A long drive . . .

Today involved a lot of driving around Crete . . . Some better than others. Our first stop was on the far end of a peninsula. We went on a hike down a gorge, passed some abandoned monasteries, and eventually made it to the sea. I liked this hike quite a bit because there was always something to look at. There were caves, goats, ruins, and the occasional Russian tourist.

The hike began outside a real monastery, which had posted signs saying not to take pictures anywhere along the hike. I found this to be a bit extreme. After I took my first shot and wasn't struck by lightning, I figured that there probably wasn't some hidden bible passage about Jesus being anti-photography. After all, the scenery was too impressive to ignore.

After our hike, we continued southwest toward an elusive beach called Elafonisi. I say elusive because there is no good way to get there. We had maps, but the roads that were depicted in bold yellow (and implied a major road) ended up being a single track dirt road through the mountains. One knows they are not on the best road, when they have to yield to goats.

After a couple hours, we finally arrived at Elafonisi. It is a unique area of pink sand under shallow, clear waters. I strolled out to an offshore island with water barely reaching my knees. It was really an impressive site. The water was warm and blue like a travel promotion.

Sadly, we were a long way from our hotel, and we had about a 3 hr drive ahead of us. Driving on Greek roads is no picnic. Their rules are a little different than those in the U.S. Since there are typically no passing lanes, it is standard procedure to drive on the shoulder to allow the car behind to get around. If you're passing, you're putting your trust in the person who just pulled over to the shoulder, and the oncoming car to pull over to its shoulder. People pass on curves, mountain switchbacks, or whenever they feel like it, so there were some hairy moments. I can honestly say that today was the first time I thought it was a good idea to pass a Fiat on a downhill curve over a double white line. When in Rome, . . .
We had dinner at the same place as last night and same amount of free food. This was actually factored in to our menu choices. We were banking on getting dessert and drinks for free. What is up with that? And to think that it is such a production just to get free bread at California Pizza Kitchen. Shame.

Location:Λαβύρινθου,Heraklion,Greece