Our second stop was the beach at Stavros. which consisted of a beautiful, sheltered bay (where we snorkelled) with a series of rock pools with all sorts of wildlife from fish and urchins to octopus.

Our final stop was the to check out the monastery at Moni Gouverneto. As we arrived a little late in the evening we didn’t have time to get all the way down to the ruins of Moni Katholiko, but we did manage to see the Bear Cave which has a massive stalagmite in the middle resembling the shape of a bear. The main monastery at  Moni Gouverneto was quite understated from the outside, but a place of amazing calm and beautifully-kept gardens, temple and courtyard on the inside.

All in all our trip to Greece was amazing and I would definitely consider going back in the future, although I would try to avoid the high season and the places that attract the typical beer-swilling, foul-mouthed and ill-behaved, drunken English tourists.

We drove from Chania through the Gorge of Topolia and the mountain towns of Topolia, Myli, Elos, Kefali, and Vathi amongst others, taking in the breathtaking scenery as we went.

The area of Elafonisi has amazing EU blue flag beaches, perfect turquoise waters and white and pink sands. In front of the mainland is the island of Elafonisi itself. At low tide you can walk across from the main land to the island where you can walk around the dunes and swim in the sea. We snorkelled and sunbathed and generally had a very chilled out time. Another amazing day to add to our collection.

It was a nice day out and I think if we had visited the beach a little earlier in the season it would have been warmer and we could have had a dip in the sea and enjoyed the beach a little more, but it was fun all the same!

We started our excursion in Chania at 7.30am where we took the bus to Omalos and then entered the park about 9am. On reaching the gorge in the morning on the northern approach it was cold and cloudy, but this soon gave way to sunshine and blue skies on the southern descent. We reached our half way point of Samaria village at midday where we stopped for some snacks and a little rest to enjoy the view. We eventually reached Agia Roumeli about 2.45pm. I think we could have completed the journey a little quicker if I hadn’t stopped every 10 mins to take pictures, but the scenery was just too fantastic not to try and capture on camera.

The park is full of amazing views, beautiful flora and just a breathtaking feeling of peacefulness (although in the summer it is supposed to get very busy). I think we probably saw about 20 people during the whole day, most of the time it was just Rose and I walking along in complete isolation. The trip isn’t for the unfit though, as it is a 16km trek over pretty uneven and steep ground in places, but was well worth the effort (and blisters).

As it was approaching the end of the tourist season we had no trouble finding accommodation and saw about 3 or 4 “pensions” that we liked the look of. We were walking back through a particularly charming little street when we were approached by an old Greek lady saying in very broken English that she had a lovely “balcony room, no passport needed, we can pay cash in advance”. I thought this all sounded a little dodgy, but on inspecting the room, it looked great. I still had a few reservations and preferred the idea of staying somewhere that had proper business cards, a reception and where they could actually speak English, but in the end we opted for the room at Casa Latina and got a great deal for 25 euros a night – bargain!

Rose and I took various walks around the harbour, checked out many of the restaurants, where we had authentic Cretan food, music and hospitality (usually in the form of free Raki and desert) and enjoyed the architecture, sunshine and views around the city. It really was an amazing town and I think we both missed it once we left.

After a few days of the sea being like a millpond in front of the hotel I awoke on the 3rd morning to find a little wind swell had created a 1-2ft wave. I had seen a kid’s bodyboard lying around the hotel the day before, so I grabbed it and went out for a little session. I was having a bit of a laugh until I snapped it, it is after all meant for little kids and not a 13.5 stone man!

As if by some predestined act, Rose had told me about this “surf board” she had seen lying on the beach the day before. I walked up the beach and found what was actually a 14ft (ish) wind surfing board (without the sail). Keen to get in the water I picked up the massive board and gave it the once over. It would seem it was going to be a bit of a challenge as the board was huge, had no leash, weighed a tonne, had holes in the deck where the sail is supposed to be attached, no wax (for grip) and no fins on the bottom (which provide traction and thrust to aid in turning the board).

Anyway I thought, what the hell I’ll give it a whizz and see what happens. I took the beast out and managed to get a few waves (and the pics to prove it – see below). It was funny riding such a massive and heavy vessel and kind of reminded me of the boards they used to use in the pioneering days of the 1940s-1950s when they utilised heavy redwood and not fibreglass/foam boards.

The board handled pretty poorly as it had no fins, so whenever you got any speed the tail slipped out and you started going sideways into a uncontrollable 180 degree turn, eventually leading to a wipe out and in my case cutting my feet open a few times. The other problem was having no leash, so if after a wipe out occurred and I didn’t get to the board in time, it would be washed invariably all the way to the beach, meaning a 100m swim every time (good for the fitness though). But I had fun and the few people who walked along the beach stopped and watched for a short while at this crazy English surfer trying to get some waves.

I am not sure if I was the first person to surf (not windsurf) at Agii Apostoli in Crete, but I felt kind of pioneering. For 3 days I had the water totally to myself, which is a rare occurrence these days, possibly the surf gods giving me something back for all the crap conditions we’ve had in the UK over the past few years.

I got in contact with The Ammos Hotel’s owner Nikos Tsepetis and he was incredibly friendly and helpful in not only giving me information about the hotel and its location, but also about the other plans we had for our stay in Crete. I had a good feeling about the hotel after looking at the website and exchanging emails with Nikos, so we booked a 6 night stay.

We arrived very early in the morning (7am) at the Ammos after our (mildly dodgy) cab drive from the port of Souda in Chania. We were greeted by a friendly note on the hotel reception saying that the key was in the door of our room and we were welcome to check in early, have a snooze and they would see us a little later on when the hotel opened.

Both the hotel, rooms and grounds were beautifully crafted with a great attention to detail that made you feel like someone had gone to a lot of trouble thinking about how to make your stay not only pleasant and comfortable one but inspiring. The decor throughout was contemporary with an organic, down-to-earth and welcoming atmosphere.

The staff at the Ammos (headed up by Nikos and Dimitria) were wonderful. They were friendly and went out of their way to help you with anything concerning your stay. They made our stay a pleasure and offered many tips for excursions and activities.

The food at the Ammos was great. We didn’t eat there every day, as we wanted to try different tavernas, but when we did, we were impressed by the quality and quantity of food, the presentation and the ambience. The waiting staff were very friendly and good to chat with.

You don’t often find many gems like the Ammos Hotel where the staff, hotel and experience leave you with that feel good vibe and it reminds you that there are decent people out there who will go out of their way to help you for nothing in return but a smile and a thank you.

We were sad to leave the Ammos and hopefully we’ll return one day. I would recommend the Ammos to anyone who wants a relaxing and intimate experience, couples young or old.

Thanks again Nikos!

Anyway moving on, everything turned out fine and we got to the port and looked for our ship. We scouted the harbour in the dark and saw a fantastic looking vessel across the way both thinking that it couldn’t be our one. To our surprise it was and we were stoked and very excited to be going on a mini, overnight cruise!

We thankfully booked a 2 berth cabin for the 9 hour journey and were fortunate to be travelling on a brand new ferry which meant nice shinny cabins and super sparkly, fresh interiors. We had fun on our little overnight cruise, spent a little time in the (non-smoking) bar – in Greece they are still aloud to smoke indoors and it is like the non-smoking ban in the UK turned on its head – disgusting. We arrived in Chania early the following morning and took a taxi to our hotel.

The taxi driver was the second (minor) low point of our stay. We agreed a price and then whilst we were waiting he got another 2 random passengers in the cab with us who shared our ride, but not our fare. Rosana told him we wanted a discount, but he told us we could basically like it or wait all day for another cab, complete arse hole. In the end we got a measly 2 euros discount, which he actually forgot about once we got to the hotel and short changed us. In the end Rose stood behind his car so he couldn’t leave without running her over and paying us what he had agreed to in the first place. Anyway after that ordeal the rest of our stay was plain sailing and I don’t have a negative thing to say about Greece (apart from the wine).

Athens airport was clean, well designed and easy to get around. We arrived late in the evening and took the metro from the airport straight to the centre of Athens where we were due to stay in an area called Plaka (an old historical part of the city). We stayed in the Student Travellers Inn for 2 nights, figuring that it wasn’t worth staying somewhere luxurious as we would be spending most of our time away from the hotel/hostel seeing the sights anyway.

The hostel was clean, quiet (we were staying at the end of the season) and centrally located in the Plaka area of town, which is close to all the sights including the Acropolis.

The weather was great, low to mid 20s, sunny and warm, perfect for walking around and seeing the wonderful architecture. I expect if you come in the peak summer season it would be unbearable and you’d probably pass out from the heat, traffic fumes and hoards of American tourists.

The sights were amazing and easy to get around on foot for the most part. I would definitely recommend strolling around the streets of Plaka, Monastiraki, seeing the Acropolis, the National Gardens, The Roman and Greek Agoras, Hadrian’s Library as well as the other main sights.

Greek food was a bit of an unknown to me, as I usually opt for nearly anything else when going out for a meal in London, but again I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed all the traditional dishes including salads, souvlaki, grilled meats and  various cheeses. One thing I wasn’t really impressed with was the wine. Maybe we ordered the wrong thing or the cheaper options, but in general I thought Greek wine was crap (I usually go for full-bodied South African, Australian, Chilean Californian or Argentinean reds).

All in all our stay in Athens was amazing and I would recommend a stay to anyone who likes architecture, good food and friendly people.