May 6 – 15, 2024
In early May, Michael and I joined a bunch of my friends from Morris Area Freewheelers on Crete for a week of riding and archeology. The three other couples and one single woman were spending several days on Santorini first, but Michael and I still had commitments at school, so we flew to Chania and joined them at a beautiful AirBnB villa in Kissamos. We had two separate houses on one piece of property with three bedrooms each, modern kitchens, lovely bathrooms and a gorgeous private beach right on the Aegean. Michael had a car, so we could go off on our bike rides in the morning while he could relax with a second cup of thick, sweet Greek coffee and then drive to meet us wherever we stopped for lunch. Like last summer on Naxos, the driving was mostly easy and Michael enjoyed his independence.
The weather was cool and sunny most days, perfect for riding though not quite swimming temperature. I went in anyway because it was too beautiful to pass up. The riding was challenging since wherever we headed, we had to go up into the mountains from sea level. The routes were gorgeous, passing groves of olive trees, goats everywhere, flowering shrubs, and views of sea and mountains. When we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, the food was fantastic, plentiful and inexpensive. Just when we felt too stuffed to eat another bite and asked for the check, the waiters would bring the house brew of dessert wine and some delicious sweets. One afternoon and evening we took a boat trip from Kolymvari to Balos Beach and Gramvousa Island. Another day we stopped at the Moni Gonia Monastery after a thrilling downhill ride along the coast. We all enjoyed socializing and getting to know each other better and everyone mostly got along well navigating the roads and the kitchens.
After Crete, our friends were heading to Athens. Michael and I drove three hours to Heraklion instead for a few days of archeology. The driving in the tiny, busy streets of the city was more challenging but we made it to our elegant and comfortable hotel. A student of mine from PU who lives in Athens had put me in touch with a local guide and we arranged to meet her for a late afternoon tour of the famous Knossos Palace archeological site. The air was warm and soft as the sun went down, and the grounds were amazingly deserted for our three-hour private tour. Karen was a fantast guide and paced the time so we could sit in the shade while she told us wonderful tales of 5000 years ago. The next day we spent the morning at the fantastic but busy archeology museum in town seeing the actual artifacts from the site and reading about a lot of the things Karen had explained the previous day. We spent the warm afternoon at the beach, only a 15 minute drive away. We enjoyed a delicious meal at a beachside café and Michael napped on a chaise under an umbrella while I swam in the turquoise water and walked on the white sand. It was easy to get to the airport the next morning for our early flight to Athens and then home. This was a fantastic trip which makes us want to return to Greece!