We arrived mid-day at The Seaside Resort and Spa outside Crete's capital city, Heraklion. The island has a lot of desert aspects and is more mountainous than expected. The resort is on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
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| The view from the reception area |
Since we traveled overnight our first afternoon was pretty uneventful. We had an early dinner and were in bed by 9:30 pm. Monday we made friends with guys who worked in programming for the resort. They were welcoming, which of course they are supposed to be. But throughout the week we got to know them and they were the funniest guys! Mario was constantly cracking jokes and telling the most elaborate stories! They are all originally from Tunisia but Mario and Ramzi live in Sweden now and Mimo was visiting Sweden - that's how they all met. They are in Crete for the summer working at the resort.
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| Top: Mimo, Mario Bottom: Ramzi |
Mario and Ramzi took the next day off work and offered to be our tour guides around the area. So we rented a car and went to the beach, to downtown Heraklion for lunch, and then to Knossos ruins. The beaches are all pebbles, which I've never been to before! I surprisingly loved it! I don't really like sand, so getting rid of pebbles was much easier. And because the tourist season hasn't really started yet the beaches were fairly empty. Minus a few people on the nude beach that we walked by..... ahhh, Europeans.
I honestly can't tell you much about the Knossos ruins... it was a palace between 7000 and 3000 BCE. Otherwise we didn't read the signs, we just took photos like really pathetic tourists! Hahaha! However I have read up a bit on it since then. Here is a link if you're interested: Knossos Ruins.
| Ramzi and Mario's bromance photo | The most interesting part of the Ruins | Georgie and I at the Ruins |
Each night the programming staff puts on a show after dinner ranging from Guess that Song Title to Miss and Mr. Seaside. They were entertaining with the games they would have the contestants play. During Miss Seaside the women participating were judged on wrapping a man in toilet paper like a mummy among other challenges. After the shows we would hang out with Mario, Ramzi and other guests in the hotel bar or the disco. Almost all of the guests were French and then some Israeli. Apparently during the summer the English, German, and Russian guests start coming. Because Georgie and I were pretty much the only two who spoke English every one assumed we are from England. I suppose it's a fair assumption because traveling from America to Greece is quite a feat for only six days. However, it also goes to show not every one knows an American accent!
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| The mummy challenge |
During the days if we didn't spend time at the pool we would walk down the cliff to a small beach next to the resort. There were a few small shops there also where we would pick up bottles of water and small knickknacks. The man who owned the shop was the sweetest Greek man. He recognised us when we would stop in and ask us questions about our trip. Our last visit into the store he had his daughter give us magnets to remember him by and tell us that he hoped he would see us again! Such a lovely man.
| Looking out over the cliff | The small beach and shops next to the resort | Walking down to the beach |
All in all it was an amazing trip! It was very relaxing and rejuvenating. Even though we were not ready to leave, it has given us the energy we need to finish this semester strong! And definitely was made even better by making friends there.
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