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
