Slightly delayed, but nonetheless this is my (almost) last holiday post and I already have the post-holiday blues. But how could you not after summertime in so much Greek beauty? I first went to Crete (where my grandad was from) where I’ve been going every summer of my life basically. This time instead of going to Chania directly we stayed in Rethymno for a couple of nights. It has a castle as well, although we made the mistake to visit it at 11am when it was boiling hot. The beaches towards the south of the island were the best.
Damnoni beach
Running in the Fortezza of Rethymno (before boiling)
Enjoying the breeze inside the cave
We then moved on to Chania, the first stop being a magical hideaway beach, Seitan Limania (also known as Stefanou Beach). Located a short ride away from the airport, you reach the end of the mountain where this beautiful beach is located. If you decide to visit take care in what shoes you wear as you literary need to climb down rocks to reach the beach. It’s quite small so I would avoid going in the middle of the day (as we did) as it was incredibly crowded. It used to be a place for Turkish ships and the name translates as ‘Satan harbours’. Satan or not it is a beautiful place.
Walking around the old port of Chania
Milia is one of my favourite places in Crete. I hadn’t been in the past few years and it was lovely to visit again. It’s a really small village with a few rooms, a restaurant and acres and acres of nature to explore. It’s an ecological retreat in a 17th century mountain settlement close to Kissamos. The perfect place to walk around and check how many types of trees you know (probably 1-2 for me!). Not only the scenery is beautiful and calming but the food in the local tavern is delicious. Going back to the frugal basics never looked so good.
We then drove down to the southwest of the island to a hidden and hard-to-find (no signs on the road kind of hard) beach, Kedrodasos. A camping spot, this beach has crystal-clear water and a long sandy beach. It’s a few km away from the well known Elafonisi but far less crowded and relaxing. Watching the sun set and plunging into the sea is one of my favourite things during the summer.
Last day in Crete we went to one of my all time favourite beaches, Falasserna. Greek beauty in all its glory. Can you spot the sleeping giant (aka mountain) in the back btw?
The water is cold enough to feel clean and refreshing, the beach is super long so there’s always space to sit even if it’s very crowded and it’s equally nice with and without wind (aka with waves or without).
Happy in my American Apparel bikini 
Next stop with Chios, known as the ‘mastic island’ because of its production of ‘mastic’, a plant resin used to make everything to liqueur, gum, soap and many more. It’s known as ‘the tears of Chios’ as when produced the little droplets of resin resemble teardrops. The only place where mastic is made is in the south of Chios in Mastichochoria, where the medieval villages collectively produce the mastic. There’s even a protected designation of origin.
My friend is from the north of Chios, from Volissos. So we went to explore a beach nearby called Trachili, which we surprisingly found even though there was no sign on the road. Can you sense a theme of beaches that are hard to find or get to? Crystal-clear, super cold waters on a pebbly beach. I prefer sand to pebbles but it was gorgeous nonetheless.
So much love for white and blue, they are the colours of Greece too!
