Week 12 , Hania Crete

Dear Ethel, Family and Friends,

Week 12 means we have nearly been away 3 months. We are now back from the mainland of the Peloponnese after staying with our German friends Ralf and Titia and their 4 year old son Janni. We had an enjoyable time with them in their adorable holiday cottage, barely big enough for all of us but we did fit. They have a fabulous view over the Mediterranean as they are elevated perhaps 300m over looking Stoupa Beach. Water is a huge issue here, however millions of litres of water flow into the sea everyday from the craggy mountainous country side surrounding them. You can see an outlet where the water comes up from the ocean floor from the balcony of the house and can feel the cold and see as it mixes with the sea water as you swim.

We really had a good beach break at Stoupa as Janni was mad keen for the beach and was learning to swim.
The locals all play paddle ball, frisbee, volleyball and generally find the hottest spot they can and lie in it, well we hid in the shade as much as possible. We did a few trips around the local countryside including a trip to spectacular underground caves where you take a 1.5km boat ride through the caves, stunning. Also fire is a big threat here as well. During last year’s summer season one third of the Peloponnese was burnt and as we arrived in the ferry, aircraft were busy scooping water to pour on fires already.

We Caught the same ferry back to Crete on the Wednesday back to Kissamos. We love it in Kissamos, mainly as it is not such a tourist town, and has a friendly village atmosphere. One night on the way back from the internet Cafe, we noticed a band setting up, so sat down at one of the many cafes surrounding the square. Not only did the musicians show up but a dozen dancers in traditional costume. It was a great night and I have made a video (see link). Kissamos also has the best museum we have seen so far in Crete and it is free. It has an amazing mozaic floor restoration and some of the roman ruins are within the building itself. We stayed 3 days in Kissamos and caught the bus to Hania yesterday.

Harnia is another thriving tourist capital as it has a beautiful Venetian harbour and a walled city. We visited the Navy museum today and its Navy week here in Hania so expect another video soon.
We are only staying 2 days and then on to the eastern end of the Island, then on to Rhodes and then Turkey.

All the best for now

Ric & Louise

PS: I updated our Pisca Web album site with our Thailand photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/ethelink

Latest videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrOsVpGV27k

Week 11 Stoupor, Greece

Dear Ethel, Family and Friends,

We are now on the mainland of Greece in the Peloponnese, Its the middle finger of land that juts out towards Crete. We are staying on the western side of the peninsular about half way down. We started the week in Rethymno and moved to Kissamoss at the western end of the town where we got accommodation for 25 Euro a night so even cheaper again and we were staying right on the esplanade again there is a big difference in the number of tourists. The population is only about 8000 in the town and surrounding area. On the Wednesday we hired a car and did a bit of exploring down the west coast of the Island, when we return to Crete in a week or so we will look forward to doing some more travelling like this as you get to see more and get away from the crowds. Wednesday evening we had dinner and watched our ferry come into harbour. It only comes in once a week on the Wednesday and leaves Thursday morning.

The ferry journey from Kissamoss to Gythion on the mainland takes 8 hours but is a large enough to take cars and trucks and stops twice on the way to a couple of Islands. There is a bar and cafe onboard. We were met by Ralph when we arrived and he drove us the 80km or so back to the other side of the peninsular to a tiny town called Stoupor where he and Titia and their son Janni stay in their holiday house. Like the rest of Greece we have seen so far, it’s a beautiful place.

So since arriving here we have been beaching out every day as Janni just loves the beach. It’s been great to have some enforced rest time on our holiday and catching up with Ralph and Titia who we haven’t seen for 8 years. The Euro Cup is on at the moment so I have been forced to drink beer and watch football with Ralph while Louise & Titia drink wine and gaze out over beautiful harbours.

We catch the ferry back to Crete on Wednesday, so will be reporting on our hardships from there.

All the best till then.

Ric & Louise