We Three go to Crete

   

Almyrida Crete

2011

Almyrida is a small village with a pleasant shallow beach nestling in the bay of Souda, with the magnificant  White Mountains in the distance.    The village is growing fast, and evidence of new construction is appearing.  Several shops cafes and taverna’s line the road that runs beside the beach.  The Airport at Chania is approximately 40 minutes Drive away   

Our holiday started around Midnight on June 21^st when our car arrived to transport us to Gatwick Airport for our flight out to Crete.    We had a smooth and uneventful journey, and managed to get some sleep.   We had one pit stop, and arrived around 4.30pm.  Check in was quick and efficient, and we had time to gather newspapers etc from WHSmith, I couldn’t believe the length of the queue but got to the end eventually.   We went through to departures, and duly boarded our plane, quickly settled and took off on time.  We had very comfortable seats, with extra leg space which was a bonus. The usual process of service began and before long we where landing at Chania Airport.  Once the doors were opened we where soon standing on the steps feeling the gentle kiss of the warm air on our skins, and breathing in the fragrance of Greece.   We boarded the bus for our short drive to the airport terminal, and once inside quickly cleared passport control gathered our bags, and out into Arrivals Hall to be met by our Representative, who gave us the paperwork, for our accommodation, and directions to our waiting taxi, a brand new Mercedes.  Once on the road, we enjoyed the pleasant views of sea and mountains, and 40 minutes later we arrived at Villa Artemes, we had a pleasant surprise, because we anticipated that we would be in the lower floor, of the two apartments, but indeed we were shown to the higher of the two with all round views of Almyrida. 

Our accommodation had three bedrooms, one double one single and one with bunk beds; this came in handy to store our cases etc.  Each room had its own balcony with stunning views from each.   A welcome pack of basic groceries, enabled us to enjoy a drink and make a sandwich, we then unpacked, changed into holiday clothes, and made our way down to the village, to pick up necessities like Beer and crisps.   Once back we all had a little sleep, then fully refreshed, we showered, and made ready for our first meal out.  We chose, the first taverna along the road, and enjoyed a wonderful meal of Lamb for Nick and I and Brian had an omelette.   After we had finished, we were served with some fruit and cake, and a little bottle of Raki, so       now we really were on holiday.  We then made our way back to the apartment for some welcome sleep

First Day.  We all managed to have a good night sleep, and woke refreshed and ready for our first day on the beach.  I did my usual morning walk down to the village for fresh bread which we then consumed with butter and jam.  First though we started our meal with fresh fruit, Greek yoghurt and Honey, our staple throughout the holiday.   We then gathered our beach towels, books, puzzles sun cream etc, and made for the beach.  Settled down under our umbrellas, and spent the day swimming, reading etc.  We just snacked on crisps water and fruit for lunch, and had a wonderful lazy day, just watching the world go by.  Around 5 pm we gathered up our things and made our way back to the apartment, to shower, and once we were all clean we sat on the balcony and enjoyed an Amstell Beer.  we then chilled out for an hour or so before we made our self ready for our trip down to the village for evening meal.   This then was our daily pattern until Sunday, when we woke to a not very nice surprise, I thought Brian was joking when he looked out of the window, and stated that it was thick cloud, and no Sun.  Still it was very warm, and after our usual breakfast, we decided to do some shopping, and book a car for the next three days.  We bought the makings for sandwiches, and made our way back to Artemis.  By now, it was getting brighter, and eventually the clouds cleared and we where back to sunshine.  So once more we made    our way down to the beach, and much to Nicks delight, the waves had built up, and we had some good fun playing in the surf.

Car first Day  On Monday after breakfast we all walked down to village to pick up the car, drove back to the apartment, to gather our bits and pieces, and after some discussion, we decided to visit  Lake Kournas a journey of around 30 minutes  On arrival we parked up, and hired a paddle boat for an hour. I  sat back and let the boys do the work, whilst I enjoyed the fun and the view.  It was very different to the last time we did this in 2006 because then it was very dull the Lake looked much different in the Sunshine.  We were fortunate enough to see some Turtles, and spent a while watching and filming them.  By now our hour was up, so we paddled  back to the landing stage, and went to find a taverna to buy lunch.  Once over we had a little walk along the lake shore, then back to the car, and a long ride back to Rethymno, the area that we stayed back in 2006 during our first trip to Crete.  We spent some time on the beach, but unfortunately the sea state made it dangerous to swim, so we just enjoyed a quiet period, enjoying the view, and watching the waves.  I made the boys laugh when I accidently dropped a plastic bag, which was taken by the wind, and I went chasing after it apparently it was quite funny seeing me running over the hot sands in pursuit of my litter.  They roared with laughter when I did a rugby tackle and missed, therefore having to pick myself up and carry on running.  I eventually managed to retrieve the bag only to find my men in fits of laughter at my exploits.  Well at least I didn’t leave any rubbish around did I?   Once I had got my breath back, I paddled my feet in the sea, and walking over the sand I found some treasure, or so I thought, it was a small coin, and it appeared to be dated 1923, but alas, it was much newer than that, and turned out to be coined in 1993, a Greek coin and no longer of value.  It was now time to make our way home, a journey which took less time than the drive out, as we took the main road this time.  We first stopped off at Lidl and bought some groceries, to stock up for the rest of our holiday.  We arrived back home around 6 45 pm and after our shower we quickly changed for our evening in the taverna.

Car Day Two. Today we drove to Palaiochora on the Libyan Sea.  This was a lovely ride through stunning country, high mountains, sea views and white and pink oleanders in great profusion.   On arrival, we gathered our cameras and went to explore. It wasn’t the most picturesque village in Crete, but had pretty little pedestrian zones, with cafés and shops in which to browse.  We walked up to the very pretty church, and beyond there up to the battlements.  Here we had stunning views of the coast.  The ground was covered in a purple flower, which enhanced the blue of the sea and sky.  Lots of butterflies etc made for a lovely peaceful place.  We all took some stunning pictures here.  There are the remains of a Venetian Fort which we explored for a short time.  It was now past Midday and getting very hot, so we made for a lovely taverna overlooking the bay and had a refreshing drink and a light snack.    The waiter had a parrot on his shoulder, which added to the atmosphere.  Fully refreshed we decided to head for the beach and to chill out for a while and although the beach was lovely, when we tried to access the water, we found it to be very rocky and not pleasant for swimming.  So we packed up and drove on further until we found a small promontory, which looked interesting.  Here we found a lovely place to take a dip, and spent an hour relaxing and enjoying a lovely swim in tingling cold clear water.  It was now time to make our way back home, and again spend a lovely evening eating our meal and enjoying the sunset from one of our favourite tavernas.

Car Day Three.  Today we decided to visit a very remote beach  at Sfinara, previously visited by us in 2009.  Once there the road goes nowhere a backpacker’s sanctuary, with a couple of taverna's, a shingle beach, and lovely views.  We were greeted warmly by one of the taverna proprietors, who gave us the use of his sun bed, toilet facilities, and even a shelter to park the car.  We visited the beach first, and Nick and I had some great time in the surf, whilst Brian went off taking photographs.  A pleasant hour or two, lounging and reading, then into the taverna for our lunch I think we all had omelettes and chips with salad.  Once over, we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, and then bade a warm farewell to our host and hostess, and drove home. Stopping off for  picture Shots, at a good vantage point along the road.

The rest of our holiday continued in much the same vein as before, breakfast, beach, etc.  And soon before we knew it was time to pack up and come home.   Our last morning started early Maria decided to start cleaning the downstairs apartment at 6am which woke us up, but the early hour enabled us to enjoy a leisurely start to the day.  Nick came along with me to buy the bread, and with his camcorder on board, we enjoyed a lovely stroll around the village. It is lovely at that time of the day very peaceful and with the sun coming up I think Nick managed to get some nice shots.  So then our last breakfast, before we finished packing, then a last look at the view, and time to trundle the cases down stairs.  Maria came over and eventually managed to convey to us that we must ring our Holiday rep.  Fortunately he rang her at that moment, so Nick was able to speak to him, we thus found out that the Crete Taxi drivers where on a one day strike, so Thomson had arranged for us to be picked up at the Almyrida Beach Hotel and we were to be transported by coach to Chania Airport.  This proved to be a minor inconvenience, and we where soon checked in and waiting to board our plane which arrived on time, and once on board we had an uneventful journey home.    All went smoothly at Gatwick; Doug was waiting for us to transport us home where we arrived around 11pm.

We enjoyed our stay in Almyrida but we all thought that we have got as much out of this area and it is time to look for pastures new.