Crete

With Mandy in tow, we headed for a 5 day trip to Crete.  We hadn't seen any of the Greek islands yet, and we chose the largest as our first adventure.  We took a direct flight from Eindhoven to Chania, Crete.  There were stunning views of the Alps along the way.  Landing in Greece, we were surprised by cool weather, but fortunately, it was the only day we saw rain and low temps.  After dealing with a bit of graft at the car rental place, we headed into the center of town.  Chania is a cute town on the water with a historic lighthouse and Byzantine church decorating the harbor.  We stopped for lunch and poked around town a bit.

Chania old town

Our Air BnB was another 30 minutes down the road in a very small village. It took us a minute to adjust to the local driving rules.  It seemed that 2 lane road were treated as 4 lane roads, with active use of the shoulders as lanes 3 and 4.  We got it sorted out in time to get off of the national road and enter our one-stop-sign village.  The cottage was just outside of "downtown" and a block away from the water.  It was very cute and comfy, probably one of our best Air BnB picks of all time.

The next morning, the sun was out, and we got going to Elafonissi beach.  While it didn't look too far away on the map, the drive took over an hour with the majority of it being on a 1.5 lane road over the towering and beautiful mountains in the center of the island.  The drive was worth it to see the expansive beach, pink sand, and crystal clear water.  We hung around all day enjoying the view and water.

Elafonissi beach

Pink sand!

The next day brought more great weather and another beach adventure.  This time we were off to Balos beach.  Again, the drive didn't look far, but the going was even slower and trickier than the way to Elafonissi.  There were paved roads up to the park entrance, but from there on in it was a winding gravel road on a seaside cliff.  There were certainly some white knuckle moments.  Even after the long drive in, we still had to hike a few kilometers to get to the beach itself.  Yet again, it was worth the effort. It is certainly one of the most picturesque coves we have ever seen.  We enjoyed the day there, and headed back to the cottage ready for bed.

The road to Balos beach

The cove from above

Our last full day in Crete was spent hiking the Samaria Gorge.  We started early and took a tour bus up to the top of the gorge.  The trek through Samaria Gorge is a 16 km (10 mi) hike that starts at the top of the mountain.  It requires a couple miles of down hill hiking before you begin the hike along the waterbed to the ocean.  Of course, we deceived ourselves into thinking it wouldn't be too hard since it was downhill, but it was no easy hike!  We hiked until the Samaria settlement, a village that was inhabited up until the 1960's.  From there we finished the hike along the river and stopped in the fishing village of Agia Roumeli for a late lunch and dipped our feet in the Libyan Sea.  We looked around the town while waiting for the ferry to pick us up and take us to our tour bus for the return drive home.  All in all, it was our longest day, starting at 5 am and returning after 8 pm.  We were exhausted but very glad to have experienced the gorge.

Waiting on the bus, it's too early!

Samaria Gorge

Agia Roumeli

The next morning we had to pack up our stuff to return to Belgium.  After checking out of our AirBnB, we had time to stop in Chania for lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping before heading to the airport.  We had a great time in Crete and would love to return someday.  The island had the perfect mix of beach and mountain adventures!  After returning to Belgium, we had to say goodbye to Mandy and send her back to the US.  It was great to have her visit and take the adventure to Crete with us!