Last Turkey and Greece blog post

Monday, May 12th, 2014 Athens
On our final evening in Kissamos, we went to the same restaurant and had exactly the same meal.

 The Cap'n recognized us from the previous 2 nights there so he dropped by to say hello (in Greek, I suppose it was). He just wanders around being colourful while his wife in the kitchen and the employees do all the work. Anita got a photo op with him. Later he dropped by with another free 1/2 litre of white wine and after that, of course, we got our usual little carafe of raki with dessert.

The restaurant is modest but it's right on the waterfront, it's clean and the food and service are great. The sea was very calm when this picture was taken but the 2 nights before the waves were crashing against the sea wall and spraying over it sometimes.
Yesterday morning we had breakfast on the balcony, got organized and checked out about 11:30. In about 10 or 15 minutes we were up at the little travel office and got tickets for the 12:30 bus to Hania. The hour long trip was uneventful but pretty along the coast. At the Hania bus station we got tickets for the 2:00 pm bus to the Hania airport. That too was an uneventful 1/2 hour trip.
We were there in plenty of time to check in. It seems like they're building a new terminal at the airport and it's none too soon. The old terminal is dark and grimy.
Our flight to Athens left more or less on time at 5:30 pm. It only takes 50 minutes. By 7:00 pm we had collected our luggage and went to an information desk to figure out how to get to our hotel. From the online advertising, we thought that it was only 4 or 5 km from the airport. We considered getting a taxi but since we learned at the information desk that the X96 bus would be leaving soon and going right by our hotel, we opted for that.
It was a good thing we took the bus for 5 euros each. When we got on the bus we asked the driver to let us off at the right stop. He said he would. We left the airport at 7:23 pm (I keep track of this stuff for the return trip planning). After about 1/2 hour we were worried that the driver had forgotten us. I asked him and he said, " Twenty, thirty minutes". We wondered if there had been a translation problem but he turned out to be right. An hour and 5 minutes after we left the airport, we arrived at the stop in front of the Poseidon Hotel where we're staying. We were so glad we hadn't taken a taxi which would have cost us a fortune.
Our hotel is fine. It's right across the street from the ocean. I think we're only a few km from the port at Piraeus, so we're southeast of the center of Athens whereas the airport is northeast of the city center. Apparently there are no reasonably priced hotels right near the airport. As it is we're paying $88 US per night.The breakfast buffet was really good with lots of selection so I guess that's not bad. We ate in the hotel bar last night too. We were so tired we just shared a pizza.
This morning we went for a little walk along the sea. There's lots of beach areas and a nice promenade along the water, although, being Athens, everything looks a little shabby and grimy. It's not bad compared to downtown though.
Since we didn't find any attractive restaurants near here today, we'll probably just eat in the hotel again tonight. We're going to try to eat early and get to bed early. Tomorrow morning we have to get up at 4:45 am and get out the door by 5:30 or so. The X96 bus to the airport supposedly comes by every 20 to 25 minutes and should only take 45 minutes to get to the airport at that time. Our flight to London Heathrow leaves at 9:15 am. We change planes there and should arrive in Ottawa at 3:15 pm tomorrow afternoon, since we're gaining 7 hours due to the time change. Annie or Zack will be there to take us home to Beachburg for the night. No doubt we'll be tired since it promises to be a 22 or 23 hour day. On Wednesday morning, our friends Sarah and David arrive to drive us home to Combermere.
It's been another great trip and leaves us with a few random thoughts.
We could have seen all the sights that we saw in 6 weeks easily, rather than 8 but that's okay. Often we could cram in more sights or make the trip shorter but we like to float along taking our time and absorbing the local culture.
At the beginning of our trip, we would not want to have missed the Agya Sofia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Those are must-see sights for us.
When traveling for this long, we can only look at so many 'old stones' without glazing over a bit. This becomes more evident after visiting sites like Ephesus in Turkey or the Athens Acropolis and ancient Agora. They were such highlights that we never even bothered to go to Troy or by boat on a day trip to the ancient city on Delos near Mykonos. And in Crete, the Palace of Knossos was a bit of a disappointment. On its own it would probably be fantastic but after having recently seen many other better and more interesting ruins, it just wasn't that striking. Maybe we're missing something from this attitude but we've never felt that we need to see every ancient site everywhere.
The same is true of museums. After visiting the archaeological museums in Antalya, Turkey and Athens, Greece, other museums just can't compare. We didn't bother with the museums in Hania or Kissamos recently for that reason. Some of the ancient marble and bronze sculptures especially that we saw in Athens were unbelievably beautiful. That spoiled us a bit.
We had to come to Athens because we really wanted to see the Acropolis and ancient Agora. However, the city of Athens is really big, grimy and covered in graffiti. It's just not that nice.
We spent 4 weeks wandering from Athens to Mykonos, Naxos, Santorini and Crete, plus we stopped at several other islands on the ferry. There are over 200 inhabited Greek islands so it would take years to see them all. However, they share similarities. They're usually mountainous and have pretty villages of white stucco houses on narrow pedestrian streets. The town of Mykonos is particularly striking as is the cliff setting of Santorini. Naxos didn't have such dramatic scenery but we had a great place to stay there and really enjoyed it. Crete has beautiful steep mountains and lots of little villages so we liked it too.
Almost without exception, we have been very well treated by the people of both Greece and Turkey. There seem to be very few scam artists and everyone has been very honest, polite and helpful to us. In some places it was hard to leave a small tip because the waiter would chase us to give it back, thinking that we had forgotten our change. That is definitely refreshing. Often when we would get out our map, someone would ask if they could help before we could even unfold it. In Hania recently, a lady took one look at our map and gave us a better one. In the smaller hotels, it's like they're opening up their home to us. We'll never forget Easter Sunday dinner with Dina and her family in Naxos.

There are lots of places we might return to or lots of other places that we could still visit in both Turkey and Greece. Maybe someday.

Falassarna Beach

Saturday, May10th, 2014 Kissamos Crete
Yesterday we walked up to the little travel office on the main road and got tickets to Falassarna Beach for the day. Naturally, the bus wasn't exactly on time but it wasn't bad. It took only 20 minutes to cross the peninsula that runs to the north and get down the mountain to the very western side of Crete. The bus dropped us off at a little market about 500 meters up the hill from the beach.

 The beach is quite long and also really wide in spots. On the slope above the beach are olive groves and lots of big greenhouses. There are a few little pensions and tavernas here but not very many. All afternoon while we soaked up some sun we kept wondering why it's so undeveloped. I guess the developers just haven't got to it yet. Some people were swimming but we still found the water a little cold. I splashed around a bit to get some of the sand off me but that was about it. The sand here is brown and a bit coarser than the fine white sand on most Caribbean beaches. This is a beautiful beach but, in our opinion, not quite as nice as the beaches we've seen in Cuba and other Caribbean destinations.
At about 5 pm we caught  the bus back to Kissamos, bought some more yogurt in the market and walked back to our hotel. We cooled down with a shower and a beer and went back along the waterfront to "Papadikas" restaurant again. Once we find a restaurant that we like, we often go back. We could try more restaurants but at the end of a day we often feel that if we're happy, why risk being disappointed. I suppose that's not very adventurous but we're pretty lazy travelers.

For starters we had the obligatory bread (really fresh and good), olive oil, vinegar, tzaziki and some other dip plus we ordered stuffed vine leaves with sour cream/greek yogurt - we're not sure which, along with a 1/2 litre of the house white wine (3 euros).

For the main course we had fresh, lightly breaded calamari and stuffed tomatoes and peppers. It was a great combination. When the owner (the Cap'n himself ) stopped by, Anita told him how much we were enjoying the food. A few minutes later he was back with another 1/2 litre of wine, on the house. Later, the waiter brought the dessert and a small carafe of raki (again, all on the house). We ended up sitting there for over 2 hours and didn't meander back to our hotel until about 10:30 pm, which is unheard of for  us.
This morning we did the usual organizing and laundry before going out for a walk along the beachfront and then up into the main part of town to the bakery for a loaf of bread and to a little market for an orange. Anita always has our balcony breakfasts figured out plus at least something for us on the road. This is part of our travel education. That is:
-In a restaurant, never take a seat where you can see into the kitchen. It might be okay here but it was a hard lesson in southeast Asia.
-On a bus, never take a seat where you can see the driver talking on his cellphone, flirting with the young ladies, eating his lunch, smoking a cigarette out the window and, oh yeah, driving narrow roads through little villages or hanging over cliffs on switchbacks.
-Never have no food or water when you're traveling. Being hungry and tired is way worse than just being tired and it's been known to make one of us a bit cranky (at least, according to Anita).
This afternoon we lounged on the beach in front of the hotel for awhile. It's rocky but there is a bit of sand here and there. Not so bad.
Tonight, we're going back to Papadikas on the waterfront again for another great meal, no doubt. We're not the only return customers. Tomorrow morning we'll check out of our hotel about 11:30, walk up to the travel office on the main road and get the bus back to Hania. From the Hania bus station we'll get a bus out to the Hania airport. We already have a flight from there to Athens as well as a hotel there for 2 nights. We didn't want to leave our arrival in Athens to catch our flight home on Tuesday until the last minute because Greece is notorious for strikes and delays. We should be fine.

Kissamos

Friday, May 9th, 2014 Kissamos Crete
The day before yesterday, we walked about 1 1/2 km from the little bus station on the west side of Kissamos to our hotel on the east. We probably could have got off the bus at a closer stop but we didn't know exactly where we were going.
We're staying at the Galini Beach Hotel, owned by a local family who have been running it for about 25 years. It's quite nice, right on the waterfront. We have a "side sea view" room so we have a good view of the ocean plus, oddly enough, the local soccer stadium right next to the hotel. That's okay. It's fun to watch the games in the evening. We are right on the so-called beach but it's actually baseball size stones so it's even difficult to walk on. Further along on the west side of town there is a nice sand beach but right at our hotel it's not so good. There is a terrace with lounge chairs at the hotel beachfront but we haven't sat there yet. We have a good sized balcony with afternoon sun so it's nice to sit out there for happy hour.
Our first night here we didn't even go out for dinner. We had bought supplies at a little market about 10 minutes away on the main road so we just had a snack and relaxed for the evening. Yesterday morning we finally decided to see the town.
First we walked up along the main road into the old part of town. We found a better market and a travel agency and bus stop so we don't have to walk all the way back to the little town bus station. There are a couple of nice little town squares and little streets. Kissamos is not nearly as touristy as Hania and other places we have stayed. Naturally, pretty much the whole town is built on Minoan and other ruins but not much is visible.

 A couple of shots from our balcony.

 Anita is cooling her feet at the beach on the western side of town. The water is still cool although some people are swimming. Generally, the weather is sunny and about 20C. We've been wearing the same long sleeve shirts and hats plus lots of SPF 60 sunscreen for a lot of the trip because the UV index is often at 8 or 9. I did swim in a pool at one of our recent hotels because it was so hot in the sun but it's still a little early for us to swim at the beach.

 The beach at the western side of town. From there we walked back up into town to a different, bigger market to get some more supplies, since we're here for a total of 4 nights. Since we have a fridge and kettle in our room, we'll probably continue to eat breakfast and sometimes lunch on our balcony. We have local yogurt, bakery bread, cheese, some deli meat, local olives, bottled water, beer and wine. That way we can snack on our balcony or take a little lunch with us when we wander. We've been drinking bottled water since we left home. It's not that some places don't have clean water but there may be microbes that don't affect the locals but might affect us. Plus there are a lot of places where we don't trust the integrity of the water pipes of the town.
On our way back down the slope from the main road we were walking along the little sidewalk beside the small street. There was a mother with baby in a stroller right behind us. Three guys on motorcycles came toward us up the street. One veered up a little low curb onto the sidewalk, headed right for us, and then veered back onto the street down another little low curb right in front of us. He and his pals thought that was pretty funny but neither we nor the young mother behind us were impressed. We all yelled at him as he passed. It would have been easy to knock him off his bike as he went by but really there was no harm done. He wasn't wearing a helmet and I didn't want to go to prison for killing him. We have at least one notable asshole in Combermere who does similar things to walkers, although he's likely going to die of old age soon anyway.

 The breakwater at the center of town. Last night we ate in that little restaurant with the red roof at the far end of the waterfront promenade. Lonely Planet calls the restaurant, named "Papadakis", a "classic taverna on the central waterfront". That's true. If we had been any closer to the water, we would have been in it. We had a great meal of fresh calamari, stuffed eggplant, boureki, beer and wine. As usual, before dinner we got bread, tzaziki and some other dip and after dinner we got free desserts and a little bottle of raki with 2 "Havana Club", oddly enough, shot glasses. It all cost 28 euros ($42). The clientele was a mix of tourists and locals. The old white haired, white bearded owner all dressed in black, kept wandering around giving regulars extra house wine.
While we were at dinner, we did remember that there was one time that we felt ripped off at a restaurant in Greece. That was at a place not too far from the harbour in Mykonos where we got very small portions for an inflated price. However, this was completely the opposite, as usual.

The soccer field next to our hotel is well used. It's kind of nice to see community owned recreational areas available to people. In the morning, there are ladies walking the track and teams practising. The field is quite wide so they can play 2 games side by side. Often there are local kids out there just fooling around with a ball.
In less than a couple of hours, we're going to take a picnic lunch with us on the bus to Falassarna Beach, 16 km from here on the very west end of Crete. The bus is 7 euros each return. We'll leave here around noon and be back by 6 pm. Some people say it's the most beautiful beach in Crete. We'll see.

Hania

Thursday, May 8th, 2014, Kissamos Crete
We spent only 2 nights in Hania because we felt that we could see all of the old town, which is what there is to see, in that time. We were right but we probably could have stayed an extra night just because we liked it so well. The old town is pretty and there are lots of pedestrian streets, restaurants and little shops. Although we hardly buy anything, we realize every time we get to a new town that for many people, travel is all about shopping. Otherwise all these clothing, jewelry, leather goods etc. stores wouldn't exist.

 The day before yesterday, for the start of our full day of wandering in Hania, we visited the cathedral. It's a bit dark and of heavy construction, but it had some interesting religious paintings. Some of the themes we hadn't seen before.

 Then we wandered along the western old town wall, which is mostly intact. Large parts of the other walls have disappeared, no doubt used as recycled building materials. From the bastion at the west side of the harbour we could see across the channel to the lighthouse on the other side.

 There are lots of vines and flowers growing everywhere.

 Eventually, we walked all the way around the harbour and out on the breakwater to the lighthouse. From the breakwater we could look in toward the old town.

 This is a typical street in the old town. Most streets are narrow and for pedestrians only and some have overhanging vines. Very pretty.

 In the evening, we went back to Portes and ate at one of their street tables, against the old city wall. We had stuffed, marinated sardines, local snails and bourek, which here means a layered eggplant and feta dish. The food was excellent. At the end of the meal, the waiters again brought out a small dessert and a small bottle of raki with 2 shot glasses. Usually when we order 2 main courses in Greece, dessert and either ouzo or raki just appears for no charge. Ouzo is a bit milder and aniseed flavoured while raki is firewater.

The owner of Portes is a lady who came to Greece from Ireland 21 years ago with her 1 year old son and her husband. Now her 3 sons help in the restaurant when they're not in school. We thanked her for the good meal and the raki. Anita mentioned that it reminded us of her father's favourite drink, moonshine, which he hasn't had much of for a long time. The restaurant owner was very pleased that we were happy and gave us a small bottle of raki to take home to share with Anita's father. Unfortunately, the bottle leaks a bit so we'll have to drink it here. We'll have to get at that in the next few days. Anita's dad just celebrated his 89th birthday on May 1st so maybe we should all drink more moonshine.
Including a tip, which is never expected, we spent 29 euros ($43.50) for a fantastic meal. As we have said, Greek restaurants are not cheap but they're not exorbitant. The food is usually really good; there's no HST or expected tip; the service is excellent; there's no rush and often there are added desserts and liqueurs. We've never felt like we were being gouged, as one can sometimes feel in Canada if food and service are mediocre.
Yesterday morning, we caught the bus to Kissamos, a little further west along the north coast of Crete. The Hania bus station is busy but not unmanageable and the trip here only took a little over an hour. We're staying on the waterfront on the northeast edge of town, which is a great base for exploring the area for a few days.

Sfakia to Hania

Wednesday, May 7, 2014, Kissamos
Finally, we have a decent internet connection in our room. We just arrived in Kissamos today, but more about that later. First to catch up a bit, we spent last week in and around Chora Sfakion on the south coast.

 Chora Sfakion is a quiet little town hemmed in against the sea by the White Mountains. Most of the people who come here are hikers. There is a ferry that brings people back here from the base of the Samaria Gorge, a national park. A bus from here takes them back to Hania. Since we had done the 8 km Imbros Gorge hike, we didn't feel the need to do the similar 16 km Samaria Gorge hike, even though it's more famous. It's also more crowded with as many as 1,000 people per day hiking it in the summer. Right now, all of Crete is reasonably quiet.

 There is a new harbour just around the point from Chora Sfakion. Many of these ports in Crete are similar. They need a good breakwater to shield the boats from the wind and rough seas. Most of the ports are small since the indentations in the coastline are small too. Chora Sfakion is famous as the port from which 16,000 Allied troops, mostly Aussies, Kiwis and Brits, were evacuated as the Nazis advanced on them in 1941.
We finally left the south coast on Monday, taking the bus to Hania. As we passed through Vryses again, we saw the same guy that we'd taken a picture of the week earlier still sitting at the same table in the little diner/bar/bus stop. Life is slow here.
When we got to Hania, it took us only about 15 minutes to find our hotel in the old town.

 We have a nice big room with 4 poster bed, overlooking a little pedestrian street.

 Across the street is an open air restaurant situated in the ruins of an old building. This is the view from our tiny balcony. Hania is noted for roofless restaurants in old Venetian ruins.

 Just a few meters away is the square in front of the cathedral. More pictures of it tomorrow.

 We went out for dinner at a restaurant called Portes, recommended in Lonely Planet. The food was great. We spent 25 euros ($37.50) which seems to be about the normal price we're paying for dinner in Greece. That's not exorbitant but it seems like enough to us, since we were spoiled with many very good meals in southeast Asia for around $10-$12 for both of us. Greece is definitely more expensive than that. although not outrageous.
The old town here shows a lot of Venetian influence. Hania has been inhabited for thousands of years. It looks like any time they dig a hole, they encounter Minoan ruins from about 5,000 years ago. As usual on these islands, after the Minoans came the Hellenic, Roman and Byzantine regimes. Then in the early 13th century, the Venetians arrived. Over time they constructed massive fortifications and breakwaters. They were replaced by the Ottoman Turks in the 1600's who seemed to have overstayed their welcome until 1898. The Greeks still haven't forgiven them. The most recent invaders were the Nazis. Certainly a different history from our own at home although in my working career when I talked to some of the Elders in First Nations communities that I've visited in Canada, I sometimes got the sense that they were just waiting for white people to screw up enough to just disappear someday. Maybe they're right.

We actually managed to stay up until dusk. The building in the foreground is a former Turkish mosque that is now an arts and crafts shop. Interesting architecture.
More of Hania tomorrow.

Sfakia

Monday, May 5, 2014 Hania
We're back on the northwest side of Crete where we're finally getting a decent internet connection, at least in the hotel lobby.

 Last Tuesday morning, we joined a tour of Imbros Gorge near Chora Sfakion on the south side of Crete. We would have preferred to walk it alone at our own pace but we needed a ride to the top and a ride back from the bottom. It was only 10 euros each to go on a guided tour with those rides, so away we went. The bus rides were good and the gorge, which is about 1,000 feet deep and, at its narrowest, is only 1.64 m wide (about 5 feet), was very beautiful.
However, the tour guide kept rushing our group of 18 people along, saying that we had to be in time for the bus that would meet us.

 This is one of the narrower parts but not the narrowest. The local Greeks used these narrow passages when they were defending against the Turks a long time ago and the Nazis during WWII. The gorges were the easiest paths to get down the mountains to the south coast. The Greeks would hide  and wait until their enemies were in the narrow passages and then they would attack. Many people on both sides were killed.
Unfortunately, our tour guide kept rushing us along and didn't explain anything on the way. We even passed a small memorial which we assume was commemorating fallen soldiers but she just walked by and didn't say anything. We did have a good time in spite of the poor guide and it was an interesting 8 km walk on the loose stones of the dry stream bed.

As usual, there was no shortage of goats (or their deposits). In the end, we got to the end of the gorge 40 minutes before the bus arrived so we were in plenty of time. The goats are always fun to watch since they scamper up and down cliffs, right at home.

On Wednesday night, we went to a demonstration of Greek dancing in a bar. It was okay, with lots of boot slapping and hopping around but we were so tired we didn't last too long.
We've just arrived in Hania this afternoon and we're tired and hungry for dinner. We'll continue with the Sfakia story tomorrow.