Crete – My Escape From the City

Berlin was cool but, to be honest I got bored.  There is tons to do, so much history, and a great vibe.  But, after my friend left I wasn’t coming across people I could hang out with.  All the roommates that I ended up with at the hostel didn’t speak English and I got bored doing everything on my own. So, I checked Skyscanner for my flight options, gave up my last two nights in Berlin, and booked it to Crete!

In my head, my plan was to go Berlin -> Dresden -> Prague -> Vienna -> undetermined stops -> Croatia (arrival approximately in September).  That route is now currently out the window!  Every part of my body was telling me to get back to the coast.  Somewhere near an ocean.  What better place to be than the Greek Islands!

My first event was a hike through Samaria Gorge.  I tagged along with some fellow Americans that were heading out there, knowing nothing about it.  Now I come to find out it’s supposedly the longest gorge in Europe!  It is approximately 16-18km.  I’m finding both distances on the internet.  I’m not sure if one includes the 2-3km paved path from the gorge to the beach and the other does not.  I’m not into gathering travelers trophies while abroad, but hey, I HIKED THE LONGEST GORGE IN EUROPE!

At one point, I felt like I was in a scene from the Lion King, where Simba is under the tree practicing his roar, with nothing but silence and nature surrounding him.  Thankfully there were no wildebeests charging towards us, but it honestly felt like something like that could happen!  Being in the gorge was impressive, awe-inspiring, and made you feel as small an ant.

After hearing what other travelers were doing in Crete, a “must-do” I put on my list was to see Balos beach.  I stayed in Rethymno, near the Old Town and Fortezza.  I absolutely loved being this town, strolling down the boardwalk during sunsets and getting lost in the small streets.  But, this isn’t the best base for excursions in Crete.  Most excursions I considered had me taking the bus to Chania (approximately 60 min), then switching buses for another 1-2 hrs, depending on the destination of choice.  I decided to book an excursion to Balos rather than figure it out on my own via bus.

Fire sticks under the full moon

I booked online and set the date for my 8:30am departure to one of the most gorgeous beaches on the island, and I almost didn’t make my excursion haha!

We got word that night of a full moon party that is held in some remote gorge.  The guy that told us had trouble getting in touch with the guy that told him, in order to get us directions.  So we took it upon ourselves to ask people around town.  We came across some locals in the square that gave us the most vague directions I’ve ever heard in my life, but hey I guess that’s how it goes when you’re going to some rave party in the middle of some gorge.

I still can’t believe we managed to find it.  I’ve come to find a mixture of taking chances and a dash of luck seems to be the recipe for success on the road.

We stayed up all night at this party, finally starting out walk back home at 6am.  Thankfully we were able to hail a cab when we made our way out to the main road so we didn’t have to walk the entire way.  I know I hiked Samaria Gorge, but I was not interested in a repeat walk that would take me hours.

We  made it back at about 7:30am, giving me half an hour to change, pack, and head to the meet point by 8:30am.

Success! Off to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa!

It was a lazy day for me, considering I had no sleep the night before.  I did nothing but lay around in the lagoon and was surprised I had enough energy to hike up the hill to the Venetian Castle on Gramvousa.  I knew nothing about it.  It just happened to be part of the excursion.  After the rocky climb up we were blessed with spectacular views from above.  I think I got back home at about 8:30pm and passed out for the rest of the night haha!

My last noted adventure was a hitchhiking trip to what I will call, the locals beach. Yes, the beach has its own name and some of you may recognize it.  But it appeared to be locals (and fortunate hitchhikers) only!

To me, this was the highlight of my trip.  This was more fun for me than Balos.  It was nice being in a locals area rather than a place swarmed with tourists.  Yes, I am traveling of course, but it’s nice to get a glimpse away from the well known areas and find yourself in tucked away, hard to reach places.

This last adventure reminded me of what it is to travel, rather than just go around and sightsee.  I had to trust strangers,  make new friends, suck it up and not whine about scaling a cliff like a mountain goat, hide my fear as I cliff jumped, and laughed out lout with Taylor, my hitchhiking buddy, in pure elation that we made it to such a magical place (and not even our intended final destination) as we swam around the cove tasting the saltiness on our lips.  The effort was well worth the reward.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day and it was the best day for me while on Crete.