Plakias

Emma and Bjorn look at the sheep grazing on the hillside while on a hike near Plakias.

We arrived in Plakias in our rental car which we got in Heraklion. At first we had a little trouble finding an apartment to stay. Since it was winter most of the hotels and apartments were closed, and Bjorn and I wanted a place by the beach. We finally got a place a little bit outside of town across from a little beach. There was a well fed cat (we’re not sure if we have gotten used to skinny cats so the cats here seems fat to us or they actually are fat) and two dogs that hung out outside.

The day after we arrived Mom and I went down to the beach to look for interesting stones. It was a small beach with lots of interesting round rocks, and nobody ever came to it. It was sort of like having our own private beach. The nice thing about the beach was that there was a tiny wall of rocks to protect our creations. I made a little village out of flat stones, and I helped mom make some people out of rocks.

After Mom and I came back, Bjorn, Mom, and I went to look for the small library. We went all over town and finally asked for directions. A lady told us we were on the wrong side of town but she couldn’t tell where exactly where it was. So we drove down to the butcher shop and asked another lady where it was. She told us to keep on going on the same road and follow the youth hostel signs. We followed her directions and made it there. At the library there were three overweight kitties laying out front. Bjorn and I petted them a little then we went inside. It was a tiny library and had a small children’s section but I found a book that looked good. Mom and Bjorn got Agatha Christie novels: Death on the Nile, and After the funeral, and I got Bambi.

Kitties at the library in Plakias

In the evening Bjorn and I went down to the beach to play Found (a spoof of Lost). The next day we hung out. The day after that we went on a hike. We went west of Plakias. We started out on a sort of a dirt road. Later in the hike we went off on a smaller road that led off by the ocean. Bjorn and I played around there for awhile. The next day we took a hike north of Plakias. It was in a canyon thing but the hiking trail didn’t go far. Once we finished we drove up a little further up and went inside a little chapel thing. There was a huge key in the door and inside there were a few seats, a bible in Greek, and some candles to light for prayers. We drove up a little further after that, then turned around and went back to our place.

The next day we went back to the library and returned the books we had finished. Mom got some more Agatha Christie books, Hercule Poirot’s Christmas and The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. And I got Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit. Later in the day we went on another hike north of Plakias also. It was a trail with a bunch of sheep by it. The next day we were stuck inside all day because it was raining nonstop. The day after that we left and drove back to Heraklion to take a ferry to Athens.
-Emma