As promised I still needed to tell you guys about the final part of my journey to Greece! The second day I rented a car, I had envisioned to make my day a bit more relaxed than the day before, Moreover I wanted to visit the island of Spinalonga, because everyone kept talking about it, so I figured I better drive up there to check out the sights! But before doing so I kicked off my morning with a trip into the mountains nearby Gouves, where I hiked to a cave filled with stalactites. Crete is filled with these caves and there are some famous ones for which you have to pay a lot of money to visit them but there are also some free ones on the island so just ask any local and they will guide you the way!
On my way to Elounda (which is where I planned on taking the ferry to Spinalonga), I drove by Crete’s coast line and its pretty sides. When I arrived in Elounda I decided to have lunch! At The harbour there are many touristic places, but I chose to visit the bistro of Greece’s best chef, the Ferryman by Baxevanis. In Elounda I finally got the rest I was looking for and while I was waiting on my lunch, I got a pleasant surprise! A surprise which must have been send by the universe cause I saw a wild sea turtle off at least 1,3 meter pop up only 4 meters in front of me! What a magical experience, to see such a beautiful animal at such a beautiful bay with such fantastic people! The lunch was delicious and the atmosphere was so relaxed that I realized I had missed the last ferry to Spinalonga … oops haha!
Therefore when it was time to leave I drove to the peninsula of Kalydon, where I got my second magical moment of the day … absolute tranquillity. It might sound strange but once I had found a place on the water, I suddenly started to cry. I think you never really realize how strange it is like, to experience absolute silence. A very special experience I wouldn’t like to have missed out on! After downsizing my panda mascara eyes, I saw a small white ‘beach type’ of lounge restaurant, where I went to, to get a glass of wine. After 5 minutes some locals from the island asked me to join them at their table. The Cretans are such nice people and they tell the most wonderful stories! I could spend my whole day easily with these people if I would have wanted to and I definitely plan on visiting them if I ever go back to Crete! After finishing my drink … which by the way looked more like a complete bowl of wine rather than a glass (that’s the Greece hospitality for you ;)), I said my goodbyes to my newly made friends and I went to Agios Nikolaus, This village has a fantastic small bay in the middle of the city and it has some really nice shopping streets to add to its charm so it’s a certain must!
On my last day I wanted to relax on the beach a bit more before heading back home! However the weather wasn’t agreeing with me, so during the afternoon I went to Heraklion again. A very good decision because since it was Sunday I got to discover the real Grecian family life! I visited some churches, a religious museum and because it was still raining after 4 hours, I decided to have a small lunch! Hahaha small … I start to laugh when I think back about it! I found myself in this typical Cretan family restaurant and all the food looked so good and was so incredibly cheap that I ordered 3 (what I though where going to be small plates), dishes. When I got all those mountains of food, I realized I could have fed a complete family of my own. However I had a blast and it was a delight to sit and enjoy these comfort dishes in this almost theatrical scene! When the night fell, the rain had finally stopped and I watched the sun set in the ocean with in a distance of my view the island of Santorini … My new travel bucketlist item!
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