The Greek Seek - Day 4

 

From sunset in Athens near the Acropolis to sunset in Crete near Old Town Chania!

We left the hotel this morning to head to the Athens airport and catch a flight to Crete. I had read horror stories about the Greek ferries to the islands and I didn't want to risk it. I easily get motion sickness and even the stomachs of steel have reported terrible experiences. The other factor was that the ferry took 7 hours! The flight is 1 hour from take off to landing! And it's super cheap!!

Chris had the window seat and snapped some pics of islands as we flew over. The water was beautiful - so blue!!

I snapped a pic as we were landing because from aisle seat, initially, all I could see was water. It was a little unnerving since I couldn't see the land. The airport in Heraklion is right at the water's edge.

We found our rental car spot among the kazillion rental car places. Literally, I think these people just have a few cars and rent them at the airport - sooooo many rental spots! We crammed into our little manual shift rental and headed for our destination of Chania, pronounced Kaun-ya. It is a very old town and one the two main ports in Crete. It was about a 2 hour drive from the airport and the drive was stunning! What we didn't realize is that all of Old Town Chania only has pedestrian streets. We were aware that our Airbnb didn't have parking, but we didn't know we couldn't get super close. After about 45 minutes of trying to get to the place we gave up; Chris dropped us with the bags as close as possible and left us to go find parking. 

Jac and I found our place and it is ADORABLE! The whole section of Old Town really is super charming. 

View from our balcony.

Our little balcony

These flowers are everywhere!

Jac couldn't wait to get to the water. So he and I headed toward the beach. The closest beach to Old Town Chania is a little walk. While the Old Town is on the water, it's not beachy - there is a stone water wall. The town was inhabited by the Venetians in the early 1200s and they constructed a large wall around the port city. They also used a dry moat around the wall for protection. The walls and the moat are still in existence today. However, the moat area today seems more like a park, especially for dogs!

It was late evening by the time we reached the closest beach area but there were still quite a few people on the shore. The area is pretty rocky as you can see from some of the pics. Jac swam for a bit and then we hung out for a while as the sun was setting. Chris walked down to meet us while the sun was setting, and then we headed back to get ready for dinner.

We ate dinner by the waterfront which was just so beautiful! The appetizers were great! For my meal, I had grilled fish - 3 types; and the guys shared a giant Greek meat plate!! They are such carnivores!! LOL

The water was so calm and the lights from the restaurants and shops made it glow. In the distance was the Chania Lighthouse. Picture Perfect!