Swimming and Relaxing
Day 2 - Tuesday, July 10 2012
After a sumptuous dinner at Vasilico Restaurant and a great night's sleep, we started our second day with a swim in the pool and then breakfast. It was, indeed, so hard to choose from the wide range of hot croissants and rolls, various kinds of bread, jams, delicatessen and cheeses, muffins, pancakes, waffles, cereals, fresh fruit, sweets and local pies, hot stuff like eggs, baked beans, sausages, crispy bacon all sorts of fruit juices and freshly squeezed orange juice. As it was impossible to have everything in one day, we decided to try a little bit of everything each morning. Soon after breakfast, we strolled around the hotel's grounds and went down to the beach. Although we spent all morning there, I can't say I loved the pebble beach. It was really hard to walk barefoot on the hot pebbles and even harder to step into the water without risking hurting your feet. Many people had special plastic sandals but we didn't. We made it, though, and eventually enjoyed the incredibly transparent sea.
Day 3 - Wednesday July 11, 2012
Due to the heat wave and temperatures ranging from 38-42 degrees celcius all over Crete, the only way to stay cool was swimming, eating fresh fruit and drinking lots of water. Oh yes, and a mohito before lunch at the pool bar was also very refreshing! Lunch was served at Al Fresco Restaurant, not far from the beach and right next to the main swimming pool. The food was very good but what I loved most was their Cretan Salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, boiled potatoes, Rethymno rusk, kritamo (local green), mizithra (Greek sour cheese), olives, oregano and olive-oil, of course. After a short siesta, we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, reading books and listening to music. Dinner under the stars and an aromatic Cretan red was yet another delightful, gastronomic experience. I would really like to thank our waitress, Evangelia and Giorgos, the head waiter, who were always so very polite, friendly and efficient.
Day 4 - Thursday July 12, 2012
Already halfway through our holiday, I could hardly believe that 4 days just flew by without getting bored at all. Alkis and I enjoyed this sweet "far niente" - just doing nothing other than sleeping, eating, swimming, reading but also spending long hours talking - something we hardly have time to do at home after busy work-days. Right after breakfast today, we went for a walk in the village of Kolymbari located in the large bay 23km west of Chania and known for its pure olive-oil and wine.