Day 2: The Chania Journey

  

 We spent Day Two in the Chania Prefecture. We stuck with the agenda since we were jet lagged and still trying to get acclimated to the island. With map in hand and a couple of handfuls of the trail mix that I made for the trip. Which by the way, I made 6 or 7 quarts size packed full bags and we ate all but one of them. If anyone wants the ingredients just let me know. And so our second day begins.

About an hour into our 2 1/2 drive we were both getting hungry. There were several people set up along the highway selling fruits, vegetables or both. Their booths were peppered along both sides and I mean they were literally right on the side of the highway. Not seeing any tavernas or cafes we stopped and bought some oranges and grapes at one of the vegetable and fruit stand. That with more of our trail mix and water made for a quick, easy and light breakfast. 

The drive to the beach was everything that we traveled to Crete to see. Random goats, Greek Monasteries, terrific mountain views and continuous view of the coastline. The picture above was taken in 1984. The Monasteries still look the same today.

 Falasarna Beach is absolutely beautiful. The fine white sand, the crystal deep blue water and the small amount of people at the beach made it perfect! We both tried to get into the water but it was very windy and the water was choppy. I just learned to swim a few months ago and still have a bit of fear of deep water. So, I opted out of swimming and snorkeling. Micheal did go snorkeling and brought me back a few seashells. This is what he came to Crete to do. He loves the sea/ocean. The wind continued to pick up throughout the morning. I had put some tanning lotion on before going on the beach. This was a huge mistake. It was so windy that the fine sand covered my body. The stronger the wind became the more embedded the sand went into my skin. I felt as though I was being sandblasted with the powdered sugar fine sand. I felt like a human emery board. It didn't cling to Michael like it did to me. Lesson learned, don't apply tanning lotion before going to a fine sanded beach on a windy day.

Beyond the beach looked like fascinating paths, roads and places to climb. 

 We decided to check it out. 

 At one point I got a little nervous, with the high winds, my sandal clad feet and the rough terrain, but kept inspired me as he made it to the top.

Not sure if we were suppose to be there but the photo opportunities were too good to pass up. Michael saw a crag that he wanted me to climb to so he could get a picture. And so I climbed and climbed...

until...

I reached the crag. It doesn't like too high up in the photo but it was about 50 feet from the valley.

I struck a pose so Michael could get a photo but the edge was a little too scary. So, I stood back a bit from it.

More of the view from the crag.

We could hear goats in the distant mountain but decided not to investigate since there were homes along the mountainside. 

 With the high winds and inappropriate shoes we decided to stop climbing and go get a coffee at a taverna by the beach. Along the way back to the beach-side taverna I saw a few of these pretty flowers growing in the sand.

 This is the taverna along the beach of Falasarna that we stopped at to get a coffee.

The price list for coffee at To Kyma.

This is me traveling down the highway with my feet hanging out the car window, happy as can be even with sand permanently attached to my skin.

We headed to the the town of Chania and had lunch at Faka's. It was the old Venetian part of town. While Faka's service and food left a lot to be desired, we ate payed our bill and moved on to strolling around the city's shopping area. We hit it at precisely 3:00 so most of the shops were closed so that the owners could take their daily rest. Not seeing much more to do we took off for Kournas Lake. 

 The lake is beautiful, the day was a bit hazy as you can see on the mountain tops.

 It's the only fresh water lake on the island. It was calm and beautiful. I donned my snorkel mask and finally got to swim. What fun! The water is so clear and enticing.

 Michael still craved the sea but this small lake was perfect for me. He didn't get in the fresh water much but he did like sitting on this big rock while the ducks and I swam in the water. We met a couple from Israel and chatted with them for a while and then snorkeled and frolicked in the water until we got hungry. 

We had planned to eat dinner at the Poseidon Taverna. But, our landlord invited us to dinner at the apartments. That sounded way more appealing, a Greek home cooked meal! It was amazing. Another couple also came to the dinner. A few nights a week dinner is served at the apartment. It's a huge treat to indulge in Liza's cooking.  The meal was wonderful, chatting with the other couple made for an interesting and enjoyable evening. They were from Germany and Israel. Liza served Greek salad, lemon potatoes, souvlaki, , 4 different breads and Greek white wine. For dessert she made a creme brulee served with raki. Very delicious! The food and conversation were free flowing and a perfect way to spend a Sunday evening. That's Liza and her husband in the photo above.

The dinner was so fulfilling and we were so busy talking that we didn't realize that we stuffed ourselves. We decided to take a walk before going to bed for the night. We walked along Lygaria Beach which is really close by to the apartments. But still quite a hike when you consider that we had to descend and ascend the mountain to get to the beach.  The picture of the beach front is grainy due to the pitch dark streets were walking.

 I attempted to curl up on the sofa and blog our first full day. I got my hair all wrapped with a conditioner in it. Got my little t-shirt nightie on and did my very best to blog. 

But I just couldn't learn the ropes of my new tablet, get a good connection through the wi-fi and being extremely tired all made for a dysfunctional blogger. I'm glad now that we waited till we got home to blog about it.