In search of antiquities
We visited almost all the major sights. There are a huge number of monasteries, fortresses, ruins and caves on Crete... We lived not far from Chania and drove to Heraklion, the capital of Crete, along a motorway running along the entire northern coast of the island. The road there is convenient and straight, and only closer to the city it goes into the mountains, so we had to do a bit of serpentine driving. About three hours later we were there.
The Palace of Knossos, built 4,000 years ago (Crete's main attraction), is located near Heraklion. There are many signs pointing to it from the main highway, so it is simply impossible to get lost. The impression of the grandeur of this ancient structure is enhanced by reconstructed sections, for example, the queen's bathroom (in her chambers – the Megaron), the throne room. The building is multi-storey and huge in perimeter, with many terraces. Some rooms have been restored. Wandering through the ruins, you cannot always feel the grandeur of the palace, but the model shown on the ubiquitous posters shows its grandeur well.
The Minoan civilization, which existed on Crete in 2600-1100 BC, left behind completely unusual works of art, household items, toys, jewelry, and ornaments. They are elegant and are not repeated in other civilizations of the Earth. You can actually see them only on Crete. And if you are interested in such antiquities, be sure to visit the largest capital museum – the archaeological museum.
Around Chania
Several more sights are located closer to Chania. A couple of kilometers from the city, on the Akrotiri peninsula, on a mountain stands the Agia Triada Monastery (Holy Trinity), founded in 1634. A little further down the road is the less pretentious but cozier Gouverneto Monastery of the 16th century. Both monasteries are active, and you won't be able to wander inside. But you can look at the church, the cells, and the monastery garden. A monk came out to talk to us; the abbot opened the church for viewing and showed a cell. Then our monk-guide, having asked the abbot's permission, gave our daughter a small icon in the form of a book.
Near Gouverneto the road ends; further you go only on foot. In the gorge, an hour's walk along a road built by monks in the 4th-5th centuries AD, there is another monastery – Katholiko. All its buildings are located inside the rocks. On the way to it we also stop at another cult place – the Arkoudiotissa Cave. In pagan times it served as a sanctuary of Artemis. On the opposite side of the gorge, holes in the mountain are visible – refuges of hermit monks.
To Katholiko, a road made of red 'brick' goes with wide steps. Of course, there are no bricks, but it feels as if the steps carved into the mountain are covered with some red powder. The monastery has a 30 m high bridge built at the same time as it. Crossing the bridge, which connects the opposite slopes of the gorge (it is also the main square of the monastery), we descend to the sea. That's another 40 minutes of walking along a path between sheer walls. Very beautiful!
The trail leads us to a rocky bay with exceptionally clear water and underwater caves. Tourists rarely wander here, but no one cleans up here either. We make a short rest stop, eat, and swim. We have no more than an hour for everything, since we don't want to leave the gorge in the dark with a four-year-old child. On the way down, our daughter walked almost the entire way herself; on the way back, she rode on her dad almost the whole way.
In Greece there is... not everything
The next day after such a hiking route, we swim in the Aegean Sea near the hotel, explore the local cuisine and the city, feed fry in a small sea bay – a boat anchorage. Our hotel, like others, does not have its own beach, so you can freely walk far, far away along the line of hotels. Such walks are fascinating because the coastline is constantly changing. The absence of fenced-off areas and free access to hotels allows you to examine them properly.
Opposite our hotel there is a small uninhabited protected island, inhabited only by Cretan wild goats, kri-kri. Landing on the island is prohibited – it is a real nature reserve. Lying by the sea in a deck chair, I spent a long time looking for goats through binoculars but never saw them.
We are on half board, and this allows us to get acquainted with the local cuisine and restaurants. In the restaurant below our hotel, we are often served by the owner – a young guy. Each time, along with the bill, he brought ice cream for our daughter or some unusual and very tasty liqueurs for us, and sometimes he made all these gifts at once. The charge for food is very moderate, and the owner is clearly playing at business, getting great pleasure from it. After showing me how to eat snails, he was simply happy that he could be useful. Mutually, we teach each other languages – he teaches Russian, we learn Greek. All this has a touch of a fun game, and we even sometimes regret that we go to lunch not at his restaurant but to other places to try different dishes and sit in different interiors. In the other restaurants and cafes, the service is everywhere just as good and friendly, and the food is tasty.
There is one important taboo in Greek food. There is no Turkish coffee here. Ordering it is useless and offensive to the hosts. Greeks do not like Turks. But you can order Greek coffee... it is no different in taste from the Turkish coffee we are used to.
The delights of resort life
The next day, past orange groves, we go to the water park. On the way we stop and look at how oranges grow. At the water park, our daughter frightens the Greek lifeguards – she jumps from a three-meter tower. Honestly, not only the lifeguards were scared. But parental pride did not allow us to show how scared we were. And our daughter continued to jump from the tower and ride down high slides, shocking the Greeks with her fearlessness. Then we sunbathed among cacti in a small botanical garden located on the territory of the water park.
In the evenings we go to the amusement park near the hotel (though in such a small place everything is near). The attractions are big battery-powered Jeeps, a sports trampoline, an inflatable trampoline, a dry ball pool, and a huge inflatable mountain. The owner of the attractions, treating us to coffee, told us that he bought this mountain in London for a lot of money. He said that the mountain doesn't pay for itself, but he really likes watching happy children.
How we didn't eat the goose
About an hour's drive from Chania on the road to Heraklion, in the Rethymno region, there is a large, almost round, very beautiful freshwater lake, Kournas – also a popular tourist attraction. There are pedal boat rentals there. If you swim along the shore, you can see a heron, a sandpiper (or something similar with a long curved beak), small turtles, and, of course, fish. Geese wander along the shore of the lake. But there are no geese on the menu of local cafes, which is nice. It's great to take a swim right from the bike – the water is very gentle.
On the territory of the port of Chania there is the Maritime Museum, in which the greatest interest is the collection of models – from primitive boats and triremes to modern ships. My daughter made me tell about almost every one... we barely dragged her away.
In the port you can climb around the fortress, which seems to have grown into some residential and office buildings. Vacationers stroll past fishing boats of all sorts and sizes, drop into cafes that, like the fishing boats, are lined up side by side along the entire embankment.
Almost in the center of the port is the Mosque of Hasan Pasha, and opposite it is a Venetian lighthouse. Horse-drawn carriages are stationed near the mosque waiting for tourists. In general, the archaeological and maritime museum, a small or large Byzantine fortress, a distinctive port with a lighthouse – all this is present in almost every large city of Crete, which for most of the year live in resort time mode.
A look at Africa
Sfakia is the most inaccessible place in Crete. It was famous for never having submitted to any rule, and its inhabitants, often smugglers, are considered true Cretans, descendants of Zeus, whose blood was not mixed with that of foreigners. It is believed that from the mountain road leading to Chora Sfakion, Africa can be seen in good weather. When we went, the weather was good, but a bit windy. Having driven up the mountain, I tried to see Africa. Some shore was visible... But was it Africa... I showed it to my daughter. She had no doubts. Yes, it's Africa. Well, good.
In Chora Sfakion there is a small port, and 12 km from the city there is the Venetian fortress of Frangokastello (14th century). It has not been restored, but it makes an impression, especially from afar. According to local beliefs, in the last ten days of May, early in the morning, one can see a mirage here – a procession of armed horsemen, the Drosoulites ('shadows of the morning dew'), marching from the fort to the chapel located about 50 meters from the fortress. Near the fort there is a gorgeous beach on the shore of the Libyan Sea.
Drivers and roads
The behavior of Cretan drivers is interesting. They don't let you overtake them if there is danger ahead – a turn, an oncoming car, etc. At first I thought they were being spiteful and didn't want to let you pass, but after a couple of unexpected turns in the road and oncoming cars that appeared out of nowhere, I realized that it wasn't spite, but rather care.
The roads are good in most places. We only encountered potholes on country roads and in Chora Sfakion, but it's not a very touristy place – you have to cross over to the southern side of the island through the mountains. The speed limit is dictated by the mountain roads. Sometimes it's scary to drive more than 30 km per hour. On the way to Sfakia there are several sharp-angle turns – you can only see the person coming down or up toward you in a large mirror at the edge of the gorge. Often there is no railing at the edge of the abyss. This significantly increases the amount of adrenaline.
As for the driving side of a vacation in Crete... When I rented a car, the Hertz employee tried for a long time to get an international driver's license from me, but I stubbornly gave him my domestic plastic one. Since I can only explain myself in Russian, he had to give me the car, in essence, without a license.