After a heart pounding race thru the airport to catch our flight, and a way too early wake up call, our family has arrived on Crete. It is the southern most island in Greece and the largest. It is hot 30•C and dry, and the vegetation here is littered with olive trees and a variety of beautiful flowering trees along the roads. The ocean is warm and a beautiful clear blue, we had our first dip yesterday in the warm evening sun-so refreshing!
We are staying in a little town called Almyrida about 35 km south east of Chania, the Venetian town which we will report on in another post. It is quiet and quaint with a seaside village and two beautiful sandy beaches. Our villa is across from the beach where there are little Cretan restaurants and umbrellas to sit under in the heat of day. The rhythm here is laid back and relaxed. Our Greek neighbours were thrilled that us Canadians came and stayed in their little town. He said...Do you know my cousin? He lives in Vancouver! It is a very friendly place.
Our time will be spent well with swims in the Sunshine, hiking thru a gorge, visiting ancient ruins of the Minoan people and eating a lot of Greek cuisine. And not to mention that our bottle of wine was a mere 2 euro for dinner last night. Some things are worth coming across the world for!!!