Crete, day 2

I woke to the sound of the really annoying bells nearby, but snoozed until my alarm went off at 9.30. I got up slowly, with the others stirring. I ate a breakfast bar, got dressed, and faffed around while the others worked out what they were doing, and while I charged my camera battery.

I ended up heading to the fortress at about 11.30. It was interesting, but a bit more explanation would have been useful. There was an art gallery to look at, a really nice mosque, some cool (literally) tunnels, and some amazing views from the ramparts. It was very hot, though. I made my escape, took some more photos, and got some yummy chocolate ice cream. I then bought some seriously good bread from a bakery in a side street, some salami from the supermarket, and some olives from a fruit stall, and headed back to the hostel to eat my lunch off the stiflingly hot balcony.

I left my camera, grabbed my towel and book, and headed for the beach. I walked past the port and the car park, and found a nice bit of beach. Unfortunately, everyone else in Rethymno had the same idea, and I was soon surrounded. The water was very nice, though, if a bit warm. I stayed for about two and a half hours, before having an extremely refreshing fresh water shower and heading back to the hostel for a very big drink.

I had a little rest, had a shower, and rounded up the troops to find some dinner. It was too late by the time we left for me to take the photos I wanted (8pm), so we wandered into town, looked at a few menus, got some cash, and headed for the restaurants to the east of the port. We got sucked in by a guy at the first one we came to, and the consensus was to give it a try (though I was pretty suspicious). The guy showed us a lobster that was still alive (which was quite disturbing) and the catche of the day – which was sea bream and red bream. He took our orders, and wouldn’t let us order any fish that wasn’t the catch of the day. So Todd and I had the sea bream, and Nathan the red bream. Andy had a chicken fillet. Nate and I shared a bottle of sauvignon blanc, which was very nice.

For starters, Nate had grilled octopus salad, Todd had eggplant salad, and I had fried cheese saganaki. We all tried each others’, and it was all extremely good. Poor Andy ordered fried potatoes, which turned out to be chips. He wasn’t very happy. As Nate said, the company was good, and the conversation relaxed and fun.

The fish, when it came, was excellent, and paying extra for the fresh fish was worth it. In a cruel twist of fate, Andy’s chicken also came with chips. He’d joked about the possibility, but didn’t really expect it. We had some raki to top the meal off, and headed back to the hostel, via the ice cream shop. We hung out downstairs for a while, with some beer, until the group got too noisy for the neighbours, so we went upstairs. We chatted to our new Australian roommate, Blair, until late, and until we were asked to be quiet. We said good night at about 1am, and goodbye to Todd and Nate, who were leaving on early ferries the next morning. I slept fairly well.