South Coast of Crete, Paleochora to Plakias

Sunday 04/09/2006

woke up having had a good nights sleep, despite the fear of a ceiling fan calamity. Parma Ham and fresh orange was our unusual breakfast choice. Once we'd secured our boat tickets we naturally had to spend a frustrating hour looking fruitlessly in various shops so that Chala could buy some bikini bottoms. After endless fannyimg, said needlessness was achieved and we boarded the modest craft for Elafonisi.

Disembarking our toy vessel was interesting, on account of the " jetty " being a couple of pallets cemented to a rocky outcrop, followed by a precarious ( certainly for a blind bat like me ) clamber over jagged rocks and long defunct concrete to the campsite, and the beach. The vast white sands stretched out in front of us, but seeing the prices and lack of enticing grub at the snack bar, our first act was to slog up the hill to a taverna overlooking the bay for a meal.

The food was OK but we were soon itching to get on the Beach so we swiftly ran back down the hill and picked a prime spot with our towels and settled down to relax for a bit. After sunbathing and paddling, I just had enough time to cross the sand bar to to the other part of the islet for the briefest of looks round before we gathered up our clothes and traipsed back to the boat. We saw a tiny sea turtle in the bay prior to setting off, after which point I cleverly managed to get horribly sunburnt in a pattern on my back from resting against the bars of the boat.

After a quick snack on the front we headed back for a siesta, before venturing out to Portofino once again for truly excellent pzza and Pilsner urquell.



Tues 05/09/06

After saying our goodbyes and being packed off with some fresh grapes we caught the 09.45 ferry along the coast to Sougia. The ferry journey was really relaxing and we arrived in Sougia with nothing more than finding accommodation planned. Being essentially a single road and tavernas and accommodation, activities in Sougia are mainly drinking eating and sleeping, so having found accom at Hotel Santa Irina we started to do just that.

It soon became apparent that our hectic schedule so far had not really prepared is for the ultra laid back pace of Sougia, as we waited half an hour for a drink and a snack in the hotel cafeteria. The idyllic beach setting would no doubt have calmed us down over a day or tow but alas I had plans in mind for Chora so we were only staying the one night.

In the afternoon we bought flip flop things and headed to the beach, or gravel quarry as it transpired. After only minutes of exhausting trudging in the shingle we reached a couple of loungers and went for a sit down in the sea. Best described as a swimmers beach, the pebbly shoreline slopes downward quickly, and every incoming wave fills your attire with pebbles and sand. Needless to say our visit was short lived.

After a recuperative slumber on the loungers for a couple of hours we went to cafe Lotos for some friendly and slow service and a drink, before heading to Yanni's. This taverna is tucked behind the Police station with its amusing " rooms for rent " sign on the door. The food was absolutely delicious, but a combination of it being really busy and the relaxed service ethic meant we were driven mad - it took 30 minutes to pay for Christs sake. Impressively, the only other tourist chewing his fist at the counter was a fellow Brit - you can see us a mile off it seems.

We stopped off at Lotos again, spending ages marvelling at and being amused greatly by the mens toilet - which is self cleaning with an unlikely wobbly rotating seat, which, much to her embarrassment, I simply had to take Chala to see. Bed late

Chora and Plakias next time..........