Yesterday was a beautiful day to be in Greece! Having a
free afternoon before our flight, the group decided to head up the coast of
Crete by to the beach. We were able to take public transportation to a smaller
town and walk to one of the local beaches. Though we did get turned
around in finding a beach, we were able to find one, near the aptly named “Stairway
to Heaven”. Beaches in Greece often cost at least a euro to rent a beach chair,
but we were able to find an almost empty one for free.
From this beach, we were able to enjoy a view of the
mainland alongside completely clear water! My favorite part was that we were
able to see the fish below us as we swam. The sand was far too hot to walk on
barefoot (luckily I had my Chacos)! Being from Kentucky, I have never been able
to experience such a beautiful and serene beach scene. A small shack nearby had
delicious smoothies-- our group drank so many that they ran out of fruit!
Because I'm not a big swimmer, I enjoyed a day of sunbathing while listening to
my favorite podcasts. As school is still in session in Greece, it was a quiet day
for us. We had a group lunch at Zorba’s,
a local restaurant, which overlooked the beach. The food could be considered a
Greek impression of American food (I ate an “Aloha” Hawaiian pizza).
This was one of our few opportunities to enjoy Greece
outside of the cities and museums, and truly this day is what I consider to be
my favorite of the trip. Genuinely, this is what I would consider to be my
ideal day; enjoying the peace and quiet of a Mediterranean beach with a smoothie
in one hand, a cappuccino freddo in the other, and my best friend beside me. The
town that we were in wasn’t as tourist-y as the others we had visited; it had
actual local businesses instead of streets on streets of the same souvenirs. Though
I wish I could have experienced this day many times over, I am excited to explore
more museums tomorrow.
We stayed the whole afternoon and traveled back by bus to
our hotel to check out and go to the airport. Our local guide, Despina, saw us
off on our flight to Athens. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by an hour,
leaving us to either sleep uncomfortably in the airport or play Cards Against
Humanity. After having a late dinner of airport food and oregano chips, we were
able to board. It would take another thirty minutes to take off the
tarmac. We landed in Athens around 11:00 and then sat through the hour drive to
our hotel. Soon, we’re departing for Nafplio, Olympia, and Delphi and I though I’m
not looking forward to the long bus rides ahead, I’m excited to see more of
Greece! The trip is near half over and I’m not ready to go home!