Driving in Crete.

It's the first day of summer so of course we've lost the sun and gained some rain. Not that the garden couldn't do with a good watering and at least the weather was good for half-term.

After taking into account the cost of airport transfers plus any excursions it worked out very reasonable to hire a car for three weeks. Of course we then had the joy of driving an unfamiliar car on the 'wrong' side of the road but it really was worth it.

At the beginning Peter drove as I am not a natural driver and any change makes me extremely nervous. Plus I am aware that I don't have very good distance judgement added to bushes hanging over the edge of roads and the more worrying random concrete platforms (up to 2ft high) in front of village buildings. Not to mention holiday makers wandering across roads oblivious to traffic and random double parking.

The first time I drove the 5km to Elounda I did not get out of 2nd gear and afterwards my hands were shaking. The next time I went further and had to drive along a narrow causeway reached by a steep narrow section (one car wide). The next bit had cars parked along one side and on the other a direct drop into the sea which was pretty nerve-wracking. My strategy was when in doubt drive slowly and if it's more scary, stop. 

However I knew that if I wanted to go riding (by that time I had realised it would be well over an hour's drive) I had to conquer my fears. A few more outings to get used to the voice on Google maps, which has a nasty habit off telling you to turn well before the actual turning or telling you to turn when in fact it is just a bend in the road, my determination paid off.

So, what were the roads like? Not bad actually. 

(Not my photo.)

I did a lot of driving on the new highway running from east to west along the northern coast of Crete. Billions of euros are being spent on the construction of this road and I was often driving through road-works or behind enormous works vehicles. The speed limits changed constantly but I just kept to the same speed as the vehicle in front. Which was generally 20-30km above the limit at any point. (In the UK I am an obedient driver and stick to the speed limits apart from occasionally driving above the 20mph limit Wales has for all built up areas.)

Considering that Cretan drivers have the highest road fatalities in Europe I never felt unnerved by other people's driving though generally the roads I drove on were quite empty. Also for long stretches the wide roads had double lines in the middle and signs for no overtaking, my favourite sort of road. Of course the Cretan drivers took no notice and happily overtook whenever they felt like.

There is a convention that if a car is coming up behind you move slightly towards the edge of the road to let them past and I have even seen older cars or trucks pull right onto the hard shoulder and stop. In all my travels I overtook a few bicycles and scooters and one very old car which was fine by me.

 

This is the switchback I had to use going from sea level 400m up to the top of the mountain. It was wide and although there were many turns it wasn't worrying at all especially as it was almost empty the times I drove up or down.

In general the roads were good,

but often got narrower driving through villages.

Yes, this too is a road and in some villages I had to drive over cobbled roads into a village square (with tables and tourists) and out again through almost as narrow streets.

And then again there are the dirt tracks. We walked along this one on the island at Elounda though people did drive along it as well, and it was what I would call a good track.

And this is a 'good' section of the 2km track that wound its way up the mountainside to the stables. Some sections, like this one had been concreted but most of it was just rocks hard packed into the ground. I crawled along the track doing my best to avoid not just the rocks and holes but the spiky branches overhanging the sides of the road. Not fun at all but the only alternative was to march 2km up the road. 

The first time I returned from the stables I was less than 20km from Plaka when the Google lady told me to turn off the highway to a nearby town. Usually I disregard directions if I think I know where I'm going but this isn't always the best plan so I followed the instructions. To try and make sense of things I pulled over to double check my route, only to find Peter's phone had run out of power. Yikes! I had a road map (being right not to trust technology) and saw it was still 13km to Agios Nikolaos. At that point I had several options, ask a passer-by for help but would I have been able to follow directions? or carry on driving through Neapoli and look for road signs to Ag. N. But what I did was turn around and follow the signs to the highway again. Following my nose I was able to get onto the highway and just had to wait in a one way section where rocks had fallen onto the road. Luckily I recognised the turning off when I got to the city and knew the way back from there. Guess who got an earful about not charging their phone when I got back?

The next day I was making the same journey back when all traffic was directed off the highway into Neapoli. The diversion was very well organised with people standing at every junction showing which way to go. They had even set up a one way system so that traffic heading in the other direction took a different route along the narrow country roads. I happily carried on in convoy all the way to the city where I thought I would let Google take me around the city edge. Bad move. I ended up in a tiny dead end high on a hill behind another car which had also been following Google. A bit of careful manoeuvring and ignoring the phone bleating at me got me back onto my homeward route. Then for some reason Google decided I was going to the island at Elounda and kept trying to get me to turn around but I ignored all instructions.

I ended up feeling confident driving in Crete and should be fine the next time we visit.  

Plaka.

Today here in Borth while it hasn't been exactly sunny it was still warm. The sea was a tasteful shade of duck egg blue and the sky a light greyish blue.

The last bit of holiday washing (handwashing my large silk shirt) has been done and my bags completely unpacked. I've done some gardening, stewed apples for breakfast porridge and gone through the rest of my holiday photos. All this was after a much needed long sleep, a leisurely breakfast and two episodes of The Archers Omnibus. (We did listen to Radio 4 a lot on our Kindles but didn't bother with The Archers.)

Today's post is a general introduction to the village of Plaka where we stayed. We like it so much we hope to go back for longer next year.

The hillside behind Plaka is covered with more holiday complexes many still a work in progress. For the first two weeks there was the sound of heavy machinery carving through the rocks to make an access road for yet more housing higher up. Though constant it was far enough away not to be too intrusive. Plus there was a steady stream of enormous trucks transporting the resulting boulders to .... somewhere else. Again it was just part of daily life and preferable to nightclubs and party goers that you would get in the very popular resorts.

This was our 'home' with our apartment on the left with the open shutters. Next time we will be in the right hand apartment. A mirror image of the one we were in but with a much larger wrap around terrace with enough room for our sun loungers, that catches the afternoon sun. This year we had a small terrace at the front and a second one from the bedroom. That one catches the sun but a tree in the garden was covered with pungent blossom that attracted flies and other insects. 

It was cloudier at the start of the holiday but there were plenty of blue skies later. From our front terrace we watched everything going on up and down the road and even had a tiny view of the sea.

The road - looking towards the mountain and the beach at the far end, just five minutes walk away.

There was a big change at the beach this year, no sun beds for hire. Because most beaches in Crete had their natural beauty spoiled by rows and rows of sun beds and umbrellas on the prime spaces leaving nowhere for people to bring their own towels and/or chairs/beds a law has been passed restricting the sun beds for hire to 30% of the beach. Also they had to be 4m away from the water's edge. That obviously made it unprofitable for the old chap who hired out the beds sitting at his table with radio and three packets of cigarettes. At one end of the beach is an expensive bistro which has beds etc for customers and at the other end there are fancy sun beds for the guests of a complex on the hillside. They had some of the basic sun beds for hire there but E25 for two was a massive hike from last year's E10. 

The beach looked much better but it wasn't so good for us as with his bad knees Peter can't get up from the ground. Through a tip on line I found a shop near Lidl that sold garden furniture and bought two sun beds (with carrying handles) for E70. They were E40 each but when I asked the man if he would do a deal he knocked off E10. Manolis, our host is happy to keep them for us for next year so it was a worthwhile investment and we can use them on the terrace as well. 

Between us and the sea was an area of expensive craft/gift shops, boutiques and restaurants. Everything was open until very late so that people could enjoy the warm evenings and the Cretan custom of eating at 9.00 or later. 

Almost every evening we would have a stroll around and then sit on the bench (below) to watch the Spinalonga lights turning on. We would also watch the lights of the fishing boats sailing around the bay. Sometime there would be yachts moored in the bay and occasionally a cruise boat out at sea. On a couple of evenings there were live musicians playing traditional music at one of the restaurants and one time a group of dancers in traditional costume.

When the Spinalonga lights turn on they are an eerie green gradually turning orange as they warm up. 

What A Journey.

I've allocated the weekend to unpacking and getting all the washing done plus the most urgent jobs. It's taking me a while to get things done as I've been so very tired after the long journey. So far everything has been washed and dried and the bags are slowly emptying of all those extra items needed for daily life. At least we've had lovely warm weather today.

Out in the garden I've sowed some mixed lettuce seeds from a new packet since the ones I sowed before we went away failed to materialise, tied in the happily waving clematis strands, cut back the aquilegia seed heads and put supports in to hold back the hardy geraniums and knautia. 

And now for the trails and tribulations of our journey to Crete.

You might think that having six months to get organised would have meant a smooth journey with little stress. But it was not to be so. A number of things went wrong some of which were due to our unfamiliarity with air travel (each airport and airline seems to have their own system for travelling and this was only the second time we've flown in 40 years,) and one was entirely down to my inattention. 

This is how the journey should have gone -  a leisurely mid-morning walk to the train station where we would catch a train straight to the airport. A short flight to Schiphol, Amsterdam followed by an overnight wait in the airport and a longer flight to Heraklion, Crete. There we would pick up our hire car and after an hour and a half's drive arrive in Plaka in the late afternoon.

Part of the quiet transit area at Schiphol airport. 

 

The clever design of this clock had a workman inside the clock constantly cleaning off the minute hand and painting it in in the new position. It was very convincing.

While Peter dozed in the semi-comfortable chairs (the special recliners were all occupied and I expect had to be paid for.) I watched a little mouse scuttling around the chairs looking for crumbs.

But what, I hear you ask went so wrong with my carefully planned schedule?

To begin with, as we were making our final preparations I double checked our train tickets and saw they were for an earlier train than I had planned for. There followed a speedy sandwich making and a worried rush to the train station which is about 15 minutes walk away, all the time keeping an ear out for the train. We got to the train station where I was greeted by some fellow travellers who informed me that the trains were cancelled. All the trains, due to a derailment. That's not an uncommon occurrence and sure enough there was a coach waiting on the High St. I rushed up and yes it was our replacement bus. We all piled on and off we drove to Mach. There we were just too late for one train but at least that gave me time to walk to the local garage shop and buy a coffee. The next train arrived but it was only to Shrewsbury. From there another bus was waiting to take us to Wolverhampton from where were were directed to a second train and then had to change trains at Birmingham Central. And all the time I was worrying because somehow I only had three of the four ticket printouts. (I had the emails on my phone but how I would find them was another matter.) In the end at no time on that journey nor on the return journey were we asked for our tickets apart from once waving a page at the man at the main barrier who then opened the gate for us.

At Birmingham the check-in process including the new E security checks was relatively easy. A case of queue here, shuffle along, wait and repeat.

There were only 28 passengers on the half-full plane and in an hour we were in Schiphol airport. A huge international airport but at that time of night almost empty and very quiet. We looked for seats without armrests where we could spend the night but all the seats had armrests. Then I realised I had left my small handbag on the plane!!!! The lost and found office was closed but a member of the airport staff went and checked if anything had been handed in but unfortunately not. I had our passports in my pocket but in the bag were - our international driving licences and my UK one (so I would not be able to drive the hire car though Peter possibly could with his UK licence.), my phone, my bank card, a notebook with information about places to visit and a large amount of cash to pay for all the riding I hoped to do. There wasn't much I could do until the airline and the lost and found offices opened in the morning. Eventually after a number of visits to different offices they had a search of the airplane which happened to still be at the airport and hooray! my bag turned up. Minus the cash of course but with everything else which was such a relief. Losing the money wasn't nice but the cleaning staff only get paid a pittance so maybe somebody needed the money more than I did. I was just thankful that I didn't have to start making phone calls to block my card and that there would be no problems re driving. 

But was that the end of our troubles? Not quite. Having spent the night waiting for our onward flight we duly waited for the flight to be called and were then faced with yet another set of security checks with the longest line ever even though we were travelling from one EU country to another. No surprise then that boarding was closed when we got to the gate. The unhelpful KLM staff simply said we should have known what to do and that we would have to find (and pay for) another flight. We were doing our best to do so when Peter spotted a more senior member of the KLM staff and explained what had happened (this was just before I got my bag back) and she got us onto a later flight at no charge. Phew.

By the time we arrived in Heraklion it was dark. There were no problems collecting the car but driving on the other side of the road (for us), tired and in the dark was not easy for Peter. Most of the way was along the new highway which is still under construction and there were quite a few sections with temporary concrete walls right on the edge of the road. It was very stressful having to keep reminding Peter that he was too far over and we were both relieved when we finally arrived in Plaka.

Some lessons learnt and the most important thing was that there was a solution to everything. But what a start to our holiday.

We had a much easier journey back home. I drove us to the airport in plenty of time to check in etc. Only annoying that unlike other airports there was nowhere to refill our water bottles once we had gone through security in Heraklion and I had to pay E3.50 for a small bottle of water. We have decided that neck cushions are not worth the nuisance of carrying them even clipped to our bags so they'll be going to the charity shop soon.

Crete was full of flowers which of course I had to photograph.

Home Again.

We arrived home yesterday night after 16 hours of travelling from our Cretan holiday. Quite an exhausting day but not as eventful as our trip out (details in another post.). Here are just a few photos (from the hundreds I took) to give a hint of what is to come. 

The cooler seas and cloudier skies of the first two weeks were more than made up for by the carpets of wild flowers growing everywhere. Even the roadsides were a riot of colourful blooms on the trees and bushes.

 

My riding adventures took me to a high plateau right up in the mountains where the scenery was absolutely spectacular.

Of course I went riding this morning. I didn't have Tex as it's half-term and he was needed for a number of half hour lessons/ lead rein rides. Instead I rode Betsi, a pretty grey Arab mare. She used to belong to a friend of Iola's who became ill and sadly passed away. Betsi is 18, well schooled and reliable with a typically arab floaty trot which made today's lesson working on bending, corners and some leg yielding relatively easy.

After riding I did the usual shopping and booked an appointment at the dentist. I was due a check up and unfortunately I broke a tooth (my one chewing tooth) on holiday. That's going to be more expense. 

Can't type any more as half the time it's coming out a gobbledegook. Back tomorrow.

Cool.

I was fortunate enough this morning to bask in the sunshine coming through a break in the clouds while drinking my morning cuppa. Sadly the sun didn't last for long and for the rest of the day it has been cloudy and somewhat chilly.

I still spent a lot of the day outside giving the back garden a thorough going over and sowing lettuce and spring onions before heading off on our hols.

 

This morning the gannets turned up plunge diving dramatically right at the end of the garden. As soon as it turned cloudy the fish must have left as the sea birds were nowhere to be seen.

I asked about the beaver and sadly it didn't survive possibly due to drinking too much salt water. I'm wondering if the fact that there was the other (dead) beaver might point to disease or even poisoning.

Another 10 minutes and I'll be off to the Hall for kettlebells. Not my favourite though I get great satisfaction at having survived the session. Wish me luck.

Last night's sunset.

Ta ra for a while.

Bright.

There have been moments of sun today but generally it has not been very warm. I've seen a few terns plunge diving in the distance and in the morning a seal was fishing very close to the beach. (My photo of its head is quite boring.)

After breakfast Peter went down to the boat park to meet up with members of the local council to discuss the removal of the derelict boats, trolleys & kayaks there. This has been an issue for some years but at last something is being done. People will be given 30 days to move their rubbish stuff after which it will go to the dump. Then people who have seaworthy craft will be able to use the space.

While Peter was out one of the rowing club carnival committee came up to the house and we discussed ideas for the carnival and set up a WhatsApp group so that we can keep in touch. Neither of us could work out how to get me back on Spond which is the usual way the club members communicate.

For the rest of the day I've either gardened or did more  research for our holiday. The nearer stables got back to me and they only do 'walk' treks so it will have to be Odysseia stables. As it's an hour's drive into the mountains I used Google street view to familiarise myself with the route. (Love being able to do that.) Not all of it but going through the villages and then up the rough mountain road. I know I'll have a Satnav but being ever cautious I've written down a full set of instructions just in case. The last section reads like something from 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt.' - past houses, over a bridge, ignore brown sign on the left, past chapel on the left, keep on going up, up, up.

Last night's sunset.

Panic.

Cloudy and cooler in the morning but eventually the sun came out for the afternoon. Pretty good for a Bank Holiday weekend.

This morning's RNLI crew training included towing a jet ski, something that's needed with the increasing numbers of  jet skis taken out on the water by inexperienced owners.

Not only did last night's heavy rain give the plants a welcome drink and make it easy to pull out any weeds but it left leaves and petals bedecked with water droplets that glistened like crystals in the morning sun.

I have spent my day working on our holiday itinerary (got to have things written down in a notebook which never loses signal or runs out of power) interspersed with some light gardening and more serious sitting in the sun and viewing the world.

I had one moment of panic when I decided to do a preliminary weighing of my cases and found that one alone weighed nearly 12 kilos! Then I realised I was looking at the pounds not the kilos on the dial. Panic over when I realised it was only 5 kilos. I may even be able to shove my riding boots in my case rather than have to stomp around the airport in them.