New Year, new country, new island. 2006 saw us travel to Crete for some summer sunshine. Our first venture into the eastern Mediterranean saw us land on the sunny Greek shores of Crete.

To my dismay, the morning of our arrival had seen several rain storms on the island, and the temperature was only a few degrees warmer than back home! To compound that we seemed to be stuck at Herkalion airport for hours before a tour bus finally got us on our way to Rethymnon. The bus journey did give us an excellent first opportunity to see our first glimpses of the island, thanks to the scenic sea view road.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unwinding and exploring our new home. Our hotel was ideally situated for the old town, just below the fortress and 2 mins walk from the Venetian Harbour. Unfortunately our trips to the beach would take a lot longer! As customary I quickly found a local off licence, (more a road side fridge in this instance) and bought some of the local brew. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a bottle opener! Much Cursing followed.

Inset: View from our balcony window.

After a good nights sleep, despite the air condition doing its best to flood the floor in the middle of the night we wasted no time in venturing into town. It soon became apparent that the walk to the beach was going to test our legs as it seemed to getting longer in distance depending on the heat of the sun!

Still the beach gave an ideal opportunity to “catch some rays”, have a swim and start a new book. (In this instance Gangs of New York!). The only trouble with the beach, was the sand had became the equivelint of hot coals.

Our evening invited yet another opportunity to explore the back streets. We stumbled upon the Taverna Castelo Restaurant down one of these streets, which provided us arguably the best food of the holiday. As pictured shortly before tucking into a very tasty Stifado in front of a watchful neighbourhood cat!

Main Image: Clare at the Taverna Castelo

After a couple of days away, we soon slipped into the laid back Mediterranean way of life. Lazy morning’s on the beach, (Chicken and Ham Baguettes from a particular bakery, at lunch), followed by wandering the towns rambling ancient back streets.

I did manage to get up early some mornings though, leaving Clare fast a sleep, in order to get some photos while no one was around. With shopkeepers just opening up, and fisherman setting off, it gave an ideal opportunity to get shot without hoards of people in the way.

Main Image: Early morning at Rethymon Harbour

It seemed every time we wandered further into the labyrinth of the back streets, we stumbled upon something new. Despite the afternoon sun, beating down, the tight narrow alleyways provided more than enough cover.

Pictured are two classic examples of a Greek island. Firstly the stereotypical immaculate white painted Greek Orthodox Church. Likewise the Greek telegraph / electric pole seemed to have everyone wired up to Athens!

The Friday evening meal outing, saw us travel down to the Harbour front for the first time, (it seemed rude not too!), and follow the hoards of hungry tourists. Despite the wide range of fish on the menu, both Clare and myself disappointing opted for the Souvlaki. We did try the Tuna starter, but I know its not quite the same. The setting is wonderfully Mediterranean and romantic but is somewhat diluted by the over attendant waiters and rose selling children every 5 mins. That and the array of local cats wondering around the bottom of the table! One can never quite relax as you might hope. Still a brilliant setting for an evening meal.

Main Image: Greek Church, Rethymnon

Saturday morning saw us travel up to the Venetian fort that dominates the local landscape.

Offering spectacular views of the surrounding areas, all for a very affordable price, it was well worth the visit. The most noticeable thing about the fort was the sheer size of it. Although it looks impressive from the town, its only when you the reach the inside that you realise it’s scale.

We wondered around the fort for several hours taking plenty of photos before returning to the hotel for a few hours’ kip. My personal favorite photo from the top was the image of a car on top of an apartment building! I have no idea how it got there, or why it should be there. Even if it was being assembled there it seemed most bizarre. Maybe it was running the air conditioning from its engine and didn’t need to move!

Main Image: Greek painting in the Church

Most shops on the Sunday were closed (like most of Europe), so we wondered around a very quiet Rethymnon. The Churches were open, but unlike some of the other tourists I though its was a little rude and opposing to wonder in on a holy day.

The boats sailed as usual and the Anek Line Ferry that connected the island with Athens docked as usual. Likewise the fake sailing boat with seasick looking tourist sailed into the harbour to the usual pomp and ceremony to traditional Greek music.

That night we wailed the hours away watching the world go by in front of the 500 year old Fountain. A great location, with good food and copious amounts of house wine!

Main Image: Greek flag outside the Church

Monday saw us continue the daily routine that we’d seem to have developed! The morning walk to the beach (accosted by Holiday reps as usual) and several hours on the burning sand. The waves were larger than previous days which resulted in much larger sea life being washed nearer where I was swimming!

The lunchtime saw us desperately trying to organize a trip to the Samaria Gorge. We had decided to do the Short walk, (or at least Clare had!), but that seemed impossible as it didn’t run on a Tuesday. We tried another backstreet tour operator who spoke good English and was quite friendly despite an his abrupt manner. We decided to do the full 12 miles and save our energy for the rest of the day.

Likewise the afternoon saw us slowly wonder around the maze of bazaars. As pictured this scene was a typical as it gets in Rethmynon .

Pictured: Rethmynon backstreet

And so the day arrived, at 5.30 to be precise for the 2 hour drive down to the gorge, (or should I say up, as the walk was a 4,00ft decent!) We started a long downward walk at 8.00, the idea being that you do must of the walk before the sun really beats down. The top of the gorge is quite difficult terrain with loose shingle and steep steps, compounded with the fact that everyone treats as a race, so the tempo is quick.

After settling into our stride, the rest of the walk was reasonably challenging but enjoyable, despite the fact that Clare was barely speaking at the foot of the gorge! Elated, but tired we reached the bottom and the tiny village of Agia Roumeli on the Libyan Sea, after almost 4 hours walking. However due to some less than clear instructions by our tour guide we almost missed the boat back to the coach. A long story short we finally found our tour guide thanks to two Argentinean girls and a German. The guide promptly told us that we were late, but at least we got the boat back, even if we had to sit in the sun all the way back to Sfakia where the coach was waiting.

Pictured: Agia Roumeli and the bottom of the gorge.

We got up slightly later on the Wednesday due to the day before, and took the day to explore the other end of the town, sitting in bars and cafes. Neither of us wanted anything that involved too much walking, although Clare was definitely suffering me than me! Unfortunately we both lost our appetites for the rest of the holiday as I think that local water we drank at the gorge disagreed with us.

Pictured: Me in front of the Harbour

With thoughts turning to home, we were both ready to go back by the Thursday. Both of us weren’t feeling our best and being without a car was quite a challenge after a while.

We started doing the usual holiday souvenir shopping, which in turn brought about the usual “will he/she or wont he/she like this”. We didn’t buy much to begin with.

In the evening we ventured back to the restaurant that we had visited on the first night near the Fountain. After being impressed by the food and service the first time, we thought it only fitting to go back. Once again we weren’t disappointed. The Lamb Kleftika was second to none and a struggle to finish. And, once again there was a copious amount of Wine, followed by Raki. Followed by even more Raki, which we fed to the flowers as we couldn’t face any more! Both feeling a little worse for wear, we stumbled back via the beach and clambered into bed.

Pictured: Clare tucking into her Olives and bread