There were a few things that excited us about being back in Europe ( in Greece specifically).  Back in our van, with everything at our fingertips and the ability to roam and stay wherever we pleased was probably the biggest thing, but there were others; not fussing with Ramadan food restrictions, back to familiar rules and etiquettes, and just the sense that you were back to a place much more like home.  We’d miss the people from the Middle East, especially their incredible hospitality, the wide open spaces, the exotic feel, and of course, the weather ( always perfect there this time of year, but still a bit cool in Europe ). Nice also to be a little further away from a war zone !

Prematurely departing from the Gulf did complicate our plans in more ways than one – another 2 to 3 weeks there (  the original plan ) would have been ideal and have given us time to complete the sights in ideal conditions. The first issue was that we would now miss those 3 weeks of perfect weather there and, consequently face cooler weather than we had planned for back in Europe ( we’d not expected to be back so soon ). Already sailing pretty close to the wind with expectations ( hopes ? ) of reliable good weather in April, being back in Europe in March would be pushing it. Not unbearable, by any stretch, but certainly not beach weather just yet, even in Europe’s far south. Alas, one must be adaptable, there was little choice in the matter this time !

The other matter to contend with was arranging flights home and securing safe, affordable storage for the van while we returned home for the Canadian summer. Our goal was to be home in May in time for the arrival of grand baby # 2.  Normally we’d do this rather spontaneously ( as is our way ) but the with flight prices skyrocketing due to the Iran situation ( and seat availability shrinking ), it made sense to book flights now ( done, for a May departure ) from a city we thought we could reach based on an itinerary we hoped was reasonable over the coming 2 months. Venturing back to the Caucuses and on to the Stan’s was not going to fit into our remaining time now ( an adventure for another day, perhaps ), so we plotted a loose plan for travels around the northern rim of the Mediterranean, heading west from Greece, still keeping us well south and thus as warm as possible given the time of year. This would involve some ferries ( inevitable ) but would provide us new territory to explore  ( a key consideration ) – the south of Italy, including Sicily, possibly Tunisia, and on to Sardinia and Corsica. We would then exit home from Barcelona.  Fingers crossed, anyway – if the last month has taught us anything it is to keep one’s plans very flexible !

Crete, the furthest south of Greece’s islands, would be our first destination. It is also Greece’s biggest island, though still quite small, similar in size to Cyprus. We’d not been before, it was highly regarded, and being so far south it should be warmer than almost anywhere else in Europe. The fact that it was a major crossroads of several great civilizations, home to beautiful beaches and other stunning landscapes just added to the appeal. A quick look at  ferry options and costs ( for the week we planned on the island ) made clear that it was far more cost effective just to fly over ( only 45 mins ), rent a car and stay in Crete pensions and AirBnB’s. Our van was safe in Athens, so we left it stored for the longer trip ahead. Crete being famous for its tight, curvy mountain roads, a sporty little European manual/standard sedan would be more fun than a campervan anyway.

Heraklion, the capital and biggest city is where most start and so did we. Famed for its Venetian architecture, ruins, old port and especially its strategic fort ( tussled over for centuries by Romans, Ventians and Ottomans ) Heraklion was an enjoyable start to our explorations.

West of Heraklion one travels along the scenic northern coast road, passing Rethymno and historic Chania (the latter definitely the prettier of the two and where we overnighted ). The Chania waterfront and historic Venetian architecture in this port side city are the big draws and we could see why, very easy to explore and soak it up.

 

One of the great natural features of Crete are its beaches, Balos beach at its western extremity among its more famous. Sadly, a rare cloudy and somewhat overcast day diminished its appeal so we moved on. Continuing south, Elafonisis, famed for its shallow waters and unique pink sand was next on our itinerary.  It’s definitely pretty and the pink sand is certainly unique,  though the water was still a bit cold for swimming. 

Our generally anticlockwise direction took us on to the popular seaside town of Palaiochora, probably the prettiest setting for a little town we’d seen so far. Pretty enough that we spent a couple of very relaxing days there. Great restaurants, nice walks, endless seaside views and a very relaxed vibe.

Leaving Palaiochora the relatively “good” weather ended. The sunny days became overcast, the temperature dropped and out last few days there were restricted to some historic sights, mountain vistas and exploring the old towns. Forget any notion of hikes, even ( we really timed this part badly ) – a visit to the famed Samaria Gorge for the full day hike to the coast ( one of Europe’s most famous ) highlighted just how out of season we were. I asked the staffer when the gorge would open ( noticing the “closed” sign across our path ) – “May 1”, he replied, much to our dismay. It was cooler, yes, but absolutely hike-able weather; both ourselves and a very disappointed Polish couple (who were looking for ways to get past the “closed”  sign) couldn’t figure out why the season opening was so late ? I suspect we were not the only ones.

Our final days took us across the central part of the island, east across the south coast to pretty Ierapetra, en route passing through Hora Sfakion, and Preveli beach ( with its spectacular backdrop ). Sadly the weather did not warm up enough to do anything other than admire each of these places and we even got rained on as we wound our way back towards the north coast and the capital, Heraklion.

Our week there seemed to fly by and with more ideal weather we’d have extended our stay. We found Crete easy to travel, much greener than expected ( I think we had imagined it to be much dryer, like Crete was ) and steeped in history. The particularly enjoyable driving experience ( I’d forgotten how much I liked a standard/manual car ! ) went some way to offsetting the lack of beach weather – it’s a place we’d consider returning to but best visited a month or so later than when we did.

Till next week….