Georgioupoli, Chania, and home

From Matala we headed north to Georgioupoli, another beach town but this one on the northern coast of Crete.  Along the way we stopped for a swim at Kouras Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake on Crete.

Georgioupoli is another quiet beach town.  We had reserved a great room right across from the beach.  The town is very low key and pleasant to walk around.  A river flows through the town to the sea and there were a few fishing boats tied up along its bank.

Moonrise from our hotel room

From our hotel

From Georgioupoli it was a quick drive to Chania, the second largest city on Crete.  Chania has a very lively history dating back to pre-Roman civilizations, and was an active Venetian port in its day.  Now, the old town is packed with interesting monuments, small streets in the old town and many tourists.  We had a tiny apartment on one of the quiet alleyways in the old city.

Old Venetian fortifications

Chania also had a large Jewish community (since the 4th century BCE), and an active synagogue in this building, from the 15th century until 1941.  The synagogue was restored in the 1990s and is again hosting services.

After a day exploring Chania, we flew to Athens, spent a night near the airport, and then returned to the airport very early in the morning to begin the long journey home.

Sailing update

My brother Dave located and shared this nifty map of the Cyclades, which shows all the islands we visited on the Vitamin Sea.  Some are pretty small so you may need to zoom in on the image.

 

Argyropoulos, Plakias and Matala

Our next stop on Crete was the small village of Argyropoulos.  It's very small, but historic with buildings that date to the Roman and Venetian eras.  We had a nice apartment in a building dating to the 1500s.  Along one of the streets in town there is a section of mosaic flooring left over from the 3rd century.  Down a steep path below the village are lovely springs and waterfalls with several nice tavernas.

Argyropoulos

Entrance of a Venetian house

Mosaic floor

Next day we headed to the southern coast of Crete to the beach town of Plakias.  We had a great apartment just across the street from a good swimming and snorkeling beach.  A very relaxing spot to spend a couple of days.

View from our apartment in Plakias

Saying hello to Stefano

Greece and Crete especially were experiencing a heat wave; temps were in the mid to high 90s every day. We were having so much fun beaching that we went next to Matala, another beach town a bit east on the southern coast.  It seemed that each time we drove through central Crete the road passed through Spili, so each time we stopped to refill our water bottles at the spring and say hello to our host there, Stefano.

Matala has a history as a hippie hangout in the sixties (Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens apparently spent time there), and the town still tries to capitalize on that counterculture heritage.  We spent part of one day on the main beach in town, and the second day we walked about a half hour to the quieter Red Beach. 

Matala and the main beach in town

Red beach

Our departure day was a Sunday, but our host told us to stick around for the annual street painting.  The town lays out a grid downtown and assigns sections to various groups and individuals, hands out free paint, and turns people loose to create whatever they want.  We spent the morning walking around and watching the painting before hitting the road.

Last day sailing, and on to Crete

From Naxos we motored in light winds back to our starting point on Paros.  We stopped along the way for a nice swim off the boat and to the beach at Naousa Bay, near the lighthouse at the northern end of Paros, and were back in port by early afternoon.

Our merry band enjoyed a final dinner together in Parikia before heading our separate ways the following morning.  While all the others flew home, Ellen and I boarded a ferry for Heraklion, on the island of Crete, for the next phase of our trip.  We walked about 25 minutes from the ferry terminal to our hotel in the old section, and spent the evening walking around the very lively city.

In the morning we picked up our rental car and headed to the nearby sprawling archaeological site of Knossos.  This Minoan religious site dates to around 1900 BCE, but the site was occupied from 7000 BCE.  Excavation only began around 1900.

After a couple of hours touring Knossos we continued south to the mountain village of Spili.  It's a delightful place, with a large fountain of drinking water in the main plaza, lots of restaurants and shops (tourist buses come for day trips) and steep alleyways.  One of those narrow alleys led sharply uphill to the small apartment we'd rented.

View from our apartment in Spili

Fresh spring water in the town square

Next day we drove a short way to hike the Patsos Gorge.  This was an awesome hike.  It started off fairly mellow to a small sanctuary to Saint Anthony (on a site which has been used for religious ceremonies since 2000 BCE).  Judging by all the crutches piled up at the sanctuary, it looks like he's the go to saint for leg injuries.  Shortly after, the route descended steeply into the gorge.  There were ladders, fixed ropes, and wading in water up to our thighs.  

Swimming hole