We woke up early in Heraklion, packed our bags and were out the door by 05h45 in order to return the rental car and make it to the ferry terminal for our boat to Santorini. There were some communication issues from the ferry company about the departure time, but after a bit of delay we were on the (very nice) ferry boat and underway to what is arguably one of the most famous islands in the world.

We purposely chose Santorini as our final stop in the counter-clockwise tour of Greece, renting an private Airbnb for three nights that gave us incredible views of the bay. Once the ferry docked we located a taxi that would take us to the far side of the island, a tiny village called Imerovigli that is literally built into the steep cliffs of the island. With a western facing view, the village is nicknamed "the balcony to the Aegean Sea". By the time we arrived it was nearly noon, and the temperatures had climbed into the low 90s. We located our Airbnb host and walked down the narrow corridors and steep staircases to find our apartment, a white-washed cave-home that was built into the side of the rocky island. Our porch had two relaxing patio chairs and a four person hot tub, and looked as absolutely incredible as it had on the internet when we selected it. For the cost of this place (nearly $700 USD per night due to the peak tourist season visit), we had decided that most of our time in Santorini would be spent on the porch and relaxing in the cool apartment.

We spent the next three days relaxing on the island, visiting the hundreds of little shops, watching sunset in the small village of Oia just a few miles north, and eating the narrow variety of food that Greece seems to offer. Hiking around Oia showed us the famous windmills that the town is known for, as well as the three blue-domed houses that are now world famous. With the cruise ships arriving early in the morning and departing in the late afternoon, we spent most of our days at our apartment soaking in the sun and reading our books, then heading out into town once the crowds had disappeared. There were just so many people confined to these little streets that it not only made it hard to move around, but also difficult to feel like we had any time to ourselves while exploring. I firmly believe that thanks to the advent of social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat, places in these destination cities have become overrun with travelers who just want a single photo alike what they saw online. I'm not saying that I don't do the same sometimes, but it's now at the point where these places (Santorini, Zion National Park, etc) are asking people to not travel there, simply due to the influx of tourists, many with their selfie sticks swinging around haphazardly, overwhelming the infrastructure of the island.

Thankfully the evenings relaxed the crowds and we were able to wander around between restaurants and bars, soaking up the warmth of the night and watching the starts shine overhead. After a whirlwind week and a half leading up to our visit to Santorini, it was wonderful to have nothing to do and nowhere to be. I took photographs of the famous places, and spent a while each day rotating my lens towards different buildings to try and capture a more quiet image of the island; I can only imagine what it'd be like to visit it in the shoulder seasons. The colors of the water, both abundant pools and ocean, shine brightly against the bleach white buildings that stretch as far as the eye could see.  As a gift to myself I didn't write much during our stay in Santorini. It was a fantastic time, and I feel lucky to have visited such a beautiful and unique place.

After three days we got on another ferry, this one far less clean/enjoyable, and took a seven hour ride back to the port in Athens. It was quite the experience and was followed by a cluster of a situation getting to our final Airbnb, a venue that was a disaster in itself, enough that we walked back out the door and on to the Marriott Athens for a comfortable night leading up to our flight home. The next morning we took a pre-arranged taxi to the airport, and after an easy walk through security waited at the gate for our flight to board. West-bound flights from Europe are some of my least favorite, as it all takes place in sunlight and therefore feels like the longest day ever. A quick layover at New York's JFK International put us on a short jumper back to Boston, and we were back home just before midnight. 

With almost a month and a half of reflection, I stand by my initial thoughts that Greece was truly a fascinating place. The variety of construction types, agriculture, people, and living circumstances were nothing short of amazing. We visited twelve cities in fourteen days, drove a few hundred miles through less traveled lands, and saw far more than I believe the average visitor to the country might see. I don't know that it's a place that I'd return to anytime soon, perhaps to traverse the northern part of the country, but otherwise this one adventure was wonderful enough for me.

It's always a pleasure to travel and see the people and things this planet is home to. I think the opportunity to experience different cultures is one of the most special privileges many people have in this world, and is one that everyone should take advantage of in whatever capacity they're able. The easy ability to hop on an airplane, get in the car, ride a bicycle, or simply walk and be somewhere else in such limited time is something we often fail to appreciate. 

I recommend a Greek adventure to anyone who has never been, or anyone who has ever wanted to go. Rent a car and see the places TripAdvisor doesn't list as a must-see, relax on the world-famous beaches of Crete, hike in the wildly varied terrains, and eat as much tzatziki sauce as you can humanly manage. For me, Dani and I have checked Greece off the bucket list and are off to find the next adventure elsewhere, after all, the world is chock full of them to choose from.

Onward & upward,

​Ryan
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​The rainy forecast came true in the early morning hours, pouring water down and shaking the small house with thunder. With no true agenda and no alarms set I woke up around 08h00, packing up my gear and taking some time to work on the blog. We had the car packed just an hour and a half later and were underway, driving through town before reaching the highway. It was fascinating for a few minutes, turning down small village roads and talking aloud about what we saw. This place, like many of the others we’ve visited so far, is tired and run down almost everywhere we look. I’d mentioned to Dani the night before at dinner that looking back at town made me feel as if I was looking at a village in Pakistan or Afghanistan. The tan washed buildings are monotonous and dirty against a dry mountainous background, overgrown weeds and vacant lots filling the space in front of us. It has been like this over and over, visible signs of the recession and government struggles in the country. 

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Finding E75, the two lane highway that runs the length of the island of Crete, I shifted through the gearbox of our little BMW, finding 5th gear sufficient for our speed and the occasional hills as we moved west. Light rain came and went as I weaved around slower cars, passing wherever I wanted or felt the need. I’ve decided that the traffic laws here are non-existent. Cars drive in the lane, breakdown lane, or halfway in between with no rhyme or reason. Some do 40km while others pass at well over 120, moving out into the oncoming lane and accelerating past as many cars and trucks as they can in a single go. While slightly unnerving at the start, I’ve grown more accustomed to it over the last week and have begun doing it more on my own. Today was no exception, and I was having fun navigating us down the road as Dani watched out the window and occasionally changed the song on the radio to suit her tastes. 

Around lunchtime we made it to Rethimno, a vibrant and bustling city on the edge of the sea. We find free parking down on the water and began a few hours of exploration down the narrow streets, passing small shops and restaurants, taking photos regularly and enjoying the welcomed sun shining down from above. As luck would have it, there was a break in the rain for the duration of our time in town, a wonderful gift to us that made navigating the colorful streets overgrown with green vines and saturated blooming flowers so much more enjoyable. We stopped at one restaurant for a snack, choosing a gluten free crepe with chicken, sun dried tomato, and mozzarella cheese to share. The dish was huge, but the chicken was dry which left the entire meal to be disappointing. We paid the check and moved on, back towards the car and to our final destination, all in all walking just over 4 miles during our brief visit to town. 

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On the way out of town we took a twisty route up through the countryside past a small farm that Dani had read about. Their restaurant was closed, but we took some time to explore the stone courtyards that overlooked acres of vineyards and the ocean in the distance. Heavy rain plagued us the remaining 70km to Heraklion, but as we drove down the same coastal highway the storm clouds were beautiful in contrast to the blue grey sea they covered. Our Airbnb was nestled in the heart of the neighborhood nearest to the port, a key location given our early ferry ride to Ssantorini the following morning. The streets were so narrow and cars parked so closely together there were actually moments that our side view mirrors cleared only by half an inch on either side as I eased the clutch into first gear and crawled between the vehicle next to us and concrete buildings on the opposite sides. The apartment we rented was on the third floor of an older condo building, but had a nice view across a city park and windows protected from the rainfall outside, allowing us to leave them open and feel the cool breeze of the afternoon. 

Dinner was found at a restaurant literally right outside our door, an almost-American place born and raised in the States some forty years ago. The fourth location owned by the family, Amalia’s Kitchen had an incredibly diverse menu, including a vast gluten free selection, and served our needs well for dinner. The owner and namesake, Amalia herself, came to visit or table and talked with us about her two decades living in the US, operating the restaurant started by her father in Houston back in the 70s, then moving it back to her hometown in Crete after he passed away. We talked about Boston, New York, Texas, and the restaurant itself before moving inadvertently to the more serious topics of Greece, the housing market, the government, and (lack of) police presence. The most hard hitting fact she gave us was in regards to the vacant mid-construction houses adorning every town, something she says is due to a $60,000 Euro permit fee to finish a home. Much alike a building permit in the US, maybe $125-1,000 depending on where you live, the $60k permit is required for construction but is something that nobody can afford to pay, causing these homes to be abandoned halfway through being built, left to deteriorate without much further action.  The things Amalia told us really hit home just how reliant this country is on tourism, and leaves me with a lot to think about as we go into the final week of this adventure. 

Making the exceptionally short walk back to the apartment we packed in preparation for the early ferry ride to Santorini. Crete has been beautiful and diverse, but I’m really quite excited to see what our next island has in store for us. 
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​When we initially read that Bolis Lagoon was an hour drive from Kissamos, we figured it was a good 40-50km away. As you might imagine, finding out it was a mere 9 miles away came with quite the shock. Leaving the Airbnb I navigated our little Beemer (a car I’m really starting to enjoy) through the quiet town and out around the bay to an area full of farming land, olive trees, and crop fields. There was one other car with what looked like tourists inside, stopped on the edge of the road asking a local for directions which, given the road and time, I assumed were to the same beach we were headed towards. Thankfully our cell phone plans have unlimited international data and we’ve been able to utilize Google Maps since we first got here, so we passed by politely and continued following the little blue digital breadcrumb trail my phone was leading us down. Not much further down the road the olive trees gave way to rocky hills as the  road turned to dirt, cut into the side of the terrain with a jagged and steep cliff as the only thing between us and the deep blue water of Kissamos Harbor. 

We followed along at a comfortable pace, Dani peering out the passenger window and reminiscing about the same feeling of driving up New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Auto Road for the first time last fall, slightly unnerved about the pitch of the slope next to us and her proximity to the edge. Another few kilometers up the road we ran into something I wouldn’t have expected, a pack of wild mountain goats blocking the road. I creeped the car up to them as they reluctantly moved out of the way, allowing us passage towards the beach parking lot. Dust kicked up behind us as we continued on, reaching a small flat area at the end of the long dirt road where we again found ourselves in the company of only a half dozen other cars. The funny thing about this lot was the elevation and complete lack of ocean water. Not one of the blogs we had researched or photos we had seen had ever alluded to the 1.5 mile hike over the mountain at the end of the peninsula in order to make it to the beach. The hike was rocky but somewhat graded over the pass, then began a surprising 500-vertical-foot descent down to the immaculate water below us. The descent itself was done with a makeshift staircase built by the Cretans, a genius move in my opinion to prevent the degradation of the hillside by people traipsing around. The stone “path” probably works wonders to keep everyone in line, though as we descended we saw only two other couples making their way down to the waters edge. 
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​We picked out beach chairs and an umbrella and settled down for some reading and soaking in the sunshine, initially sharing the beach with maybe a dozen people. As the day progressed and sun moved across the sky, hundreds of others arrived by sailboat, ferryboat, and foot, the beach that had been so tranquil again becoming a madhouse. I thought to myself how adventures a few summers back while getting my sailing licenses had allowed me access to beaches the masses simply couldn’t get to, and how privileged I had been to experience that. It seems more and more now that places that were probably once filled with solitude are now known to the entire world with a click of their computer keyboard (we’re absolutely guilty of this too) and filled with people instead. These thoughts lingered on in my mind throughout the day, and around 15h00 we packed up and began the literal hike back to the car. The climb up was a little more difficult in the 90+ degree heat, but we made it back to the parking lot without incident, finding it overflowing with a hundred or more cars. 

It took some convincing to move the mountain goats out from behind our rental car’s shade, but once they were gone and the car was packed we headed back down the long dirt road to town. I was surprised to see even more cars lining the cliff side of the already narrow route, parked as best they could in order to access the beach. Having not eaten, we stopped at an upscale hotel back towards the olive groves and had a small afternoon snack while overlooking the bay from their restaurant deck. As it turned out, our waiter's family lives in the United States and owns a very large Boston-based grocery store chain, Market Basket. He enjoyed conversation with us and even brought us free dessert before we left. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing utilitarian things like laundry and repacking, followed by great naps that brought us right up to dinner time. For simplicity and enjoyment we returned to Maria’s, the same restaurant as the night before, sharing more of the baked feta cheese, calamari, and salmon. Discussing the plans for tomorrow, we’ve decided to head out early driving back east towards Chanya, then on to explore the famous seaside town of Rethimno before making the final push to our Airbnb in the busy port town of Heraklion. 
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