Crete is haunting you
A Crete you can get there by plane, but doing it by ferry is more epic. It is not that you, rudder in hand, are going to captain the ship and sail the seas, but that way you will be able to see when you arrive, through the porthole of your cabin, how Chania is colored with the first rays of the sun. Companies such as Anek Lines or Blue Star Ferries make the journey from Athens (you have all the information on the Discover Greece website ).
Crete is beautiful, very. It has the attraction of different beauties, which gives it being the rare bird of the Greek islands.
At dawn, Chania gradually becomes colored
Accustomed to the images of others that are more “manageable” due to their size and coquettish in their architecture of white houses and blue roofs, Crete presents itself as an island lady, large, forceful, serene in her rhythms of life and generous in her charms, too weathered by centuries of Minoan, pirate, Venetian, Turkish and even German invasions to bother with any flourishes to impress you. You don't need them.
For this reason, as soon as the boat docks and with the impetus of someone who has not set foot on land for seven hours, you will plunge into its incredible landscapes, making the E75 road the guiding thread of a journey through the north of the island, from Balos to Heraklion. With a brief flirtation with the south, so to say that we have bathed in the Libyan Sea.
FIRST STOP: balls
It may be counterproductive to start your foray into the island with a visit to the lagoon of Balos because it will be practically impossible for you to exceed the heights of beauty that your sight reaches here.
Do not listen to the gossip of some locals, lovers of hammock, umbrella and easy reward tourism, who will insist that you visit Elafonissi or Falassarna . It's not that these aren't worth it, it's just that the beach show must visit is called Balos.
He is reached after drive for about 20 minutes on a dirt track which leaves the main road in the west of the island. At some points along the way we could well define it as goat trail, more than for the road itself, for the goats. Traveler, be strong and avoid stopping to photograph each and every one of them.
Imagine bathing here
Remember that the reward is at the end, with the car parked and after traveling a route on foot of half an hour. Do not curse that scorching sun: it is responsible for the blue and green tones of the water dance intensely with the white of the sand.
The perfect postcard made beach. In front of you, a warm-water lagoon in which to bathe or the sea with an attempt at bravery that remains just that, a few playful waves. Guardians of all this, two islets: Gramvousa and Balos with its huge cliffs. The first is reached on foot, crossing a tongue of sand. The second, you will settle for looking at it from a distance or, if you dare, you can hire one of the tourist excursions that take you to it.
SECOND STOP: CHANIA
In Chania it dawns in Dolphin House _(Theophanous, 9) _, a boutique hotel in the historic center of the city with two powerful incentives: a porch from which to contemplate, at your feet, how the Venetian neighborhood awakens to life; Y a massage card in which different techniques are mixed so that your back stops being that field of knots resulting from hours in front of the computer.
Treat yourself to these two pleasures before launching yourself into a third, that of verifying that In Crete, breakfast is taken very seriously.
In Theater Chocolaterie _(Plateia Chortatson, 5) _, for example, they will entertain you with coffee frappe , almost a religion in Greece ; Toasts with butter and marmalade; chicken omelette with cherry tomato, ham, cheese and mushrooms; and ginger lemonade. You were warned.
After this, walk, walk and walk. Chania is discovered without haste, without the need for more guidance than what your instinct marks you. get lost by its old town, with its colorful houses and craft shops on the ground floor. The small boats anchored in his venetian port and its fishermen preparing hooks to take food home will make you turn your steps there.
With the adventurous spirit dispossessed of its office worker lethargy, you will want to know what the open sea looks like beyond the lighthouse. We already told you: it looks provocatively beautiful, with a set of lights that makes it flirt at times with blue and at times with green to make way for transparencies. What we are not going to tell you is how the city and the port look seen from the outside. Either, how carefree turtles splash in the water.
We are not going to tell you what Chania looks like from its lighthouse
Chania is also enjoyed at its tables. Lunchtime is a good time to drop by the tavern Koutoutouki . Located in one of the least traveled side streets of the Venetian neighborhood _(Episkopou Chrisanthou, 56) _, the tables are arranged under a vine-leaved roof in an alley for which from time to time some clueless sneaks in who can't help but stare at the dishes with hunger. They wait for us on the plate Greek specialties such as Mizithra cheese filled dumplings. The soundtrack is played by a couple of boys who dare with Greek folklore while a friend of theirs paints them from a chair.
Dinners, on the other hand, are a matter of Dalian street , where the life of its establishments begins around 6:00 p.m. Among so much offer, Oinopoieio _(number 46) _ with its commitment to local products, draws powerful attention. Pay attention to your selection of cheeses from the island and the octopus with Cretan peppers. leave room for their desserts, those that water with raki, the native liquor courtesy of the house with which any banquet worth its salt ends.
THIRD STOP: RETHYMNO AND MONI ARKADIOU
In the 65 kilometers that separate Chania from Rethymno, you discover that driving in Crete involves unlearning some of the laws that you burned yourself when you got your driver's license. And it is that, the hard shoulder, oh surprise, becomes an additional lane; overtaking, although they predominate from the left, can also come from the right; and the dogs, oh friend, dogs will give you great moments when you see them with their hair in the wind poking their heads over the windshield of a convertible or with their front legs resting on the handlebars of the motorcycle that their owner drives.
Rethymno could well be a carbon copy of Chania, were it not for the its Venetian port is smaller and the streets of its old town are wider.
With Rethymno, that beauty is inside is fulfilled
With Rethymno, that beauty is inside is fulfilled, in this case, hidden between tourist restaurants and souvenir shops. For this reason, its port must be looked at a lot, and walking away along the jetty that leads to the lighthouse, to get to see it all the good it deserves.
Its historic neighborhood walks with eyes to the sky so as not to miss the mix of styles present in its colorful houses and stately bearing, with Venetian columns at the door and wooden terraces, heritage of the Turkish presence, on the upper floors.
Here all roads lead to Rimondi Fountain , around which life bustles with bars, restaurants, little shops and ice cream parlors with attractive flavors. And, if what you wanted was to get away precisely from that coming and going, head towards the fortress , at the northwest end of the old city, to see city, port and beaches from above. From there, you will see several restaurants by the water where you can stop and eat before delving into the history of the island. 'Cause that's what you'll do when you set course for Moni Arkadiou.
Moni Arkadiou, living history of Crete
Located about 20 kilometers south of Rethymno, this monastery is well worth the drive along winding roads between gorges and olive groves. And it is that what a priori might seem like another stop along the way, ends up amazing. It is because of the Renaissance architecture of the main building of the enclosure, but, above all, because of what represents. Moni Arkadiou is the symbol of Crete's resistance to invaders. There, in 1866, some 300 Cretans, mainly women and children who had survived the Turkish siege, preferred immolate themselves using the powder magazine that was still in their hands to surrender and be captured by the enemy.
FOURTH STOP: PARADISE IS IN AGIA PELAGIA
Not that this seaside town sandwiched between Rethymno and Heraklion has any crushes on charm. There is, there is; but you have to find it the details that make mass tourism somewhat diluted.
That it is built on hills that lead to the sea like a Greek theater is one of them. That its promenade is dotted with restaurants and taverns in Lis that dine watching the sunset over the sea is another. That you can spend the night at the Lifestyle Collection Hotel is what makes the difference and make Agia Pelagia your home base for the rest of your journey.
The difficult thing is not to arrive, it is to get out of here
Sunrise at this hotel member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts is to face first world dramas such as deciding whether to watch the sunrise from the terrace with sea views of one of its Exclusive Suites or whether to do it without leaving your fluffy and huge bed. It is not knowing what to have for breakfast when you walk into your buffet and discover that you can choose between eggs cooked in a thousand and one different ways, a wide variety of cheeses from the island or the pastries and bread that a woman patiently works and bakes in front of you. And fruit, lots of delicious fruit.
At the Lifestyle Collection Hotel one spends time in get lost along the paths of the private peninsula of Agia Pelagia where you are to contemplate the horizon that here has an emerald color. He also dedicates hours to his spa and that capsule treatment that, with a splash of water and massage, reactivates your body to bring it back to life away from stress.
Hours at the pool or private beach give way to a good meal at one of its restaurants. Go for the one with Greek specialties, which play at home.
FIFTH STOP: HERAKLION
With a stop along the way to **visit Knossos**, considered the archaeological site that best reflects the splendor of the Minoan civilization. And yes, you will find some fascinating vestiges and stories, but also, make no mistake, a lot of concrete resulting from the reconstruction undertaken by the archaeologist Arthur Evans to whom many attribute an excess of fantasy.
5 kilometers to the north, we find Heraklion, the capital of the island and its great surprise. It's not that it's a pretty, pretty city, but It is not at all as ugly as the Cretans will tell you it is. Also, local life is breathed.
Stroll through its historic quarter, flirt with the traditional shops and let your legs guide you to its Archeological Museum _(Xanthoudidou 2) _ , the pretty girl from Crete. Its restoration has taken fifteen years and touring it is a journey through the history of the island, turning out to be especially spectacular the Minoan collection which occupies thirteen of the twenty-seven rooms.
You will see vessels, jewels, tombs, you will try to decipher the inscription of the Phaistos Disc and, do not deny it, you will skip some part to enjoy the mosaic collection . Beware, Evans reenters the scene, although this time, we must admit, that pieces such as the Ladies in Blue and the fresco of the Dolphins captivate the viewer.
Knossos, vestiges of an ancient civilization
SIXTH STOP: MATALA AND A SWIM IN THE LIBYAN SEA
Heading south to the hippy Matala , where the lifestyle that in the 60s and 70s scared the inhabitants of the place has now become its main tourist attraction, to the point that it is possible visit the caves on the beach that the hippies used as a home.
This little town of low houses is reached, literally, when the road ends. Flower drawings cover streets and walls and the straw huts become the owners and ladies of the beach, flirtatious as they appear at the foot of the cliff.
It is recommended to arrive early to get one of the umbrellas (2 euros) and hammocks (another 2 modest euros) that curdle the sand. In their crystal clear waters, framed by two rocky ledges, you can say that you have bathed in the Libyan Sea, under the watchful eye of a phrase that reminds us of the importance of living in the present because the future does not exist.
Matala and the importance of living in the present because the future does not exist