Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been spending most of my time researching my next teaching job, but more on that later. So after finishing my TEFL certification course on October 9, I've basically been on vacation and it has been very nice exploring more of the island and relaxing. Since my hotel/apartment in Hania offered the room for 15 euros a night, I decided to stay there for a few days and take some day trips. My first trip was to Rethymno, a city on the north coast of Crete about an hour east of Hania. The main attraction in Rethymno is the Venetian fort built on a rocky hill above the city. It is supposedly the largest Venetian fort in the world and it was quite a magnificent site. I spent a couple of hours wandering through the massive structure and I particularly enjoyed walking around the outer walls and taking in the impressive views of the surrounding area and the sea (Picture #3). There were also these really cool lookouts built into the walls and of course, I had to climb in one and see what the defenders of Rethymno would have seen many centuries ago from their defensive positions (Picture #4). There were also several cool little churches scattered throughout the complex and one rather large mosque. Modern Greek history centers around the occupation of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent battle for independence and its always interesting to see the two cultures side by side. Many churches were converted to mosques during Turkish rule and this still fuels some rather strong resentment among some Greeks towards the Turks. Anyways, after wandering through the fortress, I made my way down into the town. Rethymno has a Venetian harbor like Hania, only much smaller (Picture #2). I spent some time wandering through the old town and along the modern beach front avenue before making my way to the bus station and back to Hania. Rethymno was very nice. It's a city, but much smaller and more intimate than Hania and the Venetian fortezza was definitely the highlight.
The next day I tried to visit the small mountain village of Fournes. When I got on the bus, the bus driver didn't speak any English and I said Fournes but he looked kind of annoyed with me. So we headed out of Hania and through the beautiful surrounding countryside. We went through a couple small towns and headed towards the mountains. Since I've been travelling by myself, I like to put my headphones on and listen to some tunes as I watch the Cretan countryside go by. So as we go through another town at the base of the mountains, I think that it might be Fournes, but I didn't see any signs and the driver didn't stop so I figured that wasn't it. Well, we started heading back into town and it became apparent that I had missed my stop. I tried to ask the bus driver what the deal was but he just spouted some stuff to me in Greek and I really wasn't in the mood to argue. A student on the bus explained to me in broken English that I had to push the stop button to let the driver know when I wanted to get off. This was news to me as I had taken the bus in Crete before and not pushed the button, but this was the first time I was going to a small village not really frequented by tourists. Anyways, I basically paid 4 euros for a scenic drive through the countryside and decided that wasn't such a bad deal.
My final trip from Hania was to Stavros, a small beach community on the Akrotiri Peninsula 30 minutes outside of Hania. Stavros' main claim to fame is that several scenes from the movie Zorba the Greek were filmed there, including the famous last scene where Zorba and Basel are dancing on the beach. It really is a beautiful beach. It is a small lagoon set back from the sea with a steep rock face and moutains surrounding the far side of the beach (Picture #1). I spent the afternoon wandering around the area and just chilling out, relaxing and reading. During my travels in Crete, when I find a nice quiet spot in a beautiful setting, I really like to just have a seat, stare at the beautiful scenery, and think about all the people that have been there before me. It's also a nice time to just think about life. I actually really do enjoy travelling by myself. It is definitely nice to have someone to talk to, but the peace and quiet and solitude can be nice as well. Anyways, on Friday I had to pack up and leave Hania so the next group could move in. I absolutely love that city and I really enjoyed my time there. It was kind of sad to leave but I know I will return someday. More adventures in the next post!
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