I Missed the Minotaur!

My ferry arrived into Heraklion a little after 8:30pm on Thursday night. I met Anna on the dock and we walked together towards the entrance and were trying to figure out where the bus station was when a local woman went whizzing by us. We asked her about the bus station and she said to follow her because that’s where she was going. We did and were there in less then 5 minutes. We thanked her and bought our tickets to Rethymno then waited for the bus to arrive. We boarded the 9:00 pm bus when it arrived and settled in together for an uneventful hour and a half ride. We just sat and chatted and got to know each other. We arrived into Rethymno’s bus station at just after 10:30pm. The hostel had not given walking directions from the bus stop to the hostel so instead of trying to walk there in the dark with all our stuff, especially as we didn’t know how far it would be, we opted to get a cab and split the fare. It was a short 5 minute drive to the hostel and we got out and paid the driver then went in to see about a bed.

We were greeted by a crowd of people sitting around watching a movie. We met Ivan the Russian guy that ran the hostel. We was very nice and luckily had beds for both of us. He checked us in and we paid for our rooms then he showed us up to the room we would be sharing with each other and 2 other people. Then we got the grand tour of the hostel with the kitchen, breakfast room, patio, and bathrooms. After the tour was over we carried our bags upstairs to our room and settled in a bit. I went down to go to the bathroom and stopped briefly to meet some of the other hostellers. I met Sander a Dutch guy that totally reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger I was almost sure he was Austrian until he told me the Netherlands. Not long after I cleaned up and went to bed and slept wonderfully.

I got up about 9:00 the next morning and chatted with Anna a few minutes before going down to take a shower. I enjoyed the first 3 or 4 minutes of the shower while the water was hot. By the time I got the shampoo in my hair the shower had gone from hot to luke warm and later to cold. So it wasn’t the best I’ve had but I should be used to it now. Once I got out and dressed I met Anna and we chatted and decided to hit the beach today.

The weather was gorgeous the first day and was supposed to turn rainy later in the week so we took advantage of it and we put our suits on and headed out to breakfast on the beach. We grabbed a little map on the way and started walking. On the way we ran into Sander who walked us down to the beach strip. We walked along until we found a menu we liked and grabbed a table with some comfy chairs. I got a ham, cheese, and mushroom omelet with a side of fries and coffee. Anna got a traditional English breakfast and coffee. It was really good and a ton to eat. By the time we left I was full to the brim.

We left the restaurant and walked along the beach, peaking into the stores on the way just to see what they had. We walked quite a ways down until we found a group of chairs that we liked then went and sat down. Unfortunately we had to pay for the privilege of the chairs, so 5 euros for both of us. We paid and sat and chatted a bit before we started reading our respective books. Well, I read a magazine that Julie gave me and I later gave Anna. We went in the water a bit later in the afternoon swam around. I got out before my hair got wet as I just washed it in a cold shower that morning and really didn’t want to repeat it this afternoon.

We left about 3:45pm and walked back to the hostel with a stop for bottles of water and to check our email. I sat and finally wrote my blog for Assisi and did some chores on the net. We left about 2 hours later and walked back to the hostel to take our showers. Then I headed out and called Leon and was able to chat a while with him and discuss what tour company we should us for Egypt. I found a new one on the net called SunEast and I had written them about packages. After I talked to Leon I walked back and met Anna. She had bought a track suit (pants and zip sweatshirt) because the weather was slowly getting cold and she needed something else to wear. She went down to shower and I went down and sat with Sander and Rubin and had a beer. When she was dressed and ready we left to go do dinner. We went to a restaurant Sander recommended, Symposium. I had chicken souvlaki which was really good.

When we walked back to the hostel we found a group of drunken hostellers sitting around the foyer. I even ran into Dan, cute Canadian guy I had met in Athens, who was staying that the hostel too. So we joined the group who was playing a game to do with movie titles and actors. When the game finished the group of us went out to a local Irish pub. It was Claudia from Perth, Dan, Sander, Noelle from Seattle, Cham from New Zealand, Rubin from Wisconsin, Anna and I. We sat and talked and drank. Anna and I split a Magners cider. After a couple of hours and most of the others being pretty wasted we walked back to the hostel about 2:30 and Anna and I went straight up to bed.

I woke up about 6 in the morning and went down to go to the bathroom and ran into Sander on the staircase on the way back to my room. I went back to bed and slept until a little after 10am and went down to get dressed and get ready. When I got back to the room Anna was finally awake. I went down and had a cup of coffee with Sander, Rubin, Claudia, and Cham while Anna got dressed. When she was ready we headed out to find a waffle for breakfast. As luck would have it the restaurant we went to the day before had waffles so we went back there. We grabbed a table and ordered our waffles; mine was with cream cheese and cherry preserves on it. Anna had one with chocolate sauce, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream. After our brunch of waffles we walked back to the internet café and checked our email. I had gotten an email from the tour company with there packages which were much cheaper then others I had seen so I forwarded it to Leon to check out. When we finished up we headed back to the hostel.

During the walk back it started to rain but that didn’t stop us from doing a little shopping. Both Anna and I stopped at a jewelry store and bought fake diamond wedding bands to wear so we wouldn’t be bothered by so many men. I figured it would be a really good idea going to the Middle East. I also did a little shopping for some Christmas presents for people while we walked around. We walked as quickly as possible back to the hostel once the shopping was done and sat out on the patio to say hi to the group sitting out there. When I turned to go back down the outside stairs I slipped and fell on my butt. I didn’t hurt myself but it was a little embarrassing. I didn’t feel so bad because the entire day everyone was talking about how they slipped on the stairs. Anna and I went back up to our room and I changed out of my wet butted jeans and put my comfy pants on. Anna and spent the rest of the rainy afternoon reading her book while I caught up on my journaling then sat and read my book too. It was nice and quiet and relaxing and just the kind of thing I like doing on a rainy day at home.

We surfaced around 6:30 and I put my jeans back on so we could walk over to MamMam’s to get a chicken souvlaki pita. Everyone had told us how good they were so we figured we’d try one, Sander came with us to get one. I got one with no tomatoes (surprise, surprise), it is a pita with tzatiki grilled chicken onions and fries all wrapped up. The guys that work there are crazy busy and its fun just to stand there and watch them whipping those things out. They are super duper yummy and I loved every bit of it. Even more so because it only cost 2 euros, 3 if you got a drink. We walked back to the hostel and sat with everyone for a little while. Before to long Anna and my sweet teeth started kicking in and we walked to a local bakery and each got a pastry. I got one that ended up being way too sweet for me and I gave it to Anna.

When we got back the kids were getting ready to go to the Irish pub for the Rugby World Cup final game, England versus South Africa. Anna decided not to go but I did and the bar was packed. The owner grabbed me a stool seeing as I was one of the only girls in the group. I got another cider and watched the game. Dan, Trace and Rubin weren’t that into it as they don’t watch Rugby being American and Canadian guys. I had learned enough when I was in Ireland to be able to follow the game. I actually like watching rugby more then regular football (normal football not soccer). When the game was over everyone else headed out to another bar and I walked back to the hostel. I ran into Cham who had stormed out when the game was not quite over. He was not happy South Africa won. We chatted for a few minutes then I continued on my way and slipped into bed soon after.

The next morning I got up at about 9am even though I was rudely awakened but the local church bells at 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, and 8:30. I gave up at 9:00 and just got up out of bed. We got dressed and decided since it was a nice day out we would take the bus to Hania and see the famous Venetian city. Once we were ready we walked over to the bakery and had a coffee and pastry for breakfast. Mine actually wasn’t much of a pastry with was a bread thing with ham and cheese in it. It was pretty good and gave me some protein. We walked to the bus station and bought our tickets to Hania then hung out and waited for the bus to arrive. When it did we boarded and settled in for the hour and a half drive. When we arrived in Hania we bought a small map of downtown and headed out. We walked around and did some shopping along a couple side streets. I bought myself a nice small blue leather wallet and birthday presents for my niece and nephew. Once we made it the harbor we found a nice café and sat down and had a drink and chatted. The sun was nice and warm and bouncing off the water in the pretty little harbor. After finished our drinks we walked around the harbor and out along the breakwater snacking on banana chips and dried fruit we bought off a street vendor. When we got back we walked back through a different part of the city and window shopped. We stopped to check our email at a local internet café then walked around some more. Since it was Sunday not a whole heck of a lot was open so we ended up taking the 4:30 bus back to Rethymno.

We got back to Rethymno a little before 6pm and walked back to the hostel. I finally got a chance to take a shower and wash my hair. I gave up that morning as the showers were full, going cold and my towel was sopping wet from a leak in the roof where my towel was hanging during the rain storm. So I got my shower and blow dried my hair and then carried my towel up to hang on my bunk as I could see the next batch of rain clouds starting to roll in. When I was all done and ready Anna and I walked to MamMam’s for another pita souvlaki wrap which was just as delicious the 2^nd time. We walked back to the hostel and ate then went right back out to the bakery to get a pastry dessert right before it started raining again. Once we got back the group decided to watch the movie 300 which Ivan had rented from the local video store. We all piled into the tiny kitchen and watched the movie. It seemed very fitting as we were in Greece and had all visited at least some kind of Greek ruins or museum.

After the movie was over I went up and repacked my stuff into the suitcases. My plan was to get up early and take the bus to Heraklion and store my bags in luggage storage at the harbor then go visit Knossos before leaving on my ferry. I went to bed a little after midnight but was woken up at 4am by the next storm rolling it. The wind was blowing like crazy, knocking potted plant off window sills and throwing open our shutters and door. I think I finally fell back to sleep about 6:30 and slept until about 8am.

I got up and dressed and packed the rest of my stuff. I went out to the bakery and had another ham and cheese bread thing and coffee. I walked back to the hostel and got directions to a travel agency so I could go buy myself a ferry ticket. I walked around as none of them were open that early in the morning. When I finally found one that was open I got my ferry ticket from Heraklion to Athens. I talked to the travel agent and he told me Knossos was most likely closed due to all the rain and it being Monday. He said if he remembered right Knossos was closed every Monday just like the big museums. I thanked him for his help. So with this new information I decided to just spend the day in Rethymno instead of going early to Heraklion and trying to get to Knossos. I gave up going to Knossos and spent the day talking with Anna, Sander, Trace, and Rubin and reading my book, we even did a group outing to the internet café. It rained on and off all morning and luckily there was a big break in the early afternoon. I went and got my last MamMam’s for lunch then at 3pm I said my goodbyes to everyone and grabbed my stuff and walked to the bus station. When I got there I bought a ticket to Heraklion and waited for the bus. When it came I boarded it and slept through the majority of the ride.

When I got to Heraklion I walked from the bus station to the harbor entrance and bought some snacks in the shop. I sat and journaled for a while and then finally boarded the ferry about an hour and a half early. I found my room (I opted for a bed as it was only 10 euros more) with only a little help. I settled into my room and ate my snacks of pretzels and vanilla cream filled croissants and read my book. The ferry left at 8:30, right on time and boy could you tell. As soon as we hit the sea the boat started the rocking. I took some motion sickness pills and prayed they would work. They didn’t within the first hour I was puking everything I had eaten all day. I spent some serious time with the plastic goddess (no porcelain on that boat). I finally curled up in a ball on my bed, again luckily the room was for 4 people but I was the only person in it. I spent the next 7-8 hours wanting to die I was so miserable. The only way I could make the motion sickness even remotely tolerable was to lie on my side on a really hard bed. I just kept switching back and forth, side to side. I laid there listening to the cargo below moving along with the boat and trying to imagine myself anywhere but there. It was the most miserable night of my life and one I never wish to repeat. I slept on and off in cat naps between spurts of rolling nausea. Finally the waters quieted down and the motion tapered off a little about 4am and I was able to sleep from 4 to about 6am. I got dressed thinking we would be getting in at 6:30. I found out from one of the staff on the ship we wouldn’t be getting in until closer to 8:30 so I went back and laid down and slept until about 8am.

At 8am I got up and went out and prepped to get off the boat. I have never in my life been so happy to leave a place. The ferry ride from hell ended at 8:30 when we docked at Piraeus. I will say even with the rain I did have a very nice time on Crete and really enjoyed all the people I met at my hostel. Even though I didn’t get my chance to see Knossos which was one of the reasons I went to Crete it was still a very worthwhile visit. I would go back again just to go get a chicken souvlaki wrap at MamMam’s. So anyone going to Crete make sure to stop in Rethymno and walk towards downtown. When you get past the church turn right and walk through the big gat and a couple doors down on the left is MamMam’s. I had a fabulous time on Crete and thanks to Anna for being such a great travel buddy and roomy. Now I’m back in Athens for a day for one more visit!