Photos is a blessing... when they are in the albums! For the first time in my life I will organize my photos in an album on the web. New technology, but not so difficult as I thought it would be. But it takes a lot of time!
Some of the albums are ready now, but more will follow, hopefully during a week or so. Enjoy! But it might be necessary to have broadband, because the size of the pictures is not reduced.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Home again, safe and sound!
At 7PM Friday I met Greg outside the food market in Chania, and we went by bus to his and Annas home, not in Souda, but a small village about 5 km from the airport. The Turkish lady was not coming after all. Anna and Greg were wonderful to be with, and over a nice and long meal we shared a lot about our lives. The view from their three verandas were spectacular, at the south the impressive mountains of Lefka Ori, to the west Chania city, and to the north the azurblue sea. After the meal we sat down outside with a drink and watched a huge moon rising... I felt so privilegded to meet these two wonderful people on my last night in Crete. It was like meeting family. We will meet again, either I going to Crete again, and/or they coming to see me in Norway!
Saturday morning brought time for new goodbyes, Greg walked me to the supermarked and from there called for a taxi to the airport. The plain had gotten a new take-off time three hours later than the original schedule, so that gave an extra bonus: three more hours in the sun! Two weeks ago I had met Mari and Rudy at the bus station in Chania. They even knew a person I knew in Koppang. I had talked to them several times in Paleochora, and we kept bumping into each other all the time in Chania Friday, so with the delay of the plain the three of us decided to check in the luggage and then find a taverna. Knowing it was raining in Oslo made the delay extra pleasant for us.
Around six PM we landed at Oslo Airport Gardermoen, and I found the train to Hamar, where couchsurfing friend Odd was waiting for me. The last train to Koppang had left a long time ago. I brought a bottle of wine, he had prepared a wok, and we spent a nice evening together before I hit the couch and soon fell asleep. Couchsurfing can be highly recommended - also for those of us who put our first youth behind us!
I hope I will have many visitors in my house this summer! It is a great way to meet new people from all over the world, but also nice people from our own country.
After a nice breakfast it was again time for goodbyes, to find the train and get the last leg of my travel over and done with.
Coming home around 2PM, there was only 13 degrees Celsius in my house! So now there is a fire on, and I hope the sun will bring more warmth in the days to come.
Now I have the best part of the Norwegian summer to look forward to.
And in my garden things has developed very slowly because of the cold weather. But everything seeems to be doing fine, some of the tulips are in full bloom and the rest will follow.
A great holiday it has been, but it is also nice to come home!
Saturday morning brought time for new goodbyes, Greg walked me to the supermarked and from there called for a taxi to the airport. The plain had gotten a new take-off time three hours later than the original schedule, so that gave an extra bonus: three more hours in the sun! Two weeks ago I had met Mari and Rudy at the bus station in Chania. They even knew a person I knew in Koppang. I had talked to them several times in Paleochora, and we kept bumping into each other all the time in Chania Friday, so with the delay of the plain the three of us decided to check in the luggage and then find a taverna. Knowing it was raining in Oslo made the delay extra pleasant for us.
Around six PM we landed at Oslo Airport Gardermoen, and I found the train to Hamar, where couchsurfing friend Odd was waiting for me. The last train to Koppang had left a long time ago. I brought a bottle of wine, he had prepared a wok, and we spent a nice evening together before I hit the couch and soon fell asleep. Couchsurfing can be highly recommended - also for those of us who put our first youth behind us!
I hope I will have many visitors in my house this summer! It is a great way to meet new people from all over the world, but also nice people from our own country.
After a nice breakfast it was again time for goodbyes, to find the train and get the last leg of my travel over and done with.
Coming home around 2PM, there was only 13 degrees Celsius in my house! So now there is a fire on, and I hope the sun will bring more warmth in the days to come.
Now I have the best part of the Norwegian summer to look forward to.
And in my garden things has developed very slowly because of the cold weather. But everything seeems to be doing fine, some of the tulips are in full bloom and the rest will follow.
A great holiday it has been, but it is also nice to come home!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday in Chania
Bye bye Paleochora! I am in an Internet Cafe in Chania at the moment, (why do they always have such a noisy music?) thinking back on the last couple of days. Yesterday I had a little walk in town, and met a Canadian couple, Mary Jane and Jerry from Quebec. We were just outside a taverna that advertized with Cretan Evening, live music and dancing. At first it sounded a bit too much like a tourist trap to me, but Jerry had been in Paleochora almost every year for 30 years, and knew the owners. While we stood there talking, an elderly womn came up and hugged them warmly, like they were familiy. The owners wife she turned out to be. She dissappeared for a moment, and then returned with some fresh pastry, still warm and with a delicate taste of honey.
That was when I decided to book a table. I parted with Mary Jean and Jerry and went to Adrini Bech for the last time. It is such a quiet and peaceful place, and the walk out there is great. Water temp about 18-19 degrees Celsius. Refreshing! But eventually it was time to go back and shower.
"My" cat with the bad leg was not dead and gone as I feared, all of a sudden she was purring arroound my feet again, begging for food. So I found her something to eat, and was allowed to have her in my lap for a while. A great honour! (She normally comes by at night, but she must have sensed I was leaving, for this morning when I was packing, there she was again. And I was allowed to lift her up in my lap... hope she will find another catloving tourist after I leave.)
Then it was time for the Cretan evening. My reservation had been lost somewhere somehow, but Mary Jane and Jerry invited me to sit down with them. Teachers both, one of them retired. Very good company. The music was great, and the musicians seemed to have a good time. I ordered montaingoat cooked in the oven, so tasty and tender, absolutely the best I have had this time in Crete. Then there were dancing performed by a group from Chania, and of course we all had to participate. Reminded me of my own period of folkdancing. What a tempo and footwork they have here! But when almost everybody had left, the male dancers started to sing an almost endless song, the owner joined them, and it all culminated with the owner joining them in an extra dance, that ended on the table! Great fun for those of us who had stayed behind to savour the delicious melon dessert.
Tonight I will meet a French/Belgian couple living in Souda just outside Chania. We will meet outside the food marked in the old town. They have a Turkish CS staying with them, and we will all have dinner before we ladies find our "campsite" on the couch or on a matress on the floor in their home. Lucky me who joined Couchsurfing! This way of meeting people is just great. When I spoke to Greg on the phone it was like talking to an old friend. I really look forward to meeting them tonight.
But until then, I will walk around in the old Venetian Port in Chania. A labyrinth of streets, and of course, quite a tourist trap with a lot of shops selling tourist stuff. So I guess it will be the market for me. The sight and the smell of all the good foods of Crete is the perfect way to end my holiday here.
That was when I decided to book a table. I parted with Mary Jean and Jerry and went to Adrini Bech for the last time. It is such a quiet and peaceful place, and the walk out there is great. Water temp about 18-19 degrees Celsius. Refreshing! But eventually it was time to go back and shower.
"My" cat with the bad leg was not dead and gone as I feared, all of a sudden she was purring arroound my feet again, begging for food. So I found her something to eat, and was allowed to have her in my lap for a while. A great honour! (She normally comes by at night, but she must have sensed I was leaving, for this morning when I was packing, there she was again. And I was allowed to lift her up in my lap... hope she will find another catloving tourist after I leave.)
Then it was time for the Cretan evening. My reservation had been lost somewhere somehow, but Mary Jane and Jerry invited me to sit down with them. Teachers both, one of them retired. Very good company. The music was great, and the musicians seemed to have a good time. I ordered montaingoat cooked in the oven, so tasty and tender, absolutely the best I have had this time in Crete. Then there were dancing performed by a group from Chania, and of course we all had to participate. Reminded me of my own period of folkdancing. What a tempo and footwork they have here! But when almost everybody had left, the male dancers started to sing an almost endless song, the owner joined them, and it all culminated with the owner joining them in an extra dance, that ended on the table! Great fun for those of us who had stayed behind to savour the delicious melon dessert.
Tonight I will meet a French/Belgian couple living in Souda just outside Chania. We will meet outside the food marked in the old town. They have a Turkish CS staying with them, and we will all have dinner before we ladies find our "campsite" on the couch or on a matress on the floor in their home. Lucky me who joined Couchsurfing! This way of meeting people is just great. When I spoke to Greg on the phone it was like talking to an old friend. I really look forward to meeting them tonight.
But until then, I will walk around in the old Venetian Port in Chania. A labyrinth of streets, and of course, quite a tourist trap with a lot of shops selling tourist stuff. So I guess it will be the market for me. The sight and the smell of all the good foods of Crete is the perfect way to end my holiday here.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Countdown
has started, and since the airportstrikes in Norway is over, there will be no delays...
I went by bus to the starting point of Irini Gorge on Tuesday. Only five people in all left the bus there, the others onboard continued to Samaria. Another bus with German tourists came about ten minutes after. First I had a look at an old chapel from 1348. It was a special place.
Then I had a coffee before I started to walk. It was a perfect morning, the gorge was in shadow so it felt nice and cool to walk. After I while I passed many of the Germans, but seemed to have the same tempo as a girl who turned out to be from Holland. Elvira worked in an car-renting company and part of her job was to see the sights... made me a little envious, that one.... Wolfgang from Germany also became part of our little group.
It was really a beautiful walk, the gorge was lush with flowers. Oleanders that by sea level are in full bloom was about to burst from buds to flowers this high up. But as we walked on down, they opened up and I could only wish those trees would grow in my garden back home. The bottom of the gorge was almost pink with flowers. And the scent of thyme and oregano followed us all the way.
In some parts the walls of the gorge rose several hundred meters high, and the passage was rather narrow.
Finally we came down to the little taverna with the appropriate name the Oasis. We sat down for fresh pressed orangejuice and a small lunch.
Here the others was picked up by bus, while I had to walk the remaining kilometers along the road down to Sougia. Arriving there in the early afternoon the village soon cast its spell on me again, and since I had brought my toothbrush and paste I was equipped to stay the night.
I looked around, and it it is not hard to find nice places with kitchen from 25 Euro and up.
So I ended up with a quite nice studio with a balcony facing the sea and with sea view for 25 Euro at the back of the village.
A nice evening meal in one of the small tavernas ended the day. Mountain goat with some vegetable mix was my menu for this day, and for lunch today before the boat left for Palochora was lamb cooked in the oven. Delicious! And afterwards sitting out on the balcony trying to read while the waves kept crashing against the beach. 25 degrees Celsius is a decent temperature!
And now, back in Paleochora, I have to look around for another tasty meal! Not the worst task I can think of...
Tomorrow will be my last full day before going in to Chania Friday around noon. My host from arriving in Chania will be on a field trip, so I will probably end up with a hotel. But for only 25-30 euro a night I will survive that too.
Maybe no more reports now befor I am home...
I went by bus to the starting point of Irini Gorge on Tuesday. Only five people in all left the bus there, the others onboard continued to Samaria. Another bus with German tourists came about ten minutes after. First I had a look at an old chapel from 1348. It was a special place.
Then I had a coffee before I started to walk. It was a perfect morning, the gorge was in shadow so it felt nice and cool to walk. After I while I passed many of the Germans, but seemed to have the same tempo as a girl who turned out to be from Holland. Elvira worked in an car-renting company and part of her job was to see the sights... made me a little envious, that one.... Wolfgang from Germany also became part of our little group.
It was really a beautiful walk, the gorge was lush with flowers. Oleanders that by sea level are in full bloom was about to burst from buds to flowers this high up. But as we walked on down, they opened up and I could only wish those trees would grow in my garden back home. The bottom of the gorge was almost pink with flowers. And the scent of thyme and oregano followed us all the way.
In some parts the walls of the gorge rose several hundred meters high, and the passage was rather narrow.
Finally we came down to the little taverna with the appropriate name the Oasis. We sat down for fresh pressed orangejuice and a small lunch.
Here the others was picked up by bus, while I had to walk the remaining kilometers along the road down to Sougia. Arriving there in the early afternoon the village soon cast its spell on me again, and since I had brought my toothbrush and paste I was equipped to stay the night.
I looked around, and it it is not hard to find nice places with kitchen from 25 Euro and up.
So I ended up with a quite nice studio with a balcony facing the sea and with sea view for 25 Euro at the back of the village.
A nice evening meal in one of the small tavernas ended the day. Mountain goat with some vegetable mix was my menu for this day, and for lunch today before the boat left for Palochora was lamb cooked in the oven. Delicious! And afterwards sitting out on the balcony trying to read while the waves kept crashing against the beach. 25 degrees Celsius is a decent temperature!
And now, back in Paleochora, I have to look around for another tasty meal! Not the worst task I can think of...
Tomorrow will be my last full day before going in to Chania Friday around noon. My host from arriving in Chania will be on a field trip, so I will probably end up with a hotel. But for only 25-30 euro a night I will survive that too.
Maybe no more reports now befor I am home...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
And so the days pass by....
17th of May 2008 textmessages ticked in from Norway: sleet, 3 degrees Celsius, strong winds, fresh snow in the hillsides... etc.. etc...
And here I was, in a beautiful village by the sea, with my little Norwegian flag on my veranda. Enjoying the sun and the warm breeze and my fantastic view of the Cretan South coast.
On my way to Andrini Beach, my favorite beach I prefer to walk to, I met David, the English retired guy of 77 Flora chose to be my dinner companion the day before. He is a great guy with a lot of stories and a lot of British humour. So we sat down with a coffee and chatted for a while and decided to have dinner together later in the evening.
I had audiobooks in my backpack, and a book by Paulo Coelho: Like the flowing river. But there on the beach I had mostly enough to do just listening to the soft murmurs of the small waves crashing against the shore. So the reading was put aside, and still the hours disappeared.
Saturday evening is a day for families to go out together. Every night the close off the main street here around six o'clock, and yesterday it was a lot of people out to drink and eat. Children ran around playing, having a great time.
Dinner with David was great. We were stuffed from all the tasty dishes, and had to sit a long time chatting and nursing our wine before we were able to move again.
I miss my cat! She seems to have disappeared along with her kittens. I am afraid they have done away with them all. But she probably was in great pain, so even though brutal, maybe that would be the best after all. But they could have waited till I left!
Today I went to the beach again. Beginning to get in shape now! But it was much more windy, and I didn't stay so long. Had chicken souvlaki for lunch, with vegetables instead of fried potatoes. That and a beer added up to 8.50, a little bit more than you pay for 0.5 l beer back home. Right now I feel like a siesta!
There is a lot of serious walkers here. They follow the coastal trails as long as possible before changing to buses or boats. But I don't want to have a lot on my agenda. I might go to Efalonissos Beach one day, but then again, maybe another year. This place is for certain a place I have to come back to.
Just walking around in the streets is a pleasure. There are trees and flowers everywhere, and the Mulberry trees they help grow together so they almost form sculptures along the street. Bougainvillas in full bloom, and a lot of other bushes and flowers I don't know the name of.
Enough for now, siestatime!
And here I was, in a beautiful village by the sea, with my little Norwegian flag on my veranda. Enjoying the sun and the warm breeze and my fantastic view of the Cretan South coast.
On my way to Andrini Beach, my favorite beach I prefer to walk to, I met David, the English retired guy of 77 Flora chose to be my dinner companion the day before. He is a great guy with a lot of stories and a lot of British humour. So we sat down with a coffee and chatted for a while and decided to have dinner together later in the evening.
I had audiobooks in my backpack, and a book by Paulo Coelho: Like the flowing river. But there on the beach I had mostly enough to do just listening to the soft murmurs of the small waves crashing against the shore. So the reading was put aside, and still the hours disappeared.
Saturday evening is a day for families to go out together. Every night the close off the main street here around six o'clock, and yesterday it was a lot of people out to drink and eat. Children ran around playing, having a great time.
Dinner with David was great. We were stuffed from all the tasty dishes, and had to sit a long time chatting and nursing our wine before we were able to move again.
I miss my cat! She seems to have disappeared along with her kittens. I am afraid they have done away with them all. But she probably was in great pain, so even though brutal, maybe that would be the best after all. But they could have waited till I left!
Today I went to the beach again. Beginning to get in shape now! But it was much more windy, and I didn't stay so long. Had chicken souvlaki for lunch, with vegetables instead of fried potatoes. That and a beer added up to 8.50, a little bit more than you pay for 0.5 l beer back home. Right now I feel like a siesta!
There is a lot of serious walkers here. They follow the coastal trails as long as possible before changing to buses or boats. But I don't want to have a lot on my agenda. I might go to Efalonissos Beach one day, but then again, maybe another year. This place is for certain a place I have to come back to.
Just walking around in the streets is a pleasure. There are trees and flowers everywhere, and the Mulberry trees they help grow together so they almost form sculptures along the street. Bougainvillas in full bloom, and a lot of other bushes and flowers I don't know the name of.
Enough for now, siestatime!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Back in Paleochora
After a day of rest, talking and small walks following the strenuous walk to Sougia, I packed up and found the boat to Agios Roumeli. Always sad to say goodbye to new friends, but it is the law of the holidays. My stay in Sougia had a nice end: dinner with Ian and Claudia and Gabi from Germany. So many nice things to eat! And such good company!
Nice weather today also, a mild breeze made it bearable to do some hours of walking into the Samaria Gorge. But even though the geology was impressing, even this early in the season it is a tourist trap! I would have changed to Irini Gorge had I had the chance, but it was a little late for that. During the seven hour long walk two days before we stopped and talked to almost everyone we met on the trail. Today I tried to say hello, but hardly any response at all! Were they too tired? Or just a completely different kind of tourists? Or simply too many to say hello to?
I stopped for a snack some kilometers into the gorge, and during half a sandwich I counted 80 people rushing by me! So I stopped eating, packed up and walked back like in a parade to the Tavernas by the sea, and had a Greek salad with retsina to compensate.
Now I am back in Paleochora again, and will grab a snack and a beer at Haris studios before going to bed.
10 hours walking in three days is really something for this lady!
Tomorrow I have made reservation for a special dinner at Haris studio. Once a week they give one. So I'd better continue exercising, the food is so good here! Tomorrow I must try and find a place to recharge the battery of the camera... almost nothing left now.
More later.
Nice weather today also, a mild breeze made it bearable to do some hours of walking into the Samaria Gorge. But even though the geology was impressing, even this early in the season it is a tourist trap! I would have changed to Irini Gorge had I had the chance, but it was a little late for that. During the seven hour long walk two days before we stopped and talked to almost everyone we met on the trail. Today I tried to say hello, but hardly any response at all! Were they too tired? Or just a completely different kind of tourists? Or simply too many to say hello to?
I stopped for a snack some kilometers into the gorge, and during half a sandwich I counted 80 people rushing by me! So I stopped eating, packed up and walked back like in a parade to the Tavernas by the sea, and had a Greek salad with retsina to compensate.
Now I am back in Paleochora again, and will grab a snack and a beer at Haris studios before going to bed.
10 hours walking in three days is really something for this lady!
Tomorrow I have made reservation for a special dinner at Haris studio. Once a week they give one. So I'd better continue exercising, the food is so good here! Tomorrow I must try and find a place to recharge the battery of the camera... almost nothing left now.
More later.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sougia
Staying on for one more day in Sougia after a long 7 hour walk from Paleochora. A wonderful walk, but pretty hard climbing some of the time. Three stops for a swim along the way made the trip bearable, and goodhumoured Ian made me laugh every time I wondered if I should give up. I couldn't have better company than him on a trip like this.
This trail has some fantastic highligts, with wonderful views of the coastline. An absolute high was Lissos, once a thriving village 1100 years ago, now only ruins left. But so peaceful, and a little beach, Thunder Bay, which gave us a nice third swim of the day.
The last part of the trail was trough a little gorge. The clouds was coming, and the first raindrops fell as we walk out in the litte harbour. First stop, belive it ot not :-) was at the nearest taverna for a big beer! The rain poured down while we drank it, and the sun shone again when we finished.
And after getting a room for the night, no shower has ever felt better. And after that we found a nice taverna for a great meal. Both of us had been here before, and it was nice to be back again.
Today has been a day of rest. The weather is rather windy, and I wonder if it will be possible to go back to Paleochora again by boat tomorrow. Time will show.
More reports will follow as long as computers can be found.
This trail has some fantastic highligts, with wonderful views of the coastline. An absolute high was Lissos, once a thriving village 1100 years ago, now only ruins left. But so peaceful, and a little beach, Thunder Bay, which gave us a nice third swim of the day.
The last part of the trail was trough a little gorge. The clouds was coming, and the first raindrops fell as we walk out in the litte harbour. First stop, belive it ot not :-) was at the nearest taverna for a big beer! The rain poured down while we drank it, and the sun shone again when we finished.
And after getting a room for the night, no shower has ever felt better. And after that we found a nice taverna for a great meal. Both of us had been here before, and it was nice to be back again.
Today has been a day of rest. The weather is rather windy, and I wonder if it will be possible to go back to Paleochora again by boat tomorrow. Time will show.
More reports will follow as long as computers can be found.
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