Sunday, September 13, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy, 14 degrees NL, sunny, 30 degrees GR
It will be night work again this time. We have exactly the same times as our vacation in May. We will fly again at 5:10 a.m. This vacation Greet (René’s mother) and Henk (her husband) are going with us. They have never been to Crete. They have been on the mainland of Greece and several other islands, but never here. At 0:20 they come to pick us up. A little earlier than planned, but otherwise they were completely ready and so were we. So off we go then. However, we can’t check in at P3 until 02:00. So we stop a few times along the way to waste some time. And so we arrive at P3 at 02:02. The gentlemen drop us off with the luggage and then park the car at P3, row 316. Then we take the shuttle bus (which is already waiting and leaves immediately after boarding) to Schiphol. We already have boarding passes because we have already checked in online. So we just need to drop off our luggage. This goes pretty smoothly. And so we still have 2 hours left. We have to be at gate D63 at 4:30. We walk around a bit, but almost nothing is open. René has discovered on the Internet that you are still allowed to smoke behind customs. Only in a few places and cozy is different, but still. We decide to get a cup of coffee first, which turns out to be right at 1 of those smoking spots. That way everyone is happy. After eating a cold hot dog (the place had only just opened) and a cup of coffee or espresso, we walk around the stores for a while. However, most of them are closed at this time of day. And so after a while we decide to just go to the gate. It is quickly found and then we have to wait until we can enter the plane. Exactly at 4:30 a.m. we may enter the plane and at 5:10 a.m. exactly we leave. It turns out that we are taking off from the polder runway, so we first have to cab across the airport for fifteen minutes. The flight goes smoothly and we land on time (9:40 a.m. local time). The suitcases don’t take very long to arrive either and then we head for the exit. We check out again at the hostess. Hopefully this time it will go well in 1x time. Then we walk to Autotours to pick up the car. It turns out to be the KIA again this time. In terms of space it’s fine, but in terms of fuel consumption it’s not. Well, we just have to take that into account. We load everything, after some puzzling (such a large car and yet so little space with so much luggage). And then we set off for Malia. First we fill up with gas, as there is almost nothing in there. 60 liters and about 70 euros lighter we can continue. At 11:00 we arrive at the apartment. There we are warmly greeted by Rania. We get the keys (301 for us and 305 for Henk and Greet) and first go upstairs with the luggage. Then we visit Rania with the passports, have a drink and then go shopping. At the bar we also see Yorgos for a while. He sees us again later, but is happy to see us. We brought beautiful weather, he says. It was really dull misery the last few days. Then we go for a drive around. We drive past the restaurant first, then back through Malia and finally back to Ariadne. There we then do the shopping. We are going to have breakfast in the room again, so we have to stock up. Oranges, cold cuts, margarine, milk, chocolate milk, cottage cheese, jam, toilet paper, detergent, eggs, and so on. 46 euros lighter, but a lot of stuff richer, we return to the apartment. We take everything to 305, which will be our breakfast spot this vacation. Then we change clothes and lie down by the pool. First we take a sandwich at the bar. Our rhythm is a little strange, but food has to be eaten anyway and we forgot to bring the bread. Then it’s time for some sunbathing. The sun is burning well on it. So I lubricate myself well, but I’m afraid I still get burned again. We even go into the pool right away. The water is a little cold, but then you cool off well. I even go a second time a little later. Henk has sought shade and not long after that I join him. Meanwhile, Marieke is on duty and we chat. Then it is 4:00 p.m. and we go upstairs. We drink a glass of rose and some beer on the balcony and at 5:10 p.m. we each go back to our own apartment. Flat for a while for most (not me, I’m typing out the trip report again right away). At 7 p.m. we will meet again at the bar. We were there a little earlier and chat with Marieke. Then Henk and Greet are there too and we head for the restaurant. Quietly we walk in that direction. It is still quite warm. Inside there are bills on various tables with Reserve. But Yorgos already walks up to us and says he doesn’t care where we sit. We choose table 41. This one is a little more inside the restaurant, but this way you can overlook everything nicely. We greeted the old one right away. Fortunately, he is doing much better. At least he is interfering in everything again. And that is a good sign. Eddy also walks right up to us and greets us warmly. Maria (or whatever her real name is) is also still there and still as “blond” as can be. Henk, Greet and I get a menu card, René does not. He gets lamb chops from Yorgos. “You always have that the first evening. And he is right about that. Meanwhile, Kostas has also seen us and he too says hello. Not with hugs and everything, it’s not the type for that. We can give the order to Yorgos, Eddy has already provided us with drinks. Red wine, two kinds, both half a liter. And René wants a small beer first. But before we even got anything, the bottle of raki and the small glasses were already on the table. ” Welcome to Crete.” Henk and Greet both choose Stifado, with Greek potatoes and I take Soutzoukakia with Greek potatoes. Also very standard for the first evening. René wants chips, but ends up getting Greek potatoes. Maybe Yorgos wants to teach him to eat that now. Maybe it’s also just a mistake. In any case, it’s all delicious. Henk even thinks it’s the tastiest Stifado he’s ever eaten. And he already liked the menu. Simple, not too many different things, but enough choice. Yorgos totally wants to make us feel at home again and even goes to play for a while. Actually, he wants René to do that, but he doesn’t get any further than “pling” on his. It is very difficult to find a Bouzouki teacher in the north of the Netherlands. Will we have to take Yorgos home. We keep getting raki all evening. And that along with the wine makes us all feel it quite well. After dinner, Maria gives us a platter full of grapes. So we don’t take dessert, even though there still appear to be strawberries. We do take two cups of coffee each. These Maria also makes these these days. Eddy was apparently fed up with that. Then the lighter man also comes by. He has only one kind, but we take it. Then we pay and go back to the apartment. On the way we count seven geckos. We sit at the bar for a while and when I go to the bathroom I see two more geckos. Just when I return to the bar to tell them, I see that René is holding one in his hand. The gecko that got a new tail and has also been here for years. He sits very quietly on René’s hand and he can even pet him a little. Then René puts him in the alcove near the bar. We chat for a while with Edwin (Dr. Sivago) and Karen. We also know them from previous vacations. Around 1 o’clock we go to bed. Then it has been nice again. In our room I also see a small gecko. When I want to show it to Rene, it is gone. So today we already have 11 geckos in total.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy, later completely cloudy and 32 degrees
We get up at 8:00 a.m. today. René picks up the bread as usual and around 9:00 we walk to 305. There everything is also almost ready. We have breakfast outside on the balcony. Then wash up and get ready for a short drive. Around 10:15 we are in the car. First we drive to the little church on top of the mountain along the road to Mochos. On the way we stop to enjoy the view. Then we walk to the church. It is a bit hazy today, but the temperature is good. Even quite warm in the sun. Then we drive to Mochos. Henk and Greet find this a beautiful village and we stop to look around the square and the church. We had not seen that one yet either.
Very beautiful, with lots of splendor and a lot of icons. Then we get back in and just before the Homo Sapiens Museum we stop again for the view. I suddenly see two griffon vultures flying toward us. One turns away, but the other circles above us. René shoots several pictures and Henk tries to get him on film. Beautiful and again quite close. Let’s hope the photos and footage are successful.
We drive on to the Museum. There we take a look around. Then the journey continues to the mountain pass. There we stop again at the mills and decide to have a frappe with ice cream right away. After a sanitary stop and a look at the mills, the trip continues. We do a lap around the Lassithi Plateau and also take a little detour to the little church in the mountains. St. George of Honos. A place of pilgrimage for people with various physical defects.
Then we drive around again until we can turn off in the direction of Agios Nikolaos. We stop at the taverna Panorama. It is almost 1 p.m. and we have become hungry again. We all order an omelet and after lunch we take a walk through the accompanying store and the Ecopark, which is next door. Then we get back in and drive on. Of course we stop in Zenia on the way. Manolis is outside again making a spoon. Helena is nowhere to be seen. We ask how he is doing and look at the wares in the display case. Greet decides to bring some kind of salad cutlery.
We say goodbye and then drive on in the direction of Neapoli. Beautiful route with many winding roads. Via the old road we drive back to Malia. By now the sky has completely cleared, but the temperature has remained high. It is still 32 degrees. There is almost no wind. The forecast for tomorrow is that we will have sunshine again. So this weather is only temporary. After arriving at the apartment we have a drink together on the balcony of 305 and then it is time for a nap. I take my laptop back on the balcony. The travel report must be updated again. We meet again at 19:00 at the bar. When the group is complete, we go to the restaurant. We take table 41 again. It is inside and since it has already sputtered twice very briefly today, we think that is better. Yorgos indicates that he also has liver and T-bone today. But we decide to have something else anyway. Henk takes fish, sea bass. Greet and I take Chicken Souvlaki and René takes Bifteki. René doesn’t help me with the wine tonight, I have to fend for myself. He takes beer. The rest remains the same. The food all tastes fine again and since we get grapes again, again we don’t take dessert. Also tonight we get raki again. René runs out of cigarettes and asks where he can buy new ones. Yorgos sends Maria out, but she returns fairly quickly. Without cigarettes. We are just beginning to fear that it will come to nothing, when it appears that the man from the grill has fetched a carton. René pays for it right away. Two men also come today with lighters and luminous cubes that can also be used as alarm clocks. I take a purse/lighter from the first man. The second man is the same as yesterday and Henk and Greet each buy a cube for the grandchildren and Henk wants another flashlight. So the man is definitely doing good business now. We end the evening with Axbax and Metaxa or Ouzo for the enthusiast. On the way back we see only 4 geckos. We stay at the bar for a while, but at 1:00 we call it a day and head to bed. The gentlemen still played pool and the score was 3-1 for Henk.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy to heavily cloudy and 32 degrees
We get up at 8:00 a.m. again. And have breakfast again at 9:00. René walked to the other bakery. There they did have bread, instead of buns. At 10:00 am we finished breakfast and are ready to hit the road. Today the trip goes to Tripiti. The narrow gorge where you can just get through by car. In Malia we first stop at the bakery and I quickly get two sandwiches for the road. There are almost no tavernas along the way so we can eat whenever we want. Now the journey can really begin. First we drive to Heraklion and there we take the exit to Mires. At Agii Deka we turn south and head for Tripiti via Vagionia and Vasiliki. Henk tries to take pictures from the car using a tripod and steady shot, but it is not easy. Last spring, René and I drove this route once and then a griffon vulture flew past us in front of the car at a distance of two meters. I had seen it take off right next to a little church. This time we stopped at the little church again to see where he came from.
There appear to be two large tanks of drinking water for the sheep or so and of course he sat there. The view is beautiful and we immediately take some pictures and film of the surroundings and the church. Then we drive on. Each time we stop to enjoy the views and the gorge in the depths. There we go. Henk gets out just before the gorge and walks into it. That way he can film us entering the gorge.
We drive a little further again and suddenly, after the gorge, we see behind a piece of netting some pigs. They have just been fed galia melons. Well, they like those, because it is quite a smacking.
Several goats also sit here against the rock face again. One even sits in the tree. Then the journey continues again to the beach. We had already seen from above that the water was very light blue this time. And once at the beach we understood why. The swell of the sea is very high and the waves hit the beach with much roaring and splashing. There are also far fewer pebbles there than usual. We decided not to go swimming and walked a bit along the beach.
Then we take a seat at the taverna that sits there. We don’t find anything to eat here very familiar, but we can have a drink. We take a Coke and three Fanta Lemons. The woman opens the bottles at the table and I ask if I can have the caps. She looks at me like I’ve gone crazy, but a colleague of mine is saving those caps and I don’t think he has these yet. With a little hesitation, I am given the caps. I hope he is happy with them. We pay immediately and after a drink we look at the sea. Then we get back in the car and drive on. It goes straight up again and several hairpin bends and goats later we are back in civilization. Just before Miamou we see a place in the shade where we can eat our sandwiches. It is very hot and muggy today and then some shade would be nice. Around 2:45 pm we are back at Heraklion and drive back to Malia via the old road. We park the car at the SPAR and walk through the village. Henk buys a Telegraph and of course we stop at the clothing store where they sell Paul & Shark and Burberry. I buy the same sweater as last spring, but this time in white. And René and Henk both buy a polo from Paul & Shark. Actually we want to look at and try on more, but it is really too hot for that. Everything is sticky. So we go back to the SPAR and replenish the groceries. Then we go to the apartment. A quick stash of stuff, some dry stuff on and then downstairs for an ice cream. We have earned those. Then it is also 5 p.m. and we all go to the room for a while. I take a seat on the balcony again and the rest of us lay down for a while. The wind has picked up and this time it is a nice cool breeze. The stuffiness goes away a little bit. But still it has been 32 degrees all day. We meet again at 19:00 at the bar. As soon as we are complete we go to the restaurant. Yorgos takes us (Greet and I and later Henk) and shows us various things. Lamb from the oven. Pork from the oven. Big white beans. And Henk gets to see a mackerel coming out of the oven. There is only one more of those. René and Greet take lamb out of the oven. I would like the white beans (gigantes), but that is an appetizer and as a main course it is too little, with a large quantity it is too much again. Yorgos will put a dish of it in the middle for the four of us. So I’ll just take Gemista, I’m not that hungry today. Henk takes the mackerel. Everything tastes fine, although Henk liked the sea bass from the grill better than the mackerel from the oven. But that may be the difference of preparation. There was nothing wrong with the fish. I get no further than 1 tomato, instead of two. I don’t know what it is, it tastes perfect, but I’m just already full. Nothing to do about it. We get grapes again, so again no dessert. Yorgos makes music again and keeps nagging at Kostas to join in. After very long insistence, he joins in. Yorgos plays on his old Bouzouki and Kostas sings. Earlier with the other Bouzouki it was René’s turn, he got it in his hands and just had to start playing. In a full restaurant and without any lessons or anything. I have never seen René blush until tonight. Now he was red up to behind the ears. At 10:15 p.m. we finished eating and drinking and headed back to the apartment. Again we see only a few geckos, a total of 6 tonight. We sit at the bar for a while more and talk about everything. Cheese, fish, mainly food. For example, the times Aad and Hennie, but also we have been to Sofia. The score with pool tonight is again 3-1 for Henk. But according to René that is more because he himself shoots the black ball into the wrong hole. At 1:10 a.m. I call it a day. Greet had already gone upstairs. The gentlemen stay a little longer. Tomorrow we will sleep a little late, 8:30 am. It will be a short ride.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Weather: partly cloudy, 30 degrees and much, much wind
So today we get up at 8:30. At 9:20 we are ready to eat breakfast again. The eggs failed again. The first day they were too hard, then much too soft. Tomorrow we’ll just have to make them a little longer. Better a hard egg than no egg. At 10:30 we are ready to go out. First we go to Malia to get money from an ATM and to see if yesterday’s store is open. Henk’s polo shirt is just a little too small, or rather too short. But the store turns out to be closed. So we go on our way. First we drive to Agios Nikolaos. There we are almost immediately in a traffic jam. It is enormously busy everywhere and we soon find out why. There is a gypsy market today. Wherever we go, nowhere to find a spot for the car. And not only that, they also check very strictly for wrong parking. So we decide to leave Agios for today and drive on to Elounda. Along the way, while checking out the view, the car suddenly does a little strange when we drive off. It does not want to start. But Henk knows a trick and it works.
The car starts and we can move on again. We drive in Elounda first to the sunken city and see the windmills and the mosaic floor that lies nearby. Last time I couldn’t find it, but now I can (long live Google).
Then we go to the village itself. We park the car and walk along the harbor first. Then we stop somewhere for a frappe, with or without ice cream. Then we walk to the church, where “Who pays the ferryman” was recorded. Through the stores (where René and I buy water shoes, later day cream and Greet body lotion) we walk to the taverna where recordings were also made. You can still make it out. Then we get back in and head to Plaka. Here you have a nice view of Spinalonga.
By now it is also 2 p.m. and thus high time to get something to eat. We grab about the last terrace in Plaka. Greet takes toast with cheese, bacon and tomato. Henk and I take yogurt with honey and René takes fruit salad. All this with a nice glass of tonic. René’s fruit salad is huge and that boy hardly ever eats fruit. In the end I just give him a hand. Then we move on. We drive back through the mountains in the direction of Fourni. Just before that we stop at the windmills. The wind always blows here and we had already noticed in Plaka that there was quite a lot of wind. But there was so much wind here that we almost ran out of car doors when we got out and I could literally hang on to the wind. Now that’s a breath of fresh air! At 4:00 pm we were back at the apartment.
We drink some more on the balcony (beer or pink) and the mood is pretty corny. I have already seen an oriole flying twice this vacation, or an Alcides (local soccer club in Meppel) bird. Beautiful black and yellow. But because the rest don’t see it, they don’t believe me. But later they see a small bird on the tail of a pigeon and I have to believe that… The mood is good. After the drinks, we go our separate ways. Henk and Greet swap shirts, René goes flat and I enter the experiences of the day. At 19:00 we meet again at the bar. We go straight to the restaurant. I hear Irini’s voice just about as soon as I enter and it is true. She first drops off a high chair and then joins us. She is now in Gymnasium and she can pick out a laptop for 450 euros. Maria walks by and Irini immediately starts teasing her. She doesn’t like her, she says. She does everything wrong. Later she gets back at her for this. Maria thinks she should not do this because otherwise people will think she is stupid. I tell Irini later that people already think that. Irini gets to take the order tonight. René takes a Souvlaki, Henk and Greet choose Gyros and I go for Stifado today. We get grapes again, so again no dessert. Those strawberries are not going to be something this vacation. When it is time for Irini to go home, Nikos and Katerina come to fetch her. Nikos dashes to his father and then to Grandpa. He is as happy and cheerful as ever. What a good boy. I immediately ask Katerina if it is okay that we come on Sunday. In principle, yes, but things come up so often that she advises me to text her on Saturday. I’ll do that. Yorgos is a bit tired, everything was a bit off today and he wants to come up, as he calls it. So he drinks a Coke of whiskey with René. And later another one. During dinner my neck hurts, a vertebra is not right or something. Pretty awkward, but see what that does. We get a lot of drinks again and after the Axbax we go back. It is only 9:45 p.m. then. There are a lot of guests at the bar and we soon find out why. There is soccer on TV. Olympiakos against AZ. AZ eventually loses 1-0. The gentlemen play pool again and today the score is 4-2. Meanwhile, my neck is increasingly troubling me and at 1:00 a.m. I can’t take it anymore. Greet has some stuff for that (at least if it are muscles) and applies it for me. She then goes back downstairs where the rest is also still sitting. Today we saw a total of 12 geckos.
Thursday September 17, 2009
Weather: A bit of everything, even a few showers, but always 32 degrees
I woke up this morning around 05:30 and had to go to the bathroom. Out of habit, I looked out the window anyway. And what I saw was a beautiful sunrise. So I grabbed the camera and quickly took a picture on the balcony. It turned out beautiful.
Then I quickly crawl back into bed. Today we get up at 8:00 am. Breakfast is an hour later and around 10:00 we are ready to go. Today’s trip is to Preveli. We drove on with only a short break to the Kourtaliotiko Gorge. There is almost no wind today and the closer we got to here the cloudier it got. But the temperature is good and that is the most important thing. We stop at the first parking lot in the gorge and enjoy the altitude. Then we drive on to the stairs in the gorge. Again we park the car and begin the descent.
The stairs are getting a little better all the time, and it is noticeable by the number of people walking here now. In itself, it is good that there will be better trails, but so this is a distinct disadvantage. There is a lot more water in the gorge and it shows at the waterfalls. The water is roaring through now. Wonderful!
We walk until we are at the bottom of the riverbed. Then we turn around again and head for the car. But going up the stairs is a bit harder than going down. We are completely out of breath when we get back to the car. By now it is almost 1:30. So we do not have that much time for Preveli and any other stops along the way. Still, we stop at the Venetian bridge and have a drink.
We deserved that after the climb we just had. This is also one of the last places where we can buy water and go to the toilet. So we do both. Then we drive on to the bay next to Preveli. There we park the car and walk along the path along the coast to Preveli. Again some stairs, but not as many as on the other side of Preveli. We have become quite warm again and so it is convenient that we also want to go swimming here.
So we quickly put down the towels and put on the water shoes. Henk, Greet and I are soon in the water, René finds it very cold and grumbles and growls. But in the end he too finally got in. Lovely water. Occasionally some cold bits and it is very salty. You can just float here. Then we get out again and let ourselves dry off. It also splashes a very little here just like there later in the gorge. But it is not really worth it. At 3:00 p.m. we go back, after looking up the river. At the car we first put our stuff, like towels and so on, back in the car and then go to the taverna that sits there. In fact, there are several of them now. We order some drinks and all take Greek yogurt with fruit. There is another path here through the coast that you can pass by car. We have never driven this one before and according to the man at the taverna, this road is only 3 kilometers of unpaved road. After that you can get to Spili quite easily via paved roads. We decide to take that road. And indeed the unpaved part drives fine. There is 1 steeper slope in it, but the rest runs stiffly along the coast. We arrive in Agh. Irini and then take paved roads toward Spili. The mountains here have lots of green rock. No idea what it is, but hard green. And when it’s wet it looks even greener. I can tell, because we do get a little rain on the way. It comes down from the sky with thick drops. But it is soon over again. We do see wet streets in several places, so we are not the only ones who have had some rain. Via Spili we go back to Malia in one line. It is already getting pretty late. Just before Malia we suddenly see lots of people stopping and taking pictures of the sky behind us. I look back and indeed I see a very beautiful cloud, with the rays of the sun coming from behind it. Once at the apartment I have the chance to take a picture of it.
It is already 6:20 p.m. by then. Surely we will have a beer or a rose on the balcony. We won’t eat until 8:00 p.m. today. I start typing right away and Rene goes flat for a while. I just can’t quite catch up with typing. The rest will have to be done tomorrow. At 20:00 we are all ready to go to the restaurant again. Yorgos asks why we are so late and we tell him where we have been. Irini also comes to greet us again. René orders a Soutzoukakia, Greet takes Spaghetti Marinara, I take Mousaka. Henk wants to know what kind of mussel dish they have here. To try, Henk and Greet get a platter as an appetizer. René and I don’t like mussels. Henk takes Stifado again as the main course. He liked that one very much. Everything tastes excellent again. Only Greet and I have trouble with our portions. It is both very filling and full is full. Yorgos is also going to play again and Henk had brought the camera. Both Aristo and Yorgos would like him to take some extra footage because they would like to have movies on YouTube. We were more or less planning to do that anyway, so that will be fine. After coffee and grapes, we head back to the apartment. On the way we see eight geckos and that’s all for tonight. Because we started eating late and also left the restaurant late, Yorgos arrives fairly quickly. Most of the guests go to bed early today so Yorgos can sit at our table for a while. The conversation today is quite serious. We get to talk about WW2 and about burial or cremation. But it’s not just serious topics, we also talk about Greek Mythologies for a while. Soon I turned out to know more about that than Yorgos, which was funny. Frans and Ellen also spent some time with us at the table, but they too had to go to bed early. Tomorrow they will return home to Assen. At 1:50 we call it a day. We help Yorgos close up and then go to bed ourselves. I do learn from Yorgos to say “I’ll see you tomorrow” in Greek, Tha Leme Avrio.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Weather: Sunny and 32 degrees
Today we are doing a small drive. We do just get up at 8:00 am. Normal time so breakfast and ready to go again at 10:00. Today we go to Agios Nikolaos. This time we find a spot near the harbor. We walk quietly to the center and walk along the stores. René is still looking for another watch. The one he is wearing now is no longer waterproof. But again we see nothing that suits him. After the stores, we walk around the bottomless lake. There are an awful lot of fish in it. In all shapes and sizes. And on 1 of the boats is a heron. It remains a beautiful spot. It’s just that it’s very hot today. There is almost no wind and the sun is baking well. We are too early to eat, but we can have a drink. We sit on a terrace by the harbor and watch the people for quite a while. All sorts of things really do walk by. Quite a few Russians, including two blond girls wearing extremely short dresses. They want their picture taken at the bridge and assume all kinds of positions. Hilarious. When we finish our drinks, it is only 12:30. We deliberate and decide to drive to Sisi and have dinner there.
So not much later we walk along the little harbor there and take a seat on the terrace of Palm Bay. Not in a hammock this time, because that doesn’t eat so easily. Although the chairs at the normal tables are not very comfortable. Henk takes a Greek salad, Greet takes a sandwich, René takes scrambled eggs on toast and I take a fruit salad. Except for Henk (who takes Fanta Lemon), we all take fresh juice. How healthy we are. We walk back through some stores and then drive to the SPAR in Malia first. We need water again and we are also out of oranges. Then we really go back and quickly change for the pool. This way we can lie by the pool for almost another hour and a half. Then it is 5 p.m. and we all go back to the rooms. Rene wants to be flat and I have to get back to typing. Otherwise I will be very behind. I suddenly see that the sunset seems to be getting very beautiful and quickly grab the camera while walking to the front. I get it in just in time.
Henk and René are both just a little too late. Today, of course, we have dinner at 19:00. Henk takes fish tonight, Greet goes for the souvlaki, René gets pork chops in white wine sauce, and I take Bifteki. There are German people sitting next to us at the table and we get to talking. Eventually they just slide the table over to ours. Yorgos starts playing again and with all the talking and listening, it has become later than usual.
It is already 11 p.m. when we checkout. Something goes wrong with that, because the bill is now suddenly very high. Aristo does the math and in the end it turns out to be 20 euros less. We walk straight back to the bar. On the way we see 9 geckos this time. Greet and I both have trouble keeping our eyes open and we soon call it a day. I think the cause is probably alcohol. So I am in bed by 0:20. Henk and René are busy playing pool again. Today the score is 4-0 in favor of René.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Weather: Cloudy at first and semi-cloudy later, still just 30 degrees
Early in the morning I wake up to noise from outside. At first I think it is the wind, but after a brief glance at the balcony I see that it is raining tremendously hard. Straight down. I take the towels inside just to be sure, but the balcony remains dry. After three quarters of an hour, the shower is over. But when we get up at 8:00, everything is still cloudy. In itself that is not a problem today. We are going to Heraklion, to the market and the place where we got married. Then this weather is even fine. We have breakfast at our usual time and a little before ten we are in the car. We take a slightly different route toward the center. Aristo has a certain kind of lighter that both Yorgos and René would like to have. Aristo tried to explain to us where he bought it in Heraklion. On the way to the market we don’t see the little store he meant. Then we try again on the way back. We now move on first. We find a beautiful spot right by the market. That is lucky! It is enormously busy here again. We first walk down a path with only vegetables, fish and the like. Then we go to the paths where they have clothes and all kinds of other things. You can’t think of anything crazy or they have it here. I buy another strand of semi-precious stones, this time some kind of aqua-colored sticks. I had seen another one, but it was 40 euros. Agate from Botswana or something like that. Beautiful, but way too expensive for me. The one I bought now was 4.50 euros. After more than an hour we have seen enough and go back to the car. We drive to our regular parking spot, where we can park all day again for 3 euros. Then we take the 25 Augustus Street to the center. It is now full of gypsies, Nigerians, hippies and other scum. All are trying to sell something or beg for money. We walk on and have a drink behind the Loggia under the plane tree. After the drinks we look at the church of St. Titus. He was the first bishop of Crete. His skull is still here. You can check those out. Anyway, the church also has beautiful stained glass windows. Then we walk to the front of the Loggia. Now Henk and Greet can also see exactly where we got married. Last vacation the Loggia was completely covered in graffiti. Now they have got it as clean as possible. Henk takes some camera shots, although it is difficult from the front because there is a large stall here selling compost. Apparently this is very special here, because all the time we see people walking away with bags full. We head toward the daily market after the Loggia through the lion fountain. Here it is completely crowded. We all buy something today. First Henk buys a new ring to hang his camera around his neck; the clasp on it now is almost broken. A little further on I buy a calendar for the toilet. Then we walk to a store where René has also bought a watch before. And after long hesitation he finally finds one. A lot more expensive than he first wanted, but now he has a very nice one. On the way back across the day market, Greet buys a handbag and a little further on I buy a purse. One from the same brand I bought a bag from before, Sakis. Made of real calfskin. Finally a good one. Then we go into the normal shopping street. Here Henk and Greet find some nice coasters. Then it is almost two o’clock and time for a Pita Gyros. But it is extremely busy at the place where we normally eat. So we decide to go across the street. They also have Pita Gyros there. It is tasty, but it has more French fries than meat in it. That is a pity. After snacking, we go down a few more streets. Meanwhile, we keep looking to see if they might have that lighter here, but we can’t find it anywhere. Henk and Greet do find a nice calendar for themselves at a store here. Then we go back to the car. And so we are back at the apartment around 3:15 pm. Greet and I lie by the pool for a while, Henk goes Sudoku and René reads the instructions for his watch. At 4:30 p.m. we call it a day at the pool and go back upstairs. I start working on the travelogue again and René goes to read for a while and then flat. At 5:15 p.m. I am awake again and read for a while. Sleeping is not my thing, it often gives me a headache. At 7:00 pm we all meet again downstairs at the bar. We walk to the restaurant again. At the grill today we see Makis again. He had hip trouble or a hernia or something. In any case, he is not walking very easily yet. We are greeted warmly, though. We return to our regular table, 41. Henk takes a chicken souvlaki tonight, Greet chooses Mousaka, René takes Gyros and I choose Soutzoukakia. Again, as almost every evening, it is as good as full. And so Yorgos goes off to play anyway. After coffee we go back. Tonight the gentlemen don’t feel like playing pool. Most of the guests go to bed on time. So it happens that at 0:30 we are already helping Yorgos close up and we too are going to bed. Oh yes, today we saw 10 geckos.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Weather: Cloudy to partly cloudy, 26 degrees
Today we have an appointment with the Loukakis family. We are expected there at 11:00 a.m. for coffee. We do get up at the normal time. And breakfast is also at the normal time. At a quarter to eleven we are ready and gather our things for Katerina and the children. And a little before eleven we drive up the steep driveway. Yorgos is still on the road, but Katerina is there and so are the children. I immediately give Katerina the laptop she had asked us for. And for Irini and Nikos we brought crayons and felt-tip pens. The markers are for the restaurant. The ones there now are almost all used up or have run out. At our request Henk and Greet also made a DVD of Meppel and its surroundings, so that Yorgos and Katerina have an idea where we come from. Meanwhile Nikos is hiding in a kitchen cupboard and we have to see his new room.
Then it is time for coffee with all kinds of goodies. During the coffee, Irini and Nikos call me outside several times. They have been helping Yorgos since yesterday to get the weeds out of the garden. Irini does the branches of the roses and Nikos does the soft weeds. I got to come and see what they are doing. And I even briefly manage to get them in the picture together.
After coffee, Yorgos also appears. We stand talking for a while and then it’s time to go too. The chicken in the oven is almost done and they are about to have dinner at 12:30. We go back to Malia. First to SPAR, then to the clothing store and then still by car past the cigarette store. They don’t have Lucky strike, but they have Marlboro for Erica and Linda. And René sees that they also have the lighter he bought yesterday in Heraklion. And cheaper too. Well, at least we have them. We return the car, change clothes and then walk back to Malia. Today we do a tour of Old Malia, but first we go for a bite to eat. That will be a pita Gyros across from Revolution. This one is tastier than yesterday’s. After snacking, we go upstairs. Old Malalia remains very beautiful. And several photos and film shots are taken again.
Then we go to Revolution for a cup of coffee or tea. Delightful for a moment of people-watching. There is always so much to see here. Then we walk back to the apartment.
We have another drink on the balcony and then it’s time to go to sleep or tap.
We meet again at the regular time downstairs at the bar. Tonight Henk and René both take a pork chop in wine sauce. Greet is taking mussels with garlic, which is only an appetizer, but she’s not very hungry and that’s enough for her. I take Bifteki again. After coffee, we go back to the apartment. We have only just set out when Makis stops next to us and tells us to get in. We are not allowed to walk. So we don’t see any geckos along the road. Greet had already seen one this afternoon and later René sees one too. So today only 2. When we arrive at the apartment, Yorgos is surprised that we are already there, until we tell him that Makis has brought us. René and Henk go to play pool. There the score is 3-2. Then I have to play pool with Henk and I win. But only because Henk shoots the black one in the wrong hole. René and Yorgos also pool again and of course he wins that. I am completely confused with the time tonight. I think it is already 0:30 at 10:30 pm. The hours just won’t go by. Greet has the same, she too thought it was already much later. At 0:45 René and I go to bed. The others stay a while longer.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy, windy and 26 degrees
We get up at 8:00 a.m. today. There is a strong wind aimed right at the balcony. That makes it a little less pleasant. Henk is so chilly that he even puts on his denim jacket and a little later Greet has a sweater on. René and I persevere and have breakfast in a T-shirt and shorts. After breakfast it turns out that it is quite possible, the sun is gaining strength and it is getting warmer. Today we are going to Arkadi. We leave at 10:00 am and go via the main road. Then via the old road and shortcut to Arkadi. There are several cars and buses at the monastery. But inside you can hardly find the people again. Again we take several photos and film shots. At least where it is allowed, because it is not allowed everywhere.
Then we go for a drink at the taverna outside the monastery. There are ostriches walking around here and you can buy the eggs too. How long would that have to be up, the regular Greek eggs you have to boil for 7 minutes at the apartment to get them soft, but just hard enough.
After drinking and eating a delicious donut with sugar, we walk through the little store a bit more. I buy my dad a nice jar of honey as a souvenir. Then we get back in the car and take the shortcut to the cave at Melodoni. You see the signs often enough along the road, but it is quite a search before we find the cave. It turns out to be worthwhile. First you have to descend 61 slippery steps, but then a beautiful spectacle unfolds. On many cave formations a lamp is aimed. And despite the difficult light, we manage to take a few nice pictures.
Then we clamber up again and head back toward the old road. This we follow in the direction of Heraklion. We make one last stop at Voulesmeno Aloni, a beautiful Doline (the largest in Europe). Here again we see strange grasshoppers. Very well camouflaged. Exactly the same colors as the ground and grass.
At 4:40 p.m. we are finally back at the apartment. We go straight to the rooms. There I immediately secure the photos and update the trip report. Then I go and read some more while Rene goes flat. At our regular time we meet again downstairs. Henk takes Mousaka today, René takes Souvlaki, Greet chooses Soutzoukakia and I go for the Horiatiko Piato. From Aristo the four of us first get 1 appetizer. A cross between spaghetti and lasagna. Very tasty. Today Rene gets pretty full of booze. Yorgos wants to drink whiskey-cola with him, only he “forgets” the cola. Then Aristo wants to drink Metaxa with him. And he was first on beer, and later with us on wine. And of course the necessary raki came on the table. After coffee we went right back. It was a bad gecko night. We saw only two today. We sat at the bar for a while. Henk wants something to read anyway and picks a book from the shelf. Yorgos grabs the book and starts reading aloud. Well, he makes an attempt. At least the other way around, we hardly imitate him. Then we get to talking about word jokes and tell him about “the cat scratches the curls…” and we get from him “Aspro Petra Sexsastri, Kenoerio….” to the mouth. We talk for a while more at the bar and decide not to walk a gorge. For several reasons. Tomorrow the trip will be to Kritsa. But an hour later than usual, given the amount of alcohol. It will be 0:50 before we are in bed.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy and 25 degrees
We got up around a quarter to nine today. We could sleep until 9:00 in itself, but we are both already awake. At 10:00 we have breakfast and around a quarter to eleven we are in the car. Via Agios Nikolaos we head for Kritsa. We first stop at the little church in Panagia Kera. This has frescoes from the 14th century. It is newly restored. And become very beautiful.
After the church we drive on and put the car on the large parking lot in Kritsa. Here you can spend hours photographing streets, doors and other nice things.
Earlier it was known for its rugs and the like, now more and more studios are coming up. With very nice art. Henk and Greet buy an ashtray and a door in Kritsa. We buy a little boat. After photographing, it is first time for some drinks and a small snack. After the tonic and various delicacies, such as a fruit salad or an omelet, we go by car through the village and on our way to the Katharo Plateau. Higher and higher it goes. It is very clear here with some friendly clouds. We stop a few times for some photos and video.
Then we continue up to an altitude of 1180 meters. Then we see the plateau in front of us. We cross it and then the paved road ends. At least this is a real bouncy road. Wonderful! With a lot of potholes and stones.
After a lot of bumping we are on the Lassithi plateau and return via Krassi. Of course we stop there for the tree and water pools.
And via Old Malalia we return to the apartment. It is a little later, but we go for a beer or some wine first. René immediately transfers all photos and film to the laptop on which I am typing this report. That way all the cards are empty again and we can continue. Today we eat half an hour later than usual. For it is already 18:18 when I have updated the report. At 7:30 we meet at the bar. And not long after that we are also in the restaurant. We have not been at the table long when Aristo takes me to the kitchen. They have something special again today. This time stewed pork with leeks. And there is freshly made Stifado. When we go to order the food, Henk and I both choose the pork with leeks. René takes the Stifado and Greet goes for the chicken souvlaki. Yorgos goes to play and also gets Kostas to sing again. He only wants to play request songs. First he plays the sirtakisong and then he wants something complicated. I call pali pali by Michalis Tzouganakis. 1 of Yorgos’ favorite songs and also René’s and mine. Later he does it again when Kostas has joined in. They become completely enraptured and no longer notice anything around them. Wonderful! By the way, Irini is there too and when she is picked up by Katerina, Nikos is along too. He runs and runs through the restaurant again and flies on grandpa’s lap. At the end of the evening Aristo prepares “flour” (a small glass of beer with a raki in it). One for me as well. Whew, that chops it up. And later in the evening I remember that the combination of wine and beer always goes wrong with me. But by then it was too late. After the flour and the coffee we go back to the apartment. There we chat for a while with Roelie and Andre. Also, Yorgos finally starts to talk seriously about Eurodisney. The idea is that they will first come to the Netherlands, then stay with us for a few days and then we will go to Paris by car. After a few more barbie souzos, I start to feel really bad. I can barely make it to the bathroom and everything, but really everything comes out. Then I feel a lot better, but now it is really time to go to bed. The score at pool was 3-0 for Henk. And we saw 10 geckos today.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy and 27 degrees
NEVER AGAIN BLOEM! Right as soon as I get up at 8:00 a.m. I notice – this is not my day today. And just after breakfast I feel even worse than better. It doesn’t take long before I lose breakfast again. But then I really feel a lot better. So we do go for a short ride. That was the plan anyway. By the way, I am not the only one who is not so smooth. The rest also has some trouble today. We drive via Kastelli to Smari. There the road becomes unpaved and we come to a small church with frescoes from the 13th and 14th centuries. René and I have been here before and the frescoes look even worse now than they did then. From here another path goes up to an acropolis, but like last time, the gate to it is really closed. We turn the car around with some difficulty and then head back. We go to Anopoli. Father Apostole is no longer here, he is in Mochos these days. But the monastery is beautiful. Still very new, but already beautiful. Lots of mosaics and icons. In a few centuries this will really be a jewel.
After viewing the monastery, we drive back along the old road to Malia. We stopped at the SPAR for some groceries, the cigarette shop for a newspaper and then drove back to the apartment. At the supermarket we picked up sandwiches. We each ate those in our own room for a while, except me. I was thirsty and took a glass of Coke. But it came out just as fast. So I didn’t dare take the sandwich. Just put it in the fridge first, maybe try again later. We changed clothes and then all of us went to lie by the pool for a while. At 4:30 p.m. we call it a day and go to the room. I am quite discolored. With the shower, I can only see later how bad it has become. Now I am back to tapping and we go flat. Me too. Maybe I’ll really feel better later. At least the Coke I drank while tapping is still in it. We just go to the restaurant at the normal time. In addition to the wine, I also order a bottle of water. And when I tell Aristo that my stomach is bothering me, he advises me to take the bean dish. There is no meat in this, just green beans. That seems like a good idea to me. René takes the chicken souvlaki, Henk Bifteki filled with cheese, Greet opts for the chicken kleftiko. As we eat, I get better and better. But I decide not to have coffee and instead have a cup of tea. The grapes taste fine too. At the end of the evening I do have a liqueur that Aristo offers me, but I skip the raki today. Then it is time to go back again. We see only 5 geckos, but at the apartment there is a small cat. It stays with everyone, probably because people gave it something to eat. Today the score with pool is 3-0 for René. He is disturbed during his game by an annoying bus driver. He does not dare to pass the car and asked if he could be moved. René refused, the previous bus could easily pass, he should learn to drive, he said. But Yorgos had already promised the bus driver that the car would be moved and looks at René in amazement. Eventually we do pick up the car keys, but Yorgos has to move it himself. René has had beer, wine, Metaxa and raki and really doesn’t want to drive either. He teases Rene for the rest of the evening that the car still has to be moved a bit, because a cat wants to pass by… We have something to do with cats today, because the mother cat with kittens from the meadow next to the apartment also walks onto the grounds. I drink only juices and Fanta at the bar and feel much better. Which is just as well, because tomorrow we are going to Chania. So we decide to have breakfast half an hour earlier. Now we go to bed first, it is 0:30.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy and 28 degrees
We get up at 7:45 a.m. today. We usually get ready a little before we have breakfast, so 15 minutes earlier is enough to have breakfast half an hour earlier. So we do that at 98:30. And at 9:30 we’re in the car. We drive, except for 1 small smoke break, in 1x to Chania. And at 12:20 we are sitting on the terrace at the harbor drinking coffee.
We parked the car in the parking garage. There it is guarded and nice and cool. After coffee we walk through the mosque to the beginning of the pier. And from there we walk to the lighthouse.
Here you have a really nice view of the harbor and all the beautiful facades along the water. Then we walk back again, but this time along the top. The wall gets narrower and narrower and just when I am afraid to go any further (fear of heights), the wall ends and we can go down.
We walk to the harbor again and from there head toward the day market. First we take a look at the Catholic church.
And then through the leather street we arrive at the day market building. We enter exactly in the fish department and my stomach does not like that very much. So I walk on quickly and then wait for the rest to finish looking. Here I finally find the staff maps I was looking for, scale 1:50000. That should get us a long way now. From the day market we walk back to the harbor. On the way we see a nice workshop and Henk and Greet offer me and René a boat for all we have done for them. Very sweet. It is of the same series as the boat we bought ourselves in Kritsa. In the harbor it is time to get something to eat. We go to the same place where we had our coffee. This time we all take an omelet and a tonic. Then it is almost 3:00 p.m. and high time to look for the old streets. We still take several pictures, even though René and I already photographed the old part a lot last time we were here. We find the garage again and at a little past 4:00 p.m. we are then on our way back. It takes some searching in Chania before we find the right road, but then it goes quickly. Just after Rethymnon we stop at a Coffeeright. We try to order two coffees and two frappe, but that turns out to be harder than you might think. René and I have been to this one before and the same guy is still working there now. He just doesn’t seem to want to understand us. Hands and feet are just barely involved, but that doesn’t make any difference. Above all, he seems to have trouble understanding Rene. I finally get him to understand what we want and Henk even manages to ask where the toilets are. After coffee we go straight to Malia. At 6:40 p.m. we arrive at the apartment. We have a drink on the balcony and then Rene goes to bed for 20 minutes. I type in some of the report at the same time, but do not fully recover. At 20:00 we go to dinner. They have saved a table for us, very sweet, even though the restaurant is almost full. Yorgos asks why we are so late and we tell him that we have been to Chania. Then he understands exactly why it took so long. Then we are allowed to order. Henk takes sardines, Greet chooses the Gyros Kleftiko, René takes Soutzoukakia and I choose the chicken Souvlaki. After coffee we go back. We see only 1 gecko, and it is also on the back of the bar building. Other than that, not a single one. We are all a bit tired or have some back trouble. Moreover, the gentlemen cannot play pool because a group of six people is occupying the billiard table. They are having some sort of competition, but otherwise deprive everyone of the opportunity to play pool. After a drink, we go straight to the rooms. I am in bed at 11:55 pm.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy and warm at first, 30 degrees, then heavily cloudy and rainy, with 26 degrees
Today we get up half an hour later than usual. We only want to take a short drive anyway and after yesterday’s long drive some extra sleep for the backs is nice. Even though sometimes the mattresses are still pretty hard. So we get up at 8:30 and have breakfast at 9:30. At 10:30 everyone is ready to hit the road again. It is quite sunny, even though the reports were bad for today. So we do not go to the Cretaquarium, but go to Knossos. Henk and Greet had already said that they wanted to go there too. It is a beautiful day for it. We drive there and on the way we end up in the middle of a bicycle race. The actual race is the other way on the main road, but after that the cyclists cycle back towards Heraklion on our half of the road. Some are accompanied by police or vans. It is a strange place for such a race, though. When we arrive at Knossos, we see that we are not the only ones. What buses and cars. But still room enough for our car. After buying the tickets (6 euros per person) we go inside. We don’t take a guide, but walk everywhere ourselves. There are so many guides that you always get to see something anyway and so you are free to see everything yourself.
It is even very hot here in the sun. Little shade and the stones are very hot. Almost wilted we go back to the car. There we do have some water. Moreover, we continue to the aqueduct at Spilia and there is also a small taverna there.
There we have a frappe and I have a Coke. After a short sanitary stop we continue. I lost my way for a moment and so we pass through Pano Archanes. There we see a very long line of pickup trucks. All filled to the brim with grapes. The harvest is now in full swing and they are taking them all to the pressing plants. We turn the car around and drive back a bit. We find the right turnoff to Peza and pass through several vineyards. And here too we see pickups full of grapes driving. Via Kastelli we go in the direction of Hersonissos. By now we have gotten a bit hungry and it is almost 2:30. We park the car somewhere and then walk to the harbor. At a terrace by the water we order something to eat. Rene takes yogurt with strawberries, Greet takes a fruit salad, Henk a Greek salad and I take Kataifi with ice cream. We all take a tonic as a drink. By now it is raining softly, the sky is completely shut in and the temperature feels low because of the wind. So we ask for the bill, because we want to go back. It takes a while and we are shocked by the prices; at the end we have to pay 37.10 euros. For a tenner more we have dinner at Yorgos with drinks, coffee and everything. We do get a raki and some watermelon after, but the raki is not good, it is very sharp. We quickly move on. Greet buys another watch for 12 euros, which they take a while to shorten. Plus the box and the little bag that comes with it, it can hardly matter. We walk through the shopping streets back to the car and then go to Malia. It is almost 4:30 when we get back. It is very quiet at the apartment and René is still a little tired. So we all go back to the rooms and René goes flat. I update the report again and transfer my photos to the laptop. At 19:00 we meet again at the bar. Hopefully it will be dry by then. It is not at first, but by the time we are complete and walk to the restaurant it is. We decide to give Yorgos a free hand today and ask for Mezes. We get large white beans, mini Bifteki filled with cheese, pork with leeks, a large salad, feta from the oven, a bell bell pepper filled with feta from the oven, garlic bread and again the spaghetti/lasagne. All this with a nice glass of red wine. Irini is also there and even starts singing with dad for a while. Later, Yorgos also sings with Kostas for a while. Then Irini is picked up by Katerina and we see Nikos as well. His father even makes him sit on my lap for a while. We take Metaxa to the bar of the apartment and then we walk that way. In the restaurant, René had bought luminous roses for me and they immediately came in handy. A cab came speeding along and when I put on the rose he suddenly saw us and went further down the road. We also saw another 7 geckos, maybe there were more, but we were so busy chatting that none of us were really paying attention. At the bar the rest of us drink Metaxa, I stick to Fanta and Pago. Eddy also stops by the bar. He is staying in the apartment tonight, he is so tired from the last few days that he really just wants to sleep alone. Aristo also joins us at the bar, friends of his are arriving today and he would like to be there to welcome them. They are just delayed and so he has to wait a little longer. Greet and I are a bit tired and go to bed earlier than the gentlemen. They take another Metaxa (or two) and then also go to bed. No pooling tonight either. I am in bed by 0:42.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Weather: Slightly cloudy, warm and a little muggy, 27 degrees
We get up at 8:30 a.m. today. We won’t be leaving anyway, or at least not far. So breakfast is at 09:30. The sun is just there again, despite the fact that they predicted bad weather for today. So after breakfast we do not go to the Cretaquarium as we would have done with worse weather, but go lie by the pool today. There it is still quite warm, we are burning away. So I quickly grab an umbrella and crawl into the shade. It is more bearable there. That, together with a few splashes in the pool, makes it lovely. Rene stays right in the sun and at the end he is still quite sunburnt. Around a quarter past two we go to the bar for a hamburger sandwich (René has fries). So, we can make it until 7:00 pm. We go into the sun for a while and then take a quick shower. At 3:30 p.m. we have to be at Aristo in the restaurant. We are no longer allowed to buy from Yorgos Metaxa in the supermarket, but have to do it through them. So that’s why we go to the restaurant. Aristo arranges the drinks. I would like to take a bottle of Ouzo with me. The one I now have at home shoots up nicely. By the way, that also took me almost 3 years. But then that was special Ouzo. At the restaurant we first have a cup of coffee. Then Aristo asks exactly what we want. René would like 3 bottles of Metaxa and Henk would like 2. I would like 1 bottle of Ouzo. That will be 2, because I get 1 bottle as a present. He goes looking for the price of the Metaxa and after some searching in the papers and some calling with a friend of his he knows the price. We pay and get a second cup of coffee. Eddy has to make the coffee and he is already shaking his head again. I tell him that after this afternoon’s, he only has to make 8 more cups for us and then he is finished for the whole season. Then we load everything into the car and head to the supermarket. We just need to have some desserts and we are looking for another rack for a glass dish we have at home. According to a store where they sell the trays, they told us that they are kind of plate racks and they sell them in every supermarket. But when we look at Ariadne, we don’t see them anywhere. And this is really a very big supermarket. Then we don’t go, we will look further in the Netherlands. We drive back to the apartment and unload everything. Then we drink the last of the wine and beer and go to bed. I update the report again. We have dinner today at 7:30 pm. We want to pack most of our stuff in the suitcases after we have had our nap. We do, there are still a few things to put in, but we can do that tomorrow morning. So we go to the restaurant at 7:30 pm. When we want to pass on what we want to eat, Henk and Greet appear to have no choice. They get something special from Aristo. René gets his chicken souvlaki and I choose Bifteki.
Henk and Greet turn out pork stewed with tomato and zucchini. Henk doesn’t like zucchini at all, but loves this one. I have the same problem as always on the last night, I just can’t get a bite in. And I felt so much like it! So again I also get cheered up by almost everyone. We drink wine again and of course get raki. And I even struggle with the raki. After coffee and grapes, which I will definitely miss, the goodbyes begin. Kostas tried to sneak out, but to no avail. We see him and call him back. Then we say goodbye to Papa and Maria. Eddy doesn’t want to say goodbye now, he is still coming to the apartment. We probably won’t see him then, because we don’t want to go to bed so late, but I think he prefers it that way too. Like most here, he doesn’t like to say goodbye. We do say goodbye to Aristo and also to Maki. When we walk by the parking lot, Katerina is just arriving with Nikos in the back. She gets out and René lets Nikos get out. At Katerina’s insistence, he shakes hands nicely and wishes us a good trip. We give Katerina a big hug and say again that we really didn’t mind that she didn’t have so much time for us. That’s not the point with us either.
Any time she has is nice. Then it is time to walk back to the apartment. On the way we see 5 geckos, one of which René had already seen when he got the phone at the restaurant and walked towards the grill. At the bar we have a drink and then we say goodbye to Marieke. She will not be back behind the bar here next season. She enjoyed it, but the work is less suitable for her back and a bigger hotel seems better. That way she can alternate the work a bit more. And then it is also time to go say goodbye to Yorgos. He is always very sorry and even now you notice that he is dreading it. But maybe we’ll see each other sooner than expected. Aad and Hennie are not saying goodbye now, they are waving goodbye to the departing guests tomorrow. Besides us, 10 other guests are leaving. We are still on the list for the bus, even though we have passed on that we have our own transportation. So we tell the others who are leaving. Otherwise, the bus will continue to wait for us while we are long gone. The bus leaves at 07:00. We want to be gone around 06:45. So now high time to go to bed. No Eddy seen as expected. It is 0:25 when we go to sleep.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Weather: Partly cloudy, 24 degrees GR, partly cloudy, 19 degrees NL
We get up at 06:00. At 06:30 we are all pretty much ready and start moving the suitcases downstairs and then into the car. Aad is also there by now and a little later Hennie indeed appears. At 06:45 everything is in the car and we drive to the airport. At 07:15 we are there. The gentlemen drop us off with the luggage at the departure hall and then drive to Autotours to deliver the car. There is no one there yet, but you can leave the key there. Not much later the gentlemen are back with us. We walk in and see that our check-in desk is not yet known. After waiting a while, almost all the desks are known, except ours. And when it does become known, it turns out to be in the other hall and everyone from the bus is there too. So this time we had absolutely no advantage of leaving with our own car. We join the queue and it is very long. It takes quite a while before we are checked in. This is also where the luggage tags come in and the suitcases are weighed. We turn out to be 16 kilos overweight! But nobody gives a hard time about it. After checking in, we are not there yet. Then we have to queue up for baggage inspection and delivery. That line is also incredibly long. After dropping off our luggage, we have to line up again for passport control. And that line is again enormously long. Finally we are through customs. René wants to look at the Taxfree for Rakimeli. This is a drink made of Raki and honey. Cretans use it especially when they have a cold or flu. I had already found recipes on the Internet on how to make it myself, but they also sell it ready-made. After we buy the Rakimeli we go to the Gates. It doesn’t say yet which flight it will be. By now it is already 10:00 and at 10:25 we are supposed to fly. Rene is just about to get some drinks and food when it is announced that we are going to the plane via gate 5. Unfortunately no more drinks or food. That will have to be done on the plane. Before everyone has boarded, it is already 10:25 and we finally fly away at 10:40. The flight goes off without a hitch, except that we had a very scary smooth steward. Really a healthy Dutch straight guy, but different. He also kept talking about elbows and knees when he passed by with his trolley, but only after he had almost knocked René’s knees off first. The four of us were in row 30, the second to last row. So this time we did get a chance for a sausage roll. At the emergency exit where we usually sit, that chance is very small. They are often already gone by then. After landing, we walk through the toilets to the baggage belt, which starts to move quickly. By the way, we were also right on time, 1:10 pm. Before we left the plane I had already seen our suitcases being put on the cart. And it didn’t take long to get our bags either. We walk to the bus in front of P3 (René wants a smoke first) and then we get in. We still see other Cretan Family gangers around us. And so we only say goodbye to the last one at P3. At 2:15 pm we drive away from P3. On the way to Meppel we stop at Routiers for a drink and for some food, because we have long since forgotten that little sausage roll. We all take a sandwich in different variants. Now we can get on with it for a while. At 16:25 Henk puts the car in front of our door. We are home again. The vacation is really over. Of course we will go again next year.
For the rest of the vacation photos see HERE