Greece - Crete

This is one of the ferries we traveled on.

A beautiful night - the moon looking over us on a
smooth sea crossing.

The view as we enter the harbor at 6:30 a.m.

And a gorgeous morning welcome to Chania....

...including this delightful rainbow.

Time for breakfast after a morning walk.  This charming town is quiet in the winter . Not all the restaurants and stores are open, but there were enough to thoroughly enjoy ourselves!

Old Town Chania is filled with charming, narrow streets. They are filled with homes, shops and restaurants and each has a story to tell.

Late December and flowers are blooming and potted plants live outside. Crete reminds me of the climate
 in Southern California.

At the end of the street you can see
Chania Bay.

We rented an apartment here - 4 beds in 2 rooms. It was a great location and a cute apartment. Our landlady, Siliva, was so friendly and helpful.  Her mother's name was Silde.

Our apartment was on the first floor and this is a view of our little balcony. 

After getting settled and eating breakfast, it was time to head out and begin
exploring old town. There is fresh snow on the islands mountains in the distance - not too far away. 

The morning light was spectacular.  This is the Cathedral of Canea,
inaugurated in 1861.

This is Chania Bay, also called the Gulf of Chania.  To the Norht it melds with the Cretan Sea . On the southern side of the island is the Libyan Sea / Mediterranean.  Look at the incredible clarity of this water!

The earth is red here - like in Sedona - and so too are the pets who live outside!

There are many street cats and they seem to be fed very well. I saw dry cat food set out for them as well as leftovers from various forms of seafood.

These next photos are from my early morning walk the next day.

In the photo above, our apartment was located below the moon.  This Turkish mosque “Yali Tzamissi” was the first mosque built in Crete after the Turkish conquest of the city of Chania in 1649

There is a walkway all around the harbor to the light house. 

I wasn't the only one out early in the morning....this fisherman was looking for fish or
octopus - I don't know.  I think the bike below was his.

This building in the middle of the harbor's wall originally was the church of
St. Nicholas, built in 1515.

The lighthouse is the oldest existing lighthouse in Greece. It was built by the Venetians
at the turn of the 16th century. 

Me and my shadow......

I got very excited about seeing this stork in the distance. I would have thought they would fly further south for the winter.  Well, surprise, this stork didn't move the whole time I was in Chania because it's not a living stork.

Let's talk about food again.......so many fresh vegetables and fruits - even in December. And of course delicious feta as well as a wide variety of artisanal cheeses, yogurt, spanikopeta (spinach pie), olives and seafood.

Dried herbs and spices.

I now have a better understanding of the term "Cretan."  

Greens (cooked escarole), mashed fava beans with garlic (like hummus). and a variety of seafood - sardines, shrimp, squid and octopus.  This is Joan's first time trying the octopus - she liked it.

This was my birthday lunch on New Year's Eve.  It was one of my favorite meals in Greece. Arugula (called rocket) and spinach with a balsamic vinagrette.  On the side were portabello mushrooms with creamy melted cheese.

After this yummy lunch we headed to the spa for some pampering - first relaxing in the hammam and then a massage.  Wonderful!!

The forecast for New Year's Day was rain.  Joan and I went out for an early morning walk before the rain. That afternoon we camped out in the apartment and watched two movies.

I saw quite a few of these altars.  I presume they are for a safe return of the fisherman and anyone else who ventures out into the sea for work or pleasure.