Santorini was an amazingly beautiful place, but is now well and truly in the rear-view mirror. Now in Crete, Greece's largest island.

The ferry from Santorini to Irakleio was about 2 hours and was a good chance to get some shuteye. The hotel was a short walk from the port through a really dodgy looking area, walls adorned with mass graffiti and stray cats and dogs feasting on food scraps around the bins.

We got to the hotel and checked into the rooms. Pretty old place with retro orange decor and an overweight cranky manager who stunk like he hadn't showered in weeks. The balcony of the hotel gave us a great view of a dilapidated multi-level building across the road. You could hear babies crying and shouting coming from in there, maybe a family of gypsy squatters?

Anyway we went out and got a traditional seafood dinner back near the port. As a gang of 10 benevolent-yet-rough-looking guys, people were making way for us on the footpaths, but not the streets you would want to frequent alone at night. Food was reasonable, but despite the method of writing your own order down on paper, mistakes were still made with what was brought to the table.

A couple of the guys had made friends with some ferry stewards on the boat who were heading out in Irakleio that night. We went to a bar along the coast (much nicer area in Irakleio) and all met up. Place was OK but the steward group (3 girls and a guy) then said to go to a club, so they took us to this s***ty half-full bar around the corner after passing half a dozen places that were packed and pumping with life..bit strange.

Anyway we get waved through the entrance by people at the front to find a table with bottle service and a private waiter. I was convinced that something was up, the guy with the girls didnt say a word, just stood around staring at everyone, and they all had said to only order from their waiter, not at the bar.

I may have been way off, but I think they were trying to take us for a ride that ended with an exorbitant bill. I suggested we left, most of us just put in 10€ and got out while others wanted to stay until what ended up being the early hours.

The next morning we all packed our stuff and are now on the bus to Chania for 3 nights. The night before for the others that stayed back was late, but uneventful. On the menu for Chania is some exploring of beaches like Elafonisos and Balos, and also a bit of quadbike touring. We also plan to hike the Samaria Gorge, a 17km day trek which historically was the only place in Crete that wasn't occupied during Turkish invasion. Will be an early start, 6am bus there to start the hike before the heat kicks in so it'll be an early night tonight. Half our group is sick though, so many won't be well enough to do the hike.

Irakleio was an eye-opener but not really a place I plan to return to anytime soon. I hear Chania is beautiful though, and can't wait to see what the rest of Crete has to offer!