Posted: 7/26/21 | July 26th, 2021
When I was younger, I wanted to be an archaeologist. I was into Indiana Jones, the ancient world, and all those myths and legends supposedly based on “history.” My grandmother loved that stuff, and she instilled in me a love of it too. could King Arthur be real? Did Jesus have a daughter? have aliens checked out Earth? Was Atlantis real? kto vedel?!
But, to my bored early-teen, suburban self, I daydreamed that, maybe as a real-life Indiana Jones, I’d find out.
I was especially fascinated by the Minoans, a civilization that flourished from 3000 to 1100 BC on the island of Crete, peaking from 1600 to1400 BC. They were a powerful society, with running water and toilets and aqueducts long before the Romans. The myths of Minos, the Minotaur, and Daedalus? That’s all from the Minoans. They are also often thought to be one of the possible origins of the Atlantis myth.
Beyond the Minoans, I knew little of Crete beyond what I had gleaned from articles and general common knowledge. I knew it made its own style of wine, a lot of olive oil, was popular for its beaches and, of course, all the historic ruins. but I couldn’t really tell you much a lot more than that and, even those things I only knew in the vaguest terms.
However, two weeks ago, I made my 14-year-old self pleased and stepped foot onto Crete.
Crete is huge, measuring 3,219 square miles, and is the largest island in Greece. With around a hundred beaches, dozens of official hikes, a half-dozen major cities, and tons of ruins, it requires significant time to explore properly.
Sadly, I only had nine days. In such a big place and with so little time, I was only able to scratch the surfiest of surfaces.
But that’s travel and some time is better than none.
This trip, I spent two days in Heraklion, one in Ierapetra, two in Plakias, one in Rethymno, and three in Chania. It was a “highlights tour” of the island.
Even with so little time, Crete lived up to the image I had built up in my mind all these years. It’s nothing short of incredible.
First, it’s is so big that it’s easy to escape the crowds. outside a few popular beaches and temples, there are places one can feel like you’re the only vacationer on the island.
Second, the beaches are spectacular. and they are surprisingly varied for a place with a single climate. They were a range: from white to yellow to pink sand, from rocky to smooth, and everything in between. One even has palm trees (which is uncommon here). Whatever beach you can conjure in your mind, it’s on Crete. And, with close to a hundred of them, you are never far from one either.
As someone who loves soaking in the sun, a lot of of my time was spent on these beaches, away from the crowds, listening to the waves slowly lap the shore. The water was a clear, azure blue that looked a lot more like the tropics than the Mediterranean, and a deep baby blue additionally out. I hit six beaches, with Elafonessi, Chrissi, and Balos being my favorites. I never knew Crete was such a great place for a beach holiday!
Third, the landscape rises and falls constantly: mountains and hills dotted with olive trees then plunge into gorges consisting of some of the island’s popular hiking trails. It’s a dry climate too, especially in the east. Windswept in the summer, it feels parched, like the land aches for a drop of water. but then you head west and inland a bit, and you find green hills, farms, and olive orchards and marvel at how swiftly the landscape changes.
Crete’s cities, dating back thousands of years, twist and turn as you’d expect of places built on ruins of earlier versions of themselves. I loved spending hours exploring all the nooks and crannies of each city, trying to figure out which alley connected to which. You’d think you were going one way, only to wrongly end up on a street that turned in the opposite direction. I found Rethymno and Chania especially fun to get lost in.
And the food? Let’s talk about Cretan food. On this large and fertile island, the centuries have allowed residents to cultivate a special cuisine and their own style of cheeses and wines. It’s a very seasonal diet, consisting of greens, fruits, fish, a little protein, legumes, barley rusks, and plenty of olive oil. You’ll dine on a lot of fish, lamb, pork, and even a local escargot cooked in oil and thyme.
Probably one of the most popular dishes is dakos, a crusty whole-grain bread you’ll find everywhere, sort of like a bruschetta. It’s often served by itself, but when bought as an appetizer, mostly it’s topped with a tomato puree and cheese (either feta or mizithra, which is whey cheese).
If you’re like me, the quickest way to your heart is through your stomach. The crunchy dakos, the sweetness of local cheese, the flavor of the grilled fish, and the diversity of the white wine — Crete had some of the best food I had my entire time in Greece.
But the history was what madeOživa to pre mňa. Strávil som hodiny skúmaním každého múzea, ktoré som mohol nájsť. Archeologické múzeum v Heraklione je domovom veľkej zbierky artefaktov Minoan (väčšinou z Kossosu). Stratil som sa v ich skúmaní starodávnych mincí, artefaktov, fresiek a sochy. (Zábavný fakt: Prvý napísaný jazyk Minoans, lineárny A, stále nebol preložený. Ich druhý, lineárny B, je prvou písomnou verziou gréčtiny!)
A bol tu starodávny palác Kossosu. Nenašiel som Minotaura. Našiel som však sprievodcu, ktorý mi ukáže, a strávil som dve hodiny skúmaním každej oblasti, ktorá bola otvorená pre verejnosť. (Je smutné, že veľa izieb a oblastí je zatvorené kvôli Covidu). Aj keď je veľká časť paláca zrekonštruovaná (a možno aj nepresne), bolo to v pohode a rovnako úchvatné, aby som tam bol. Poznáte ten pocit, ktorý máte, keď ste snívali o mieste tak dlho a potom ste konečne tam? Ten pocit blaženosti a čisté šťastie bol taký, ako som sa tiež cítil.
Všetky miesta majú špeciálnu energiu. Jeho ľudia, história, životné prostredie, jedlo, tempo života – to všetko sa spája ako nástroje v orchestri, aby sa vytvorila špeciálna symfónia cieľa. Často sa venujete tejto hudbe, často nie.
Energia Kréty bola niečo, s čím som absolútne vibroval. A som vďačný za to, či sa tam vrátim alebo nie, potom, čo som ho vybudoval v mysli viac ako 25 rokov, to splnilo všetky tie detské fantázie.
Zarezervujte si cestu do Kréty: logistické nápady a triky
Zarezervujte si svoj let
Na nájdenie lacného letu použite SkyScanner alebo Momondo. Sú to moje dva obľúbené vyhľadávacie nástroje, pretože vyhľadávajú webové stránky a letecké spoločnosti po celom svete, takže vždy viete, že žiadny kameň nezostane nezostáva. Začnite s Skyscannerom najskôr, pretože majú najväčší dosah!
Zarezervujte si ubytovanie
Svoju hostel si môžete rezervovať s Hostelworld, pretože majú najväčší inventár a najlepšie ponuky. Ak chcete zostať niekde inde ako v hosteli, použite Booking.com, pretože neustále vracia najlacnejšie ceny pre penzióny a lacné hotely.
Nezabudnite na cestovné poistenie
Cestovné poistenie vás zabezpečí proti chorobám, zraneniu, krádeži a zrušení. Je to podrobná ochrana v prípade, že sa niečo pokazí. Nikdy som nešiel na výlet bez toho, pretože som ho v minulosti musel používať veľakrát. Moje obľúbené spoločnosti, ktoré ponúkajú najlepšie služby a hodnotu, sú:
Bezpečnostné krídlo (pre všetkých pod 70)
Zaistite moju cestu (pre tých nad 70 rokov)
Medjet (pre ďalšie pokrytie repatriácie)
Hľadáte najlepšie spoločnosti, s ktorými ušetria peniaze?
Pozrite sa na moju stránku zdrojov, kde nájdete najlepšie spoločnosti, ktoré môžete použiť pri cestovaní. Uvádzam všetky tie, ktoré používam na ušetrite peniaze, keď som na ceste. Ušetrite vám peniaze, keď budete cestovať.
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