Reythemno

Today was a day trip and Safari tour of the island or at least the bit that we could reach from here.

Early we had an early start with a 6:00 a.m. alarm and then went to meet our driver having some snacky breakfast on the way

Our driver, Nikarios picked us up at about 8:00 and along with couple of German girls we headed off to pick a final couple up along the roads towards Chania.

From here our first stop after about 15 minutes was Kournas Lake, a freshwater lake and one of five large lakes in Crete. For driver explained that the lake was quite a lot lower than normal because of the dry weather. There were plenty of paddle boats around the lake and it's clear that lots of people go there for the day to spend time messing around on the water.

We continue climbing from Kournas to a village called Agriopoulis. Here we were told there were five tavernas although when we arrived just after 9:30 it all seemed very quiet. Our driver showed us a video of what it was going to be like in a couple of hours and it looked very different with people driving up from the coast for food cooked on Cretan BBQs.

From here we continued our climb and then went off-road for about 15 km with hairpin bends dusty landscape and some very steep drops. Thankfully our driver was very capable and we survived without incident.

Back on the tarmac and it was now time for the beach. By now we were in the south of the island and the next stop due south was Libya. We arrived just before midday and I had a swim and then we had a beer overlooking the beach before having lunch with the rest of our party served at beach side taverna. Greek salad, tzatziki, pork chicken and bread were served along with a small beer.

After some more time relaxing we started the journey back up on tarmac roads this time but a very windy switchback road across the mountain and back down to the north of the island. I was surprised to hear that the tallest mountains in Crete are over 2,400 m and have snow on in winter.

Before we were dropped back into Reythemno, we had one final stop at an olive oil factory where we saw how they produce olive oil.

We arrived back into Reythemno for around 415 and headed back to our room stopping at a gelato place on the way which we ate on the balcony.

Next we decided to have a look at the beach so we walked about 20 minutes through the alleyways and along the coast till we got to the beach area. Here we had a beer before walking back to the main area and having a drink.

Back to the room for a shower and then we ate in a little taverna a few doors down from the hotel before an early night after a final drink at a local place.Leia mais