A 25 minutes hike up the hill to Cave Lera above Stavros, near Chania, Crete. The cave and the beach were sets of the movie Zorba the Greek (1964) with Anthony Quinn and his famous dance "Sirtaki".
Back on Crete for a short break from our seven-month-long Covid-19-curfew. We picked fresh mulberries from the trees, climbed up the hill of Stavros to watch sunset from Lera cave, found a dead sea turtle, strolled through Chania's old town and swam in the turquose water of the hidden beach Seitan Limani.
I had forgotten about the Cretan sun in October. But destiny - in combination with a low-fare-airline - granted me another few days of summer in paradise! So I went to the ancient site of Lissos, near Sougia, at the south coast of Crete, and had an unexspected fantastic day with sun, sea, boat, beach, swimming and hiking!
Pink sands, turquoise waters: The bayou of Elafonisi is truly a beautiful beach! But: still too many tourists although it was already September (barely distance - #covid19). I'd never come here in high season. We walked for a good mile through shallow water, passing the crowds, before we found a lovely spot for our own.
Every local, every tourist on Akrotiri knows this hill - although probably only a few might actually have explored its top. Well - I'm still not quite sure whether we were allowed to be here. But the gate up the narrow road was open, I was with a Greek and the distant view is spectacular!
Days 371 to 379: so much time did we already spend on our favourite Greek island, since we started to come here 23 years ago. How do I know? Ask my scrapbook... This time, we actually did nothing else than relax. Which included friends, sun, sea, swimming, diving, laughing, drinking and eating. That was it. Good enough. Who knows, for how long this paradise for us all might continue...
Back on the island at Giorgi's Blue Apts, we enjoyed a week full of sun, sea, relaxation and philoxenia. Here are some impressions to dream about. Next time you come with us? We will again be visiting Crete in September!
Just a few picture memories of another wonderful stay on the island of Crete. Or, as we tend to say: our second home - 'cause we are part time locals, that stay in Chania for two to four weeks every season, while the rest of the year we have to work for our living in Germany... (13 pictures).
Although it's not an insiders' tip anymore, a trip to Loutro on the southern side of Crete is still a captivating experience. Only accessible by ferry, 30 minutes (or 6,10 Euro fee) west of Chora Sfakion, the cosy little village in the hidden bay welcomes its visitors with white house facades, turquoise sea and two small pebble beaches. Slow life here, perfect for relaxation! It was the fourth time within the last twelve years that we took a daytrip there and for sure we will come back another time one day! (13 pictures)
I found Atlantis!
I saw its vagabonded foundations, touched its old columns and I wandered its lost streets. The magic place is located on the peninsula Akrotiri, not too far away from the airport of Chania, between Chorafakia and Stavros. The huge areal spreads in the burning mediterrean sun over dozens of acres: abandonded, rotten, dirty, overgrown. But one can still see the structures of the bold idea, that was behind this compound: to build another waterpark like Limnoupolis on Crete, barely 30 kilometers away from the original.
The guy, who planed this waterpark "Atlantis", son of the owners of a nearby hotel in Chorafakia, wasted lots of time, effort and money from the bank to make his vision come true, but still failed: His waterpark never ran. That was about ten years ago. The ruins of his dreams may not last as long as the historical mansion, I explored last autumn. But long enough to witness this guy's personal Greek dilemma. (28 pictures)
I saw its vagabonded foundations, touched its old columns and I wandered its lost streets. The magic place is located on the peninsula Akrotiri, not too far away from the airport of Chania, between Chorafakia and Stavros. The huge areal spreads in the burning mediterrean sun over dozens of acres: abandonded, rotten, dirty, overgrown. But one can still see the structures of the bold idea, that was behind this compound: to build another waterpark like Limnoupolis on Crete, barely 30 kilometers away from the original.
The guy, who planed this waterpark "Atlantis", son of the owners of a nearby hotel in Chorafakia, wasted lots of time, effort and money from the bank to make his vision come true, but still failed: His waterpark never ran. That was about ten years ago. The ruins of his dreams may not last as long as the historical mansion, I explored last autumn. But long enough to witness this guy's personal Greek dilemma. (28 pictures)
