Hi everybody! I'm in Iraklion, the capital of Crete. People in Chania warned me that it would be really dirty and crowded and ugly here. I'm pleasently suprised though. It's a big city, but it has it's nice parts, like parks, and cool remains of fortress walls and a big museum.
Tomorrow my new Greek friend, Kyriakos, and I are going to Santorini for a few days. I think that tonight I'm going to take him bowling (when I saw the huge bowling alley near the port I nearly fell over laughing, I didn't think there were any here!) I'm totally gonna kick his butt, then I'm gonna kick his butt at pool, which is upstairs from the bowling alley. I promise to take lots of pictures. Yah yah, I'll take some in Santorini too.
Tootles, gotta go..................K
My dad's birthday is September 4th, which means that he was here on Crete for it. My dad is the kind of guy who is hard to buy for, he has everything he needs, and I am completely unqualified to pick out something he wants. (his main hobby is WW2 radios) So what do you get a guy? A commemerative Tattoo, that's what! Read on for the whole scoop...
The idea came to me while Janel was contemplating getting a mermaid tattooed on her leg. I thought, 'it would really freak the crap out of my dad if I got a tattoo, proclaming to one and all, my love for him'. So we went to the shop and I got this done View image
Okay, it's so obviously henna in this picture, but this was taken a week later. If you can't see it, it's a set of wings and underneath it says 'daddy's girl'. When I first showed everybody, Janel and I put some rouge around it so the skin would look irritated and put a big bandage over it. He was totally fooled for about 5 minutes, and the embarrased, 'I can't believe you actually did this' look on his face made it completely worth it.
After our time in Plakias and Prevelli, we decided to travel along the south coast of Crete by ferry, finally landing in Sougia for some old fashioned, naked beach camping.
We hopped the bus from Plakias to Hora Sfakia and the ferry to Agia Roumelli. View image View image View image View image
Agia Roumelli is the town known for being at the foot of Samaria Gorge, the #1 tourist attraction of western Crete. Lots of people go there, not many stay. We didn't want to either because, WOW was it WINDY! I was worried about the conditions in Sougia, but we landed at the port in perfect calm. Things on Crete change really quickly.
One day, Sarah, Andy and I were walking along the beach when we saw the Belgian from the 'Horny Hippie' in Plakias, he was with another friend, and they were just sort of lying around (which is what everybody in Sougia does during the day, this place isn't for the ambitious). I remembered our somewhat chilly introduction, but I was still polite, and said we'd see them around. I saw them that night as I was hanging out on the town wall with some people I've gotten to know over the years, and we had a nice conversation. Thomas (the one I had met) and Ton told me that their first impression of Janel and I was a little intimidating, Janel came off as mad, and I tend to be a bit brash after drinking. It took me a while to convince them that there were more tolerable sides to our personalities.
Well, the next day I had two new friends, partly due to my undeniable charm (sure) and the fact that their tent was in the blazing sun while I had a nice little set up, with shade and a chair. This was fine by me though, because Sarah and Andy left to walk Samaria Gorge and Janel was back in Chania. That night was their last before going back to Belgium to start the new school year, and they thought it best not to sleep since the bus left Sougia at the ungodly hour of 7am. We did the usual, Bla Bla bar till 2am and then on to Alabama where I could only keep up until 5am. We didn't actually do much drinking, but had a lot of great conversation about our lives and about Belgium and the US. At Alabama, we did some obigatory dancing (actually, it was alot of fun) and met a smarmy Englishman named Steve who was attracted to our conversation by our 'proper English' View image Here's one of Ton (one of the second set of Belgians) and the Englishman, Steve View image
Since Ton was making a weird face in that last one, here's a somewhat better one of him View image View image
The next day was the last for Sarah, Andy and I and it was a good thing, because it was threatening rain, and the wind was picking up. Sougia seems to tell you when it's time to leave. Here's some of our goodbye pictures..
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Come on, don't tell me you actually expected me to put naked pictures up? Children look at this, jeeze!
Since Lisa had her hands (and car) full taking her and my parents around, I got to show Sarah and Andy some of the places I love on Crete. Our first stop was Plakias, a relatively developed south coast town, with it's main attraction (for me) being its proximity to Prevelli beach, a palm lined river emptying into the sea, and this youth hostel I thought would be interesting to check out. We had some times..read on for pictures!
Okay, I'll admit, I was a little selfish when deciding where to take my sister and her boyfriend. I knew the camper-van Belgians were planning on going to Prevelli and I wanted to see them again. But, in my defense, Prevelli is beautiful and I knew they would love it there.
So, we were off on the bus to Plakias to stay at the youth hostel there.
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As I mentioned, I found this place through their website and it just looked like the people who stayed there had really good things to say. I had called the day before to see about availability and the manager, an Englishman named Chris, answered. The conversation went something like this:
me - 'Hi I'm interested in staying at your hostel a few nights with some friends"
him - 'Oh, well, people don't stay here just for one day, they stay for months, or the whole season'
me - 'um, well, they don't have much time and I wanted to show them Prevelli and I heard good things about your hostel' (note my attempt at flattery)
him - 'yes, come here and I can tell you about better things to do than Prevelli'
me - 'I really think my friends would like Prevelli, so we can argue about this tomorrow'
Okay, so I already knew that this guy was 'outspoken' and knew a bit of what to expect. I was still suprised when he refused my handshake and waited for us all to be sitting down to begin his schpeel....
him - "This hostel isn't the kind of place where people come and go, only stay a few nights or whatever. The people here stay for long periods, a few months, the whole season, people come back year after year....'
me - *thinking* 'yah, yah, you told me already, just show us the room'
him - 'We've even had 4 couples who met here, married, and one named their son for me'
I didn't know what he thought we came here for, but I just wanted to sleep there, not 'hook up' with someone, or join his weird commune....
I'll mention, and get back to later, that when we went to the bunk we would be staying in, there was a girl asleep on top of some hippie-looking dred-lock guy (it was after noon).
So anyway, Sarah, Andy and I spent the day at the town beach in Plakias. View image View image View image
Janel caught up to us and we had a relaxing meal by the shore.
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We were (okay, I was) a little drunk and decided to just go back to the bunk because we had an early morning to catch the bus to Prevelli. As I was performing my evening tiolette, I overheard Chris telling someone that the hippie-looking, dred-locked guy had left to try and extend his ticket because, apparently, he had fallen for the girl we had seen sleeping on top of him. When I came out from the wc, Janel was talking to a Belgian guy who seemed none too patient with the drunken likes of me, and the goofy likes of Janel. (I see him again in Sougia part 2, and redeem myself).
Prevelli was gorgeous, and Sarah, Andy and Janel loved it. View image View image
I didn't see the camper-van Belgians, but passed by a campsite that I suspected they had just left. I crossed myself for missing them again (a week prior, I had attemped to find them at Ellafonissos, and failed). Oh well, we got back to the hostel after a grueling hike up the mountain to the bus-stop, and in our bunk, interrupted a 'romantic encounter' between two of the hostel commrads. After my shower, the commrads were having a smoke and I smiled to see that the girl was the same one who, the day before, had enticed the hippie-looking, dred-locked guy into extending his ticket. (the boy was not the h-l,d-l guy)
Leaving the hostel, we christened it the 'Horny Hippie Hotel' and I began writing this entry in my head.....
It's occured to me that not everyone I've met along the way has the time to dig through the whole page if they are looking for pictures of themselves. Also, there are many pictures I've taken that aren't going to be posted here. So, read on if you are in that catagory of people I've mentioned, or if you want to find out how you can access additional photos.......
Looking for specific pictures:
Okay, it's easy. If you are looking for specific pictures that I may have taken, look in the country catagory in which they would be. (ie, Greece) Then find an entry titled with the specific location. (ie, Sougia).
A secondary method would be to look through the 'friends' catagory, which is where I've also filed entries containing photos of people I've met.
Finding additional photos:
I've created a photo file on yahoo to hold additional photos that I'm not posting on this site. This can be found at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/abikulotus76
As always, feel free to email me with any questions. (girl_owl@hotmail.com)
Love,
Kate
This is going to be a late night for me, I have lots to tell and show you. Here, I'll show some pictures from Janel and I in Sougia. (I went back later with Sarah and Andy, see Sougia (part 2) for that)
Here's one of Janel and I at 'Bla Bla', the German bar everyone goes to. View image
One of the Belgians I met (Tim) and I decided to hike to Lissos, which is about 1.5 hrs (ouch, ankle) and puts you into this valley with the ruins of an ancient Greek healing spa, complete with a spring said to have magical healing powers...ooooh.... View image View image
Janel and I left the next day, and here are some pictures of our friends from South Africa (Jack and James) and the 'campervan Belgians' as they will be refered to, since I seem to meet alot of Belgians.
Here's Kevin, Sharon, Vicki and Tim View image
Here's Mon (short for Edmond) and Sharon View image
Here's Mon, Vicki and Tim View image
Their dog, Sitie View image, she was a Greek street dog that they found in northern Greece. They got her shots and are taking her home to Belgium. Vicki is a big animal lover (like me!)
The South African guys were very good friends and even bought the same hat! View image
Here's one of both of them with Janel View image
Janel Showed off her TaiChi skills View image
We were camped in front of the beach shower View image View image
They were all so much fun to hang out with! This is is a big part of why I'm doing this, to make new friends (awww, how cute!)
Okay everybody, last night, my sister Sarah and her boyfriend Andy left and this morning, my parents and aunt and uncle left. Now that I'm not playing tour guide, I have some time to take care of some buisness of my own. Which of course includes catching you all up on some stories. In this entry, I'll write about the arrival of my parents (Dave and Becky) and my aunt and uncle (Hank and Lorraine) who are Lisa's parents. Read on for lots of pictures!...
I left Sougia the first time to meet my folks and aunt and uncle when they came into Chania. We were all really excited since this would be the first time that any of them has come to Crete, Lisa especially, because she couldn't wait to introduce her parents to the life she's built here. We decided to have a 'nerves' drink at a cafe by the airport. View image
Then they finally arrived! View image
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They were exhausted from the long journey, so we took them to the Perle Resort where they would be staying for the first week. Nikko's cousin Maria and her husband own the resort which opened last year, it's very nice, with lots of detail spent on tiling and decoration. We wanted something light to eat, which on Crete means a pile of food on the table. View image
Thanai was really glad to see her American grandparents and aunt and uncle, she had been looking forward to this for a long time. View image
The next evening, Nikko's mother prepared a huge feast at her house to welcome her American in-laws. View image
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We had boureki, spanikopita, misethera cheese, baked lamb, greek salad, along with Nikko's father, Costas' home-made wine. View image View image
After dinner, we had dessert. View image View image
We all spent the next few days relaxing at the resort and then, my sister Sarah
and her boyfriend Andy arrived. After hanging out at the resort with everyone, I took Sarah and Andy to Plakias, where we would stay at a youth hostel I found on the internet that really looked like it would be fun. Read about that in the "Plakias" entry.
Whew, I need a coffee!
P.S. I know alot of the pictures are blurry, but my sense of asthetics won't let me take all kinds of flash shots at night. Obviously one of the other things I need to do now is learn more about the operation of my camera. (see "gear" entry, coming soon)
I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but for some reason, I'm finding it hard to spend my time in front of a computer, I'm sure you feel me. Anyway, I'm back in Sougia right now after a brief jaunt to Plakias and Prevelli. (more on this later)
Last night, Janel and I recieved an invitation from some Greeks here to a big party in a village outside the town. We went, and it was crazy! When our group arrived, (8 of us) we were immediately served beer (12 bottles) and all kinds of food. There was music and lots of dancing. I won a drinking contest with one of the locals (I guzzled a beer the fastest) but he wouldn't accept defeat, and continued to challenge me. This didn't improve my attempts at dancing. Needless to say, I feel a wee crummy in the head today.
-just so you know, I'd probably be more inclined to update oftener if you were to add your comments liberally. It helps to think someone is reading this.
More Pictures Coming Soon, Stay Tuned