My mate Freddo is dying.

Ever since the tear of the shoulder strap at Tullamarine, another 2 support straps have come off so the backpack shoulder harnesses are hanging on by one woven loop. It's taken only 5 days of use to get to this stage. Pretty pissed off considering Freddo's companionship didn't come cheap at $300. With 20kg of weight pulling at that loop, it won't be long before Freddo eventually kicks the bucket. He's terminal. At least for now he can be used as a wheelie suitcase, but at times I will need to use his backpack capabilities. Need to choose my moments wisely.

Next place on the agenda is Chania, Crete. Located on the northwest corner of Greece's largest island, Chania is a town by the sea that is overrun with fishing boats on the water and ancient ruins on the coastline. Restaurants, bars and hotels fill the rest of the place. The Cretans are staunchly protective of their own cultures, traditions and Minoan history, and so Crete could easily be mistaken for it's own country. Similar to Sicily in Italy.

We walked through the alleyways on the first day and did some shopping. Half of us bought BB guns so everyone's kinda on edge because you don't know when someone will come around the corner in the hotel and make you dance with pellets to the feet.

We managed to see all of Chania Town in about an hour, pretty small. Since there were taxi strikes still running, we couldn't get to any of the more lively areas around Chania with nightclubs and beaches, so stuck in Chania Town for the night. Instead, we went to the local fireworks store (totally legal, no licence required in Greece obviously) and took our 200€ stash of goodies down to the beach for some pyromaniac's delight. Felt like a little kid again! Went back to the bars, enjoyed a quick tequila cocktail and went to bed.

The next day is beach day. Chania has a couple of fairly standard swimming beaches which are a 20 min walk from the town centre. However if you hop on a ferry for half an hour you can see beaches like Elafonisos lagoon and Balos (Google image these NOW), just awesome! Unfortunately it took too long to get there (2 hour ferry) so didn't make it. Instead got a 20 min bus to Platanias beach, hired some lounges and went for a swim in the water. Followed up by lunch and drinks by the pool bar with the DJ spinning tunes made for a relaxing day.

Caught the bus back to Chania after, got a quick gyros with sauce (dijon - brilliant!), and got to bed in preparation for the Samaria gorge hike tomorrow.

Up at 6am, got breakfast, prepared the day pack and got on a bus to Xyloskalo to start the 17km walk through the gorge. The Samaria gorge has historical significance as during Ottoman occupation of Greece, it was one of the only locations that were never crossed by the Turks as the terrain was too rough for the army to traverse. Managed to finish it in around 3 and a half hours, was actually pretty easy without sounding like a cocky b******. The gorge opens out to the southermost point of both Crete and Europe, nothing between it and North Africa. The horizon is just endless deep blue water. Great sight! Couldn't wait to jump in.

Nick and I went for a swim and fishing for sea urchins for lunch, there were heaps but pretty deep. I made a net out of my tshirt by tying one end and filling it with rocks. Managed to free some up off the stony pier frame but were too hard to catch before they sunk to the bottom of the Mediterranean. So went to a beachside tavern to get another gyro.

They didn't have tzatziki, only yogurt. Worst gyro so far by a country mile sadly. Got the ferry afterwards to Sfakia (small village) where we caught the bus for the hour and a half trip back to Chania for the last night in Crete. This involved the bus stopping on the side of the road to pick up a lost father and son, making a detour, causing a mini village traffic jam, dropping them off at another bus line and continuing on back to Chania. That's Greece in a nutshell for you - very nice people but no sense of organisation or structure.

Got back, quick double gyro kotopoulo with sauce and carked it in bed. Been a long day and I was sore as s*** after the hike. Wouldn't get any better the next day.

It didnt. Still sore as s*** in the legs. Up at 6am to get the bus to the airport. Breakfast was a roadside spanakopita and a milko. Checked in, arrived in Athens.

Coming up: 3 days in the capital.