Crete, day 6

I was vaguely aware of someone moving around the next morning, but I certainly wasn’t awake enough to establish whether it was Blair, or to say goodbye. I was fully awake at 8.30, though, and just lay there until 9.30, when my alarm went.

I sat up, and Keira walked in. I said hello, and she introduced herself nicely. They’d both been very noisy in the room, which was a bit annoying. I packed my bag, spoke to Joe a bit, and then Ivan came in to ask us to vacate the room. Joe went for a shower, and I walked out when I was packed. I left my bag downstairs, checked out, chatted to Ivan, and sat in the paved courtyard (blissfully free from Frenchies) and wrote this diary. I need water. It’s windy, but still hot.

I went out to the supermarket and got a seventh one-and-a-half litre bottle of water for the week, and drank it in about half an hour. While I was out, I went to look at the Hellenic Australian War Memorial, near the bus station, which was an affecting experience. Not just because Robert Menzies said ‘We cannot leave Greece in the lurch’ and all the associated ‘friend in need’ feelings, and not just because the Australians and Greeks seemed to identify with each other and that Greece felt like ‘a piece of Australia towed across the world’ to the Australians, but even just the sight of the lopsided slouch hats made me teary for some reason. Maybe that was because of the photo of my grandfather on Grandma’s dressing table, wearing one. Anyway, the history was very interesting and I photographed everything.

From there, I walked to the beach, getting some strawberry sorbet on the way, and took some photos there, and asked about the cost of sunbeds (€5 for one person). On the way back, I got a very tasty crepe for lunch and then read my book for a while.

Around 3pm, I was on the move again, heading for a proper beach session. The onshore wind had whipped the beach into a decent surf, and there seemed to be fewer people around. I paid my €5 for a sunbed and settled in for the afternoon with my book and another 500ml of (cold) water. I got a bit of colour, and only went in the water once as it wasn’t too hot. The waves were big enough to break over my head at least once.

I left at about 5.30, and headed back to the hostel for a shower – Ivan managed to push me into a cubicle before any of the Frenchies could get to it. Feeling more refreshed, and ready for a long night of travelling, I donated Andy’s beach mat to Ivan and the hostel, and he threatened to use it as a deterrent for ‘the kids’, which was very funny – he high-fived me when I laughed.

I’d intended to get the 6.45 coach to Heraklion, but had misjudged the time, so I went out again to get yet another one-and-a-half litre bottle of water, and some Ion chocolate to take back with me, and a pistachio ice cream from the first place I’d got one on the Monday. I went back to the hostel for the last time, packed up, said goodbye to Ivan – which was sad. I thanked him for being friendly and kind, and he thanked me for being great. We talked about me maybe coming back one day (though I think it unlikely), and he kissed me on both cheeks.

I headed to the bus station, bought my ticket, and took some photos of the lovely sunset. I got the coach with no problems, and from Heraklion bus station walked up the road to get the airport bus. It only took about ten minutes for one to come along. At the airport, I discovered that the flight had been delayed from 23.15 to 23.50. I hung around for ages, bought a baguette, packed my bag, finished my water. At this point I ran into Joe and Keira. They were on their way to catch their own delayed flight, so we had some hugs, and a quick chat.

I went through security (eventually finding the right door), and waited for even longer. We finally got the bus to the plane, and managed to get seated and take off in our allotted slot. The flight was uneventful and mostly very quiet, but we landed at about 2.10am, making me miss my coach. Rather than wait over an hour for the next one, I caved in and called the Moat House to see if they had rooms. They did.

I found a place where taxis were pulled up, and discovered that I had to call to book one. One driver gave me a card, so I called. I got to the hotel with a minimum of fuss, and checked in. Upstairs, I turned on the air conditioning, jumped under the quilt, and slept wonderfully well, waking up just before my alarm at 10.15.