caldera rim, this time we were looking north to Fira and Oia beyond that. I finally had an appreciation for the size of the crater, and our guide explained how the lava flowed and created the “new” land where the beach and towns we’ve just visited are (new being a relative 4000 years). Made sense that the volcano had steep walls, but the lava flow made for the gentler slope that we’ve seen today.

Next, we stopped in another small village, Megalochori for wine tasting and yummy Greek snacks. When we left, we rode through the narrow main street of the village and it was neat to see the small shops and the locals sitting outside having early dinner. By now, it was starting to get dark and I knew we had quite a way to get back as I was tracking the windmills. We got back towards the coast and went past an area where there were boat yards and a small marina and over my right shoulder, I could see the sun starting to set in the sky was very pretty. It made me a little nervous because I didn’t want to be out on the ATVs in the dark. We got back just as it was getting dark, but still had a 40-minute drive back to our resort.

Some of the guys had made a dinner reservation at Mia’s and we had to change that to 9:30 PM which is awfully late time to start dinner, but that’s not unusual for Greece. Dinner was fabulous. They set up a table for the eight of us in the main dining room and all the others were sitting either outside on the deck or upstairs so we weren’t disturbing anyone with our loudness. We had fancy drinks with fancy ice cubes and just as we were getting ready to order Shelly came in and bought a bottle of champagne and three bottles of wine for our dinner. She sat with us for a while but didn’t stay for dinner. The waiter brought a tray of fresh seafood and fresh steaks for us to see as we were ordering. I wanted to have fish and Sea bass was on the menu. The waiter convinced us that the large sea bass on the fresh seafood tray could feed at least four people so we opted for that. It was amongst the best fish that I’ve ever had, yet it was a surprise when we got the bill and it was 320 Euros and worth it.

Since it was well after midnight when we went to bed, it was no surprise that I didn’t wake up until well after 9am Friday morning. Although I haven’t felt much jet lag, we are eight hours ahead which does play into our ability to stay up late! We putted around and went down to breakfast after 10am. The patio was in full sun and it was warm. We relaxed and enjoyed the amazing view and food.

Next, we felt like taking a nap, but I suggested we walk through the village of Oia instead. So, we climbed the hill (no easy feat), and braved the crazy two blocks before entering the pedestrian area. Even that was not without its hazards though - slanted marble sidewalks and random steps. We had to pay attention, which was tough with the competing lure of the view, the people watching, and the window shopping!

We walked where we could see the end of the island, and we could also see around Imerovigli to Fira, the largest city. It’s funny how many times I’ve regretted not bringing binoculars on this trip - many times we bring them and don’t use them, but so far, it’s my biggest regret!

From where we were, you could see down to where you could walk down to a small boat harbor, but we decided to turn around and head back - in favor of a nap before our afternoon excursion.

Back at Mystique resort, we changed into our bathing suits and headed down to the pool. We ended up sitting next to the Strassburgs, so more talking than napping ensued! Not only that, a man asked if he could interrupt us (I thought he was going to politely ask us to lower our voices). Instead, he told us he’d met Shelly at the pool yesterday and was already into investigating buying a BrightStar franchise in the Philadelphia area - hysterical. Of course, we’re all happy to jump into that kind of conversation! After that, we jumped into the rather cold pool, invigorating! Then a small nap before setting out for our wine and food tour.

The afternoon / evening was fun. A bus picked us up, along with a tour guide Elsa. We drove about 15 minutes, then stopped along the side of the road and she walked us into the vineyard to show us their unique way of growing grapes. Due to heat and low rainfall, rather than staking the vines long, they curl them into nests or baskets, and the grapes are protected within there. We stopped in our first winery, and she showed us various barrels and clay pots for storing the wine, then we tested about six different wines, and had a few snacks. Most wines here are dry whites. As much as I like wine, I’m not good at picking out smells or even tastes, I didn’t retain any of the names of the grapes, or many of the facts. I just like it - I’m never going to be the expert, and I’m ok with that.

Back in the van, we drove about 10 minutes and stopped at our second winery, which was also an art gallery. It was an amazing set of buildings with wine caves, and really old vessels and wine presses. We were told that ruins of vineyards found on Santorini tell historians that wine was made here since the Middle Ages (1200). There we tasted another 6 wines.

Our last stop was at a traditional Taverna, for a Greek dinner. We sat outside, and were brought yummy salads, meat, sauces, beer, cheeses, more than we could eat. It was the end of another great day. Shelly had bought some wine at the second place and called ahead to the resort to have 10 wine glasses delivered to David and Amy’s room. We sat on their patio talking a drinking for a few more hours.

I was awake about 9am Saturday, and got up to do some yoga while Jeff still slept. Besides the binoculars, I regret not bringing a yoga mat. Yoga on a towel on a cement floor is challenging. There is a gym here, but the limit admission due to COVID restrictions and I’m guessing it’s pretty small.

Jeff got up and stretched a bit. He still has shoulder pain, but was able to do push-ups so we’re feeling confident that he’ll be able to bicycle next week. After a leisurely breakfast, I laid out by the pool for a few hours, Jeff sat and talked with Dan and Mae. Back in the room, we started packing for an early flight out tomorrow morning, before joining the gang for one last excursion - a sunset cruise.

We had a short ride down to the harbor we’d looked down upon on yesterday’s walk. The eventful part of the ride was the driver backed the van down the steep ramp (apparently no space to turn around). As we got close to the end, there we other vans and cars waiting there. The driver got out and some words ensued along with gesturing. He got back in and pulled ahead, allowing some vehicles to pass, before backing up again (ending up about the same spot)! We got out and walked through a restaurant area to the boat dock to our awaiting catamaran.

It was a nice boat with a crew of two. The woman laid out a map of the area and we discussed our options about what we could see. It was really our first windy day, and she said to go outside the area inside the crater, we’d likely encounter rougher seas. Since we had two motion adverse passengers on board, we opted to stay within the caldera. We motored down the coast and saw Fira from the water - a bigger town clinging to the steep volcano wall. There was a path with 2000 steps that had a donkey train heading up, and also a cable car option. I was fine just viewing it from the deck!

One of the highlights of this excursion was to be hot springs - I was excited by that! However, all they do is anchor hear the center of the volcano and you need to swim around until you feel a hot spot. That felt like a bait and switch, but I decided to go in anyway (David was the only other one up for it). The first mate told us the water would be high in sulfur content, but it seemed like just plain salt water to me! The water was chilly, but about the same as the swimming pool at the resort so I quickly got used to it. We swam towards an opening that looked like it’d lead to the very center of the volcano, but there were fishing nets strung across so we couldn’t go in there - I’m certain we would have found the hot springs in there!

Back to the boat, we hosed off and I quickly changed into warmer clothes. The sun was still warm and I even had a little nap. We motored around to a different portion of an island, and moored by some other boats. There was a bit of a beach there - relics of wooden beach umbrellas and chairs anyway - no people. The crew set to make dinner - grilling chicken and pork off the back deck, served with Greek salad, toasted pita bread and apples drizzled with honey and cinnamon for dessert. Then we set out to get into position for the sunset, but we didn’t expect much with the clouds that had formed to the west. We did see the outline of the sun, and a crack in the clouds which made it look like hot lava pouring into the sea - awesome for this setting.

We were a subdued crowd as we headed back to the resort - too many late nights with much drinking! Shelly told us of a place with awesome baklava, and she went to get us some take out and delivered it to our respective rooms as we were packing. Sweet gesture. The baklava was out of this world - 4 times thicker than any I’d ever seen. We only managed to eat one piece and saved the rest for morning.

Up early Sunday morning with a 6:30am ride to the airport, with David and Amy. Uneventful check-in process with our heavy bags, and a nice flight back to Athens.

This was a different kind of Super Nova trip, and it is reputedly the last. We’ve been blessed to attend them all since 2010 when we went to Maui. This time we had just 4 couples, and all did the same excursions, ate all of our dinners together, and hung out during the day too. It was a really great way to meet some that we barely knew, and reconnect with Jennifer and Patrick that we’ve known a long time.

That ends the cushy part of this trip - stay tuned for adventure!

Sunday May 15 Arhanes

Early morning pick up for our 8:30am flight from Santorini to Athens. In Athens, we said good bye to David and Amy and rushed off for our tight connection for our short flight to Crete. It should have been a two-hour ferry ride, preferable to waiting in airports for two short flights, but we’re still on the cusp of high season and only a nighttime ferry is going now, which didn’t work for our timing.

The Athens to Crete flight was the most miserable of all of these legs so far - including the overnight from Atlanta. We had an exit row which gave us all the leg room you ever wanted, but I couldn’t use my noise cancelling headphones and I’ve really gotten used to that while flying. Behind us we had two Americans and their really loud tour guide from Athens. Across the aisle and one row up, was a small child that screamed for the whole flight. Not her fault as her ears were obviously hurting her, but the mom seemed inept in dealing with it. Even my best breathing and mindfulness exercises couldn’t get me to a better place.

We got off the plane, onto a crowded bus, and into a very crowded terminal in Heraklion. There were 5 luggage carousels very close together, and Jeff had to muscle his was in to grab our bags. It was a relief to get out into the open air and see our driver, Michaelis, there holding a sign with our names. We walked to his car, and soon we were cruising down the highway taking in our first glimpses of Crete. It seemed very dry, but much more greenery than Santorini. The first thing we noticed was the size of the mountains, and again, some looked snowcapped?! Lots of vineyards (more traditional looking) and massive olive tree groves. I’m in heaven, wine and olives - just add some cheese and bread and I’m all set!

We exited the highway and drove through the village of Arhanes, very similar to the small villages we’ve seen in other parts of Europe. Shops, restaurants - narrow to non-existent sidewalks. Dogs, cats and families out and about. We drove past the village square (triangle actually) and being about noon on Sunday, it was full of people having lunch and enjoying the beautiful day. We wove down a narrow street, and stopped, but our driver was clearly confused. He made a call, and soon another “Michael” came down a narrow sidewalk and greeted us. We retrieved our bags, tipped our driver, and followed Michael down the narrow winding paths, past a little church, and entrances to different houses. We went through a gate and into a beautiful courtyard, having arrived at Kalimera Arhanes Villa.

Michael showed us around our villa “Drosostalida,” with two floors, a kitchen, balcony and veranda. He showed us how to power up the hot water heater for showers, made sure we had his contact in “What’s Ap,” got us into the Wi-Fi and left us alone.

I made tea, then sat on the couch and tried to center myself. After a fabulous 5 days in a luxury resort where all of our needs were taken care of, then a frazzled morning of travel - we’re plucked here in the middle of nowhere, slightly outside our comfort zones. This is what we love, right?

Our bikes had been delivered as promised, so we finished outfitting them with our lights, mirrors, loaded our maps, and decided to do a short ride as kind of a “shakedown cruise.” It’s what we always do with Trek Travel, right?

Let me back up a bit and explain how we got here. When we learned about our Super Nova trip to Greece, we started researching an add-on adventure. Trek Travel has a Greece trip, but the dates didn’t line up with our Santorini trip. I started searching online and found Colleen at www.cyclegreece.com. She’s an American who fell in love with Greece many years ago. She moved here and established this company, offering biking and hiking tours throughout the Greek isles. Like all tourism, COVID was tough, with travel to Greece mostly restricted. We wanted to book her eight-day GUIDED tour of Crete, but she needed eight people in order to run the trip and only had one other interested couple. We did our best to recruit friends, but anyone who was seriously interested had conflicts with graduations, weddings our classes.

So, here we are on the self-guided version. I know this will be our best way to immerse in Crete. I’m just slightly freaked out.

Colleen had sent us files to download on the “Ride With GPS” app, and given us paper cue sheets. We’d had experience with both, but expected to get lost anyway, so in addition to ensuring the bikes worked well, we set out on the 15-mile short loop to test our navigational skills.

We found our way back to the square where the route officially started. We climbed for the first kilometer, and had amazing views of olive and grapes, mountains and even reservoirs or lakes down in the valley. Being Sunday, traffic was light (they were all down in the square I think!). We navigated the first five turns following the cue sheet, then got to a fairly busy road where the signs didn’t match my sheet. Jeff turned on his phone ap, and we could see where we were, but made a wrong turn just the same. We were lured by other cyclists on the main highway and followed them. The shoulder on the road was very wide and clean, and traffic was respectful (save for the occasional honk that made me jump out of my skin). Down a massive hill, we came to a bigger highway, and Jeff then realized we were off the route. He thought if we rode on the big highway (think Autobahn) for a bit, we’d intersect the route again. My nerves had settled once we started riding and enjoying the day, but this next stretch had me on edge again - I have enough awareness from my mindfulness/yoga practice to know I was tensing my jaw, neck and shoulders - but once again, my breath was unable to relax me. That’s why it’s called a “practice” right?

We ended up riding down an entrance ramp to get off the highway - not ideal, but we didn’t encounter any cars as traffic was still light. I pulled up Google maps and saw we were 4 km from Arhanes, and that jived with Jeff’s GPS app. He was having a hard time reconciling which way to go, but deferred to me and my good sense of direction. Once we got closer, I saw familiar landmarks from our ride from the airport and I was able to lead us back to the villa. We re-read the Ride with GPS directions and we think we know where we went wrong and tomorrow, we’ll do better!

Our ride ended up being 11.3 miles, and 1010 ft of elevation gain - a perfect warm up!

We showered and relaxed a bit, then headed back to the square. Early dinner for us at the taverna. It was so neat to watch the families as they were probably finishing lunch. At the table next to us, a young couple arrived with their maybe 9-month-old. The guy seemed to be someone special as many other guys were coming to greet him and make faces at the baby (we thought maybe he owned the place, but later learned he used to work there). We practiced our Greek a bit more (simple greetings and please and thank you) but it’s so tough. At least it makes for more interaction, which is the fun part about traveling. And Jeff can’t help himself - he needs to talk to others!

We ordered a half liter of local white wine, Crete salad (Greek salad with capers and a different kind of cheese) and a pork dish that the waitress recommended. We thought that would be our starter, but it ended up being enough. We ordered cheesecake to split, and with that came a complimentary dessert (maybe ginger soaked in honeys?) and a complimentary bottle of Raki and two shot glasses - perhaps the secret to good digestion?!

Back to our villa, we sat on our veranda and played the first cribbage games of this trip, while enjoying the pleasant weather and the sounds of kids playing out on the streets. Ending the day in a perfectly relaxed state!

Monday May 16 Arhanes to Zaros

We were both done sleeping by 7am, so we got up to get our stuff organized and get ready for the day. It was chilly in our stone villa, and I made a cup of coffee and then a cup of tea to get warmed up. I was successful in packing my small backpack and tote bag all into my suitcase - felt like an accomplishment, but I’m also nervous my zipper might give out!

Jeff packed and unpacked both his suitcase and backpack, looking for his battery pack (found it in the last pouch he looked in his backpack).

By then it was nearly 9am and I saw Michael in the courtyard. I opened the door and he started bringing over breakfast prepared by Mary - yummy omelet, a pepper tort, yogurt with fruit, bread and a variety of Greek pastries (most of which I put in a bag to eat later, along with a banana and an apple). We talked with Michael about today’s bag transfer to Zaros, and his answer made us a bit nervous.

We set out at 10 AM, backtracking the now familiar way to the village triangle, and started today’s route the same way we went out yesterday. The day was warm but I started in a long sleeve shirt mainly because I had been so chilled inside our villa. I soon stopped to take my long sleeve shirt off and tied it around my waist. The route started with a climb but we felt strong and enjoyed the challenge.

Jeff had the navigation system going and I was operating the cue sheets. We got to the same spot where we were confused yesterday and perhaps, we got slightly confused again. But at least we had the NAV system working to the point where she would say “off route” and we could quickly correct. The scenery was mainly olive trees with a lot of grape vines mixed in. We turned off onto small roads and started to climb. The day was beautiful, the traffic was light, and we really enjoyed the ride. There was significant climb today but that felt good.

We took a few standup breaks here and there, but hadn’t yet seen a good place to take a real break. Jeff called that he wanted to make an adjustment to his gears and I saw a tree that was making some shade. I stopped there and laid my bike in the ditch and found it was pretty easy to get down to the tree, so it was a great place to sit and have our banana and some nuts.

We rode about another half an hour mainly up, and then rode through a little village. We stopped at the supermarket and bought a Fanta (had been my favorite soda when I lived in Germany, and the first soda I’ve had in well over a year) to share along with a bottle of cold water. It was fun just to sit and watch the tractors and trucks and cars and motorcycles zoom through the village that was like a one lane road. I marveled at the different levels of buildings and you could see some that had lost their plaster and we’re down to just rocks or bricks, and others that were just being built and were yet to be plastered. In any event, there were lots of fixer-upper‘s in the little villages we rode through today.

We came to another village and the cue sheet was very confusing so I kept going straight, but Jeff yelled for me to turn around as I had missed a left turn. From there we continued to climb. We went over the hill and saw a massive valley, with a very busy highway with tunnels way down below us (you know you’ve had a day of climbing when you look down on a highway where they’ve tunneled through the mountain). We descended, only to find that we were going to snake all the way down that valley. The road wasn’t in the best shape but when we could see pretty far ahead so we’d let it roll, but we spent a lot of time squeezing our brakes.

We got down to the next village (Panasos) and our cue sheet and our directions had told us about a “Monumental” Olive tree (one of 12 on Crete). We stopped, locked up our bikes, and walked about five minutes to the Olive tree. There was a spring running down the path and at first, I tried to avoid the water, but I was walking in my bike sandals and my feet were warm so then I just started walking straight through the water and it felt great. We got to the olive tree and read the sign; they believe it’s over 3000 years old - mind blowing! The “monumental” designation is given to the tree by the Association of Cretan Olive Municipalities (ACOM).

The day was really warming up and we were ready for it to be over, but we knew we still have more climb to do. Jeff had a little problem with his brake and learned that it was just his front pack that was squeezing the cable. He fixed that and we continued on. We got to one intersection and I thought I heard the navigation lady say straight, but he was unsure so he stopped. I rode maybe a kilometer and was about to enter a village when I realized he wasn’t back there any longer. I stood and waited for a while, but still no Jeff. I turned around and headed back down the hill and a moment of panic set in when I got to the intersection and he wasn’t there either. I started riding down that road and got around the corner where I could see really far and it was still no Jeff. I started freaking out a little bit more, and wondered if I could find our destination on my own, or if I could even reach him via cell phone. Suddenly, his voice was behind me. It was the best kind of startled that one could have! He said he had pulled into a driveway trying to figure out which way to go and he saw me go past, but I sure didn’t see him.

In about another 30 minutes we reached the village of Zaros, our home for the next two nights. However, our navigation system failed us in finding our way to Eleonus Guesthouse, our home for the next two nights. We got all the way through town and didn’t see the signs we should have seen. I used Jeff’s phone and Google maps to see where the resort was, and it said 0.7 miles away - we can do that. However, it had us backtrack, and go up such a steep hill that we had to push our bikes up the hill. The pavement turned to gravel and we got nervous, but the NAV system and Google Maps both said we were heading in the right direction. Eventually, we saw a resort up on a hill across the valley, and we said “oh no, I hope that’s not our place,” of course it was. Eventually the gravel road merged with the paved road again and there was the turn off for the resort. We rode up to the parking lot and then through the gate into the courtyard. It was the most beautiful oasis you’ve ever seen!

We were greeted by the friendly manager and he offered to bring us beer, who would turn that down? He told us our luggage had not yet arrived, which made us nervous. Jeff especially was nervous because it’s not just clothes and our stuff but his medication would be in there. We had a beer and filled out the registration papers online, and then a young man came into the courtyard and went into the office. Our friend came out and said “he brings your luggage” - hooray! He brought out a map of the resort and said people who bike here get upgraded and showed us on the map where our cottage would be. It’s one of the newer ones that has its own pool - fantastic beyond words. Indeed, it was one of the ones we saw high on the hill, but lucky for us he had an electric golf cart and gave us a ride up there with our heavy suitcases.

Eleonas Country Village complex lies in the shadow of the mythical Mt Psiloritis, the highest mountain of Crete, where according to the Greek mythology God Zeus was raised! The property consists of separate stone cottages, and I’m enjoying the natural light after 5 nights in a cave on Santorini and last night in an old vine covered villa!

We swam in our private pool, did some sink laundry (there’s clothes drying rack on our patio!), had a quick nap, and showers. We headed down to the restaurant/taverna about 6:30pm - the first ones there of course, but we were wiped out! We’ve only been on our bikes twice for two outdoor rides this year. The rest of our conditioning had been on the Peloton. I feel in decent shape, but today was rough - hills and heat!

We had a fantastic meal, a great bottle of local wine, nice chatting with our waitress. After our meal, we had a complimentary desert (custard pie?) and two bottles with shot glasses - one was Raki, the other they said was their geranium wine - very sweet, but great after dinner. The owner came over and we traded “business ownership” stories. He opened this place 17 years ago - so we’ve been in business about the same time. The main difference is he closes it down when he goes on holiday!

Fabulous night to cap off an awesome day. We should sleep well tonight!

• Cycle Arhanes to Zaros: 32.4 miles - 2936 ft elevation gain!

Tuesday May 17 Zaros

The scripted plan for today was 48-mile loop to Matala, where we would have seen Roman Gortys ruins, Minoan Phaestos ruins, and swam in the Matala Caves. When we arrived at Eleonas Cottages yesterday, we both immediately fell in love with the place and without much discussion we both knew we didn’t need another ride today.

There are many hikes nearly, so after a lazy morning, we set out to hike the 9km Rouvas Gorge trail. Actually, our outfitter, Colleen suggested that we’d arrived here yesterday in time for lunch, then after lunch do the Gorge hike and have all day today to ride the alternate route. We’re not in that kind of shape, nor do we want to be in that kind of time crunch - after all, it’s “holiday” for us (we’re talking with a lot of Europeans!).

We awoke to yet another perfect day! I went out by our pool for my morning meditation and yoga - it was hard to meditate because I just kept wanting to open my eyes and take in the beautiful surroundings!!

After breakfast, we dressed for hiking and set out from our cottage at 11am. We walked down through the resort and into the parking lot, found the trail head and started climbing. The odd thing was that we saw a river yesterday just as we were arriving, but the gorge was dry. There were several large black pipes, perhaps diverting the water to the Zaros water plant? Occasionally, one would have sprung a leak and make a refreshing shower!

The climb was steep, and it was nearly 80 degrees so we were taking it slow. There were a lot spots with shade, which was a nice surprise so we lingered in the shade as much as we could. We passed by a monastery, then through a series of gates, presumably fencing off goats (we could hear their bleating and their bells but didn’t see them). At just over a mile, we saw several groups of people that were sitting and resting or heading back down. No one we talked to had gone much further and were turning back or thinking of turning back.

We crossed the gorge and went up a steep section and we were just about 2 miles according to my watch (2 hours!). Jeff found a spot to sit and said he was worried about going back down and didn’t think he should go further. We’re both nervous about the fall he had last week! I went ahead and hiked another 30 minutes. It was a mixture of steep climb, gradual traverse, and boulder scrambling. Nothing felt particularly scary, but being out on my own was a bit unsettling. At 30 minutes, I got a to high bridge that would cross to the other side of the gorge and that’s where I decided to turn back. Jeff was happy to see me back and in one piece and I was happy to be reunited with him too. I sat and had a snack, then we headed down.

We went down a bit of the trail, but then opted for a gravel road walk down. Still hard on the knees and toes, but more solid than the trail would have been. At the monastery, we rejoined the trail and crossed to gorge to find the trail that would lead us to Zaros Lake. We stopped there for beers and a large bottle of sparking Zaros water. Seemed like mainly German tourists there and we enjoyed relaxing and watching the white geese(?). From there, it was 0.6km back to Eleonas, but that was up and then down a steep hill - a little tougher with beer in our bellies!

Back at our cottage, we jumped in the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon napping and relaxing. Life is good!

We reorganized our stuff again (tomorrow is another transfer day) and headed down to the taverna for dinner - we were able to wait until a more respectable 7pm for dinner tonight!

Our stay at Eleonas was magical - I could see coming back here for an extended stay!

Wednesday May 18 Rethymno

We were up fairly early, all packed up and walking to breakfast (gingerly down the steep slope in our bike sandals with cleats) before 8am. We had breakfast, Jeff pumped the tires and checked our brakes, we said our goodbyes and we were rolling before 9am. It was tough to leave such a tranquil place!

We now knew how to find the actual road back to Zaros, but made a wrong turn just after the water plant as I turned left and headed towards town. Jeff quickly called me back when the GPS told him “off course.” I made a U-turn and encountered one of the scariest looking dogs I’ve ever seen - even though he was chained and behind a fence, his eyes and aggressive bark really rattled me. We saw a lot of dogs today, but other than giving a bit of adrenaline rush, we had no trouble with them.

Back on track, we started to climb, the theme of today. Crete is a mountainous island - little flat ground! The day was warm, the roads were fantastic and there was little traffic. Generally, the only sound was the tinkling of the bells that the sheep were wearing!

I switched my Apple Watch to report distance in Kilometers, so it was easier to track along with my cue sheet. For the most part, the GPS was all we needed for navigating but it gives me some sense of control and awareness to be following along.

We rode about an hour and took a break in a small village sitting near a fountain. It was a great vantage point to watch the morning activity. The strangest site was a garbage truck went by and stopped. A man came up to the truck and the man inside handed him a black garbage bag with a sheep carcass sticking out. The man walked past us and up the street with the bag with the legs sticking out. I guess the garbage man doubles as a delivery man!

We rode through many little villages in the mountains today. It was typical to see the older men gathered sitting and talking, or playing backgammon - and the older women in long black traditional dress, also gathered, but usually standing with brooms in their hands. We occasionally heard the sounds of kids playing when we’d pass a school. The other thing to note is the prevalence of 80’s-ish little Toyota, Mitsubishi or Isuzu trucks - burning oil, but still running! Like the other villages we’ve ridden through, a variety of houses - some beautiful, some crumbling. Nearly everyone had large pots of beautiful flowers. I could have spent the day just taking photographs of the plants and flowers!

As we were riding along, a black van came towards us and Jeff noted the driver waved somewhat excitedly. He commented that maybe that was the driver going to get our luggage! Shortly after our break, we were riding through the next village when the black van passed us and stopped up ahead. The driver popped the back hatch and jumped out with a grin on his face, pointing to our luggage. Hooray! He also produced two bottles of cold water and two big hunks of fresh warm bread from the bakery in the last town. How is that for service?! His name was Stelios Salvarakis. He gave us his card as we talked about rain in the forecast for the next three days and our wariness about riding to Hania in the rain on Friday - he’d be willing to transport us there, bikes and luggage! He’s a cyclist too and understands that it’s ok to be riding and be rained on sometimes, but to be in serious rain and have to ride 50 miles in a foreign country is a different deal. Anyway, we’ll play it by ear, but Jeff has been anxiously watching the weather all week so it was a relief to know we have a great option.

We continued to ride - talking lots of short breaks to appreciate the views. The mountain with the patches of snow reappeared! I finally googled it - Psiloritis, formerly Mount Idi, is 2456 meters (8058 feet) gets serious snow in the winter and has patches of snow year-round - I just can’t reconcile that in my brain. All the plants I see growing naturally here are subtropical Mediterranean, which doesn’t compute with snow, but it is what it is!

Just after noon, we passed through the village of Foutfouras and our cue sheet recommended a bakery so we stopped there for lunch. I’d been thinking about gyros for lunch, but I’ve never been one to pass by a bakery! Jeff went inside and came back with a spinach pie, and a cheese & tomato pie - both fresh and warm … and two Fanta’s (our new bicycle refreshment!). More food than I thought we needed, but we managed to eat it all. The ladies led us back through the bakery to use their WC. They were a jovial group and the pastries they were making were out of this world. I wonder how much butter they use in a day?! Most curious, out on the front porch was a large cooling rack with trays of the kinds of bread Stelios had brought us. At the time, he told us you eat this fresh, or you dry it out to make “rusk,” which is the crunchy bread we’ve had before (it’s like a big crouton). The bread is made from whole grain barley flour and has no added preservatives so drying it out makes it last longer.

After our lunch stop the condition of the road deteriorated, but we had it to ourselves so we could navigate around the potholes and gravel patches. I’d noticed for the first time that my cue sheet had a column for elevation, which gave me more insight as to if the future hour meant climbing or descending. Psychologically, I’m not sure if that was good or bad - knowing we had to climb 500 meters before the next turn … hmm?

I was looking forward to the 500-meter descent to the dam, especially because the cue sheet said “fun descent.” I’m not a thrill seeker, but I found it is a lot of fun descending fast on a bike you can trust, with a good surface and little traffic. I’ve come a long way since riding in Tuscany in 2006 where I learned to let off the brakes and let it run a little bit. My anticipation of this alleged “fun descent” was thwarted by the ROAD CLOSED sign! There was no barricade so we proceeded down the road, hoping it wasn’t actually closed. We came to the site of a landslide where workers were shoring up the hillside. They gave us a look, but we kept on going. There were several houses and sheep barns along the way but we didn’t see other people. The surface of the road was rough, so we were on the brakes all the time to the point where our hands started cramping. We came to another recent landslide - this one had been more mud than rock, and a narrow path had been cleared that we were able to ride through. Our next obstacle was a loose sheep running down the road with Jeff. We were a little afraid she/he might startle and ram us. He/she was a bit panicked and continued to run down the road ahead of us but a little sideways. We slowed down and convinced her/him to step off the road and let us pass (that’s the way I saw it happening at least).

The next obstacle was where most of the road had washed out. The highway crew had put a cone on either side of the hole (with a hubcap propped up). A car or motorcycle coming upon that in the dark would have certainly crashed! We navigated around it on our bikes, but it was reminiscent of our landslide day in Peru - slightly scary!

Throughout this descent, I was trying to mentally prepare myself for if the road was actually blocked and we’d have to back track. Towards the end, a couple on cruiser bikes were biking toward us, so we took that as a good sign. What a prayer of gratitude when we got to the end and rejoined the road around the reservoir. The road continued to descend, and we encountered maybe 2-3 cars as we rode along the reservoir - good thing and there had been a lot of erosion and we rode around or through a lot of sand and gravel, and sometimes water.

The dam was massive, but not much to look at. We had 16 kilometers to go, and my cue sheet said from 679 meters elevation at the dam to sea level - no problem, right?

We rode a bit and came to a Taverna with a grassy lawn and trees. We stopped and took an off the bike break and laid in the grass, trying to uncramp our hands from all the braking! We ate our apple and some nuts, and I commented on how the mountains to the east looked like Yosemite without the waterfalls - same kind of rugged granite. I couldn’t see how the road cut through the mountains though and I was still convinced we were just going to cruise down to sea level. I’m so cute when I’m that naive. I tracked a truck when it went by and saw it switchback a few times then disappear. So, I prepared myself for a little more climbing, but it was 3pm and we’d already been at this for six hours and I was running out of juice (and water!).

We set out, did the few switchbacks to where I’d seen the truck disappear - we rounded the corner and I dropped an f-bomb. We had a lot of climb to go - we probably climbed another 1000 ft from where we’d taken the break to when we finally crested the mountain and could see down to Réthymnon. While it was a tough climb, the views were spectacular and the traffic remained light and courteous. We went over this ancient one-lane bridge where we didn’t encounter any cars thankfully. I would have loved to stop and take a photo from the bridge, but I haven’t lost my fear of heights! What was most hysterical were hollyhocks growing in the dirt that had built up in the cracks!

Before we knew it, we were flying down the descent to the coast. The scenery was beautiful but to get a great photo I’d have had to brake hard and cross to the other side of the highway and that all seemed like a bad idea.

The GPS and cue sheets led us perfectly, but couldn’t prepare us for the beach scene we encountered - a cross between Miami Beach and Mexico. What a shock to our systems! We rode through a congested tourist area, then out to the beach, where we found a two mile stretch of hotels on the left, and the beach (with umbrellas and chairs) to the right. There were swimmers in the sea and parasailers in the sky. Couldn’t have been any different than the traditional Cretan villages we’d just visited!

We rode into the old city, where eventually the streets narrowed and became cluttered with sidewalk cafes and aisles so narrow, we could barely walk our bikes though them. The GPS led us right to the door of Hotel Veneto, our home for the next two nights. We arrived about 4:30pm - exhausted but exhilarated!

We checked in and were given the grand tour of the property. It’s a restored 14th century Venetian-era urban villa with romantic décor and amazing antique artifacts and furniture. Beside the hotel, it’s home to Veneto’s restaurant which is certified by the “Agronutritional Cooperative of Crete”. The owner is an expert oenologist, and among the interesting artifacts is a 600+ year old wine cellar. I love to be inside a property like this and try to imagine what has transpired here over the last 600 years.

If you don’t mind steps, ours is a quirky cozy room. A large double bed, and a smaller day bed to serve as a way to organize my suitcase! A nicely renovated bathroom, with the best shower we’ve seen so far in all of Crete (but we have another six places to stay yet - yikes). I got in the shower wearing my bike clothes, washed them as I washed my body). We have a balcony and a veranda, overlooking the outside courtyard dining area - I was able to discreetly hang my clothes to dry out there!

After showers, we headed down to dinner. We were thirsty and starving, so we selected a table on the sidewalk outside our hotel - enjoying white wine, Davos for starter (rusk bread, olive oil, tomatoes, capers and olives), salads and catch of the day (red snapper for me, dorada for JT). While we ate, we visited with Jane, a delight woman from The Hague, who was traveling Greece on her own. Of course, after our meal, they delivered a complimentary custard desert and a small bottle of Raki. The people watching was awesome, some Americans, but a wide variety of other languages spoken as well.

After dinner, we strolled through Old Town. I was surprised by the number of shops - you could buy anything you need! We bought a small bottle of aloe for our sunburn, and a loofa sponge as we left our scrubby in the shower at the cottage! Back to our hotel, just as the town was coming alive. It was an awesome day but we’re exhausted!

• 48.2 miles. Highest climb was 1790 feet. Total elevation gain 3936 ft.

Thursday May 19 Réthymnon

Down day in Réthymnon. It was rainy this morning, so we slept in and went down to breakfast just after 9am. We lazed the rest of the morning away, and by 11:30am, the rain had stopped and we set out. We left old town and walked the business district, looking for a bank as Jeff had a lot of dollars he wanted to convert to Euros. It took us awhile to find an actual bank, not an ATM … but you had to be buzzed in and out. A lady was waiting there, impatiently mashing the button to be let into the bank. We finally gave up and just used the ATM to get Euros.

We walked from there to the modern boat harbor. There weren’t the fancy boats that you’d usually see in a European harbor, there was a ferry docked there, and dozens of fishing boats going nowhere today - and empty stalls where you could tell (smell) that they typically sell fresh fish. Most impressive were the waves crashing over the sea wall. We’re not sure if the ferry was scheduled to be somewhere, but it didn’t sail during the several hours we were hanging out.

We walked back towards old town, and around the old harbor, which was ringed with restaurants and aggressive guys trying to lure us in for lunch. We finally asked a guy if we could get a gyro there. He held his chest and said, rather disgustedly, “no, these restaurants are for sea food, for gyros you must go into old town.” So that’s what we did - our eleventh day in Greece, we finally ate a gyro (and it was wonderful)!

We then set out to explore the Fortezza fortress, overlooking the harbor. It was built in the 16th century by the Venetians who occupied Crete from 1204-1669, to protect its citizens from Ottoman (Turkish) invasions. Didn’t work too well as the Ottomans took it over in 1646. They believe it is built on the site of an ancient acropolis from the second century and have just begun some excavation of that site. Overall, the fortress is in a state of disrepair. Our self-guided map helped us figure out the structures and a little of the back story, but it could be better preserved. What I enjoyed to most were the tremendous views of today’s rough sea, and the cats that lived there!

We strolled back through old town until we found familiar landmarks to lead us back to our hotel. It had become a beautiful sunny day, but considerably cooler - in the mid-sixties.

We relaxed for a few hours, organized our stuff for tomorrow’s likely ride in the rain, then headed out in search of dinner!

Friday May 20 Réthymnon to Hania (Chania)

Today’s planned route called for 58 miles and about 3000 feet of climb. As we were talking with the young man at the hotel about that yesterday, he said, “Chania is not that far.” I quickly pulled it up on Google maps and it said it’s just over 30 miles … on the NEW highway. In the afternoon, we plotted an alternative route. We didn’t feel like we had 58 miles with significant climb in us, even after a day off. We also were nervous about the weather. We have plenty experience riding in rain, but it’s a different deal being out and getting caught in the rain, versus HAVING to get to the next town in a foreign country!

I was wide awake at 5am, reviewing Google maps and working out routes. Google told us it’s forbidden to ride on what they call the “National Highway,” but several people told us they see cyclists on it regularly (and it was what we were riding on our first day when we were lost). I found a blog from some cyclists in 2017 that rode the whole highway to Chania and said the shoulder was wide but junky. Besides studying the maps this morning, a check of the weather made it look like we’d be in the clear until early afternoon, so we were anxious to get going.

Breakfast technically started at 8am, but we went down at 7:30am and the woman welcomed us and even offered to pack us cookies and fruit for our ride. We ate some yogurt and granola, finished setting up the bikes, paid the tab for our dinners and we were on our way a little after 8am.

It was bizarre riding through old town with empty streets! A few people out walking, and a few cats. We headed directly west to the path along the sea wall below the Fortezza. Initially I rode on the sidewalk/bike lane, but quickly realized the sea was crashing over the wall! Too early in the morning to get drenched with salt water! We quickly went back down to the road.

Traffic was busy and we got a few beeps as it was generally too narrow to pass us. In about 2 miles, we came to the National Highway. The intersection was hectic, but it gave us a chance to check it out. We crossed over and rode along a frontage road for about 3 miles. Our road was in terrible shape, even gravel in spots. It gave as an appreciation for how big the city is.

We crossed under the highway again and thought about joining it, but opted for staying on the alternative route I’d found. That had us climbing and riding through an area where they’re building gorgeous villas with amazing sea views, and also gave us a great view of the highway. When we intersected it again, we collectively decided to give it a shot. My next plan for alternative road would have put us even higher in the hills. We gingerly entered the highway and we were delighted to find a wonderful shoulder. Often the shoulder was in better shape than the road! Traffic wasn’t too heavy and we could watch it coming in our mirrors and brace ourselves for busses and trucks.

The oddest phenomenon though was the shrubs and trees were often overgrown and forced us off the shoulder and into the main lane of traffic. I’d watch in my mirror and time going out when there was no traffic behind us. It wasn’t a divided highway, so it was scary when oncoming cars would be passing - that happened too much!

There were pullouts and I’d stop at every one, trying to relax my shoulders and breathe. The road had on and off ramps, but there were spots where side roads joined. We stopped at one of those after about 5 miles, and while Jeff peed in the bushes, I went back to Google maps. For some reason, the bike option wasn’t coming up so I chose the “walk” option to Chania. It looked like we could cut across this peninsula via Vamos, and shave 10 km off even the highway route, so we opted for that! It led us through a resort town, not sure what it was but it had little trains full of tourists that we had to dodge. Then it led us off the small highway onto a path through an olive orchard. That ended it a climb so steep we had to walk the bikes, and an encounter with a dog that almost attacked Jeff - the owner called him off just in time.

I zoomed wide and saw the highway would take us to Vamos and ignored the turn suggestions from the navigation lady. For the first time today, we felt like we were back in normal territory with olive trees, although the general feeling was one of more prosperity than what we felt in the mountains. I thought we’d get a break from the 20-30 mph winds since we were away from the coast, but the wind continued to be brutal. Sometimes even going downhill you’d still have to peddle to keep the momentum going!

Vamos looked like a cute town with cafés and it would have been perfect timing for a break, but the ugly clouds over the mountains kept the pressure on to keep moving before the rain. We headed down the mountain, primarily descending to a beach resort town, Kalami - which was buttoned down against the north winds. We took shelter behind the plastic sides of a beach taverna and took a break sitting on the sidewalk to eat our bananas and Kind bars. A lady from the taverna came out with concern in her voice wondering if we were alright. Yup - relatively so! The surf there was the type of waves I describe as “angry,” kind of makes you shudder.

We reprogrammed Google maps for the exact hotel location and had 18km to go. We used the walking option again and saw we had another 4 miles or so back up on the highway. We rode through town, along the coast with beautiful views of the coast. As the crow flies, we were close to Chania as a portion of it (with the airport) is a large peninsula just across the harbor, but we had to go up and around to get there. At one point, the nav lady said to turn right and Jeff stopped and realized she was probably directing us to “walk” on the beach, so we ignored her and stayed the course.

Colleen from Cycle Greek, who supplied us with the downloads of the RideGPS maps told us the downside to using your phone to navigate was that it drained the phone battery. She suggested we bring a battery pack and supplied us with a handlebar bag that could hold the pack. After about two hours of use, the battery was drained, so it was wonderful to just plug it into the battery and stay in navigation mode! That saved us every day.

We got to the point where rejoining the National Highway was our only option. We took a “step down break,” needed to remove a layer of clothes anyway after our climb. Then a deep breath and we merged onto the shoulder of the highway.

We were still battling the bushes, and watching our mirrors for cars and trucks straying onto the shoulder, and shuddering when oncoming traffic was passing. Much to our dismay, a sign said “construction 2km ahead.” Oh joy, another thing to worry about. All the self-talk to relax my jaw, relax my shoulders didn’t work. This was survival mode. We got to the construction, where there was no actual work being done, but the lanes were both shifted north - our way. That means the traffic going our way was diverted onto our precious 3-foot shoulder, and they made a new “temporary” shoulder that varied from 6-18” and was marked with hard reflective rumble markers, spaced 2 feet apart. Plus, they still didn’t trim the darn bushes, so we were trying to balance on this small slice of shoulder, busting through the bushes when we could, waiting for a break in cars to go out into the lane when the bushes were too thick (and going out meant timing just right to navigate around the little markers). Once my shoulder snagged a bush and I almost went down. It was still a cool day (60’s) but I was drenched with perspiration.

What relief when the construction zone ended! However, we traveled another km or so and encountered another one - this one with traffic backed up. Jeff was behind me and yelled that this was our exit so we gingerly poked our way past the stopped cars to make our way to the exit. There was a bit of extra chaos as some cars suddenly lurched out to exit too, and one car from the other lane surprisingly shot through to the exit in front of us. We pulled into the first driveway and took some time to breathe.

Ten kilometers to go, and they were as bad as the highway as now we were in city traffic with stoplights and beeping cars and a curb versus a shoulder. Lots of years of street riding made this sort of situation possible for us, but I don’t experience the joy I typically find when exploring a new place by bicycle!

We got closer to the old town and since we were still following the “walking” route, we were faced with one-way streets in the opposite direction of where we were headed! We rode on sidewalks when we could, and walked the bikes on sidewalks when they became narrow or crowded.

It was a major relief to arrive at Hotel Porto Veneziano, our home for the next two nights. It’s on the edge of Old Town, and right on the Venetian harbor. It’s a great location, but tough to get to on bicycle. We were over the moon to see our suitcases in an alcove next to the front desk. A woman led us to a courtyard where she instructed us to put the bikes. We had already decided we weren’t doing our alternative route tomorrow - not worth it to ride the 10km out of town and back in again. Better to take the day to enjoy Hania. We took all the stuff off the bikes (our pedals, lights and mirrors) and the bags that belong to Cycle Greece.

Up to our room for our routine of unpacking, showers and laundry. This is the most modern hotel we’ve stayed in, but it’s also the smallest room. We unpacked what we needed and moved our suitcases out to our porch!

After we cleaned up, hunger set in. It was about 4pm - too late for lunch and too early for dinner. We walked a block off the harbor and found a little bistro, with a friendly woman serving as the waitress and the cook. We each had a large beer and I had a falafel dish while Jeff had “shrimps fajitas,” complete with the heads and little eyeballs - the way I hate to see them! We lingered over our meal, trying to relax after a stressful day. I said a massage would be the ticket, and we decided to inquire at the hotel when we got back.

It was cool, probably about sixty degrees, but the wind continued to be relentless. We just needed to be out of the wind and retreated back to the quiet of our room.

About eight pm, we didn’t need more food, but decided we could venture downstairs for drinks and dessert - I’d spied chocolate lava cake on the menu when we came in. We paired that with Baileys for JT and red wine for me. Fabulous waiter, he was fun to talk to and schooled us on Raki a bit - he makes it too (family business) but said the stuff he brought us tonight was made by the owner. He scoffed when I said it all tasted the same to me (there I go again with my unrefined palate!). I think we’ve just eaten in restaurants where they have pride in their home-distilled Raki and it’s all been wonderful!

As we were finishing up, two motorcycle police with their lights flashing stopped in front of the hotel (first police we’ve seen since Athens two weeks ago!). Our waiter said it’s common for dignitaries and ambassadors to stay here, and it’s a police escort / security detail for someone. A SUV stopped at the front door and someone was whisked straight onto the waiting elevator. The police moved on, but 5 vehicles jockeyed for parking on the sidewalk and waterfront. Several security guys milled about outside, most in suits with ear pieces, some we think trying to be “undercover.” A little bit of excitement. Jeff said we’re lucky we didn’t get bumped for someone more important than lowly bike tourists!

Back to the room for some cribbage, we split two games. Total for the trip S=3, J=1.

Today ride was 35 miles and 2000 feet of elevation.

Total for this trip was 120 miles with over 10,000 feet of climb. We only rode 4 of our 7 possible days, but we’re happy with the way we’ve spent our time. Cycling is an amazing way to experience another country and culture up close and we’re so blessed that we both enjoy doing this together.

Saturday May 21 Hania

Today’s forecast was morning rain, but it appears to have changed. We slept in, and it was a beautiful day by the time we got up. We were headed to breakfast about 9am. Breakfast was like in Santorini - order as much as you want from the menu and they’ll bring it to you. I like that - we had little kids coughing on the buffet a few mornings ago and everyone is still understandably leery of coughers!

At breakfast, I told Jeff I’d checked into the post office as when we’re done biking, we like to send back bike shoes and clothes (and pedals and tools). We’ve had quite the adventures doing that in Italy and Spain. It’s always been a hassle, but it always works out. Anyway, the PO is only open from 8a-2pm Monday thru Friday. Jeff said he’d ask the lady at the front desk (same friendly one that helped us book massages later today), and she told him there was a FedEx office about 2km away, open until 2pm. Not only that, she called us a cab!

We quickly threw our stuff in my grey travel backpack and a shopping bag I always bring along, and got into our awaiting cab. The driver said “where to?” and we said “thought she gave you the address?!” He mumbled something. I grabbed Jeff’s phone and Google’d FedEx to ensure we were going to the right place. Saturday morning traffic was gridlock with people out shopping. It wouldn’t have been that much slower to walk the 2km. We were relieved when we pulled up to the FedEx office.

We were greeted by a friendly woman. We said hello (Kalimera, Good Morning) and Jeff asked if she spoke English. She enthusiastically replied “of course!” and I knew we were in good hands! It was fun to interact with her. She was the kind of woman who was just going to figure it out for us. Of course, the true test will be when a black garbage bag completely wrapped in tape arrives on our porch in the coming weeks! But we’re traveling lighter now (or have more capacity for shopping?).

We walked back towards Old Town and the harbor, and scouted out Al Hammam Traditional Baths where we were scheduled for a couples massage at noon. I was shocked to see a Starbucks next to the spa, and resisted stopping there. We walked around a bit - it felt much warmer and there was a gentle breeze versus the cold north wind we’d had the last two days.

The massage was a slightly different experience. An extremely old building with stairs all over the place. We were given a locker and told to change into disposable undies they gave us, along with Turkish towel robes and slippers. We both had friendly and very capable therapists and it felt wonderful. I can’t believe the knots in my neck and shoulder from yesterday’s ride. Afterwards, they invited us to sit on their rooftop terrace, above all the madness, and enjoy herbal tea. It was just the respite we were in need of! We’ll be back here Thursday, so we booked another massage with the same therapists!

From there, we decided to have a snack so stopped at a harbor side place to have Cretan salad and dakos with a bottle of sparkling water to refresh after the massage. I was surprised that they gave us Raki with the check - too early in the day for Raki, but we didn’t want to be rude!

We walked around a bit more, around the other side of the massive harbor. Great people watching on a busy Saturday afternoon. We poked in a few shops, and after much searching, found the little boutique hotel we’ll stay in on our last night in Greece next Thursday.

Back to our hotel, we took showers and got ready to meet our hiking guide Michalis Farandakis. He came to the hotel to chat about our next five days and retrieve our bikes and gear. We have the basic itinerary but the weather could alter our plans … some of the plans involve a small boat picking us up from the beach!

We chatted for about an hour and agreed to get an early start tomorrow to beat the crowds on the Samaria Gorge. He’s picking us up at 7am.

We had a great dinner at the hotel restaurant, sitting outside and watching the crowds and the beautiful sunset (and some of the diplomats coming back made for a little excitement)! We were back in our room to pack up once again … 4 different hotel stays in our last days here, so there will be a lot of packing and unpacking!

Sunday May 22 Sougia

Our day started earlier with Michalis (Michael) picking us up at 7am. The hotel agreed to have breakfast to go for us, and despite the cute little boxes, it was a bit of a letdown (cheese and cold cut sandwiches, pears, bottled water). I was hoping for yogurt and pastries!

Michalis and his wife Maria were early to pick us up in their somewhat smallish car (small for squeezing our two large suitcases)! I checked us out of the hotel while Jeff helped with the loading. His credit card has been declining the past couple days and he called this morning to learn that he’d been issued a new card and his card has been replaced! The new card was shipped the day we left?! He was told it was a “bank request,” it wasn’t close to expiring so it was completely unexpected. Luckily, we have our ATM cards that continue to deliver Euros to us, and I have a different VISA.

Soon we were in the car cruising through the streets of Hania, and not so much traffic early on a Sunday morning. Our provided itinerary called for “vehicle transfer to Omalos,” and Maria was going to take the car home after we started the hike. Nice to have someone working the logistics for us!

On the drive, Michalis told us more about the history and culture of Crete. The two industries are tourism and agriculture. We heard again about the market for olive oil, and he also described how many families keep trees. He said a family can handle about 100 trees on their own - more than that they have to hire help. Besides his work as a PE teacher and a coach for professional cyclists (he had been on the Greek National team and was a coach at one of the Olympics), they have a “farm” where today’s hike will end. They have olive trees, goats and a garden with vegetables and herbs.

At the end of today’s hike, we’ll be in the village where he and Maria come from (Agia Roumeli). He said they have a simple summer house there, and their goats (they make cheese from their goat milk, and their goats are the only meat they eat). This is going to be an educational several days!

The drive up into the mountains was spectacular. Traffic was light which was good, because for most of the switchbacks we were in the middle of the road! We passed through a gorgeous town and saw an older guy out on the road that appeared to be struggling with a stubborn sheep - the others seemed to be moving willingly. Michalis said they feed them twice a day, and that’s when they milk them too - and the sheep learn that routine. That explained some of what we’d seen the guys in the little trucks doing - hauling milk in the red cans!

We stopped in the little village of Omalos, just 2km short of the gorge. We left our suitcases there, and someone will transfer them to Sougia, our home for tonight. There were a lot of fit people milling about in Omalos, and Michalis and Maria realized it was the day of the Samaria Gorge race! More about that later.

We arrived at the gorge entry gate around 8am, and waited about 15 minutes to buy tickets and get in. Several large bus loads were ahead of us, but the entry process sort of meters the crowd entering the gorge. Michalis thinks about 500 people will hike the gorge today! Most will go all the way and take one of two boats at 5:30p to where their bus or a taxi will return them to where they started. Some will walk halfway down and turn around and go back. Some start at the other end and go halfway and back.

We were hiking before 8:30am. The first 90 minutes were a pretty steep down - primarily on steps but you had to be on guard for slippery rocks. We hadn’t gone a kilometer when we encountered an elderly English couple that were asking how far until in flattened out! Ummm … at the sea? Michalis tried to gently encourage them to go back, but we don’t know what they did. She just kept saying “the guide book didn’t say it was this hard!”

Every kilometer or so we’d come to a nice rest stop, with fresh spring water, tables in the shade to sit, and often a WC (toilet). Michalis didn’t carry any water for himself, he only drank a little from each spring. I had 2 liters in my hydration bag, and refilled that about 8 miles in (but I drink a lot of water).

We continued going down, and heard the first of about 50 runners approaching from behind. Generally, the trail was wide enough that we didn’t have to step aside to let them pass, but it was hard to not turn and look when you saw them coming! The first dozen were all lean guys, just flying down the steps and over the rocks. Hardly landing on their feet and keeping their momentum going - very impressive. Then we started seeing women and older guys. At about the 3-mile mark, the race course took at turn and headed out of the gorge on a different trail.

We took a break and engaged in a conversation with two other tour guides that were bemoaning the fact that there were people on their tour that might not make it. They were justifiably angry with the phenomenon that the people selling the tours don’t understand how tough it is and don’t screen out any tourists (or coach about proper foot ware and hiking poles).

We continued on. Besides the fact that Michalis knew so much about the history and contents of the gorge, it was such a relief to us that we never struggled looking for the trail. We simply followed him along over every water crossing, and never wavered for a second about if we were on the trail. Occasionally people would hang out as he was explaining about a structure or a plant, or they’d be standing at a river crossing trying to decide which way to go … once I heard someone say “here comes the guy with the staff, follow him!” Michalis carried this really cool crooked hiking staff that looked like - probably was - a shepherd’s staff!

We encountered a young Greek girl and her mom. She was about 10 years old and I didn’t understand her name, but Michalis said it translates to “peace.” This was her first trip to Crete, they’re from north Greece, and she was fascinated but what she’d seen and had a lot of questions for Michalis. It was wonderful to see how he engaged with her, you could see the compassionate teacher side of him, as well as the pride in talking about his country. The mom, Katarina, said she didn’t speak English well, but she did a great job of carrying most of the conversation for us!

Soon we reached Samari village and our halfway point. We found a spot in the shade, and Michalis brought out spinach pies that Maria had made. They were awesome, as good as what we got from the bakery the other day. Plus, the were made with their homegrown spinach and cheese made from their goats. I went to the WC building and laughed out loud when I saw the kind of toilet with a hole and space to place your feet - the kind that Tam dropped her phone into when we were in Tanzania!

The Samari Village was occupied until 1962, and now consists of old buildings and ruins so you can get a feel for what life was like there. They had terraces with olive trees, and space for other agriculture. Michalis explained that they mainly made a living as bee keepers and wood cutters. They had made ponds and had mills operating along the river. Currently, there is a doctor that goes to the village every day in case tourists need medical assistance. There are also several mules kept there in case someone needs to be carried out!

Two rivers had merged from different side gorges, and a third joined after our lunch stop. Because of the steep downward angle of the gorge, the water really moved along with many small drops and beautiful pools - I was dying to stick my feet in the water, but it felt like pressure to keep moving - we had a boat to catch at the end of our hike!

Like we saw in the gorge near Zaros the other day, there were black pipes running along the river / trail. I asked Michalis about it and he confirmed that it is water diverted to village below. With them being on the coast, there is no other way for them to get fresh water - and he agreed that it was an eyesore. There was so much other beauty, it was easy to ignore it.

As we continued down the gorge, the walls became more narrow - we’d been in similar small gorges in the Grand Canyon, but nothing of this magnitude! Michalis talked to everyone we’d seen that appeared to be local, race officials, rescue workers on standby. He said to us that everyone we’d meet from now on would be related to him.

We got to a spot where there was another gate - we had to show our tickets to pass, their way of knowing everyone that went in the gorge came back out! There were refreshment stands that looked welcoming, Michalis would greet them, but we kept going. He said we’ll take a van the last 2km from here, which felt like cheating! I truly had envisioned that we’d hike to the sea and a boat would pick us up there - my vision was somewhat like the “water taxis” that are so much fun in Mexico!

The guy running the van service was a “cousin,” and we sat there and the cousin’s daughter brought us fresh orange juice on ice - from one of those cool orange juice machines like we’d seen in Spain - fresh oranges go in the top and yummy OJ comes out the bottom! The van ride cost 2 Euros, but it may have been free for us? The van let us out in the little town of Agia Roumeli. The only way to access the town is to hike there, or by ferry twice a day. The town had a smattering of hotels or places with “rooms to rent,” and tavernas - all centered around the ferry dock. We walked a block and Michalis pointed out his “summer home,” and then we stopped at the next building and visited with his 92-year-old father-in-law. From there, we went to a cousin’s place for lunch.

The surf was crazy, and I was glad we weren’t piling in the little boat I’d had in my vision! We had salads and dakos, and lots of water. The shade was a relief, but with the sea breeze I got a chill. Probably partly dehydrated and overheated in the gorge. Jeff had an ice cream hankering, so Michalis gave us our ferry tickets and said he’d meet us onboard at 5:15pm - don’t miss it, and get in the right boat!

There were two ferries leaving at 5:30pm. Ours was heading west to Sougia and beyond, the other going east! We boarded with hordes of other people - many we’d seen in the gorge today; others were behind us or maybe ahead of us. Katerina and her daughter were there, we hadn’t seen them since the halfway point. They sat with us and Michalis recited some Cretan songs for her and wrote them down. She was such an engaging little girl. She practiced her English on us and said she was shy as we were the first English speaking people she’d tried to talk to. It was a lot of fun.

It was a thirty-minute ferry ride, mostly along the rough coast that Michael’s family controls. He pointed out where he hunts, where their goats are, their bee hives, where a cousin lives, etc.

He also pointed out where we should hike tomorrow along the coast, although with the rough seas we’ll probably have to move to Plan B as Plan A does involve a cousin with a small boat picking us up!

We got to Sougia and disembarked with the throng. There were about 5 buses waiting there, and many vans and taxis waiting to take the hikers back to where they started. The town was about as big as Agia Roumeli, with several hotels and tavernas and a small beach. The main difference is this town has a road to civilization! We walked to our hotel, nice place with a bottle of wine and baked goods to greet us. We made a plan to meet Michalis at a beach restaurant at 8pm. We showered, I washed out some clothes, and we headed out to dinner. When we got there, he said he’d arranged dinner but wasn’t going to join us, so it was just us and about 6 cats, and other tables of tourists. Great dinner, but we were exhausted and ready for bed!

Hike: 10 miles, elevation gain was just 232 feet, but we descended nearly 4000 feet (ouch)!

Tuesday May 23 Agia Roumeli

The original plan for today was to hike from Sougia to Tripiti Beach, about 5 hours walking along the coast, stop for lunch and a swim, then have a cousin pick us up in a small boat for a transfer to Agia Roumeli. When Michalis saw the sea yesterday, he knew that was improbable. It would be possible to hike all the way, but he said that would be a very long day of hiking.

We were happy to go along with Plan B, and it fits the pattern we’d established cycling last week - one tough day, one easy day. This plan had us taking the 8:30am ferry back to Agia Roumeli, where we’d do a small hiking loop and have some time to relax.

We met Michalis at a beach cafe at 7:30am. We ordered fried eggs and toast, and it came with bread so we ended up with like 12 pieces of toast! Haven’t quite got the hang of breakfasts, which is “normal” for us traveling in Europe.

We’d left our bags with the proprietor of last night’s hotel to be transferred to the ferry dock. As we were making our way to the ferry, among other tourists (including many backpackers), a man in a pickup stopped to chat with Michalis. Unbeknownst to us, he was brokering a deal to have the guy load our bags into his truck and deliver them to our next hotel. It appeared he already had passengers and their bags (and a large plant he must be delivering somewhere). A Volvo pulled up to the boat ramp and it was Idomemeas with our bags. They were transferred into the bed of the waiting pickup!

While waiting for our ferry, we walked around the corner and saw a small boat harbor, naturally protected from the sea.

We asked Michael about the lack of police presence on Crete in general, but specifically in these remote villages. He said there is no need as there is little crime. People just do the right thing. An ideal culture, just as we saw in Gustavus, Alaska!

We also learned that Michalis owns a share in the ferry service, so he rides free (he also walks on like he owns the place!). Jeff has taken to calling him “governor” since he seems so well connected.

It was a beautiful morning for a boat ride and there were few passengers. I was really glad we weren’t trying to wrestle our large suitcases onto the ferry - instead, we just watched the truck drive on with our bags in the back! Some locals, and some backpackers on the ferry. This route is part of Europe’s E4 Walking Path, and it seems like many are trekking along on that.

As we got off the boat back in Agia Roumeli, the guy with the truck and our luggage pulled up to Paralia, the restaurant/hotel closest to the boat dock, owned by Michael’s uncle. A young boy grabbed a key and went up the stairs to open our room for us - small room, but fairly modern and you can’t beat the view from our balcony!

Toilet stop, and we were out on the street ready for our hike to the castle. On the boat we’d been talking about the Milwaukee Bucks star from Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo. I figure it’s the best was to tell people where we are from, but they don’t know where Milwaukee is located geographically, so it doesn’t matter! As we climbed, Michalis said there is a county song with “Milwaukee” in the name. I thought of a few, but nothing he knew. He kept trying to work the lyrics, and he remembered “square” and “ball.” Then he remembered a guy with braids like an Indian, obviously Willie Nelson. We finally figured out it was Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee” he was talking about - he later played us a video on his phone where Willie joins Merle singing it. We helped him interpret some of the lyrics like “even squares can have a ball,” which don’t make sense with a literal translation!

We got to the top of the ridge and paused there, looking at the sea and down the gorge on the other side. There was a Greek flag flying there, and Michalis explained the meaning of the stripes (9 that stand for the 9 syllables in a phrase that means something like freedom or death) and the cross for Christian symbolism. He became very emotional and teared up telling us about it, which is a testament to the kind of man he is. We’re lucky to be spending these days with him!

We went down the back side of the ridge on the “road,” and around to the spot where his cousin’s shuttle and orange juice stand is located. From there, we walked the road back to the village, crossing the river a few times. People who had been on the boat with us were just beginning to make their way up the gorge.

We parted ways, Michalis to his house, and we went to lunch, had a nap, and had a swim. We went to the beach to the west of the ferry docks. Several beach bars there were hopping with folks who probably had hiked the gorge earlier in the day and were now chilling while they waited for the 5:30pm ferry. We rented beach chairs, stashed our stuff, and went into the VERY cold water. The waves were spectacular and we dove into a few, but we didn’t stay in the water long! Quick rinse in the shower, and time to soak up sun and warm up! The people watching was amazing.

Gradually, people began to change into their clothes and migrate back to the ferry dock. We’d had enough sun, so we ambled back to our room for showers. I watched the ferry load from our balcony. After the first one (to Sougia) left, the couple who had been right in front of us on the beach ran up - I couldn’t hear what they were told, but they went and sat on the wall. Lucky for them, the smaller boat arrived from the east, and the ferry circled back to get some passengers the small boat was bringing. The ferry redocked, and the couple got on. The shuttle van arrived and several more people got on. Just as they were shutting the doors, someone yelled and ran up, and they were let on too. Everyone else will have to sleep in town tonight. Michalis told us it occasionally happens that the ferry doesn’t run (weather or mechanical breakdown). Then, everyone has to spend the night in town (or walk back up, which is hardly possible for most). Doesn’t matter if your flight leaves the next morning … no boat, you’re staying!

We met Michalis for dinner at his Brother-in-law’s place on the edge of town - Roussios. We had red wine, appetizers made by his mother-in-law (spinach pie and tomatoes stuffed with rice), dakos, and Jeff and I had the highly recommended goat with potatoes and vegetables. It was wonderful, but we should have split a portion! After dinner we had really good chilled Raki (and a lesson on Crete being the only place allowed to create Raki - and only the 1000 people with a “license, “and nobody drinks Ouzo on Crete), and a yummy yogurt/fruit dessert.

We were the only people eating in the restaurant, but it was a Monday night in preseason. Soon the rooms and the tables will be full of guests all summer. I think we timed it just right!

We walked back to town in the dark - peaceful village that was pretty much shuttered for the night. Great to sleep with the sound of the sea!

About 3 miles of hiking today, but LOTS of relaxation!

Wednesday May 24 Loutro

We were up relatively early to get going before the heat of the day. Today’s plan was to hike along the E4 (European Hiking Route) from Agia Roumeli to Loutro with a stop in Marmara for lunch and a swim.

We had early breakfast (7:30 am) at the restaurant of Paralia, with uncle serving us decaf coffee, yogurt and honey, and bread with cheese and lunch meat. I don’t think he normally serves breakfast; I think this was a favor to us! As we were finishing up, a German woman stumbled in with a walking stick. She said she had an issue with her knee yesterday in the gorge, and had to ride a donkey out. While she was glad for the way out, the donkey ride was traumatizing for her! Apparently, she also missed the ferry last night and stayed here, but she was still quite discombobulated, and moving slow and wasn’t making much sense even though her English was good! Uncle rushed to get her a cup of coffee. She said her husband had gone on without her, but she slept better alone anyway. An odd statement to make to strangers!

We set out, over the river, past a campground with about six tents - some probably passing through on the E4, others maybe camped there for a while? We passed through a gate and immediately had goats all around us, that generally didn’t pay much attention to us.

The first hour we alternated between hiking along the rocky beach, and traversing the hillside high above the sea. There were several secluded sandy beaches, and one massive sand dune that we traversed across (I had to stop and empty the sand out of my socks and shoes after that!).

We walked through pine forests, sometimes even forgetting we were walking along the coast! They were goats all along, and that gave Michalis the opportunity to educate us on goat behavior. Even when we couldn’t see them, I loved hearing the tinkling of the bells. I didn’t know that the tone of the bell has a significance! A lower tone is for the males, a higher pitch for the females, and if they’d put a bell on the babies, that’d be even higher. Not all the goats have bells, just the designated leaders - the bell tells the others where the leader is. He also told us that when a baby is born, they can’t really walk for about a week, so the mom finds a place to tuck them away - apparently baby goats are a favorite appetizer for eagles.

Michalis knew when we’d pass from one person’s territory to the next, even though there weren’t fences. He pointed out caves where shepherds traditionally stayed at night - the inside of the cave blackened from their smoking. Now, shepherds arrive by boat primarily, and have small houses that we could see from above.

We came to a spot where we were climbing and came to a point where we were looking down at a flat lava ledge above the sea. We could see where the sea water had pooled and dried leaving sea salt. Michalis said the villagers come here to gather sea salt for their use!

We encountered about two dozen other hikers coming towards us, and had two groups pass us (I got a sense Michalis didn’t like that). He was always jovial when we’d meet others: “Kalimera, Good Morning, do you know where you’re going, do you have enough water?!” A characteristic most guides we’ve hiked with have, a healthy respect for the elements and how people can get themselves into trouble! Most people we met were European: Austrian, French, UK, Norway (2 super fit fast couples), and several from Australia. Some said they know the trail well and come here every year!

It was a warm day and it felt like a great accomplishment when we saw Marmara come into view. The hike wasn’t technical and didn’t have terrifying traverses, but there were places you could have gotten into trouble with a bad timed fall!

Marmara is a cafe overlooking a small beach, with interesting smooth rocks where people were sunbathing, and some guys were climbing up and jumping which didn’t look like a great idea. Several trails merged here, and it was quite an oasis! We had lunch at the cafe, then Jeff and I went for a swim as we had some time before the 3pm boat to Loutro. I was foolishly hoping the water would be warmer than when we swam yesterday, but of course it wasn’t. It was wonderfully refreshing, but I didn’t stay in long! I went back to the pebbly beach and sat with my feet in the water. I even laid back and had a quick nap! Soon it was time to put our boots back on and get on the water taxi to Loutro.

It would have been about a 45-minute hike to Loutro, but a 10-minute water taxi was preferable. And when we came around the corner, the first view of the little village was breathtaking! White hotels with blue shutters line the little harbor. We followed Michalis about half way around, the sidewalk winds through the bars, shops and restaurants like nothing I’ve ever seen - it’s so magical! We arrived at Hotel Androulakakis, and met Nick who owns the hotel restaurant with his brother whose name is harder to say than Nick! Our suitcases were magically in the office, so we grabbed those and we were shown to our room. We’re in the building next door, which they “rent” from their 82-year-old neighbor who actually lives in Virginia.

The room is fine, not fancy. The view is spectacular (except for the electrical cables strung across in front of our balcony)! Hysterically, the hotel by the boat dock has a blue parrot (of course), and as I sit here typing, I can hear him whistling at the women, and meowing like a cat!

We took quick showers, then went out to explore the rest of the town. We bought some snacks and came back to the room to rest before dinner.

We met Michalis at 7:30p as planned, and found him having a beer with Nick. They invited us to join them and Nick ordered us some Ouzo and olives. We heard his story that his father had gone to the states looking for work in the 70s, so he and his brother were actually born in Columbus Ohio. The family came back to Crete when they were small, so they have no memory of it.

Michalis told us he had an 8pm zoom call, but had ordered dinner for us, and it was fabulous, but could have served 4 or more people! We had bread with 4 dips, anchovies marinated in salt water (shockingly good), Greek salad, sea bass (Jeff did the honors) and eggplant with rice, and white wine. Michalis joined us for dessert and Raki, and we made our plan for tomorrow.

He offered us 4 options for today, and I think he’s skeptical that we chose the toughest one. Early start tomorrow!

7.5 miles, 988 feet of elevation gain.

Thursday May 25 Loutro Loop

Michalis had given us 4 options for today’s hike. We discussed them at lunch and he wanted us to talk about them and decide what to do.

The options were:

1. Hike Loutro to Anopoli to Aradena Gorge (hike or boat back to Loutro from Marmara)

2. Hike Loutro to Anopoli, get a ride to Aradena Gorge (hike or boat back to Loutro from Marmara)

3. Take a boat from Loutro to Sfakia, get a ride to Aradena Gorge (hike or boat back to Loutro from Marmara)

4. Hang out in Loutro and do nothing.

If you’ve been following along, you might guess we’d opt for option 4 as that what we ended up doing during the cycling portion if this adventure on our optional days! But our time is waning, and we decided we needed to “go big before we go home!” Yesterday at dinner, we told Michalis we wanted to do option one. He looked at us skeptically and said we’d need an early start.

We met for breakfast at 7:30a - it was very peaceful in the little village with few people moving around. We had toast and yogurt, I had a decaf espresso and we were hiking by 8am, straight up! Two hours, 3 miles, 2000 ft elevation gain. The terrain and switchbacks reminded me of our Kilimanjaro summit night, which made this seem very easy in comparison! I’d expected a breeze to come off the sea, but it was a very still morning, and warmed up fast!

In our discussion with Michalis last night, Jeff told him we needed more frequent short breaks than what we’d had the previous days. As an endurance athlete, it seems Michalis can go all day without breaks, food, or even water. Very different than our style. With the opportunities to break for a few minutes each hour, we were a lot stronger all day today.

Throughout the morning, there were goats all around us. Most didn’t pay attention to us, but some ran away. It was amazing to see how agile they were. While some walked the switchbacks too, most went straight up and down and hoped from large rock to large rock.

Toward the top of the climb, we came to a gravel road and walked along that for a while. Peach and olive trees were planted there, but fenced off from the goats. We walked along the road for a bit, the then road continued, but we cut off and went straight up along the path (the road would have also taken us to Anopoli, but the distance would have been longer. At the top, there was a castle ruin and an amazing 360-degree view. The sea (and Loutro and Marmara) on one side, and on the other side we looked down to the village of Anopoli, with snowcapped mountains behind it.

We joined a narrow, paved road that switchbacked down to the village of Anopoli (which means high town). A little dog was anxious about strangers walking by and he started barking, which set off a whole chain of dogs announcing our arrival. Michalis said he wouldn’t know everyone in this town, but he did seem to know everyone we encountered!

He said we’d stop for a cold drink, and I expected we’d go to the supermarket like we did as we were cycling, but instead we stopped at a local Taverna with an outdoor patio and enjoyed a local version of Fanta and yummy homemade cookies. We also bought a couple of bottles of water and dumped the yucky tasting Loutro water out of our hydration packs, replacing it with cold fresh water. An added benefit was the coolness along our backs and cool water for the first few sips! Michalis was compulsive about everyone having enough water, even though I rarely saw him drink … he knew of enough tourists who got lost and died, either from a fall or dehydration. It was warm now, but summertime sounds brutal here.

He had a long conversation with the woman at the Taverna and said she offered us a ride to the gorge. We agreed that’d be better than walking 2km along the road, so we’d migrated to option 2 and the woman’s son drove us to the gorge. When we approached, I saw this one lane bridge that set off my he-be-g-bees. I closed my eyes and held my breath when we drove across!

We got to the other side, and that was the end of our ride. There was a small cafe there, but we hiked on by and through an abandoned village with the ruins of old houses (1800’s) and a church … now occupied only by goats. We poked through an old house, and Michalis pointed out where the oven was built in for cooking and heat, where the steps would have been for the sleeping loft. The timbers over the windows and doors were so solid, they were still completely intact.

Michalis told us the story of the woman from the taverna. He said when she was a teenager, she fell in love with a local boy. Her father didn’t like the relationship, so he sent her to the US to live with a relative. She stayed there for 8 years but never forgot about the boy. When she was 25, she came back and married him (she’s probably 50 now). Sounds like the kind of love story that is made into a movie!

Aradena gorge had indescribable beauty, and the stairs / switchbacks were solidly built (on both sides) so it was an easy walk to the floor of the gorge. We’d walked north, away from the bridge as we went through the village and down into the gorge so I’d forgotten about it. We’d walked only a few yards along the floor of the gorge when a car went over the bridge and the noise was an echoing boom that I thought was an avalanche. I didn’t scream, but I clutched my chest in panic. Of course, I laughed at myself, but as we walked towards the bridge way above us now, the sound was still frightening. When we were under the bridge, I snapped a video of a car going over, but it was without the echo that we’d heard further up the canyon.

We walked a bit and I noticed a rustic stairway over to the right. I thought it was odd that someone would go through all that trouble! When we got to that point, Michalis said the path through the gorge at this point is very difficult, so this “bypass” was built, and he suggested we take it! To me, the bypass looked super scary and I wondered really how difficult can it be?! But we took the bypass, up and down, with me leaning in towards the rock wall, and generally with my right hand clutching the wall, while my left hand had my stick. I stayed away from the edge, and no way was I going to trust the rickety wooden handrail! While we were on the bypass, we talked about Greek words like acrophobia, which I’d say is fear of heights, but Michalis said it’s literally “fear off the edge!”

When we got down from the bypass, Michalis led us over to the shade and then pointed out back up the gorge (the difficult part). It was house size boulders, with ladders attached to them. I could have probably done it, but I was glad for the bypass at that point!

Around that area we saw the first of several flattened goat carcasses - I guess they’re not all good climbers! I did see many goats on really high ledges, and saw one walk/run straight down the wall!

At this point, the gorge opened up and we were walking through a flat gravelly area and I thought we were on easy street for the rest of the hike - wrong. We went through a series of wide and flat, then narrow with large boulders we’d have to haul ourselves up and then lower ourselves down, which is generally a lot of fun, and repeated that for a few hours. In all, I think we hiked 4 miles in about 3 hours in that section of today’s hike.

We were hoping to make the 1pm water taxi at Marmara, but missed it by minutes! We’d talked to everyone we saw, and spent about 15 minutes talking to 4 guys from the UK that had a plan to hike up the gorge and then find a path back to Agia Roumeli. Michalis was trying to discourage that as the path they’d need to take would be difficult for them to find. Instead, he encouraged them to hike up to the cafe on the gorge, and pay someone to drive them to the trailhead. They got out their maps and talked a bit, but they seemed determined to have this adventure. Of course, we don’t know if they made it, but Michalis worried about them all day. It’s really hard to find these trails, even though there are some markings. So many goats, and they make their own paths, too.

Since the water taxi was pulling away and wouldn’t be back until 3pm, we had lunch and beers (and Raki) at the cafe. I ordered souvlaki and Jeff and Michalis had ham and cheese omelets. Michalis was pleased with our hiking today, and we were pleased with the pace and the “pit stops.”

We caught the 3p boat back to Loutro where I changed into my swimming suit and rented a lounge chair. I put my feet in the cold water, which felt great, but I didn’t swim today. It was enough to have the time to enjoy the sun and begin my book for upcoming book club.

We met Michalis for Dinner at 7:30pm - more Greek authentic food, octopus salad, Greek salad, roasted vegetables, Fasolada (bean soup), and Moussaka (a lasagna kind of dish) …mmmmmm. We had red wine, and finished dinner with a very sweet (too sweet) sugary treat, some spicy cake, and Raki of course. We had great conversations, but he kept coming back to being astonished about our ability to hike the gorge today … he confessed he didn’t think we could do it. He said he’d judged us by my shoes (I had my low Oboz hiking shoes rather than boots), my socks - low socks too, and he didn’t say it, but probably our clothes - shorts for JT and skirts for me, while he wore heavy hiking pants and very solid boots. He kept saying “you’re good hikers, not great, but good.” Hmmm. Didn’t quite know what to think of that, but I chalked it up to (1) he’s spent a lot of time in these trails and knows what trouble some people can get themselves into and (2) he’s not a professional guide and was really just leading us as a favor to Colleen.

Tomorrow will be a shorter, easier day, so we’re meeting for breakfast a little later. Great day and beautiful night.

Hike to Anopoli, and Aradena Gorge = 7.9 miles (had a 2km boost), 5 hours, 2112 ft elevation gain

Friday May 26 Hania

We met at 8am for breakfast, all packed up and lugged our suitcases down the stairs. The logistics of this trip have been magical, and probably not possible without Michalis’s connections. Today the hotel staff will put them on the 9:30a ferry to Sfakia, and Michalis’s friend George (Georgios) will retrieve them from the ferry and then pick us up too.

The hike from Loutro to Sfakia was along the coast, mostly in the sun so it was good to be out early. It was mostly rock, looking down at the sea, but only one cliff hugging steep part towards the end. We walked down and across Sweetwater Beach, a beautiful place you can get to by water taxi or a short but steep hike from the road to Sfakia. Lots of goats and some sheep on our route again today. Like the cats of Greece, I never get tired of watching the sheep and goats.

George met us as planned, and we were delighted to see our bags in the trunk of his car! George has been a lifelong friend of Michalis, also a PE teacher, former bike racer and works with the National Team. His English was good, his driving was similar to Michalis the other day (middle of the road), and the two talked non-stop and sometimes at the same time, and George spent too much time looking at Michalis when he was talking (in my backseat opinion)! We went up and over another beautiful mountain with snow at the top.

Our plan was to stop for lunch, but it was too early for that by Greek standards, so we stopped at a tourist cafe overlooking another gorge and had “cheese pie” there - similar to a quesadilla. George told us about attending a meeting in Athens with Athletic Directors from the University of North Carolina. He said “they were all fat!” Funny, but how could we explain that university athletics in the US are more about money and politics than fitness!?

We got to Hania and the same narrow streets and traffics that we didn’t enjoy biking through last week. They dropped us at the taxi stand and I was certain I could find our little hotel that we’d scouted out last Saturday. So, there we were, in our own again.

We found the hotel but the door was locked and no one answered the knock. Online, I found a number, but got voicemail. Hmmmm. I found a different number and this time a woman answered and said we needed to go to Hotel El Greco to check in (a sign explaining that would have been nice). I’d booked this using Jeff’s credit card points, so I stayed with the luggage while he went off to find El Greco, which we’d just walked by so thankfully I knew where it was! He came back a few minutes later with the key - hoorah! We lugged our bags up the stairs once again, and got settled into our tenth hotel room of the trip (18 nights!). The hotel is a boutique hotel, with a neat lobby and lobby bar that isn’t open now - maybe in summertime during full tourist season. As I was booking this, I struggled to find a hotel without a two-night minimum … so this was it. Compared to others I’d booked through the credit card rewards program; it was pretty nice!

We unpacked and cleaned up, then I did a little shopping while Jeff rested. We met at 3pm and headed back to Al Hammam Traditional Baths for massages with Alex and Dina again. I thought I didn’t need it as badly as last week after the stressful ride, but Dina managed to find lots of knots to work out!

We went back to our room, showered and changed and headed out for an early dinner, which we know is possible in a tourist towns! We found a table right on the harbor with a great view and amazing people watching. We had a delicious bottle of white wine from Santorini, a mixed plate of appetizers and shrimp with risotto, followed by a complimentary chocolate cake and sweet wine. Since it was early, we strolled the harbor all the way around and back, pausing for a magnificent sunset. It was the first night that I didn’t need a wrap/scarf in the evening this whole trip!

Hike = 3 miles, 2 hours, 634 ft elevation gain

Friday May 27 – Travel Day

We had a restless night. There were no heavy drapes to block out the outside light, and even if there were, there was a transom window above the door that flooded our room with hallway light. The character of the room became a character flaw! It was about 4 am before I got smart enough to pull the eye shade out of my travel kit, from then on, I slept well.

We had a 9:30am flight, and everyone said it was a twenty-minute drive to the airport and taxi at 8am would be perfect, so that’s what we’d arranged. We ended up being ready by 7:30am and our helpful front desk lady at El Greco called to have our cab come early, so we were dropped at the airport about 8am. What no one knew was that it would take us 45 minutes to get through the check in line … but no line at security. We were nervous about our luggage though as we couldn’t check it through so we’ll have to claim it in Athens, and recheck it with Delta during our time there. If it doesn’t travel to Athens with us, well …

We arrived at the gate just as the flight should have been boarding, but no plane and simply a “delayed” message displayed. Nothing we can do, so we had breakfast (probably the best airport food ever): we split a spinach pie, a chocolate croissant and a large fresh orange juice.

We finally got an announcement that our flight was delayed until 10:10am, should be good with our connection in Athens for our 1:30pm flight. All went well in Athens and we boarded our 12-hour flight to Atlanta.

A long flight, with a few short naps, several movies and time to reflect on this great trip.

Santorini was beautiful and we had fun with the select BrightStar gang, but I wouldn’t feel the need to go back.

Crete was amazing and I could definitely see us going back. This trip was a great blend of being off on our own figuring stuff out, and having Michalis shepherd us along and introduce us to the culture in a way that we’d never have accomplished on our own. The time we spent with him was fantastic, and conversations we had about our various traditions and practices were great.

While we were in awe of the natural beauty of the culture, it’s interacting with the people that always makes it come alive for us!