Crete - Chania

Our driver kindly informed us just as we were arriving at the port that our ferry was delayed and was now expected to arrive at our scheduled departure; now having travelled within Greece a bit, Greek time is a bit more of a range of time versus a specific time like we're accustom to. Knowing our ferry was delayed gave us the opportunity to have some lunch at one of the handful of restaurants at the port. After our lunch we walked over to the gate waiting area; thankfully too our driver informed us of the gate, otherwise we wouldn't have had a clue as isn't signage around informing people where their ferries are departing from and the website for the ferry wasn't the easiest to navigate. Even at the gate there was no posted information, and eventually a guy came through calling for another ferry sailing and Z was able to ask a bit of info on ours. Our scheduled departure time was 4:40pm and that came and went and finally at just before 5pm did we see a ferry steaming into the port. Despite the delay, I have to say they were extremely efficient in unloading and loading a couple hundred new foot passengers and maybe 20 vehicles. We were back sailing at 5:06pm; a lot of lessons another ferry service we sometimes rely on can learn from. The ferry sailing across to Crete was very smooth and about 2 hours. All passengers on board had an assigned seat depending on the ticket you purchased.

With the delay we landed in Crete at just after 7pm and took a taxi to the airport so we could pick up our car rental. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands with a population of 630,000 inhabitants and 30 million olive trees. Considering we were spending 10 days on Crete, we decided to split our time between Chania on the west side and Elounda on the east side. The airport is about an hour from Elounda and after careful consideration we had decided that it would be better to end our stay closer to the airport which meant we now needed to drive about 2.5 hours to get to Chania. Thankfully the trip was on a well paved freeway and not along a bunch of narrow, windy roads. Well the route still had its shared of windiness and was for the most part along the coastline, but because we arrived late, darkness had set in and we didn't get to experience any of the coastline scenery. Maybe this was for the better as I would have wanted  to stop to take pictures which would only have slowed us down. 

Our resort, the Domes of Noruz, is an adults only resort and is situated right on Paralia Agii Apostoli beach in the seaside town of Chania. This is one of the most beautiful sandy beaches on Crete with crystal clear turquoise shallow waters and extremely gentle waves. The beach stretched for couple kms. Just a short walk and across a road is Agii Apostoli beach which appeared to be more of a locals beach and also boasted shallow, calm, crystal clear waters as it is located in a slightly more protected cove. Both beaches were great for swimming or just bobbing. 

The staff at the Domes chain of resorts really go out of their way to make your stay with them a special experience. The importance placed on the guest experience is evident with all the staff. The hospitality is top notch; everyone is genuinely friendly and helpful. We stayed in a sea and pool view, very modern loft room. The loft area had the bed, a small sink and just at the top of the stairs a toilet room which is very handy for the times when you gotta go in the middle of the night. The room design was well thought out too because there was a large window positioned on the exterior wall so the view from the bed provided an amazing view of the pool and beach. Its window covering was opened and closed by a button on the bed's side table; again well thought out design. In the main area there was ample closet space and drawers to unpack and store your stuff; a sink with its tap affixed to the ceiling, the main toilet and shower room, a seating area with a rocking chair and a comfortable couch. The outdoor space featured a plunge pool overlooking the main pool and beach and was a great place to take in the breathtaking Aegean sunsets. The outdoor space also had a bathtub with a curtain you could pull closed for privacy, and a very comfortable padded seating area. Around the resort were two pools with lots of sun loungers and large bean bag cushions, ideal for relaxing. The beach area had tons of sun loungers with palapas. We also noticed that around the resort they created garden spaces and grew herbs and some vegetables. Each morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast at the beachside restaurant and got to try some traditional Greek foods that we wouldn't otherwise have.  They always had a wide variety of Greek pastries like spanakopita and various different cheeses; one of our favourites was a basil infused gouda cheese. Local honey is also plentiful and honey infused with thyme being one of the most common; absolutely divine. 

We also wanted to explore the area a bit and took advantage of having a car. One day we drove 45 minutes to Falassarna beach. Driving down to the beach gives you the most stunning views of the coastline and the anticipation of getting to this beach. This sandy beach stretches for as long as you can see (3 km) and has great facilities with sun loungers for rent, food and drink service, showers and changing rooms. Facilities like these were something we noticed at all the beaches we visited. We spent an afternoon here relaxing and playing in the calm waters. We attempted snorkelling  at an area that had a bit more rock, but found the snorkelling didn't have much variety of fish to see unlike other places we've visited. We did discover a small area of the shoreline with pink sand though and that was pretty cool to see. After beach time, we made our way to Pnevmatikaki wine factory, a family run winery. We arrived closer to their closing time, but they still allowed us in for a tasting. We got to try 5 different wines and perhaps given the time of the day and the limited amount of other customers, we were offered for our wine tasting to be self service. All the wines were good and of high quality, but we favoured 2 of the wines and we ended up buying a bottle of a white for 6 Euro and a red for 11 Euro; can't go wrong with those prices! Afterwards we made our way to the waterfront town of Kissamos for dinner where we enjoyed a fabulous Cretan dinner seated right on the water. We also drove one morning to Chania town which is known for its iconic 14-century Venetian architecture in its harbour and its narrow streets filled with countless shops and restaurants. We spent some time exploring and shopping here. 

Having experienced one dinner at the resort which wasn't the best food, we decided to try the restaurant located right across the street, Kuzina Galerie and were so impressed by the service, food quality and taste that we decided to enjoy dinner there a second night to finish off our stay in Chania. Here I finally tried chicken souvlaki.