Heading East on Crete

8 January 2024 – Sitia, Crete, Greece

We eventually left Chania and sailed back to Rethymno to pick up a new anchor shackle we had shipped there, which had supposedly arrived a few days ago. It hadn’t been delivered to the marina but was stuck at the courier’s, so my dad biked to their office to pick it up. When he got there, they told him we hadn’t arrived in time and it had been shipped back, even though we had only been notified that it arrived two days ago. It wasn’t a crucial part, as the swivel we currently have on the anchor functions but causes the anchor chain to twist, so we’re having it delivered to another port where we can hopefully collect it.

As soon as my dad got back, we left Rethymno and travelled to Bali, where we were followed around by a cute but over-friendly street dog.

The next day we sailed to Spinalonga Lagoon.

Off the northeast coast of Crete, Greece

We anchored off a small island which held a Venetian fort and, later, served as a leper colony. It looked very interesting but was closed because it was New Year’s Eve, so we could only walk a little ways along the outside wall. There were a lot of other things to see in the lagoon, so we moved to re-anchor next to the town of Elounda a bit further into the lagoon. There weren’t many fireworks at midnight but we had a good time staying up eating New Year’s cupcakes and longevity noodles. We got distracted watching the last five minutes of When Harry Met Sally as midnight approached and only just made it out on deck in time for 2024.

The next morning, we went on a beautiful hike along the headland beside the town, filled with herds of goats and dried scrub bushes. We passed a place where the rocks sloped conveniently down into the bright blue water, so my mom and Jonas went for a quick swim before we continued hiking.

Abandoned windmills – Spinalonga Lagoon, Crete, Greece

Once we rounded the headland, we walked past a beautiful and deserted cove and decided to take Festina Lente there. It was the perfect place to anchor, as we had access to the hiking path for walking but there were no houses or people around. Jonas and my dad went snorkelling. It was pitch-black that night; there was no moon and the lights from Elounda weren’t that close, so we went star gazing. Jonas and I saw a meteor.

We are currently in Sitia, where we have been for the past few days and will continue to be until the wind dies down. We rented a car and drove to Zakros Gorge, where we did a four hour hike up the mountains then back through the gorge, also called the Valley of the Dead. It was a beautiful walk along a rough red-dirt path dotted with rocks and spiky shrubs. Everything was dried out and brown because, although it is the rainy season, there hasn’t been rain here in four months. There were goats everywhere, which Sirius kept screeching at.

Valley of the Dead hike – Zakros Gorge, Crete, Greece

Down in the gorge, we walked along a dried up river bed and climbed around large boulders. Part of the route involved climbing down a three-metre rock face, for which chains and ladder rungs had been installed. It was fine except for the fact that Sirius can’t jump that far and also can’t climb down a ladder, so my dad had to lift him down in multiple stages. Sirius was not at all pleased about it and kept running away from him. He made it down eventually, though.

The view from inside the Valley of the Dead was beautiful, with cliff faces rising high on each side and the sun setting behind us. We were a bit worried that we would be stuck in there in the dark but we made it back to the car by dusk.

On the drive back, we passed an olive oil factory and were able to watch the olives being loaded into the machine that would transport them to where they would be pressed.

The next day, we drove to Toplou Gorge and did another hike, a much shorter one with a great view of the sea.

We also walked to Toplou Monastery but didn’t go inside. Then we drove to the Vai palm forest, the only one in Europe. We weren’t able to walk through the palm trees but it was cool to drive past them and see them from the beach. It isn’t really known how the forest got there but it could potentially have been planted by the Phoenicians or grown from date palm seeds eaten by Egyptian soldiers when they were in the area.

Festina Lente was docked against the rough concrete wall of the harbour which was fine for the first few days we were there, but then the wind was forecasted to pick up from the south east which would push us onto it so we moved to anchor in the middle of the harbour. From there we had front row seats for the Epiphany ceremony on January 6th, which represents the baptism of Jesus. People gathered in the harbour and the priest threw a cross into the water for people to dive in after. Whoever found it was be granted good luck for the year, though all the swimmers were sprinkled with holy water. A few days later we moved back to the wall for the upcoming north wind.

There is a folklore museum in town which is closed for the season, but we happened to run into a woman who worked there named Areti who offered to show us around. We got a great private tour of the museum, which housed items from the past two hundred years that had been donated by people in the town. It was really interesting to learn about how textiles were produced and woven from local cotton, linen, wool, and silk, and how they were dyed. They also had traditional outfits on display, as well as furniture, farming tools, and kitchenware. We went out for dinner with Areti that evening and ate delicious traditional Cretan food, including raw artichokes, fava beans, and dolmades.

Sitia

Holidays in Chania

Festina Lente