The late autumn energy recharge under the Cretan sun was making the daily life slower for one week. This was our third time on this Island and we did not get disappointed this time either. I would love to visit many other Greek destinations and learn some more of the culture and the variety of landscapes. The creek style of cooking, talking, being honest and open has fascinated me every time we visit. People are down to earth and friendly. I feel relaxed every time I step out of plane and get a drive to our small hotel near Chania (Ammos hotel, Crete): tasty local food, warm personel, athmospere and the great beach. And if you like design along your delicious food, Ammos Hotel is the right address.
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| one of the many interesting design details in our hotel. |
I am impressed of the tones of the beautiful sunsets and the quiet mornings at the beach. We chose the late season for our visit, because the kids had a Autumn holiday from the school. I find this a perfect season to visit, but maybe the early spring would be even nicer. For this holiday the beach element was most of the time just enough and I saw many facades of the mediterranean winds, waves and skies during just these Cretan days. But more than just what we did, the small details, the small moments and meeting the people is what made me enjoy even more. I will next show you those treasures of our journey...
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| the skyline of our small hotel. |
A small distance from our hotel was this rocky cape, a nice destination to admire the sunset in the evenings. Walking bare foot on the waterline and letting the waves wash the sand after every step. I like that the beach is so near and after a few steps you can feel and see this sometimes calm and other times roaring element. There are few hotels on this beach and it must be busy in the real summer season. I would not maybe like to be there then. In the late autumn the temperature and the beauty is more speaking for me. I am not a big fun of very hot days :-).
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| A group of students were camping on top of the cape. |
One day we drove up to the mountains via narrow serpentine road. We got slowly higher and higher, wanting to experience the real village atmosphere between the rocky mountain walls and the spectacular views. We were recommended to go and visit one little farm with the restaurant. They grow their own vegetables and ingredients. This used to be the lifestyle to support the needs of your own family, but some of these farms decided later on to make some seasonal food for the customers too. A great way to enjoy a real cretan meal, made from the local, organic products. The farm and the restaurant was very simple and nothing luxurious or ambitious by the feeling of it. But the product, the food, was very tasty and pure housemade on the open fire. We really enjoyed it.
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| Olives everywhere :-) |
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| Me and my kids |
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| I really liked the open mountain views. |
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| It looks a bit messy, but everything was so tasty. They used burning greek coffee (the smoke) to keep the bees away. |
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| Making food on open fire, like in the old times. |
One of our last days in Greece was stormy and rainy. The wind pushed the waves further than normally at the beach during the night. The scenery was totally different on the next morning. Some of the beach chairs were removed by the waves and the coastal line looked broken. There were pieces of trees and all sort of garbage on the normally very clean beach. The children found this interesting. It looked somehow like a big outdoor playground when the sun came back.
Some local people told us that during the last years the climate had changed a bit in Crete. There was more rains and some surprising weather situations in the summer time as well. The climate change brings more challenge with stronger storms and heavier rains all over the world. This small storm and seeing all the plastic on the sand made me thoughtful. The sea is full of treasures and it is such a strong element. I have been wanting to write about the water issue for a while, so in my next blog story, the vulnerable element of water ecosystem will be in focus.
The meaning of a holiday is to relax and let your mind to slow down. But the biggest reward of that lazy or relaxed time is often the inspiration, the new ideas, the new impulses --those moments that can make a change inside our mind and soul. This modus is important in any age and shared with the family and with your friends, just great with all the shared memories. We were with our friends on this journey and it was wonderful to have this family with us for one week.
Like the sea is shaping the sand on and on, I like to think we are working on ourselves, shaping our mind along the rhythm of the nature and through our actions.
