051 – Chania and Surrounds, Crete – Rain or Shine

With heavy rain and thunderstorms on the forecast for the entire duration of our stay, it looked like we were going to be spending a lot of time sipping hot chocolates and nibbling tyropitas at the local café.

Largely to take advantage of the covered play area (aka free babysitting).

Much the way Ciel took advantage of some little Cretan kid and hijacked his Cinderella carriage three seconds after he popped his Euro in to start it up.

(Notice he's long gone)

Fortunately, like most islands, the forecast is only reliable for about the next 20 minutes.   And despite daily showers, there have still been plenty of dry skies and sunshine to continue exploring the island.

We made it down to the shores of the “hippie” town of Paleochora (Pal-ee-o-hora),

Before climbing to the Venetian Castle remains on the tip of the peninsula.

Where we discovered that this seemingly chill town.

(Looking back from the tip of the peninsula)

Was actually on fire…

(See back right on the panoramic photo)

Though, nobody seemed all that concerned.

So, we headed to the beach for lunch.

Taz did a little fundraising,

And despite lack of appropriate swimwear (hippies don’t care), we had an impromptu dip.

Check out those aerial skills.

“Again, Daddy, AGAIN!”

Then, it was back to the mountains,

For a nature stroll around the sleepy village of Azogires.

We barely got our business finished,

Before the downpour started, thwarting our plan to hike to the Holy Father’s Cave. Instead, stranding us in this meager 100 sq ft medieval cave dwelling.

Turns out it was actually a hiding spot for buried treasure. The owners of which were none to happy about our intrusion.

“Aaaarrrgh!”

Forcing us to brave the elements and make a hasty retreat to warmer waters.

After three weeks of Ciel stubbornly refusing to avail herself of the multitude of hair accessories Britt packed for her,

 The other day, in true two-year-old fashion, she pulled a spontaneous 180°, deciding she wants to try them all out…at the same time.

Hey. Why not?
She even tried to get her unsuspecting brother to join in.

At least she looked good for our trip to the Necropolis of Armeni, a 3200 year-old Late Minoan cemetery with over 200 tombs cut out of solid rock.  All the artifacts have been moved to museums, so you are basically free to wander around the place at will.

We were quite excited about taking photos of the first tiny tomb we came across.

But our feline tour guide soon showed us around to some much larger and more impressive digs.

Ciel was most excited about having a “friend” her size to play with,

And she only came close to falling into 5 or 6 of those sloping subterranean entranceways.

Next on the agenda was “Brink’s” the only brewery on the island of Crete (yes, Britt managed to track it down). Unfortunately, they only offer tours (and more importantly, tastings) during a minuscule two-hour window on the first Saturday of the month.  Britt was determined not to let this get in her way,

But, the 200-pound guard dog quickly had her ceding defeat.

So, we headed to the seaside town of Rethymno to find another way to quench our thirst.

There we marched on to the old Venetian Fortezza (fortress).

And, after Ciel sweet talked the gatekeeper,

We were free to peruse the grounds.

Britt declared herself queen of the realm.

I was endowed with serving in the armoury.

But it was the princess and court jester who scored the Popemobile when the rain started.

Fortunately, a nearby watering hole provided shelter, refreshments and a rare opportunity for a group photo.

Okay, so I still had to Photoshop it to get everyone looking at the camera…but we’re getting closer. 

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