We left for Chania at 9 a.m. to do a little city tour on foot. When we arrived shortly before 10 a.m., the temperature was already up to 38° C. We spent five and a half hours there and we especially liked the old part of Chania, very charming with its narrow alleys lined with shops and cafés.

Those alleys always make me curious…

Venetian gate with graffiti on the side

Looking for an investment?

Taman, the #1 restaurant on Crete, based on Eyewitness travel

We had a good time in Chania by visiting the archaeological museum, exploring shops selling amber jewelry, having lunch at one of the many seaside restaurants, and finding our parking space again… In between we walked a lot!!

This is just another afternoon with a temperature hovering around 38° C, when all one can do is hide in the house and look for a drafty spot to sit in.

Earlier I went grocery-shopping to one of these tiny little village markets. As the lady was ringing up my purchase, I felt sweat trickling down on the side of my face. Yup, it is getting hotter every day.

I also needed to buy some butter for only two more days upon which she pointed out three different products. The most expensive one was € 3.45 and I commented how pricey this little cup of butter and I was actually just wondering if that were a product the locals could afford…

“We Greeks have a very hard life. It is not easy for us.”, she replied. With that thought I left the shop, carrying my heavy load of sodas, butter, a bottle of wine, cheese, bacon, and eggs up the hill and I felt very blessed.

This kind of tree is not often seen. What is its name?

2000 species of Flora exist on the island of Crete, of which 160 are endemic to the island.

If you have ever wondered where the honey comes from for your yogurt with nuts and honey, then you might be interested to learn it comes from these bee hives:

A close up shot (mind you – the windows were closed) showed an even more striking color display.

Driving down that hill, the arrangement of these colorful bee hives looked very much like a toy train at first glance.

In Germany, the bee hives are usually just a drabby brown and meant to blend into the environment. Here in Greece, they are meant to stick out. Of what colors are bee hives in your country?

This would be our lazy day as the looming 38° C seemed too much for us. So we decided to take a leisurely stroll through our small village museum in Gavalochori and we saw everything in 30 minutes.

View stepping out of the museum

Next we got in the car to drive to one of the proprietor’s recommendation to see Scorpion Bay (near Kokkino Chorio & Plaka), a pebbly cove with crystal clear water and a covered area – ideal for me – with stone seating.

We walked down that steep hill

From below

Great for snorkeling! There are all kinds of colorful fish.

This ride up on windy roads and another track down was well worth the effort. Glad we had the opportunity to see this little gem.

Another excursion took us via E 75 motorway to Falasarna (a good hour’s drive from Gavalochori).

Falasarna, once the port for the ancient Graeco-Roman city of Polirinía, has beautiful beaches with absolutely wonderful water to bathe in. Interesting rock-formations line this western shore beach resort.

As always you could find me sitting under a tree – for shade – but this time I had to “eat” more sand than usual. This was not from any people whipping up sand by walking by, but from a pretty strong breeze coming into Ormos Livadi (Bay of Livadi).