Pink Sand Beach
Elafonisi
Beach at our Hotel
View from our Hotel
Pink Sand Beach
Elafonisi
Church along the West Crete Road
Sheep and goats everywhere!Thursday, October 11, 2018
First Pictures of Crete
Pink Sand BeachBeach at our HotelView from our HotelPink Sand Beach Church along the West Crete RoadSheep and goats everywhere!
Kissamos, Crete
On Sunday, we arrived at Heraklion Airport in central Crete. It was about 2 pm and beautiful. We collected our bags and headed to the SixT counter to pick up our rental car - only to find that since July (we made the reservation and paid for it in May) SixT has required that anyone NOT from a European country have an international drivers license. This did not make for happy customers!
So, after a long, ridiculous discussion with the woman at SixT’s counter, who insisted that all international car rental companies are now doing this, we went two counters over to the local rental agency and within 10 minutes were out the door with a rental car.
What we hadn’t realized was just how large Crete is. We asked how far to Kissamos, where our hotel is, and were told 2.5 hours. WHAT? Yep, 2.5 hours more to travel. And when we arrived at our hotel for a 6 night reservation, we found that the room they were putting us in that night was NOT the room we reserved and they would move us to the correct room the next day. So, Saturday was not our best day of vacation - but we were here and everything was now okay (except for me catching a head cold). The kid at the front desk told us there was a really great restaurant right around the corner, and he was correct. We headed over there and had a great meal with beer from a local microbrewery, then settled in for the evening.
Kissamos is in the northwest corner of Crete. Heraklion is right in the middle - this is one big island. Yesterday was Sunday, and several places were not open...after hearing the 4 times daily Call to Prayer in Istanbul, hearing the church bells yesterday morning at 8 were a bit of a surprise. But pleasant. We had breakfast here at our hotel, then walked around town to get a feel for the area. Got our 10k steps in that day. Lee checked out the diving and decided against it - visibility wasn't very good. So, we made our plans for the next day, moved to our correct room, and relaxed.
We got up on Monday and had our typical travel breakfast: greek yogurt, fruit, and muesli. Then we took off for Elafonisi Beach - famous for having pink sand. It was a 1.5 hour drive to southwest Crete. Beautiful but somewhat treacherous roads. The beach itself was worth the drive and we walked quite a ways around the area. Difficult to describe, as it meanders around, then crosses to a small sand spit that is maybe 20 feet from the base beat. The Aegean Sea has such an amazing blue color - it is unique. I feel like Crayola must have a blue called Aegean. Combine that with red rocks that have been dissolved over centuries to provide the 'pink' tint found along the shore, and the picture is gorgeous.
Had a nice lunch of gyros, then drove back along the west shore of Crete so we could stop at some ruins that are part of a current archeological dig. Unfortunately, we had to look at them through the fence as they closed 10 minutes before we arrived. However, there wasn't really much to them, so we moved on to our hotel. And tomorrow will bring more driving.
Until then, stay safe and sane my friends.
So, after a long, ridiculous discussion with the woman at SixT’s counter, who insisted that all international car rental companies are now doing this, we went two counters over to the local rental agency and within 10 minutes were out the door with a rental car.
What we hadn’t realized was just how large Crete is. We asked how far to Kissamos, where our hotel is, and were told 2.5 hours. WHAT? Yep, 2.5 hours more to travel. And when we arrived at our hotel for a 6 night reservation, we found that the room they were putting us in that night was NOT the room we reserved and they would move us to the correct room the next day. So, Saturday was not our best day of vacation - but we were here and everything was now okay (except for me catching a head cold). The kid at the front desk told us there was a really great restaurant right around the corner, and he was correct. We headed over there and had a great meal with beer from a local microbrewery, then settled in for the evening.
Kissamos is in the northwest corner of Crete. Heraklion is right in the middle - this is one big island. Yesterday was Sunday, and several places were not open...after hearing the 4 times daily Call to Prayer in Istanbul, hearing the church bells yesterday morning at 8 were a bit of a surprise. But pleasant. We had breakfast here at our hotel, then walked around town to get a feel for the area. Got our 10k steps in that day. Lee checked out the diving and decided against it - visibility wasn't very good. So, we made our plans for the next day, moved to our correct room, and relaxed.
We got up on Monday and had our typical travel breakfast: greek yogurt, fruit, and muesli. Then we took off for Elafonisi Beach - famous for having pink sand. It was a 1.5 hour drive to southwest Crete. Beautiful but somewhat treacherous roads. The beach itself was worth the drive and we walked quite a ways around the area. Difficult to describe, as it meanders around, then crosses to a small sand spit that is maybe 20 feet from the base beat. The Aegean Sea has such an amazing blue color - it is unique. I feel like Crayola must have a blue called Aegean. Combine that with red rocks that have been dissolved over centuries to provide the 'pink' tint found along the shore, and the picture is gorgeous.
Had a nice lunch of gyros, then drove back along the west shore of Crete so we could stop at some ruins that are part of a current archeological dig. Unfortunately, we had to look at them through the fence as they closed 10 minutes before we arrived. However, there wasn't really much to them, so we moved on to our hotel. And tomorrow will bring more driving.
Until then, stay safe and sane my friends.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Change in Plans
So, last year, Lee and I made plans to go on a photo safari in Africa through Road Scholar. In May, we got a phone call saying that it was postponed to next August, so we had the whole month of October to reschedule something. That something became a trip to Istanbul, Crete, Cyprus, and Malta! Thus, on October 1 - after our daughter’s wedding on September 1 and our niece’s wedding on September 29 - we flew from San Francisco, through Heathrow, to Istanbul.
Istanbul is so big, it’s difficult to describe. We stayed in the old town, near the Blue Mosque and thee Hagia Sofia. I’m glad we did that since the remainder of Istanbul is very modern. With the exception of the 3500 mosques, the 4 times daily calls to prayer, the huge number of Christian churches and synagogues, and - of course - the10th century wall surrounding the old city. What a mix of cultures!
Day one we walked about 8 miles. Istanbul is a very walkable city. We went to the Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and through Gulhanepark. We stayed at the Gulhanepark Hotel - right in the heart of the old town. So beautiful. Clean. Friendly. Talking with several people, we found that the number of Americans going to Istanbul has decreased substantially since Trump took office. Quel surprise? Nope.
Day two, we took a guided tour to Gallipoli to see the battleground memorials. Our guide said that very few Americans ever take this tour since it isn’t really part of our history. How sad. Lee and I both like history, so we’ve certainly read about Gallipoli - and I wonder every time I hear about it how Winston Churchill ever survived that politically. The other people in our tour group were from Australia and New Zealand - which considering the number of ANZACS killed at Gallipoli - is no surprise. There are several battleground cemeteries and a huge monument to Ataturk, the Turkish commanding general who would go on to become the first president of Turkey. More Americans should travel to Gallipoli - it helps when you understand the history and how we got to where we are.
The final day there, we wandered over to the the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. Took a Hop on Hop Off bus tour around Istanbul since we weren’t there for very long. The rest of the city is just so modern. The tour took us over the Bosporus Bridge to the Asian side of Istanbul. One city - two continents. Definitely a place to go.
Istanbul is so big, it’s difficult to describe. We stayed in the old town, near the Blue Mosque and thee Hagia Sofia. I’m glad we did that since the remainder of Istanbul is very modern. With the exception of the 3500 mosques, the 4 times daily calls to prayer, the huge number of Christian churches and synagogues, and - of course - the10th century wall surrounding the old city. What a mix of cultures!
Day one we walked about 8 miles. Istanbul is a very walkable city. We went to the Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and through Gulhanepark. We stayed at the Gulhanepark Hotel - right in the heart of the old town. So beautiful. Clean. Friendly. Talking with several people, we found that the number of Americans going to Istanbul has decreased substantially since Trump took office. Quel surprise? Nope.
Day two, we took a guided tour to Gallipoli to see the battleground memorials. Our guide said that very few Americans ever take this tour since it isn’t really part of our history. How sad. Lee and I both like history, so we’ve certainly read about Gallipoli - and I wonder every time I hear about it how Winston Churchill ever survived that politically. The other people in our tour group were from Australia and New Zealand - which considering the number of ANZACS killed at Gallipoli - is no surprise. There are several battleground cemeteries and a huge monument to Ataturk, the Turkish commanding general who would go on to become the first president of Turkey. More Americans should travel to Gallipoli - it helps when you understand the history and how we got to where we are.
The final day there, we wandered over to the the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. Took a Hop on Hop Off bus tour around Istanbul since we weren’t there for very long. The rest of the city is just so modern. The tour took us over the Bosporus Bridge to the Asian side of Istanbul. One city - two continents. Definitely a place to go.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Not all who wander are lost...
It's been quite awhile since I posted on my blog. Our internet in the Algarve section of Portugal was so poor, I quit posting. Sorry for that. The last year has been crazy: moved, sold the SF house, hand a knee replacement, made my daughter's wedding gown, and just had the wedding. So, now we can start traveling again. We had one travel adventure this summer - a one week Rhine River cruise with Viking Cruises.
We flew from SFO to Basel, Switzerland - with a 5 hour layover at Charles de Gaulle. Once we hit Basel, the Viking people did it all - took care of transport, our luggage, food - everything! This was our second ever cruise and it was so great, we're going to go with Viking again. Food and service were outstanding!! And since river cruises are small boats - we had just 186 passengers - you actually meet people and can have good conversations. And the wines? Outstanding local wines. I do not like American Rieslings, too sweet, but German Rieslings were so good. And your glass was never empty.
So, shortly - in three weeks, right after my niece Julie's wedding - we will embark for the Mediterranean - heading to Istanbul, Cyrus, Crete, and Malta. Will be out and about from October 1 to October 26. Lee will get to dive on the islands. I cannot wait to see the birthplace of Aphrodite and the island of the siren, Calypso. I promise to try to keep up to date on our travels.
Now that the knee is better and mostly pain free (a little twinge here and there), our travels are stepping up! In the future there are plans for trips to: Caribbean and the Amazon, Africa safari, Eastern Europe (including Dracula's castle), and a round-the-world cruise (Jan. 2020).
Like Tolkien said: "Not all who wander are lost."
We flew from SFO to Basel, Switzerland - with a 5 hour layover at Charles de Gaulle. Once we hit Basel, the Viking people did it all - took care of transport, our luggage, food - everything! This was our second ever cruise and it was so great, we're going to go with Viking again. Food and service were outstanding!! And since river cruises are small boats - we had just 186 passengers - you actually meet people and can have good conversations. And the wines? Outstanding local wines. I do not like American Rieslings, too sweet, but German Rieslings were so good. And your glass was never empty.
So, shortly - in three weeks, right after my niece Julie's wedding - we will embark for the Mediterranean - heading to Istanbul, Cyrus, Crete, and Malta. Will be out and about from October 1 to October 26. Lee will get to dive on the islands. I cannot wait to see the birthplace of Aphrodite and the island of the siren, Calypso. I promise to try to keep up to date on our travels.
Now that the knee is better and mostly pain free (a little twinge here and there), our travels are stepping up! In the future there are plans for trips to: Caribbean and the Amazon, Africa safari, Eastern Europe (including Dracula's castle), and a round-the-world cruise (Jan. 2020).
Like Tolkien said: "Not all who wander are lost."
Friday, July 8, 2016
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