Day 13 - Relaxing and Getting Nibbled in Chania

On Day 13 we began our first full day in Chania by having breakfast in our hotel. The breakfast spread in the SanSal Hotel is pretty good. They had a wide assortment of sweet and savory pastries, meats and cheeses, eggs, yogurt, veggies, coffee bar, and so on. 

After breakfast we went back to our room and got ready to go swimming. We went down to the lobby and picked up our beach towels and headed out. We walked across the street from our hotel and down the road towards the entrance to the waterfront. There is a stone wall and waterfront area where people can go swimming. It even has a breakwater wall in front of the bay to keep the water calm. There were several groups of people swimming nearby as we arrived. We set our towels on the wall near the rocks and went in for a dip. The water was very clear and we could see little tiny fish swimming around and also the rocks along the bottom of the sea. 

Swimming Area Across From Hotel

We waded out into the water slowly along the slippery stone walkway and out into the water. The water was cool and refreshing. We both swam for a few minutes and relaxed enjoying the view. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better I was shocked by a very odd pinching feeling on my lower back. I jumped up and may have even squealed a little in surprise. "Did I just get bit by something??" I asked Deanna who was swimming near me. I was starting to freak out, not understanding what had just happened when Deanna also reacted shockingly to something that just took a swipe at her skin as well. Fish were biting us! lol. We both decided we had enough and got the heck out of the water for now. 

We went up to our towels and dried off. Nobody on shore even noticed what we were talking about or cared. We decided to go back to the hotel and get some lunch and relax for a bit. The first thing I did was google "biting fish in Crete" and "biting fish in the Mediterranean". Well it turns out that the fish biting swimmers isn't uncommon in the region. The tiny fish, usually sea bream, like to nibble on skin tags, wounds, sores, etc., almost like they are cleaning you. I guess in some situations they can be larger and bite harder, but what we experienced was mostly just shocking, not painful. 

We ordered a couple pizzas, salad, and beers from the hotel. The pizza wasn't bad, but they did mess up our order once and had to fix it. 

After our meal and rest, we decided to go try swimming at the Nea Chora beach which was back over by the Manos restaurant we were at the night before. We went to a public space on the beach and made a pile with our towels and bags. We both waded into the water and immediately noticed all the fish again. I asked someone swimming if the fish bite over here and they confirmed that they do. 

We swam out about 20 feet from shore and not long after that I felt a little hit on my arm. It was much softer than the bites from the other swimming area, but still not enjoyable. We swam a little longer and made a point to thrash about constantly to avoid any fish nibbling opportunities. We gave up after 10 minutes and went back to our room to freshen up for dinner. 

For dinner we went to another recommended place, called Neoria Fish Tavern. We walked out of our hotel and headed East toward the Chania marina area and restaurants. We took a moment to enjoy the amazing vibes and views that this part of Chania holds. It's so lovely at sunset. 

The restaurant is located beyond all the main tourist stops and at the end of the line where the boats are docked. We passed full restaurants along the way and really big crowds. The closer we got to the restaurant the less busy things became. That felt promising as we approached our restaurant. 

We sat down and ordered our food. We got a bottle of Chardonnay, stuffed squash blossoms, steamed mussels, fresh fried calamari, shrimp spaghetti, and the mixed seafood grill for one. While we waited for our food to come out we enjoyed watching the cats wandering in and out of tables trying to look cute without begging too hard. 

The squash blossoms were not like I was imagining they would be. They were stuffed but then covered with like a tomato based sauce. They weren't bad, but just not what I was hoping for. The mussels were very good. The fresh fried calamari was pretty good, but they could have been fried a little longer. Deanna liked her spaghetti, but all of the shrimp had full tails on and they were not cleaned. Unfortunately this is very common in Greece. This was a bit of a turn off for her appetite, so she didn't eat all of it. I also don't love having to clean my own shrimp, or even peel them. The mixed seafood grill came out and I immediately regretted it. It was much more than one portion and didn't look great. The french fries were not that crispy. The fried fish were a bit too large for my liking. When I tried eating them they were very bony and tough to get down. I ate a few. There was also a whole grilled calamari. The calamari was not seasoned at all and was very dry and just char grilled. It smelled burned. I also had a side of fried shrimp on the plate as well. These were smaller shrimp that were unpeeled just like Deanna's. I tried eating a couple of them, but they were falling apart in my hand. I think we were expected to eat them whole, but that's also not my jam. At the end of the meal the waiter brought us a bottle of Raki, a nice cake, and ice cream for dessert. 

We took a leisurely stroll along the marina as we went to back to our hotel. Chania is a lovely little place and has such amazing views in the day and night. We passed by the Maritime Museum and snapped a few pics also. 

Our first day on Crete was complete. 

Remember all photos will be linked here: Full Photo Dump

Day 12 - Travel Day - Athens to Chania, Crete

The night before I used WhatsApp to contact the Taxi driver that we had used when we landed in Athens. I scheduled a pickup around 10am on the morning of Day 12. He was outside right on time and we piled into his double-parked Mercedes with the efficiency of a Formula 1 pit crew. And we were off to the Athens airport. Our driver was putting the pedal to the metal on the drive to the airport. 

We got dropped off right outside of the SkyExpress terminal and went inside. We got lucky and there was a very short line for luggage drop off at SkyExpress. We handed off our bags and made our way to the security checkpoints. I was going to take out my stream gear but they told me to just leave all my gear in. So I left my gear in and my bag went through and got flagged again. Typical. Then when I waited for the guy to do the next inspection he just glanced at the screen and handed me my bag. Deanna was not so lucky. Her bag went through and then they flagged it. Then they ripped her entire backpack open and tested her deodorant for explosives, lol. After repacking her bag we headed towards our gate. 

We stopped and had some food at some random deli that wasn't very good. The coffee was terrible too. We then continued to go to our gate and hang out. We were super early, so we had time to eat some chips and drink a small bottle of wine. 

When it was time to board we all loaded onto busses and shuttled over to our small plane. The plane was comfortable and only 2 seats to each side so we had no neighbor in our aisle. Super score. The flight to Chania was less than an hour. During the flight the attendants were sprinting to get us waters and snacks and then right back at it to pick up the trash. Impressive hustle from those ladies. 

When we landed we made our way out of the terminal to the rental car area. I had reserved a car online through some random site with a random company. We were looking for a place called CarWhiz but it was nowhere in the terminal. After searching around we asked someone at the Hertz counter and he told us to go outside and down the road. So we started off down the road towards where we thought it was located and started to see all the flags of rental companies in the distance. 

The walk over there was a bit sketchy. The sidewalk would disappear at times and you'd have to walk in the street on a very primitive shoulder area with your luggage while cars are zooming by. When we found CarWhiz we were on the sidewalk, but the area between the office and us was a dirt hill with shrubbery. I picked up both of our suitcases and just charged up the hill. It was lame. 

When we went inside the tiny portable office, a couple was at the counter paying for damages from crashing their car into someone else's mirror. Yikes. I filled out a few things and we were on our way in our little rental Suzuki thing. I made sure to take a couple pictures of any scuffs or dents on the vehicle. 

The drive to Chania was an interesting one. It felt like we were driving through the desert outside of Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta. After awhile we were above Chania looking down on the port city. It was gorgeous from up on the mountain driving down. We pulled up next to our hotel, the SanSal Boutique Hotel and found curb parking. We went inside and started checking in. The guy working the front desk was really helpful. His name was Manolis and took the time to go through a map of the island to show us his recommendations for swimming, restaurants, and other things to consider. We felt welcomed immediately. 

We took the elevator upstairs to the 5th floor to our room. We walked in and were immediately in awe of the view. We had a corner unit, with balcony that opened to the Sea. We also had a window to the West that was in perfect alignment with the sunset on the horizon. 

We noticed we didn't have luggage stands so I called down to see if we could get one delivered. While we were getting settled I went into the bathroom and noticed there was a curtain hanging that was installed for privacy. I went to close the curtain and when I pulled on the curtain rod the entire thing fell from the ceiling. It was quite a disaster. We've been here five minutes and I was thinking we may have to leave our room now. We can't possibly poop without privacy! I was so worried about this that I walked down to reception to describe the issue. Manolis mentioned he would try to get someone to look at it. I went back upstairs and took photos of the situation and sent them to him via WhatsApp. 

Then I still had to... use the restroom. So Deanna agreed to sit with her back facing me so I could use the bathroom in private. It was awkward and not sustainable, so hopefully they would be able to fix our bathroom curtain. ha ha. 

We freshened up a bit and head down the elevator and out into the street to find some food. We did some research ahead of time about places to eat, but decided to try a recommendation from Manolis at reception. So we started strolling down the main avenue along the waterfront. Along the way we passed the National Aquatic Center, some small restaurants, hotels, monuments, and some street cats from time to time. 

When we arrived at the restaurant, named Manos Taverna, we were seated by the edge of the boat docks. It was a nice view of the water and boats. Just a few feet behind us was the wall of octopus drying out in the heat of the Sun. The octopus are full of water, so it's tradition to dry them out a bit. 

We ordered a Greek salad, fresh calamari, steamed mussels, swordfish kebab and some drinks. All the food was good. My calamari was super fresh and tender. The bonus was that inside my squid was an anchovy or sardine the squid was eating. So I wound up eating that too. It was creepy, but I had to do it. Then at the end of our meal the server brought us a bottle of Raki liquor and a sweet cake with ice cream on top, for free! Apparently it is tradition in Crete to do this at the end of your meal at a restaurant. (This routine would repeat itself at nearly every place we would end up eating for the remainder of our trip). Raki is a pretty strong alcohol made from grape skins and seeds. After the first shot, which is a bit hard to process, it gets smoother and more enjoyable. 

After dinner we went back to our hotel room and put on our swimsuits. We went up to the bar and enjoyed our first swim in Chania and the amazing sunset that followed. 

Remember all photos will be linked here: Full Photo Dump