Me again. I had a pretty cool update all typed out yesterday and somehow I got distracted and deleted it before sending. Blasted. I'll try to make this one compare.
It's 9:30 PM on Saturday and I'm in another internet cafe, this time in Chania, Crete, killing time before dinner. This cafe serves booze, though, which means that the 15 year old boys are a bit rowdier. I sitll don't know what they're saying or playing, but my gut tells me that they're probably not on top of their game as much as they would be if they weren't drinking ouzo. Just to set the scene - Bon Jovi is playing on the radio and a Greek man with a long rat tail (remember those from the 80's?) is sitting to my left. He's enjoying his 14th or 15th cigarette since I've been here. I will likely die of secondhand smoke in this very cafe.
I arrived in Crete two days ago. I took the ferry from Santorini...by ferry, I mean high-speed people mover reminiscent of something in Water World. It was WINDY when we left Santorini...which was fun for about 10 minutes in the boat. I should have known it would be an adventure when it took the captain of the boat 4 tries to dock. People were laughing and screaming at the waves to start out with...huge rollers that really tossed the boat around. After the initial 10 minutes, it got a bit dicey. Women were screaming, babies were crying, and people were vomiting left and right. I counted 13 people in my section alone that lost their lunch - And I think there were at least 4 or 5 sections. Luckily, due to my days as a pirate, I was immune. Actually, I can sleep through anything, so I closed my eyes and was out in about 4 minutes. I arrived in Crete rested and ready to meander to my hotel. I had a two hour dinner at about 10pm (I love the Greek tradition of eating long, late dinners), and ended the night wandering around the town squares taking pictures of ancient stuff. No idea what most of it is, but I'm sure it's been along for 2 or 3 thousand times as long as I have. Pretty cool.
Bon Jovi has been replaced by Poison. Love it.
Today I took the pop can on roller skates to Samaria Gorge and to the Libyan Sea (once again, doesn't seem right when I write it, but that's what my book told me - Southern Crete). I rented another car (the aforementioned pop can on roller skates) in Iraklio (or Heraklion) when I arrived into Crete. It's crap. I hate little cars. I hope never, ever, ever to have to drive one again. That said, this ancient place is the land of little streets...which in turn means it's the land of little cars. Which I'm ok with, when I have to navigate the ancient streets here. It does get quite tiring trying to make it anywhere quickly...but, on a good note, this thing can corner on rails. I haven't given it the priviledge of a nickname as of yet, but if I were, I would likely call it 'Death Trap' or possibly even 'My own personal hell'. It does the job of getting me around, so I can't complain too much.
From Iraklio, I drove west on the coastal road to the town of Chania. The hamsters were tired when I arrived, so I ditched the car in some random neighborhood, put my pack on my back, and started walking. This is a pretty cool little place...I'm staying in the historic old harbor (actually, everything is historic here, so I if I don't say it, it's implied). I'm in the most funky old room...it's in a house directly next to a church, and there are ants. Everywhere there are ants. The upside is that they take care of the breadcrumbs that I drop...and it takes them a while to climb the stairs to where I sleep (it's almost like a loft apartment). So, after I kill the troops climbing the stairs, it takes at least 20 minutes for them to replenish their army. Just enough time for me to fall asleep. I've had some weird dreams, though, all about picnics and moving sandwiches with hundreds of tiny black legs. Back to the journey of today...
Samaria Gorge is amazing. Absolutely breathtaking. It's been rainy on Crete since I got here, which is a bummer for the Seattle-ite, but at the same time it's allowed me to actually get out and do things instead of finding the closest beach. Anyway, the rain causes mist, which causes amazing pictures. I've been cracking myself up all day because I took a Diane Fausey (spelling?) style picture, except I've entitled it 'Goats in the Mist'. Maybe it's only funny to me. Man there are a ton of goats here. And goatherds. I took a video of them - I'll send it or post it at some point. It's pretty ridiculous. I was worried that they would stampede the Death Trap and I would die in a tragic Goat meets Opel Agila (the brand of the car, I think) accident; however, I'm safe. Escaped death once again.
After Samaria Gorge, I drove north a bit, then caught the southern road to Sougia (soo-yah). What an amazing little place to get lost. No post office, but of course bars, tavernas, cafes, and a beach. I had lunch and found that I still haven't tired of fish, cheese, and Heineken...then loaded up the Death Trap and headed back to Chania.
The route to and from Samaria Gorge and Sougia was filled with hills, tangerine groves, vineyards, and lots and lots of photo ops. I didn't taste a tangerine...although I wanted to do that more than I"ve wanted to ride a donkey. I didn't want to push my luck stealing from the groves. Who knows what kind of long range guns those 90 year old Greek women hide under their smocks.
Tonight, I caught the sunset on the water in the Old Harbour. Another breathtaking experience. I take them for granted when I'm in Seattle...but for some reason when I'm on vacation they're a major highlight of the day. Tomorrow I'm heading back east toward the town of Rethymia (spelling, once again, is awful). I'll hopefully catch some sun there and visit a winery or two...and then head back to Iraklio early on Monday to see the ancient ruins of Knossos and then fly to Istanbul. As sad as it is, I can't make it to Egypt from here. It's like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - no easy way to do it, and you're not sure you really want to piss of the leprechaun when you get there anyway. So, it will have to wait for another time. Istanbul for Monday through Thurs...back to Athens on Thurs and Friday...and then Manhattan for the weekend before I head back to work. Vacations go too fast!
Hope you all are well. I'll try to send one last update and a link to my pictures. Take care!
Cheers - Genevieve
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