Plakias Forums
Plakias => Plakias => Topic started by: George on July 11, 2007, 10:36:24 AM
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There's not many reports coming in about the good times and the bad. Can only put it down to Post Holiday Depressions
george g...
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There's not many reports coming in about the good times and the bad. Can only put it down to Post Holiday Depressions
george g...
Hi George
Definately have post holiday blues but coping as only 12 weeks till we are back!
Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much. The day we had 52 was I can only imagine like sitting the middle of the sahara dessert. The wind was red hot & it was even unbearable to ride our scooter further than the beach! However the 4am swimming was fun! It entertained Dionysis at the Hotel (Livicon)
However we had a great time as always. We always meet up with our friends from all over europe in June and have lots of fun. We also were very excited to stand inside our new property. I will own up now that we have bought an apatment in the Plakia Panorama site. We like most of you on this site were horrified when we first saw the plans for the site however when we looked into it further decided the price was right in the place we love and at the end of the day they were going to build it anyway so why miss out. It took alot of research & nerves before we made our final descision last October.
Having seen the site now though I think when it's finished it will look nice and let's face it some of the unfinished buildings in Plakias are much more of an eye sore.
Just looking forward to going back now, am craving sunshine & shrimp saganaki & much more!
Rowena & Carl
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There's not many reports coming in about the good times and the bad. Can only put it down to Post Holiday Depressions
george g...
Hi George
Definately have post holiday blues but coping as only 12 weeks till we are back!
Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much. The day we had 52 was I can only imagine like sitting the middle of the sahara dessert. The wind was red hot & it was even unbearable to ride our scooter further than the beach! However the 4am swimming was fun! It entertained Dionysis at the Hotel (Livicon)
However we had a great time as always. We always meet up with our friends from all over europe in June and have lots of fun. We also were very excited to stand inside our new property. I will own up now that we have bought an apatment in the Plakia Panorama site. We like most of you on this site were horrified when we first saw the plans for the site however when we looked into it further decided the price was right in the place we love and at the end of the day they were going to build it anyway so why miss out. It took alot of research & nerves before we made our final descision last October.
Having seen the site now though I think when it's finished it will look nice and let's face it some of the unfinished buildings in Plakias are much more of an eye sore.
Just looking forward to going back now, am craving sunshine & shrimp saganaki & much more!
Rowena & Carl
Well done guys, lets keep it up
You do realise now that you have a lot more very close friends.
george g...
Your very special friend
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
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There's one in Antoni's Bar on the wall by the door, I always look at it when I go in there if it's been a bit warm.
george g...
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
There must be one in the Livicn . i have never actually seen it but I have frequent conversations with Dionussos about the weather and most eveings he tells me what the temrpature has been that day and what the forecast is for tomorrow . I think he does it to make me even thirstier !
roger
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
There must be one in the Livicn . i have never actually seen it but I have frequent conversations with Dionussos about the weather and most eveings he tells me what the temrpature has been that day and what the forecast is for tomorrow . I think he does it to make me even thirstier !
roger
My son staying at Asomatos texted me today and said temp was 33*C
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Anyone going out soon, don't forget ya woolies
george g...
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
There is one in Kyma. On one of the central supports up the middle near the bar. Pavlos will usually have something to say about the weather if you ask him.
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. We like most of you on this site were horrified when we first saw the plans for the site however when we looked into it further decided the price was right in the place we love and at the end of the day they were going to build it anyway so why miss out. It took alot of research & nerves before we made our final descision last October
Rowena & Carl
i admit i was horrified when i saw the first plans but i had got the location of the apartments wrong, i thought they were across the road, further down towards the beach ( more like the hapimag ones) and i hated the idea of a new Damnoni
i hope it works out well for you both, i'm sure it will, but keep us up to date with the developments!
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
Some friends came to the beach & it 48 in the shade in their garden, so yes it was in the sun. It was also off the scale in the paligremnos..... I have never experienced such heat before.
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
There must be one in the Livicn . i have never actually seen it but I have frequent conversations with Dionussos about the weather and most eveings he tells me what the temrpature has been that day and what the forecast is for tomorrow . I think he does it to make me even thirstier !
roger
Roger did you not know Dionysos is a fountain of knowledge for everything..... not just the weather!!
There used be a thermometer in the reception but I don't think the new reception had one, however the fridges & ice machine were a good indication as they stopped working!!
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Well what can I say it was a hot one, the first 8 days the temperature on the beach ranged from 45 to 52 degrees, I like the heat but this was a bit much.
I'd be interested to know where there is a thermometer in Plakias. I've long been interested in weather and some of the resorts I go to have digital temperature readouts strategically placed, but I've never seen one in Plakias.
If you took a thermometer yourself and measured it actually on the beach I assume it was in the sun.
Mike
There must be one in the Livicn . i have never actually seen it but I have frequent conversations with Dionussos about the weather and most eveings he tells me what the temperature has been that day and what the forecast is for tomorrow . I think he does it to make me even thirstier !
roger
Roger did you not know Dionysos is a fountain of knowledge for everything..... not just the weather!!
There used be a thermometer in the reception but I don't think the new reception had one, however the fridges & ice machine were a good indication as they stopped working!!
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That's one thing that people don't seem to realise, most published temperatures are recorded in the shade.
One can always add at least 10-15 degrees to that figure for temperatures 'in the sun'.
The way it's going out there, the sea temperatures are going to be like a warm bath in around 5 weeks time
george g...
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One week until a warm bath and cold beers!!!
Is there any wind at the moment?
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That's one thing that people don't seem to realise, most published temperatures are recorded in the shade.
One can always add at least 10-15 degrees to that figure for temperatures 'in the sun'.
george g...
Published temperatures are the temperature of the air; official ones are measured in a Stevenson Screen but they must be in the shade obviously. Temperatures in the sun are meaningless as all it is is the temperature the direct sun has heated the thermometer to, not the air temperture. We all know how hot the beach at the far end gets in high summer- too hot to walk on.
I checked official temperature records and the record for Crete seems to 44.4°C and the highest in Greece was 48°C. Even Kuwait only managed 51.5°C! See http://www.meteorologyclimate.com/extreme-...ure-records.htm (http://www.meteorologyclimate.com/extreme-temperature-records.htm).
So, over 40°C it could have been but not 52°C. Whatever it was, too hot for my liking but not for George.
Mike
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That's one thing that people don't seem to realise, most published temperatures are recorded in the shade.
One can always add at least 10-15 degrees to that figure for temperatures 'in the sun'.
The way it's going out there, the sea temperatures are going to be like a warm bath in around 5 weeks time
george g..
Oh yes it certainly will be George, the water was the warmest I've ever known it in June/July, bet you can't wait...
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That's one thing that people don't seem to realise, most published temperatures are recorded in the shade.
One can always add at least 10-15 degrees to that figure for temperatures 'in the sun'.
george g...
Published temperatures are the temperature of the air; official ones are measured in a Stevenson Screen but they must be in the shade obviously. Temperatures in the sun are meaningless as all it is is the temperature the direct sun has heated the thermometer to, not the air temperture. We all know how hot the beach at the far end gets in high summer- too hot to walk on.
I checked official temperature records and the record for Crete seems to 44.4°C and the highest in Greece was 48°C. Even Kuwait only managed 51.5°C! See [url]http://www.meteorologyclimate.com/extreme-...ure-records.htm[/url] ([url]http://www.meteorologyclimate.com/extreme-temperature-records.htm[/url]).
So, over 40°C it could have been but not 52°C. Whatever it was, too hot for my liking but not for George.
Mike
Whatever the air temperature was it was bloody hot, the sand was too hot walk on even at 9am, you couldn't touch any of the metal on the sunbeds without getting severe burns & even putting your sunglasses or flip flops back on was a problem if they had been in the sun.
Rowena
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One week until a warm bath and cold beers!!!
Is there any wind at the moment?
Lucky you, We only had 2 days of strong winds once the temperature cooled down & it was perfect when we left but that was a week ago now.
Have a great time
Rowena
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I will thanks. as I sit here in the wind and rain in July its hard to believe that this time next week all will be so different!
Barny.
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So, over 40°C it could have been but not 52°C. Whatever it was, too hot for my liking but not for George.
Mike
[/quote]
You should here George complain when it gets over 30°C in the office.
Pete
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Lots and lots
Driving down to Aghia Galini yesterday (rep there now as well) had major problems at the foot of mount kethra, had to go really slow and car was still being pushed all over the road.
Mixed reports of when it's going to stop.
Ali
One week until a warm bath and cold beers!!!
Is there any wind at the moment?
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One week until a warm bath and cold beers!!!
Is there any wind at the moment?
There will be after a few fizzy beers Barny
george g...
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You should here George complain when it gets over 30°C in the office.
Pete
No air, no ventilation, no windows and humidity sky high, who wouldn't complain!!
Fresh air, long sandy beaches, a cooling beer at anytime in my favourite place? Bring it on!! (sorry been watching BB)
george g...
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Bad news .... we're back!
Doubly bad ... I'm here, posting again!!!
The Wind - last week was noticeably windy - it seemed like constant Beaufort scale 7, up to 9, although there were several gusts of 11 (severe storm) ..... plastic chairs bouncing around the balcony and washing ripped off the airer and last seen heading off to Lybia {TVFIC}
The Resort - absolutely the best - we are converts.
The Hospitality - (see previous comment). .... the hospitality as experienced on the north coast just cannot compare.
For those with the patience, I'll try to write a few "articles" - just don't hold your breath
* TVFIC = Tongue Very Firmly In Cheek
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i suspect chas enjoyed himself
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OMG .... is harribobs psychic (http://zorbas.de/scripts/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_question.gif)
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OMG .... is harribobs psychic
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Only one day 'till i'm there!!
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Only one day 'till i'm there!!
Have a great time Barny, say Hi to Pavlos. Taking any beer mats?
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Thanks!
Yes i have a couple of hundred for him featuring football and carling! just in case he is running low.
Barny.
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O.K. then: here is the latest news.
It is very hot during the day (sorry didn't check the actual temperature but I wouldn't be surprised if it was touching 40 in the afternoon), and at night-time it's so warm you can sleep under the stars if you were so minded. The sun is very strong: using a slightly higher protection than usual would be a good idea. The wind has been dying down, and even at "full strength" was never bothersome. Quite honestly, it's a blessing in this heat.
At the far end there have been some welcome changes (By the way: Plakias beach won the "Blue Flag" award for the 4th year in succession.): those horrible stony bits as you step into the water have dissappeared, and up to about the first line of rocks the sea is sandy and shallow (great for children). The water is refreshingly cold. The "goosies" have gone. All sections of the beach are uncrowded (obviously the rush hasn't yet started).
The Paligremnos beach bar has gone all unreliable, and I have been using the next one along (as you go back into town).
For those that are interested, there are 2 new bank cash machines, making a total of 3 along the sea front.
The "Forum" club where you can access the internet has been done up, and is very nice indeed.
I have finally made it to Stellas: what a delight! I will do a separate write-up in detail when I get back.
I think I've covered all the main points of immediate interest. Have a good journey over, Barny.
Noopsy
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Hi Everyone,
Part way through our summer holidays in Plakias, I thought that I would let people know about the changes that we have noticed this year. Please note we are not the most observant of people, so some of these changes may have taken place last year but we didn't pick up on it then.
1) The seafront appears to be cleaner as there are now plenty of litter bins along the front, which are getting used.
2) The forum bar (above forum shopping centre/supermarket has gone upmarket with a complete refurbishment. Now called 'Frame' cafe/bar it is a very pleasant environment during most of the day. The Notus Cafe Bar (above Sifi's restaurant also is fitted out in the same way-same owners?)
3) A new housing development to be built by a company called 'Gasparkis Construction' (or similar) in the corner piece of land opposite the 'Alianthos Beach' hotel. At the moment there is a small portakabin but signs with mocked up graphics seem to indicate that there will be around 20 or so properties to be built.
4) A new supermarket on the main front next to the Diving School.
5) Windsurfing, sailing and jet skis from a company called Plakias Surfing Centre (or similar) who operate from a small patch of beach half way down. At the moment there are only a few takers and it is operating from a small base, but it is indication of how things may 'progress' in the next few years.
This is our third consequitive year on Plakias with the same two weeks. This year is definitely hotter than the previous two with temperature readings in the shade of 36-40 degrees since Saturday 28th July and less wind.
Steve
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5) jet skis
Not good !!??
John R
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jet skis ... really not good... [ I HATE THEM!] I wonder when I'll get my first haircut from one of them while snokeling the far end...
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I take it the Mayor has done a u-turn on allowing motorised pleasure vehicles then !!!!
george g...
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i can only remember seeing one in May and it was someone who'd brought it with him, didn't see any at the surf centre ( which is in it's 2nd year now)
just realised what i didn't see in May, the horse and carriages
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i can only remember seeing one in May and it was someone who'd brought it with him, didn't see any at the surf centre ( which is in it's 2nd year now)
just realised what i didn't see in May, the horse and carriages
That's a shame, I really liked them, although they didn't get used much when I was there last year.
george g...
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i can only remember seeing one in May and it was someone who'd brought it with him, didn't see any at the surf centre ( which is in it's 2nd year now)
just realised what i didn't see in May, the horse and carriages
That's a shame, I really liked them, although they didn't get used much when I was there last year.
george g...
Don't shed your tears .... yet.
The H&C was running every evening between 3rd and 17th July, while we were in town.
Not sure what time he starts each evening but it seemed that if we had to dash to Ali & Dave's for an urgent last-thing purchase, he'd be trotting up the road to park for the night, at 23:00.
Only ever saw the one carriage - usually, parked in the chapel-yard behind the Apollo.
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That's good news Chas, was it the big horse or the small one?
george g...
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5) jet skis
Not good !!??
John R
I totally agree with this and other comments that jet skis or any form of water sports are bad news. I hope the far end remains immune.
Steve Jones is showing real dedication to duty in reporting back whilst still on holiday. It's a pity our "Article System" is so poorly populated, particulary the tavernas section. Loads of members have had their 2007 holidays but haven't added to our reviews.
Mike
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5) Windsurfing, sailing and jet skis from a company called Plakias Surfing Centre (or similar) who operate from a small patch of beach half way down. At the moment there are only a few takers and it is operating from a small base, but it is indication of how things may 'progress' in the next few years.
Oh dear.
It'll be 'dope on a rope' and 'bananas' next.
Better start looking for somewhere else to go.
Next thing it will be 'Full English breakfast all day' and 'Roast beef dinner'.
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5) Windsurfing, sailing and jet skis from a company called Plakias Surfing Centre (or similar) who operate from a small patch of beach half way down. At the moment there are only a few takers and it is operating from a small base, but it is indication of how things may 'progress' in the next few years.
Oh dear.
It'll be 'dope on a rope' and 'bananas' next.
Better start looking for somewhere else to go.
Next thing it will be 'Full English breakfast all day' and 'Roast beef dinner'.
If the site regulars don't use the motorised facilities when they are in Plakias, then perhaps the lack of trade will move them on.
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5) Windsurfing, sailing and jet skis from a company called Plakias Surfing Centre (or similar) who operate from a small patch of beach half way down. At the moment there are only a few takers and it is operating from a small base, but it is indication of how things may 'progress' in the next few years.
Oh dear.
It'll be 'dope on a rope' and 'bananas' next.
Better start looking for somewhere else to go.
Next thing it will be 'Full English breakfast all day' and 'Roast beef dinner'.
If the site regulars don't use the motorised facilities when they are in Plakias, then perhaps the lack of trade will move them on.
I don't think there is much chance of that.
Well, I hope there isn't.
What does everyone else think?
Are you going to hire a jet ski?
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When I was there in June, there were no sign of jet skis or any other powered watersports. There was a watersports outfit with wind surfers etc operating from the old Meltemi Club building - I thought the building had been bought by Alianthos to build a new hotel?
I DID see a horse and carriage, I think, but didn't see much of it.
Greecemad
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Hi
The Gasparakis development is actually the development in Lefkoyia but they have the portabcabin in the Alianthos space for advertising.
The horse and cart is the big horse with smaller carriage, Nikos who had the other is back running his souvlaki place.
I didn't think that the Surf and Sail guys were hiring jet skis (may be wrong) but there is one of the local guys who used to do a lot of windsurfing who has recently bought a jet ski.
Ali
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That's good news Chas, was it the big horse or the small one?
george g...
We only saw the one horse and it was ... er ... well, horse sized (http://home.att.net/~lightning/smilies/fhdsmk.gif)
Jet-Skis -
Thankfully, we didn't see any ..... no reason for me to be arrested, being the reason for thanks (http://www.smileypad.com/v202/Cache/Angry/PutEmUp.gif)
All day breakfast -
We sampled the Ostraco "simple breakfast (juice, croissant, toast, jam, yoghurt, honey, bread, fried egg and tea/coffee) .... it nearly took all day to plough through it (http://zorbas.de/scripts/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_exclaim.gif)
{We were also entertained by some clown in his fancy 20 metre cruiser trying to moor, stern on, in a fairly stiff breeze ... he gave up after the twentieth attempt (possibly because he got "buzzed" by the Palm Beach boats) and anchored in the middle of the bay; having to winch down the Zodiac to come ashore.} - It all adds to the rich tapestry (http://www.smileypad.com/v202/Cache/Happy/Wink.gif)
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5) Windsurfing, sailing and jet skis from a company called Plakias Surfing Centre (or similar) who operate from a small patch of beach half way down. At the moment there are only a few takers and it is operating from a small base, but it is indication of how things may 'progress' in the next few years.
Oh dear.
It'll be 'dope on a rope' and 'bananas' next.
Better start looking for somewhere else to go.
Next thing it will be 'Full English breakfast all day' and 'Roast beef dinner'.
If the site regulars don't use the motorised facilities when they are in Plakias, then perhaps the lack of trade will move them on.
I don't think there is much chance of that.
Well, I hope there isn't.
What does everyone else think?
Are you going to hire a jet ski?
NO!!!
I've seen them operating in Gallini by idiots who think that they are the bee's knees. All they're doing is causing havok to all around them.
If they are going to operate, they need to be somewhere away from the swimmers, like the small harbour on the new road over the dragon.
george g...
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Please don't panic about jet skis. Manolis who has the jet ski only uses late afternoon and way off shore, and is a responsible person. They may be other Greeks who come down possibly at weekends but they are few and far between.
Ali
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When I was there in June, there were no sign of jet skis or any other powered watersports. There was a watersports outfit with wind surfers etc operating from the old Meltemi Club building - I thought the building had been bought by Alianthos to build a new hotel?
I DID see a horse and carriage, I think, but didn't see much of it.
I saw no jet ski's but DID also see the horse and carriage operating more regulary when the temperature cooled down a bit.
Greecemad
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Please don't panic about jet skis. Manolis who has the jet ski only uses late afternoon and way off shore, and is a responsible person. They may be other Greeks who come down possibly at weekends but they are few and far between.
Ali
Thanks Ali, it's nice to hear from the locals who 'know' what's going on.
See you in a couple of weeks
Hope the weather's not getting you guys down!
george g...
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Please don't panic about jet skis. Manolis who has the jet ski only uses late afternoon and way off shore, and is a responsible person. They may be other Greeks who come down possibly at weekends but they are few and far between.
Ali
That's reassuring.
Thanks Ali.
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Well that was my two weeks! where did the time go?
In my opinion there is no major stuff going on at all that affected me or anyone due to be there soon. Very hot the first week up to 46deg in the shade at Antonis place, a little too warm for me but soon cooled off to normal temps.
Beach just as good as ever, food and drink just as good. Freddie just as mad!
Stayed at Stella studios, nice place quiet and away from any road noise! Would stay there again.
The new taxi service is very good "taxi for you" office is opposite ali and Daves, met me at airport and collected me to take me back to Heraklion! (i tried to resisst returning)
Kyma is getting very Czech orientated, Pavlos now speaks the lingo quite well i think? and we were treated to "tomorrow never dies" in Czech telly! amongst other things. I preferred to watch the sea.
Only bad memory was that one morning my bike would not start so took it to easy ride and its turns out that someone in the night had cut the fuel line and drained all the petrol!
I hope you all have as good a time as i did!
Barny.
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You will know when the horse and carriage is getting near as the horse seems to have a shoe missing and instead of hearing "clip clop clip clop" you wil hear "clip clop clip thump" I think its the offside rear thats gone! And i like the little net under the horses tail for catching the you know what!
Barny.
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You will know when the horse and carriage is getting near as the horse seems to have a shoe missing and instead of hearing "clip clop clip clop" you wil hear "clip clop clip thump" I think its the offside rear thats gone! And i like the little net under the horses tail for catching the you know what!
Barny.
Hi Barny, How was the airport regarding hand luggage is it still as bad? Alex G
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... How was the airport regarding hand luggage is it still as bad? Alex G
The same rules as applied to outgoing flights from the UK are mandatory for all flights into the UK.
However, we are talking about Greece, so application of the rules may not be quite so paranoid as in the UK ... best not to take chances, though. You won't know how stringent things are until you've got through the check-in!
Flying out of Hania, last month, we could have taken almost anything but bottled water through
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The rules don't seem to have changed much since last year:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/airt...ty/requirements (http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/airtravel/airportsecurity/requirements)
I don't have any problem with any of this security!
george g...
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The airport was fine. Check in is slower as after you check your case in, you then have to take it yourself and put it through a scanner thing, this causes some delays but this meant I was only in the dep lounge for 30 minutes before the flight boarded! Hand baggage just does the normal thing! but obviously don't take fluids in the bag or on your person it's asking for trouble! I was glad that i didn't have to take my shoes off as i did at bhx, two weeks of no socks and sweaty feet i need say no more!!
Barny. (now stuck in the medical room with no windows)
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Hello everyone. We are back from our first holiday in Plakias. Our oldest daughter visited last summer as well (in fact, she insisted we go there for our hols this year) but for the rest of us it was a first. We stayed at Kostas Chryssoula from 30 June until 14th July. I have not written sooner, because I could not face going on the forum and being reminded that it was all over, whilst many of you are still going out later this year. I must say that we had an absolutely fantastic time. It was hot, but not too hot. It was very windy many days, but it did not bother us that much. There were some days where you could not sit on the main beach, but then around the corner past the harbor, it usually blows less.
The hotel was just fine. They actually put us up at Christina appartments, and they were large. We had a 2 bedroom flat with our 2 youngest children. Our 2 teenage children had a studio flat next to ours. The owner of the supermarket below us was a friendly Englishman. (Forgot his name). Our favourite restaurant was Gio-Ma. We had some wonderful fish there. Other restaurants I would definitely recommend are Tasomanolis, Sirocco and Harakas. The worst meal we had was at Mouses and we did not really enjoy the food a the Panorama restaurant at Mirthios either. They were our only negative experiences though. All the other restaurants we visited were excellent and the food was very cheap indeed ! Our teenagers fell in love with the Ostraco bar and we had quite a few mojitos there ourselves.
The town and the beaches were not crowded at all, although it seemed to be picking up slightly towards the end of the second week. The local youngsters seemed to be happy with the arrival of our kids, because there had been mainly older people until we arrived !
I remember people talking about the German girls who rescue dogs and cats from Crete. Well, we did our bit for animal welfare as well. Some other Belgians staying at our hotel wanted to take a puppy home. It was tied up to an old boat behind the hotel somewhere. It belonged to an Albanian who beat it and did not give it any water and very little food. The family "rescued" it, but did not have the time to arrange for the dog to travel home with them. So they asked us to help. With the help of the German girls who arranged everything very efficiently for us, we took the doggie back to Belgium with us and delivered him to his new owner. He is happy and well and living in Mechelen.
All in all, a great holiday. We will definitely be back some time.
Lut & family
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I remember people talking about the German girls who rescue dogs and cats from Crete. Well, we did our bit for animal welfare as well. Some other Belgians staying at our hotel wanted to take a puppy home. It was tied up to an old boat behind the hotel somewhere. It belonged to an Albanian who beat it and did not give it any water and very little food. The family "rescued" it, but did not have the time to arrange for the dog to travel home with them. So they asked us to help. With the help of the German girls who arranged everything very efficiently for us, we took the doggie back to Belgium with us and delivered him to his new owner. He is happy and well and living in Mechelen.
All in all, a great holiday. We will definitely be back some time.
Lut & family
Hi Lut
Glad you had a good time, and hope to see you back there sometime.
Being a dog lover I was pleased to read the end of your report about the puppy.
Good on you Lut, thanks and I'm sure that the 'GAWF' will be very proud of you, a wonderful thing to do!
george g...
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Hi folks!, Kaliespera!
My first post, just been lurking for the past half year to learn as much as possible about Plakias, we are 1 week back now from a 3 weeks holiday (first time), stayed in Olive grove, lovely!!!!! Just about every night a big white owl flew around our terrace, Hedwig? What a great place Plakias is, I must thank you all for all the information you gave me in the months before we left, you all have been a tremendous help, thanks!
Man did we fell in love with Plakias, went to Rhetymnon for a day to give my wife the chance to shop a little, what a horrid place, yuk!, so glad to be back in Plakias that evening.......
Wheather was great, hardly seen a cloud, only that anemos sometimes, what a weird wind, it blew for 6 days 24 hours a day, I don't mind it in the day but like it when it dies down at night so that one can hear the silence all around.....loved the sudden appearance and disappearance of small white clouds though, you look at the sky and there's nothing to see, just blue, 1 minute later there's a cloud and 1 minute later it's gone again, big fun.....
And the people of Plakias, what a pleasant lot, so many examples I could give of their, in our eyes, tremendous behaviour, for example: I go to buy a bracelet for my wife in the jewelry store opposite Christos, the price tag says 55 euros, I hand over my 55 euros to the lady in the store and she says, okay 50 will do, I never experienced anything like that before, I'm supposed to bargain the price down not she! When I made my reservation on the internet for Olive grove in februari my wife says: no downpayment? so I ask Sofia: no downpayment? Sofia says: no need to, I trust you, you pay when you leave and when we arrive at the apartment no one is living there apart from other guests, all the unoccupied rooms and apartments are open with colour tv's on the wall and airco's, after our three weeks we could have just walked out without paying, amazing. (we live in Amsterdam you no!!!) On the very last night it was full moon, the whole bay was like melted silver, soooo romantic....
Sob, sob, whished i sat at Ostraco's right now with a big cold beer and a small plate of sliced carrot with salt and lemonjuice, sob, sob....trying to convince the wife to book an extra week in october, she says we cannot afford it, sob, sob....
Chris H.
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No surprises there then, another satified customer.
Glad you and the missus enjoyed it Chris
george g...
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Hi folks!, Kaliespera!
My first post, just been lurking for the past half year to learn as much as possible about Plakias, we are 1 week back now from a 3 weeks holiday (first time), stayed in Olive grove, lovely!!!!! Just about every night a big white owl flew around our terrace, Hedwig? What a great place Plakias is..........
Welcome to the forum Chris. Glad you both had a lovely time, we had 3 weeks there last year and it was fantastic. Only 2 weeks this year
Don't go back to lurking, enjoy the fun! (and maybe help us out and write some articles )
Paul.
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Hello everyone. We are back from our first holiday in Plakias. Our oldest daughter visited last summer as well (in fact, she insisted we go there for our hols this year) but for the rest of us it was a first. We stayed at Kostas Chryssoula from 30 June until 14th July. I have not written sooner, because I could not face going on the forum and being reminded that it was all over, whilst many of you are still going out later this year. I must say that we had an absolutely fantastic time. It was hot, but not too hot. It was very windy many days, but it did not bother us that much. There were some days where you could not sit on the main beach, but then around the corner past the harbor, it usually blows less.
The hotel was just fine. They actually put us up at Christina appartments, and they were large. We had a 2 bedroom flat with our 2 youngest children. Our 2 teenage children had a studio flat next to ours. The owner of the supermarket below us was a friendly Englishman. (Forgot his name). Our favourite restaurant was Gio-Ma. We had some wonderful fish there. Other restaurants I would definitely recommend are Tasomanolis, Sirocco and Harakas. The worst meal we had was at Mouses and we did not really enjoy the food a the Panorama restaurant at Mirthios either. They were our only negative experiences though. All the other restaurants we visited were excellent and the food was very cheap indeed ! Our teenagers fell in love with the Ostraco bar and we had quite a few mojitos there ourselves.
The town and the beaches were not crowded at all, although it seemed to be picking up slightly towards the end of the second week. The local youngsters seemed to be happy with the arrival of our kids, because there had been mainly older people until we arrived !
I remember people talking about the German girls who rescue dogs and cats from Crete. Well, we did our bit for animal welfare as well. Some other Belgians staying at our hotel wanted to take a puppy home. It was tied up to an old boat behind the hotel somewhere. It belonged to an Albanian who beat it and did not give it any water and very little food. The family "rescued" it, but did not have the time to arrange for the dog to travel home with them. So they asked us to help. With the help of the German girls who arranged everything very efficiently for us, we took the doggie back to Belgium with us and delivered him to his new owner. He is happy and well and living in Mechelen.
All in all, a great holiday. We will definitely be back some time.
Lut & family
Well done, the more prople who rescue these animals the better, it is the only thing I don't like about Greece is the treatment of animals. We too have rescued a couple of dogs in the past, unfortunately it's very difficult and expensive to bring them back to England otherwise I would of had both but we found them homes for both with very nice people. Just as well really as I think my Dobermann Max would have been very jealous otherwise!!
Rowena
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Hi Lut and Chris
So pleased to hear from people who have so enjoyed their first stays here.
Lut, really pleased to hear you got the dog back to Belgium with no problems it was a pleasure having you and the family staying above the shop.
Chris, the owl you saw was a Barn Owl, we're not sure if it has a huge territory or there are more as we quite often see it from our apartment down at the end of the bay.
Ali and Dave
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You will know when the horse and carriage is getting near as the horse seems to have a shoe missing and instead of hearing "clip clop clip clop" you wil hear "clip clop clip thump" I think its the offside rear thats gone! And i like the little net under the horses tail for catching the you know what!
Barny.
Yes Barny it was the offside rear,however by my second night he had been repaired back to clip clop clip clop, this was my first time in plakias in the month of August, apparently I picked the Greek annually holiday , also including a religous celebration, I could not believe it the number of people there, I thought I,d gone to Athens, we still enjoyed it very much especially the second week when it was back to normal. we decided to have weekend in Paliochora which again was the wrong week for it we arrived by ferry at 7.15 at 9.45 we were still looking for a room however we found one it must have been the only room in the whole town you can imagine what it was like so the weekend became just the one night we were waiting for the ferry at 8.0 clock the following morning, the actually trip was brilliant I would do it again in our normal June time, we managed to meet George a day before we left it was nice to meet him after talking to him several through the Forum. Our room was as nice as ever at Stella Studios, and Zac as always was waiting at the airport, his new business is doing very well, the good thing about going in August this year is I only have 10 months to my next trip in June.
Regards Alex &fran
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Oh well you can't get better than a clip clop fitter!!
Barny.
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Having problems posting, just testing.....
Chris H.
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Ah!, at last it works again, probably just me doing something stupid.....
Ploppy: writing articles on what?
For fun I added a pic of Plakias wildlife, you all know from what position I took that pic don't you?
Chris H.
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i recognise those little fellas!!
(http://harribobs.smugmug.com/photos/101763291-M.jpg)
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Me too ....
(http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/4275/2114652000046486184S600x600Q85.jpg)
.... it was a windy day, so they were sheltering on the lee-side.
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OK not at the far end but here is one....
(http://www.ploppy.me.uk/Store/quack.jpg)
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OK not at the far end but here is one....
([url]http://www.ploppy.me.uk/Store/quack.jpg[/url])
This ones not shy!
Rowena
[attachment=504:P1010344.JPG]
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Nice to see these guys are still around and on Monday evening (03.09) entertaining a dog, he kept chasing them into the sea and the waves kept bringing them back in again. They seem to have adopted the lawn in front of the Alianthos.
When I find my non-holiday head, I'll do a proper report! And NO it is NOT good to be back!!!
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Plakias 2007
Great flight ‘XL’ 05.00am take off, car waiting and got into Plakias around 2.30pm. Checked straight into Flisvos Rooms (see ‘Article System’), and plenty of time to unpack get sorted and go and get a few groceries from Dave and Ali’s.
Wasn’t very adventurous with the restaurants this year, stuck to Medusa, Harakas and Lysseous, they were all magical as always and one disaster in the Platia in Myrthios. Had the Red Lamb, it was awful.
But the Lemon Sole with Lemon Sauce in Harakas was a dream, thoroughly recommended.
Usual bars, Antoni’s and the Levicon and a few others, Glaros, Ostraco and the Lamon etc during the day whenever the need arose. The warm welcome was much appreciated.
Met so many people, Roger of course was in the Levicon and the Lysseous most evenings, nice to see you again Roger!
Alec and Fran, it was a delight to meet you, only sorry you had to go the following day.
Penny and Peter from Germany, who had been reading the site and came over to introduce themselves, lovely people and GET REGISTERED guys we need you, Peter recons he’s been to Plakias around 35 times, sometimes 3 or 4 times a year. Sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. Get in touch!!
Ann and Steve (aka Sunshine Girl) tapped me on the shoulder to introduce themselves. Great to meet you both, and Ann, ‘Sunshine Girl’ suits you.
Overall it was a great year, and having Pete and Co. in the room next door, it was great to share some of my favourite things, sorry about the roads girls!
Windy for a few days, then it dropped down to breeze, then it stopped completely for about two days, 35 degrees plus every gay, but the dark clouds were just rolling over the Dragon on my last day.
It was very quiet though, surprisingly so, we had a few busy days probably when the local holidays were happening, but the Restaurants and the Levicon in the evenings were generally very quiet and I hate to admit it but I sort of missed the ‘SL’s’, but Dionysis said, that he was looking forward to them coming back, his eyes were raised to the ceiling when he said it though!
Independence is here to stay, loved it, and will do it again, and next year seriously thinking about 3 weeks instead of 2.
Post Plakias Blues are here again...
george g...
Quick addition, I mentioned to Freddie on the beach how much I'd paid for the car, and he moaned at me for not using a Plakias based company, and I told him they were all too expensive, so he said go and see Antonios at Monza. So I did and got a hyperthetical quote for exacly the same deal for next year. It was 50 euros more than I paid this year which is still 200 euros cheaper than the next best quote I had for this year. So guess who I'm going to use next year?
g g...
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Independence is here to stay, loved it, and will do it again, and next year seriously thinking about 3 weeks instead of 2.
Post Plakias Blues are here again...
george g...
Just a quick thought for those with a generous holiday entitlement or who don't work, but I reckon to get two 2-week holidays (one May, one late September/early October) for the price of one in high season (there or thereabouts anyway). From my perspective I prefer the weather to be cooler as I like to do fairly long walks. Although temperatures of 30°C are not unusual at these times the nights are cooler and you don't need air conditioning.
Mike
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I hate to admit it but I sort of missed the ‘SL’s’, but Dionysis said, that he was looking forward to them coming back, his eyes were raised to the ceiling when he said it though!
Independence is here to stay, loved it, and will do it again, and next year seriously thinking about 3 weeks instead of 2.
Post Plakias Blues are here again...
Ah well - counting down to our 18 days of SL time at Livicon. Shall ask Dionysis about his raised eyes. They may indeed be watering when we leave
Not looking forward to Post Plakias blues mid October - let us know if you find the cure.
oh - did you suss out the Kilikratis track ??
John R
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Plakias 2007
Great flight ‘XL’ 05.00am take off, car waiting and got into Plakias around 2.30pm. Checked straight into Flisvos Rooms (see ‘Article System’), and plenty of time to unpack get sorted and go and get a few groceries from Dave and Ali’s.
Wasn’t very adventurous with the restaurants this year, stuck to Medusa, Harakas and Lysseous, they were all magical as always and one disaster in the Platia in Myrthios. Had the Red Lamb, it was awful.
But the Lemon Sole with Lemon Sauce in Harakas was a dream, thoroughly recommended.
Usual bars, Antoni’s and the Levicon and a few others, Glaros, Ostraco and the Lamon etc during the day whenever the need arose. The warm welcome was much appreciated.
Met so many people, Roger of course was in the Levicon and the Lysseous most evenings, nice to see you again Roger!
Alec and Fran, it was a delight to meet you, only sorry you had to go the following day.
Penny and Peter from Germany, who had been reading the site and came over to introduce themselves, lovely people and GET REGISTERED guys we need you, Peter recons he’s been to Plakias around 35 times, sometimes 3 or 4 times a year. Sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. Get in touch!!
Ann and Steve (aka Sunshine Girl) tapped me on the shoulder to introduce themselves. Great to meet you both, and Ann, ‘Sunshine Girl’ suits you.
Overall it was a great year, and having Pete and Co. in the room next door, it was great to share some of my favourite things, sorry about the roads girls!
Windy for a few days, then it dropped down to breeze, then it stopped completely for about two days, 35 degrees plus every gay, but the dark clouds were just rolling over the Dragon on my last day.
It was very quiet though, surprisingly so, we had a few busy days probably when the local holidays were happening, but the Restaurants and the Levicon in the evenings were generally very quiet and I hate to admit it but I sort of missed the ‘SL’s’, but Dionysis said, that he was looking forward to them coming back, his eyes were raised to the ceiling when he said it though!
Independence is here to stay, loved it, and will do it again, and next year seriously thinking about 3 weeks instead of 2.
Post Plakias Blues are here again...
george g...
Quick addition, I mentioned to Freddie on the beach how much I'd paid for the car, and he moaned at me for not using a Plakias based company, and I told him they were all too expensive, so he said go and see Antonios at Monza. So I did and got a hyperthetical quote for exacly the same deal for next year. It was 50 euros more than I paid this year which is still 200 euros cheaper than the next best quote I had for this year. So guess who I'm going to use next year?
g g...
Hi George
Glad you had a great time, we go again 3 weeks Tuesday & can't wait. Hope you enjoyed Flisvos apartments don't be jealous but our Vespa Scooter lives there! Sea veiw all year! Hope it's ok and starts in October.
Rowena
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oh - did you suss out the Kilikratis track ??
John R
Hi John
No I didn't, but I did try, I drove all the way along the road from Asi Gonia to Imbross and couldn't find it. Probably concentrating on missing all the goats that were wandering all over the road, but I did find another road. There's a big sign at the entrance to it that says that it lead to a conservation area for some kind of Vultures, so I went for it. Warning do not try this in any type of car, the Jimny was in 2WD and packed up on me within a 100 yards of coming off the 'main' road so had to stop and get the 4WD set up and then it was plain sailing.
Beautiful scenery and dozens of vultures both above and at times below me, fabulous site watching them gliding on the thermals. Black wing tips and creamy plummage on their backs.
The road is like driving on a shingle beach so be warned!
I did find the other entrance to it though in Kapsodassos, on the way back, looks like it's a major funding operation by the EU. Big sign there with all the details.
The road goes off in all directions and ends... would you believe? At a church!
Great fun
george g...
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oh - did you suss out the Kilikratis track ??
John R
Hi John
No I didn't, but I did try, I drove all the way along the road from Asi Gonia to Imbross and couldn't find it.
george g...
Thanks George for all that info. I certainly will not try a car on the route you describe but we might get our walking boots on for that one - sounds good. If I can't find the start of the Killikratis pass at the bottom (If you didn't it is unlikely that I will) then I might have a careful investigation from the top - turning back if things get rough. They do hide the starts of these mountain routes. The new massive highway from Thronos to Arkadia is near impossible to find (or was). We drove out of Thronos along a narrow village track that looked absolutely wrong and with no way of turning round - we were getting quite worried. Then suddenly it opened out into this near "motorway" across the Mountains.
Hope you left a bit of sunshine for us !!
And Chris - you could find that new track for us in the few days you have before our arrival couldn't you
John R
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oh - did you suss out the Kilikratis track ??
John R
Hi John
No I didn't, but I did try, I drove all the way along the road from Asi Gonia to Imbross and couldn't find it.
george g...
Thanks George for all that info. I certainly will not try a car on the route you describe but we might get our walking boots on for that one - sounds good. If I can't find the start of the Killikratis pass at the bottom (If you didn't it is unlikely that I will) then I might have a careful investigation from the top - turning back if things get rough. They do hide the starts of these mountain routes. The new massive highway from Thronos to Arkadia is near impossible to find (or was). We drove out of Thronos along a narrow village track that looked absolutely wrong and with no way of turning round - we were getting quite worried. Then suddenly it opened out into this near "motorway" across the Mountains.
Hope you left a bit of sunshine for us !!
And Chris - you could find that new track for us in the few days you have before our arrival couldn't you
John R
Couldn't find it from the top John, the bottom access is easy it's very well sign posted on the road going through Kapsodassos.
I hope you find it John, I get the impression that it could be a spectacular walk down, as the road evidently runs down the side of the Kallikratos Gorge.
BOL, I hope you enjoy it
...and I did leave a bit of sunshine but can't gaurantee that Pete and Dawn will leave any on their return on Wednesday, but they have got me a litre and a half of Babbis's Raki, so I'm set up for the winter!!
george g...
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Couldn't find it from the top John, the bottom access is easy it's very well sign posted on the road going through Kapsodassos.
I hope you find it John, I get the impression that it could be a spectacular walk down, as the road evidently runs down the side of the Kallikratos Gorge.
george g...
Google Earth seem to have a newer picture of this area and the photo below displays the Kilikratis track and the bottom of it - but on zooming in it is obviously not tarmaced anywhere when the photo was taken.. On Google Earth I traced it to the top and can see clearly where it starts in Kilikratis Village. The question is how much is tarmaced - we know that some of it is from that youtube film clip. So I think I can make a tentative investigation from the top now.
(http://www.flute.toucansurf.com/jnrscreen.jpg)
John R
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Looks like another road being cut out on the left John, this could become a popular area for the walkers.
It would be interesting to know, who works out the route for these roads.
george g...
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Couple of things...
Chris H, the bar at Imbross has moved the display at the centre, look around, you will anyway, it's still in there somewhere.Try the Pork chops
The road to Anapoli is being widened and strengthed up by the look of it. Large caterpillars are up there gouging out the rocks and a lot of the tarmac has gone which makes it even more scary especially on the narrow bits!!
george g...
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The road to Anapoli is being widened and strengthed up by the look of it. Large caterpillars are up there gouging out the rocks and a lot of the tarmac has gone which makes it even more scary especially on the narrow bits!!
george g...
Ouch - that is NOT funny
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The road to Anapoli is being widened and strengthed up by the look of it. Large caterpillars are up there gouging out the rocks and a lot of the tarmac has gone which makes it even more scary especially on the narrow bits!!
george g...
Ouch - that is NOT funny
I got Pete to use my camera and filmed the crossing of the Bridge, one way at normal speed and coming back very slowly to see if we could see where the bungi jumpers had gone (down I think), then the road all the way down into Chora Sfakion (the girls were very quite BTW). It's bad enough driving down there, but I watched it yesterday on TV and that was even worse .
george g...
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The road to Anapoli is being widened and strengthed up by the look of it. Large caterpillars are up there gouging out the rocks and a lot of the tarmac has gone which makes it even more scary especially on the narrow bits!!
george g...
Ouch - that is NOT funny
I got Pete to use my camera and filmed the crossing of the Bridge, one way at normal speed and coming back very slowly to see if we could see where the 'Liquid bungi' jumpers had gone (down I think), then the road all the way down into Chora Sfakion (the girls were very quite BTW). It's bad enough driving down there, but I watched it yesterday on TV and that was even worse .
george g...
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the road improvements on the anapoli has been going on all year, you've got to be aware you may get held by one of the huge bulldozers or trucks
the kallikratis gorge is a lovely place to walk but it is a long one to do up and down in a day
the road out of kallikratis goes south right out of the centre of the village towards another small village, whose name i can't remember
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Sorry about that, my PC timed out so I hit the ADD button again.
george g...
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Anapoli road and roadworks
(http://harribobs.smugmug.com/photos/165320625-L.jpg)
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Our first visit to Plakias, 2 – 9 September 2007
We travelled independently from Manchester airport, having booked our flights with Excel. The outbound journey was a nightmare. We arrived at Heraklion nine hours late, having spent most of the day circling above the airport and landing (twice!) at Chania.
Due to this delay, we had difficulty collecting our pre-booked hire car from Heraklion airport and then, worse still, had to drive through the night on unfamiliar mountain roads to Plakias. We eventually arrived (safe and sound but absolutely exhausted) at our accommodation (Paligremnos) at 2.30 in the morning. The place was deserted but they had kindly left the front door open with a note directing us to our room.
We chose Paligremnos mainly because of its proximity to the beach. We are pleased to report that the accommodation is exactly as advertised on their web site - a studio room with a sea view, balcony and air conditioning. It contained a comfortable double bed, bathroom with shower, loads of hot water, and a fridge and kettle. The room was cleaned each day and clean towels were also provided. All this for 35 euros a night for both of us. What a very reasonable price! But for anyone who wants a swimming pool and tv, it’s not for you.
On the first morning, and every subsequent morning, we opted to purchase our breakfast downstairs where we sat on the restaurant terrace. A pleasant and relaxing start to the day after the trauma of our long journey. We would not hesitate to stay here again next time we visit Plakias.
We chose a holiday in Plakias after reading all the favourable comments on this forum, and seeing Harribobs’ wonderful photos of Plakias and the surrounding area. Thanks to everyone who contributes to, and maintains, this valuable resource.
We found the resort to be exactly what we expected – a scenic bay surrounded by mountains; not overdeveloped but with sufficient restaurants, bars and shops for purchasing the necessary provisions etc.
We spent most our time during the day relaxing on the sandy beach opposite Paligremnos. The sea temperature was just right and very pleasant for cooling off. The beach facilities were excellent – sunbeds, sun shades and showers. The lad who looks after this part of the beach (Freddie I think) is a friendly character who enjoys a laugh and joke with all his customers.
The weather was good – sunny and warm. The famous wind did sometimes get up but most days there was just a pleasant sea breeze. On the one day when it was too windy on Plakias beach, we took the opportunity to sunbath at Amoudaki where it was more sheltered.
Following the recommendations of regular contributors to this forum, in the evenings we visited the following restaurants: Lysseos, Gioma, Medousa, Tasomanolis (twice) and the Panorama in Mirthios. We found the food, service and prices to be very good everywhere we went. We were amazed that you could choose a harbour side table without being charged premium rates for the privilege of sitting there (like in most other resorts). We will add some further information about our meals in the Articles pages when we get round to it.
During our short stay in Plakias, we used our hire car to visit Mirthios, Sellia, Prevali Monastery, Souda and Amoudi.
Overall, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. Our return journey and flight home were without any problems, and everything was on schedule. We look forward to returning to Plakias in the not too distant future.
P.S. If you would like to see some of our photos of Plakias, they can be found on this link http://www.flickr.com/gp/58428615@N00/8ATc4o (http://www.flickr.com/gp/58428615@N00/6N3h27)
P and S
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Our first visit to Plakias, 2 – 9 September 2007
We travelled independently from Manchester airport, having booked our flights with Excel. The outbound journey was a nightmare. We arrived at Heraklion nine hours late, having spent most of the day circling above the airport and landing (twice!) at Chania.
Sheer curiosity begs the question as to why the plane did not land at Heraklion etc. We fly XL next year !
John R
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John,
We'll let you know if, and when, we get a reply to our letter from XL.
As other planes landed at Heraklion that day without any problem, it remains a mystery why our's could not despite several attempts. Each time we began our descent, the pilot aborted the landing as he approached the airport. After circling for about an hour, we were taken to Chania for refuelling. We were disembarked from the plane and taken to a departure lounge in Chania where we waited for an hour before reboarding. Then we went through the same routine again, i.e. aborted attempts at landing at Heraklion, and circling for about another hour. Eventually, the pilot headed back to Chania where we disembarked again. After about another two hours waiting around for some news, we were directed to bagage hall to collect our luggage, and then put on coaches to Heraklion. After a two hour journey by road, we eventaully arrived in Heraklion at 11.30pm. Our scheduled arrival time should have been 3pm! Like everyone else, we were exhausted and shattered, having been up since 5am.
We know these things happen now and again, and would accept that we unlucky on this occasion. But, perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects is that, at no point, anyone from XL offered any refreshments during our delay, not even a glass of water!
The good thing is we were soon able to put it out of our minds when woke up the next day in Plakias, and saw the fantastic view from our balcony - a view of the sea and the bay with the headlands and surrounding mountains. It took our breath away. Having arrived at 2.30 in the morning, this was our first view of Plakias in the daylight. It's something we won't forget.
P & S
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sorry to hear you had such a bad flight in, i've never heard of that before
but it sounds like you had a good time
cheers
chris
edit...ps thx about the pics just realised who you are, cheers pat
check out pat's pics on flickr....very good indeed!!
pat's pics (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/sets/72157601938675708)
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Good photos, pushing your luck taking pics at the airport? look what happened to the last ones to do that !!
I need some raki.
Barny.
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Whata hard trip to paradise! As I wandered through your pics I mentioned that somebody else is doing Eleftheris' job now?! http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/135...57601938675708/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/1355410400/in/set-72157601938675708/) Impossible to imagine a day on the beach without him! What a pity! Does anybody know if he gave up his service ? That would be a great loss! Hope he was just on holidays ...
Hungry for a doughnut
shinaria
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Whata hard trip to paradise! As I wandered through your pics I mentioned that somebody else is doing Eleftheris' job now?! [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/135...57601938675708/[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/1355410400/in/set-72157601938675708/[/url]) Impossible to imagine a day on the beach without him! What a pity! Does anybody know if he gave up his service ? That would be a great loss! Hope he was just on holidays ...
Hungry for a doughnut
shinaria
I was told that his brother was standing in for him, evidently he suffers from arthritis and was having a bad day. Not the ideal job with that condition. Anyway I did see him again on the beach and on his usual form, so he hasn't given up just yet!
george g...
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A donut a day keeps the doctor away...!
shinaria
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Our first visit to Plakias, 2 – 9 September 2007
P.S. If you would like to see some of our photos of Plakias, they can be found on this link [url]http://www.flickr.com/gp/58428615@N00/8ATc4o[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/gp/58428615@N00/8ATc4o[/url])
P and S
Excellent pics Pat , just spent an enjoyable lunchtime getting really pee'd off.
george g...
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George,
I know you didn't go with Olympic this year but did you find out what happened to Morven, who I think had been their rep. for several years and was always a cheerful face around the place? Maybe she just fancied a change.
Mike
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George,
I know you didn't go with Olympic this year but did you find out what happened to Morven, who I think had been their rep. for several years and was always a cheerful face around the place? Maybe she just fancied a change.
Mike
Hi Mike
Unfortunately, no. I was going to ask the Olympic rep., but she scared me, Mrs H said that I wouldn't be impressed and she was right. I think her name was Edwina.
I had a long chat with Morven last year and was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was not just some dumb blond who was out there for a good time (sorry all, that sounds sexist, but you know what I mean)). She had a degree from university and I got the impression that she was ambitious and going places in the travel industry. Whether it was with Olympic or not she didn't say, so when I heard that she wasn't there anymore I wasn't really surprised, disappointed definately , she was a great girl, always had a smile and as you said she was always cheerful. I hope she goes far.
That wasn't the reason I went independantly although some may say otherwise .
Broken hearted...
george g...
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I was told that his brother was standing in for him, evidently he suffers from arthritis and was having a bad day. Not the ideal job with that condition. Anyway I did see him again on the beach and on his usual form, so he hasn't given up just yet!
george g...
Freddie said much the same to us although thought that over indulging might be adding to Eleftheris's poorer health thith year. We did see him at Mikro Amoudi the one day we were there so his legs can't be too bad.
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We spent 2 fantastic weeks 28 Aug - 11 Sept in Plakias. This was our first visit not only to Plakias but to Crete and we really enjoyed it. We stayed at Santa Maria Apartments which is just up the hill about a 5-10 minute walk into town. The apartment was lovely we had the top floor so we had views all across Plakias. The apartment was cleaned every day except Sunday with clean towels and linen every other day. It was very quiet and really relaxing. The Olpympic rep was also staying there on the ground floor which we found really great as she was very informative about the island and really knew her stuff. We enjoyed the food in all the restaurants and our favourite was Herakas (think that is how it is spelt) especially the sole dish - lovely. We only had one bad meal and that was in Mouses. We spent quite a few nights in Ostraco's and really enjoyed it especially upstairs when the dancing got going and the staff were very friendly. We hired a car for three days and got a good rate from Moto Auto on the main street 90euros for the 3 days. We went to Spili which was recommended by Pete and Dawn and it was great. We went to Hora Sfakia which was where we were originally going to stay - glad we didnt it really is picturesque but not much to do there and no real beach to speak of. We went to Matala and Franko something or other which was nice and Agio Galini but we preferred Plakias to all of them. We tried all the beaches but prefered the far end. We went to Preveli and enjoyed hiring a pedalo for one hour which took us down a small river where you can get off and have a walk around. Whilst in Plakias we met Pete and Dawn and Tracey their daughter and George who were all great and made our holiday more interesting. We will definitely be back!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hope this link work - some photos from our recent holiday. Sorry, no captions yet. What with enhancing, compressing, renaming and uploading to facebook and flickr, I haven't had time to describe them. Apart from Plakias we went to Chora Sfakion including the Byzantine settlement behind the town, Frangokastello 'far End', Mournes, Timeos Stavros, Paleochora, Vilandedro and Spinalonga
Our photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/30499391@N00/sets/72157602121525673/)
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Hope this link work - some photos from our recent holiday. Sorry, no captions yet. What with enhancing, compressing, renaming and uploading to facebook and flickr, I haven't had time to describe them. Apart from Plakias we went to Chora Sfakion including the Byzantine settlement behind the town, Frangokastello 'far End', Mournes, Timeos Stavros, Paleochora, Vilandedro and Spinalonga
Our photos ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/30499391@N00/sets/72157602121525673/[/url])
We would be very interested to hear your comments/thoughts on Spinalonga. We had considered visiting there this year, but never got around to it.
Just about to start reading 'The Island' by Victoria Hislop so it may well be on our 'must see' places next year.
Peter&Dawn
P.S. Great photos, look forward to seeing the captions.
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Hi
We also would be interested to hear about Spinalonga as I read the book whilst in Plakias and wanted to visit but the rep said they were not doing tours to the island as it was too far. How did you get there - did you drive across to Agio Nikolais and get the ferry. We thought we might go next year and do a week in the north to see Spinalonga. Hope you are enjoying the book Dawn - I thought it was great.
Ann
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Hi
We also would be interested to hear about Spinalonga as I read the book whilst in Plakias and wanted to visit but the rep said they were not doing tours to the island as it was too far. How did you get there - did you drive across to Agio Nikolais and get the ferry. We thought we might go next year and do a week in the north to see Spinalonga. Hope you are enjoying the book Dawn - I thought it was great.
Ann
You'll have to go to Elounda Ann and catch a 'ferry' from there. You won't have to book or anything, there's loads of different types of boats that go there all day long. Just buy a ticket and wait for the boat to fill up and then off you go.
As the rep said, from Plakias it will be a loooooong day , I spoke to P&D about it and suggested an overnight stay in or around Elounda.
george g...
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By popular demand ....
We drove there to Plaka - we took a southerly route going there via Selia Agia Galini, then up to Heraklion. We expected this to be slower but just fancied a change. It took us 3hrs 20mins in a Toyota Aygo (small car). On the way back we took the fast road across the top to Rethymnon, then down. The return journey took 2 hrs 50 mins. The trip was well worth it. I suggest you get the boat from Plaka but there are boats from Elounda and Agios Nikolais. From Plaka we paid 7 euro each and there are two different boats to choose from. The boats go round the island, then drop you off. It's then 2 euro each to walk around. The boats run hourly and we found we needed about 1 1/2 hours to explore the island fully so we skipped the next boat back and waited for it to return again. There's plenty of information about the history of the place but it's the buildings from the Turkish occupation that have been restored the most. Some of the buildings used by the Leper colony were removed in the 70s as they thought they spoiled the look of the place - a pity as it's all part of the island's history and probably the best know part since the publication of 'The Island'. Plaka is a lovely little place - quiet but with a good selection of tavernas. We would have been happy staying at Plaka for a couple of nights. We saw a bit of Elounda (nice but larger than we like) but didn't go to Agios Nikolais. BTW - forget my comment about adding captions. I see that the photos have retained their descriptive titles (unlike on Facebook).
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I personally think that they should have left it alone. I first went there in 1978, and it was a 'dead' place eerily spooky, with no insects, no foliage, no birds in fact there was nothing there except the buildings which amittedly were in a bit of a mess. I got rid of the group I was with and just stood there watching the tumbleweed rolling down the road, it was probably the most spooky place I have ever been to.
The houses were all open and one could imagine the lepers trying to climb the stairs.
I took a photograph inside the paupers grave, the big dombed building. I actual got my head inside and the camera flash did work, but the picture never came out.
I went back there around 94/95 and it was a completely different place, the buildings were being renovated and the gargens were being planted and there was some birds around but the place didn't feel the same.
I wouldn't recommend to anyone that they don't see this place it is still an interesing place to visit but I feel what they are doing there has spoilt it for me.
Go for it!
george g...
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Whata hard trip to paradise! As I wandered through your pics I mentioned that somebody else is doing Eleftheris' job now?! [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/135...57601938675708/[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/pat-neary/1355410400/in/set-72157601938675708/[/url]) Impossible to imagine a day on the beach without him! What a pity! Does anybody know if he gave up his service ? That would be a great loss! Hope he was just on holidays ...
Hungry for a doughnut
shinaria
I was told that his brother was standing in for him, evidently he suffers from arthritis and was having a bad day. Not the ideal job with that condition. Anyway I did see him again on the beach and on his usual form, so he hasn't given up just yet!
george g...
Yes , the uusal doughnut man was on the beach some times when I was there - which was the same two weeks as George - and he still runs the business but there was someone else most days - I was told it was his son in law but who knows ? I did not know about the arthritis but that would explain why someelse often stands in . The replacement though has not been breifed properly - he just tells you he has doughnuts . A holiday in Plakias is not quite the same without hearing the wonderful incantation of - A doughnut a day keeps all the doctorez away - and doctorez , George . is not one of my infamous typos but the way he pronounces the word - or No need for viagra you have doughnuts
roger
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Ah well... perhaps I’ll put that one down to experience. At least I got 8-9 days in Plakias; the last four days were a bit of a blur thanks to XL.com.
Still I did get back, courteously of an ‘Olympic Executive’ flight. Ok, it cost me an arm and a leg, but I might just try that again!
Tried Sophia for a change and Sifis, the Kleftico in Sophia was amazing and gave Lito’s version a run for her money, and just had to find out what a ‘chicken chop’ was in Sifis.
The Aredena road is now for beginners, dare I say wimps. I found the Kalikratis to Kapsodassos road eventually, which is now my adrenaline rush, which I need for some reason every year.
Frightening, and when a bloody great truck came at me from the opposite direction... ‘Pampers’ came to mind!
Until I read my diary, I wont remember what else I did, but one thing I do know is that I need a holiday!!
My sincere thanks to all the locals who helped out during the crisis, and Maria at Flisvos was an absolute diamond, to name but one. The others know who they are and make Plakias what it is, and if Leandra ever reads this, the drink I promised you is still on for next year.
george g...
I forgot to add the fact that this year was my 13th visit, so blame it all on me!!
g...
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Go on, what's a chicken chop? (sounds like a joke somewhere)
Barny.
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Go on, what's a chicken chop? (sounds like a joke somewhere)
Barny.
I must admit Barny I thought it was, then it came up on several menus, so had to go for it.
I get the impression the chicken has just been hacked into bits, sort of like 'chop' size, and just grilled like you would a lamb or pork chop. Once you get the hang of how to eat them, 'cause you do get a few of them, they're OK! Would'nt go mad on them, but the best way to eat them is to pick them up as if they were wings. But they can be a bit boney!
george g...
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Been back a week from our fortnight in Plakias.
Flights on Monarch were on time, but Heraklion airport is still a hellhole.
Met John and Gillian, Chris and Mandy and Paul and Marge. Nice to see you all. Did not see Boxerlover (John and Tom) though I thought they we due there, but we did see Bouzouki on the beach, barking at and chasing a hippy (see below). Did they fall foul of XL?
Only saw one goose this year. I think some locals had a good Christmas!
The weather was pretty mixed in the first week, with a fair amount of rain, but improved for the second. We had three days windy enough to go to Souda rather than stay in Plakias.
Prices were generally up 5 to 10% from two years ago, but the 15% drop in the value of sterling in addition, plus the cost of getting sorted from the XL failure, made this a more expensive break than we ever imagined it would be. Oh well.
Beach stories:
Most days an elderly German hippy (stick thin with a longish white beard) would appear from the East, at the water’s edge, jogging along and calling out to the people, dressed only in a hat, and disappear towards the town. Watched him as far as the lifeguard tower on one occasion and he was still going strong.
One morning we were leaving our room for some beds at the far end when my wife ran back in, crying “My earrings! I feel undressed without them!” I am sure that makes perfect sense to the ladies of the forum.
One morning we passed a couple lying out beside the path onto the far end opposite the Paligremnos, about 10 yards from the road, sunbathing naked. Later the woman walked past our beds, wearing a full one piece bathing costume, and went for a swim. When she came out, she went under the shower, removed the costume, rinsed it out, then carried it back to her spot by the road, hung the suit in a tree to dry and lay down to sunbathe again. Even my wife could not follow the logic of that one.
Here's to a less frought year in 2009.
Mike and Chris
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great to meet you as well Mike!
we had the one rainy day in Plakias, god it was an awful one tho! but we managed to miss the rest of the rain. the fuel shortage in the first week was a bit of a pain in the arse for us
John and Tom were there, but i'll let them tell their own story
Most days an elderly German hippy (stick thin with a longish white beard) would appear from the East, at the water’s edge, jogging along and calling out to the people, dressed only in a hat, and disappear towards the town. Watched him as far as the lifeguard tower on one occasion and he was still going strong.
Mike and Chris
i saw this guy a couple of times... quite amusing but either a total idiot or an acid casualty
we stayed with babbi at the medousa which was absolutely first class and i think has spoiled us now
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i suppose i should add some pics
we did meet some great new friends
(http://harribobs.smugmug.com/photos/389715061_ukuSg-M.jpg)
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deleted
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Very fetching too, Mandy!
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Re Spinalonga.
In abt1982 I had a trip there with my parents and sister. For some reason we were mad enough to hire a very small boat with a small motor and just chugged across the sea. Except that the sea was very choppy away from land and my arthritic disabled sister had to lie flat in the bottom of the boat to feel safe. I just thought I was going to die.
Spinalonga was great and eerie seeing the skeletons in their graves.
Then we had to grit our teeth and chug back!!
Will be arriving in Crete on 26th Oct - can't wait - fingers crossed for benign weather gods.
Regards
Jane
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and...
([url]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/2932083397_98695ed3bb.jpg[/url])
Hi Chris,
Broken link here, and the one above.
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the pics have been deleted John