Crete, Greece 2018

Our Greek adventure of 2018 began by flying there from Rome to Athens, then to Crete. We landed at the Heraklion airport, which was the closest airport (there are three on the island) to our rented villa. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, having a car is a must. It took us about an hour to drive to our Villa from the airport in our rental van. There are 8 of us, our two sons; one with his pregnant wife and the other with his three daughters between ages 9 & 15.

 

I fall in love with Greece from the moment we got on the airplane. It was apparent from the beginning that the Greek people are very friendly and hospitable. The airline (Agenen) provided us with great food and wine at no cost. Upon our arrival to our Villa, the owner and his translator, Nikos and Manos, had an entire spread of a Greek salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and olives) with raki (a native alcoholic beverage) that they served to us as they told us about the Villa, the towns, the customs, things to do, and answering our questions. We felt very welcomed!

The Villa and the Rose

The Villa was beautiful, located about 20-minuites from the nearest large city of Rehimnon. A three-story home; the main floor had living, kitchen, dining room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The second floor was a mirror of the first which was perfect when traveling with multiple families. The lower floor was the laundry and another bedroom that we didn’t use. There was a large pool and barbeque area, it was beautifully landscaped and surrounded by an olive orchard. We could see the ocean in the distance and every once in a while, you could hear the sounds of the bell wearing sheep as they were being herded by their shepherd.

When we arrived, it was super windy and chilly, as there was a weather front coming in and hovering over the island. We had a few rainy days which was not what we hoped for, but we made the best of it. Each time it rained it brought out the snails each with their own unique shell décor. The white roses shined with droplets of rain giving them an extra bit of beauty. This was my inspiration for the rose painting. My challenges were painting a white flower, the depth of the layers, and the rain droplets.

Several times during our stay we walked along the bay of Rethimnon from Kallithea to Fortezza viewing the distant beauty and the shops along the way. Once in the town proper the cobble stone narrow streets took us in and around the many shops and restaurants which entertained us for hours; in and out of shops, stopping in for a snack, glass of wine or hot chocolate.

 

 

We experienced the indoor market on one of the rainy days. An hour drive to the town of Chania. The market was typical with lots of food to buy ready to eat, food to take home to cook, clothing, treats, olive oil products, everything you can think of. Who doesn’t love shopping? So fun.

 

The Beaches

The four beaches that we visited were; Bali Beach, Preveli Beach, Stavros Beach and Elafonisi Beach and of course the beach at Rethymnon Bay. Each with it’s own unique qualities. There were several other things we wanted to do but with the rainy weather conditions it prevented us from doing them.

Crete is located with the Lybin Sea on the south side and the Cretan Sea on the North side. So you can literally swim in two different seas within one day. And we did!

Bali Beach, a charming small beach with a restaurant and some of hiking giving you a birds-eye view. The water was cool enough that swimming was not pleasant long term. But the laid-back atmosphere and the bay view was very enjoyable.

 

 

Preveli Beach is located on the Lybin Seaside of the island, about a 1 ½ hour drive through many different eco-systems, through mountain tunnels, farmlands and small villages to get there. It’s common to see a road-side stand selling honey, olive oil and raki their three main products along-side the road. Preveli Beach is a popular beach with quite a climb down to it from the parking area and of course back up, but well worth it. The water was a little warmer here and the waves were bigger, so a little body surfing was in order. A well know interesting element of this beach is the palm tree forest that follows the gorge behind the beach. There is a trail through it but because it had stormed it was too full of water for us to go very far. A small snack house provided us with snacks and drinks before the hike back up to the van.

 

 

 

Stavros Beach is where the 1964 movie Zorba the Greek was filmed. Surrounded by a small town and facing a mountain that many people were hiking up, it was a shallow bay but surprisingly not warm either. I think this was our least favorite beach of them all but there is a very nice restaurant called Almyriki that we enjoy a wonderful meal from on their outdoor dinning area.

 

Elafonisi Beach or Pink Sand Beach was a 2 hour drive on the southwest corner of the island. The advice was if you plan to go get there very early to beat the crowds which are bused in for the day. It’s a very popular beach because it’s pink beaches are so sunning. We left at 7:30 am and sure enough we were the first ones there. In an hour or two sure enough the buses started to arrive. The sand was amazing with a pink hue and covered with millions of tiny shells. Again, the water was shallow but chilly and so swimming was not happening but walking along the miles of beach was enjoyable.

 

 

On our last day, we spent some time in the small village of Pigi that was closest to our Villa. We loved walking around the quaint and quiet small dirt streets, a very different feeling from the larger city of Rethimnon. There were not as many shops, mostly homes and a couple of restaurants. We did go into a olive woodworking shop and purchase a few beauties. Then it was time for afternoon drinks and snacks at Taverna Faragi and then dinner at Taverna Poliou House both excellent with lots of charm and friendly folks. It was the end of their tourist season (October) so they had a limited menu but it was satisfying with Greek salad, French fries, and Mousska, Kebabs and Tzatziki and of course Raki. It is tradition to serve customers a lite dessert and Raki on the house after a mea. It’s considered rude to leave before this offering.

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed our stay in Crete and we are all in agreement that we would go back. I do wish we would have had warmer weather so we could have enjoyed the ocean and pool more, both too cold to swim in comfortably but not much you can do about the weather. We loved it there regardless of that, thank you Crete we will be back!

Please start with Week One if you haven’t read it already.

Our last week on Isla Cozumel went something like this; rain, rain, rain…sun, sun…rain, rain, rain…sun, sun. You get the picture we had more rain than sun. This weather pattern definitely affected Dale’s fishing experience. The road that he travels to get to the boat dock is an unmaintained road. The rains create ponds (not puddles) along the way which turns the area into swamps. Having a scooter as the mode of transportation is just not adequate to navigate the situation.

The rain also affects the quality of the water in the lagoons adding too much fresh water and the bone fish don’t like that kind of environment. The life of a fisherman, thinking he had another week of fishing turned out to be only a couple of days.

For me the rainy days made it a little easier to stay indoors and get my work done. Believe me it’s not hard though, capturing a rainbow from the roof top or listening to the waves crash on the shore.

Each time we visit we get to know the town of San Miguel on Isla Cozumel, a little better. The main street called the Megalar runs parallel to the ocean front which makes it a very pleasant stroll or ride any time of the day or night. One of our first observations that we had not seen before was this sail boat, gone wrong, right by the ferry pier and close to the shore. Apparently last January this sailboat called, Lady Arisha, ran a ground in bad weather. The cost of removing the boat is very expensive so the owner renounced his rights and left the island, leaving his sailboat for someone else to remove. The big question is will they remove it or will it just sink right there. They have inspected it for leakage and say it is not leaking. Every time we go by someone is swimming out to it. What else was left behind? Everyone wants to know…

Another mystery is a castle like building at the Puerto Abrigo Marina. The only information that I could find about it was a post on Trip Advisor when someone asked a question, wondering what it was. Sounds like another plan gone wrong when some wealthy guy wanted a place to meet with his mistress. It is intriguing and takes up a lot of land.

 

Along the Megalar and the many side streets you’ll find shops and restaurants, sports bars of different shapes, sizes, and styles.

A lunch time favorite on one of the side streets is Maple Bakery, they offer reshly baked bread and sweets and a delightful lunch menu. Most of the restaurants offer an English and Spanish version of their menu but they only have the Spanish version. Most often I can read Spanish and with the help of Google translate on our phones it’s no problem. I ordered the avocado stuffed (I learned that relleno means stuffed which I didn’t realize before, duh) with a quinoa mix that was very good and Dale a sandwich with freshly baked bread. It’s small with only 6 or 7 tables but it has an inviting atmosphere and super friendly people.

Scootering our way to grocery store we noticed that the police were closing some of the streets and people are gathering along the Megalar sidewalks. It perked our curiosity so we investigated to find out what was going on and found that there was a classic car show or parade about to begin down the Megalar. There was excitement in the air as the drivers got ready for their turn to show off their pride possessions. There were radio or tv interviews being recorded and then all of a sudden, three jets (they looked vintage or classic as well) flew overhead low enough to shake the ground which was the indication that to parade was to start.

 

One of our favorite Mexican foods are tamales. The restaurants don’t have them on their menus. So a couple of years ago we found a woman advertising fresh made tamales for sale on Thurs., Friday and Sat. until they are gone. They are sooooo good. This year we were hoping that she was still selling her goods. Sure enough she was there, and this year she has a sign, too. A real entrepreneur, I love that. She offers chile and cheese, mushroom, pork rojo (red sauce) and chicken mole.We always buy a dozen or so to last the week. She doesn’t speak English but if there is a struggle she calls for her husband who speak fairly good English.

We’ve been on the east side of the island many times but thought we would take a ride out there once again. It’s a nice ride and completely different than the west side. The east side is not recommended for swimming the under tow is unpredictable and many people have drowned there. There is more weather there and it’s more remote. The turtles lay there eggs on that side and are protected by the Turtle Protection Program. The unstable weather made for a very active sea, the waves were large and it was the first time we’ve seen surfers catching waves. We watched them for a while, it looks challenging to say the least.

 

 

Circling back around to town we thought we would grab some dinner before heading back to the north end of the island. We noticed this taco shop and stopped in to try it. I love the simplicity of Cuatro Tacos sign and the way they served their tacos. You got 4 tacos for $8.00. They offer beef, pork, mushroom in a coconut sauce and a special. The mushroom coconut was really good, I had never had that combination before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At our home area of the California Sierra Foothills, we have lizards running around all over the place. We’re use to it. Here on the island, there are these guys running around, iguanas of all sizes. They really don’t run around they kind of lurk and they’re everywhere. This was by far one of the biggest ones I’ve seen. It’s a little hard to get used to but they are harmless. They’re most often camouflaged and are very still so it’s easy to be startled when you don’t see them at first. That was the case with this one, standing on the rock looking at the ocean I didn’t even see him at first.

 

The most common mode of transportation on the island are scooters, colectiveos (small buses used by local workers to and from work), cars, and taxis. Taxis are everywhere and it’s a good thing, they are needed. Every hour the ferries bring people from the mainland and the taxis are lined up ready for business.

One day we came into town to find that the Megalar was closed but the taxis were on the road. It was strange. We parked and walked to the ferry dock to find out what was happening. That’s were we discovered that the taxi drivers had all parked their vehicles in the road to block anyone else from entering. All the drivers were gathered, some where speaking to the group with concern in their voices. We asked some of the drivers what was going on and they told us that they were striking because the government is now allowing Uber to come into the community. They were worried that their business was going to be negatively affected by this.

San Miguel, Cozumel is very colorful at night, the town square is lite up with lights of all colors. The vendors line up to show their wares and the children play in the colorful water spouts of the fountain. Along the Megalar the shops, bars and restaurant lights reflect on the shoreline.

 

Have I mentioned the sunsets? I’ll leave you with one more, it’s a beauty. Now, at home we reminisce of our time spent with the people of Cozumel. If you haven’t been there you should go it is a delite.

This is the second post in a series. If you miss the first week you may want to read it here.

Visiting the same island for a three week period of time every year, could make you wonder what is there left to do or see? Day by day in Cozumel, México has had a different meaning each and every time we visit and this year has been no different.

There are so many wonderful sites on the island to see. There is San Gervasio an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Parque Punta Sur is a 247-acre ecological park, Punta Molas lighthouse and other secrets of the north end and, the turtle hatching on the east side just to name a few of our favorites. But we’ve experienced all those sites and some of them a couple of times.

This year we seem to be very content to just be here with the nature of the island and the local people. Oh, of course there is Dale fishing the lagoons and snorkeling at our favorite spot, Playa Azul, every few days but for the most part it has been low key.

 

 

It’s exciting to see the different fish that live under the depths of the ocean but I really love the feeling of swimming in the salty water keeping you afloat effortlessly. We could be snorkeling for an hour or more but it feels like only ten minutes. The different colors and shapes and sizes of the sea life change each time. Sometimes we get photos of them and sometimes we don’t depending on how quick moving they are.

 

Most days I walk along the beach discovering many things along the way. I find the sea very intriguing with it’s ever changing mood coupled with the quick changing weather. The sun’s out…. no it’s raining, the waves are calm… no they are large and crashing with meaning and authority, all with in an few minutes. Then there is the changing of the tide which causes all kinds of ups and down for Dale’ fishing experience. It’s always different never the same, I think that’s what I like about it.

The critters that I’ve come across have been fun to see too. There are the leaf cutter ants that are amazing to watch as they carry their colorful, large loads to and from their nests. I also, came across a very large crab as I walked the path to the beach. He was moving along the fence line checking to find where that larger hole is that he had been through many times before.

 

The sunsets, wow they are beautiful! Something about a sunset over the water that has a whole different beauty to it than anywhere else. We’ve had some really nice ones this visit. Especially at one of our favorite restaurants Rolando’s which is right on the water. The cloud formations are so interesting to watch. We sat there for hours just watching them. It was a clear night (no rain) with just the right amount of breeze to keep us cool.

 

 

With big black cloud like that you know it is bound to be raining at some point. It does make it interesting when your mode of travel is a scooter although a little rain isn’t bad but if you get caught in a down pour you are quickly looking for cover. Yes, we do have rain jackets but when it’s raining and 75-80 degrees out you really don’t need a jacket but it’s nice not to get drenched.

During one rain storm that came with lot of thunder we looked out our windows and saw an amazing site out to the west. We quickly went to the top of our building (yes it’s like a viewing area up there) and watched the funnel clouds form and then disappear.

 

One of the highlights of this trip and certainly a lucky one, is having the opportunity to visit with a friend who has been a long time resident of the island but has had to move to the states for health reasons. She returned to visit the island for one week only and it was within the time period that we are here, too.

We enjoyed a pot luck at her condo with many of her friends and a day at Buccanos’s her favorite beach resort. She is an amazing person who has done so much for the people of the island. We will hold her in our hearts forever.

 

Click here for week three on Cozumel.

 

 

Isla Cozumel! Have you ever been there? It’s a must!

Over the past 25 or so years my husband and I have been there many times. What’s the attraction you may ask? It started out as the place my husband would fish the lagoons for bonefish. I love travel adventures so I would go along with him not to fish (that’s not for me), but to explore. In the beginning the condos that we rented were on the mainland, in Play del Carmen and Akumal, then take day trips to Cozumel.

For the past 6 years or so we started renting condos in Cozumel most often in the fall, Sept through October for 3 to 5 weeks at a time. Which is enough time to meet and make friends with some wonderful people there.

Last year in search of new adventures and bigger fish we went to the island of Grand Bahama. It was a great trip!  When we returned home my husband received a call from his two Cozumel fishing buddies (aka Tres Amigos the three called themselves) asking if he is well and if we planned to visit. We were touched by that call so we planned a trip.

Fast forward to today, May of 2018…

Our travel day was long but went smoothly with flights from Sacramento to LA then to Cancun. Upon arrival at Cancun we caught the bus for an hour plus ride to Playa del Carmen. From there we get on the ferry to Cozumel. This is called the ‘bag drag’ by locals versus flying straight into Cozumel. Most often it’s the least expensive way to get there.

New adventures are great but there is something to be said for familiarity. As soon as we got on the ferry it felt like we were going home. It was dark by the time we boarded. With fairly rough seas the rocking of the ferry and the wind and mist in our faces was a pleasant reminder of what life on the island is like. Because of our familiarity we knew exactly where to go for what we needed. We took a super quick taxi ride to the grocery store, the ‘Mega’, to grab groceries for the next day and some dinner at the Rock & Java Noodle Bar.

Our adventure for this trip is that we are staying at the north end of the island, a 10 minute drive from downtown where we have always stayed before. In fact it is at the end of the good road. To continue on the road which is almost non-passable would take you to the boat to Passion Island where Dale goes to fish.

We woke up to this beautiful view from our condo and just a minute walk to the beach. Right off I notice how quite it is here, only the sounds of the birds or a fishing boat motoring by. It’s a nice change from the hustle and bustle of downtown.

Over the next few days we continue to feel the warmth of the people as they welcome us back to our home away from home. Cesar at the scooter rental welcomes us with hugs and stories of goings on, José at our favorite snorkel place welcomes us ‘home’ saying ‘Cozumel is in you’ and gives us a locals discount, another waiter named José after taking our order sits at our table with family style conversation and Tony who owns Burritos Gorditos, always with a smile asking how we are, good to see you. His tip jar shows his great sense of humor and the state of the relationship between México and the US.

Oh, and of course there was the Tres Amigos, Dale’s fishing buddies that were so happy to see him and quickly started making fishing plans together.

At the end of the week we just looked at each other and said there is something special about Cozumel. Click Here to read all about our second week on Cozumel.

San Francisco is quite an unique city. It has beauty, art, museums, architecture, sports, diversity, food, drink, adventure, and much more. I love those aspects of this city. Not being far from where I live, about a three and a half hour drive, I try to visit a few times a year. Tasting only a couple of it’s gems at a time.

This trip was no different. We were there to experience an event called México in a Bottle. This event is geared to explore and taste Mezcal and some local restaurant offerings. Before that event, we went to the San Francisco ~ Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for a visit

I do appreciate art very much but modern art is not always my favorite, interesting but sometimes hard to understand or appreciate. However, there were some exhibits that I really could and loved. The first two are 3D installation pieces and the third one is a painting.

Outside there was a beautiful live wall filled with plants of different shades of green. As we walked along there were a nice display of cast iron installation pieces that contrasted against the green wall.

Going from floor to floor I very much enjoyed some signage painted on the walls. A great way to use type in a modern art sort of way.

 

I was so inspired by this installation that I made my own pieces to display in my studio/office. Words to live by. I didn’t have room to frame them bu it was a fun project.