Незабываемое путешествие Unforgettable journey

This year, my loved one gave me an unforgettable gift - a trip to the sunny country of Greece, namely the island of Crete. This trip left an unforgettable impression! But first things first.
We set off on a journey on a domestically produced aircraft TU-154M. We had an excellent flight, a hearty breakfast was offered on board. And finally, we are on Greek soil. They flew away in the fall, and arrived in the summer, that's great!
While we were driving to the hotel, the guide told us about the island of Crete, its sights, history, climate, manners and customs. Watching the scenic area, the blue sea, mountains, palm trees from the bus window, we quietly reached the Rethimno Bay hotel.

What can you say about Rethimno Bay Hotel? Great 3 star option! Huge fresh pool, 3-storey building, spacious bathroom with a bathtub, not a shower, at the reception you can take a remote control from the air conditioner for a deposit of 5 euros, in the room there is a TV with one Russian channel RTR Planet. Our room had a balcony with a side view of the sea, which my beloved and I were very pleased with, because the sun did not blind our eyes in the morning, and the wind did not blow in bad weather. On the territory of the hotel there is a bar, a playground, for a fee (4 euros / hour) you can play table tennis. Sunbeds by the pool are free, on the beach 8 euros for 2 sunbeds and one umbrella. Safe at reception costs 15 euros/week. The room is clean, cleaned every day except Sunday. Every Wednesday, the hotel hosts a “Cretan evening”, which means a disco in Russian. Speakers are set up in the street bar and a local DJ puts on music while you dance. True, on the second Wednesday of our arrival, due to weather conditions, the “show” was canceled. Now about food. We had half board, that is, breakfast and dinner were paid for. Breakfast was the same every day: scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, croissants with jam, muesli, honey, canned peaches. From drinks tea, coffee and juice. Dinner was more varied, but all the salads are very specific, I did not like it. The meat and side dishes were very tasty. All drinks in the evening are paid, even non-alcoholic. For dessert, one kind of fruit, mostly apples and grapes, 2 times there was a watermelon and once a plum. By the way, freshly squeezed juice in the hotel costs 3.5 euros.
Now about the beach. It is 20 meters from the hotel. This is another advantage of the hotel - you do not need to cross the road to get to the sea (unlike other hotels, even 5-star ones). The beach is clean, sandy, but at the entrance to the sea there are large pebbles, be careful, immediately deep, but having sailed a little, it becomes smaller, and the legs touch the sand. The guide warned about sea urchins - they never met. The sea is relatively calm, for the last 3 days it was generally forbidden to swim (the weather worsened, clouds appeared in the sky, it was drizzling, and there was even a downpour under which we fell. I understand that winds in Crete are a common thing, windmills are used everywhere, wind energy. There is a shower along the path to the beach where you can rinse after swimming in salt water. There are a lot of both Russians and foreigners in the hotel.
Since I am not a big fan of beach holidays, but prefer active holidays, interesting excursions are very important for me. In Crete every day you can learn something new.
On the 2nd day of our stay in the city of Rethymnon (Rethymnon), my beloved and I visited the old city. Indescribable feelings! Narrow streets, beautiful trees with flowers, a lot of fruit trees, including the pomegranate we saw. Many cafes, taverns, restaurants, souvenir shops at every step. We saw the architectural creation of Rimondi - the fountain, and also looked at the cathedral, the big gate, the mosque, walked through the municipal park, saw the loggia, as well as the building of the local government. We walked a lot that day. We visited the port, in the Venetian fortress of Fortezza, from where magnificent views of the city and the sea open up. The fortress itself is the remains of former fortifications. And on the embankment we found a landmark that I really remember  . This is a globe, which highlights the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, and below shows two hands shaking each other. An inscription corresponding to some historical event was made in Greek. Rethymno is a very cozy town. Every 15 minutes a train runs, you can take a sightseeing tour of the city in English.

The next day we booked an excursion with Millennium Travel. We went to the plateau of Lassithi and to the cave of Zeus. Impressive tour! We visited a factory for the production of wine and cosmetics from olives. They showed the film how everything is done, from grape harvesting to bottling. It was proposed to try red and white wine, though in limited quantities and the choice is small. The wine is very sweet. After we bought home olive oil, honey and cosmetics, we went to see live how wine is made. Particularly curious got a bunch of grapes.
And then our path lay in the cave of Zeus, on the Lassithi plateau. Having risen to a height of 20 m, a picturesque area opened before our eyes - the Lassithi Plateau, the largest on the island. Vineyards, olive trees, mountains, blue skies - all this is unforgettable. Then there was a descent into the cave of Zeus to a depth of 48 m. It is cool in the cave, + 17C, after the heat it is very pleasant, beautiful, there are stalactites and stalagmites all around, we saw the lake in which, according to legend, Zeus bathed. Unforgettable experience!
This long excursion also included a trip to a ceramics factory, where a potter made a beautiful clay vase with us. At the same time, absolutely free of charge, for those who are not afraid to get their hands dirty in clay, they are invited to participate in the process and fashion their own “masterpiece”, which they can take with them if they wish. Those tourists who did not happen to be a pottery master can buy something from ceramics as a souvenir. For example, we chose the cup of justice, which was told to us by the guide George, a Greek by birth. According to legend, this bowl was presented to Minos by the god Poseidon.
The final stop of our journey was a small tavern in the mountains, where after tasting the Cretan cuisine, we moved towards the hotel.
The next excursion is a Cretan evening. You are brought to the small village of Anopolis, where, when you get off the bus, you are treated to the national Cretan drink - ouzo - strong aniseed vodka. The guide promised that we would get acquainted with the life of the Cretans. Honestly, with all the desire, I don’t know how this can be done in 20 minutes of the time that is allotted for this. We walked around the village, took pictures at the local church and went to the performance.

At the entrance to the restaurant, we were photographed with a couple in national costumes. The restaurant is big, a lot of people, noisy, fun. In a separate room, there are barrels with red and white wines, which can be approached an unlimited number of times. Everyone sat down and the show began! Very spectacular! At first, our ears were delighted by the Cretan national musical instrument - the bouzouki, and then a joy for the eyes! Cretan and Greek folk dances were performed in national costumes, a comic dance with pum-poms on shoes, and of course, the Sertaki dance, beloved by the Greeks and known to everyone. Very good! All the guys tried, one guy was the ringleader there! Unexpectedly, the dancers descended into the hall to dance and invited the audience to come with them. At first they danced in the hall, and then they moved to the stage. It was amazing fun! In general, there were many spectacles. And the belly dance, and the lighting of the Olympic flame, and the dance with a chair in your teeth, and the dance with a stack on your leg! Entertaining tour.
In addition, we made a cruise to the island of Santorini. Blimey! Wow! But about everything, as always, in order.
Our path lay to the Aegean Sea. For a walk, we chose the high-speed ship "Golden Prince", it took us to the island in 4.5 hours. It was possible to sail on a high-speed "SuperJet" in 2.5 hours, but we were afraid of seasickness. The road is very tiring, especially back. On the way there, everyone slept anywhere and anyhow, all the chairs, sofas were occupied, and people did not just sleep while sitting, they took a horizontal position, not paying attention to prohibitory drawings. I was very surprised, especially since there were mostly foreigners on board. All information on the ship was announced in several languages. The cost of the tour included breakfast and dinner - nothing special . At 7-00 our liner set off. The ship is huge, 8-deck, with a swimming pool (filled only in the parking lot for safety reasons), a bar, a restaurant, they also take pictures at the entrance. Sun loungers on the upper deck.
We swam and swam and finally swam. The island of Santorini met us with a beautiful view of the mountains. . . Getting off the ship, we immediately got on the bus and rushed along the crazy serpentine. For an excursion on the island, you need to pay an additional 30 euros per bow.

A visit to Santorini is unforgettable! First we went to the city of Pyrgos, looked at the ancient fortress, the church was already closed. I was surprised by the color of the fortress - snow-white, festive, as if she had dressed up for our arrival. Then we went to the city of Oia, which in Greek means "remote". Blimey! Such beauty opens before you! The little white skafts, the lovers' fortress, the funicular, amazing, a must see. These are the views! From a bird's eye view, the boats below look like toys. Yes, she didn’t say at all about the volcano active on the island, because of it there are rocks on the island of 3 colors: red, black, gray. Imagine, the volcano woke up in 1950! Incredible! The guide was invited to visit the beach with black sand. For 10 euros we ended up on a magnificent beach, with a clean, transparent sea, the water of which is colder than in "our" Cretan Sea. After swimming enough (and the humidity on the island is unbearable), we set off on the funicular on the way back. Well, not scary at all, but very exciting. Only 3 minutes, and we are at the bottom of the pier, where a boat is waiting for us, delivering to the Golden Prince. We are going to Rethymno. Dinner at the appointed time, entertainment on the deck, live music, competitions.
Another excursion we visited was the Palace of Knossos and the city of Heraklion, the capital of the island. I liked this tour very much, our guide Yana, who told us very interestingly, made a considerable share of the impressions. We arrived at the open-air museum, where archaeological excavations and restoration work are still being carried out. Once upon a time there was the palace of Minos, somewhere underground a labyrinth in which the Minotaur was imprisoned... You won’t immediately understand where the myths are and where the reality is. Ancient frescoes, ancient pithoi, the throne room with the throne of the king, the pedestal of Mother Earth, the church, the first European road, the first water supply system and much more you will see by visiting the Knossos Palace. Fascinating stories about the Minoan civilization did not leave us indifferent. Who were these Minoans, and why did the great civilization disappear, what did they do, what did they wear from clothes, who did they worship - you will find the answer to all these questions by visiting the excursion.
In Heraklion, we took pictures at the Morosini Fountain; at the loggia, where the city hall is now located, there we were “caught by an artist” and cut our silhouettes from colored paper with our beloved; with the help of local residents, we found the Cathedral of St. Titus; passed the port. Well, then we had a bite to eat and listened to the local Indians. We also took pictures at the monument to Venzelous.
After informative excursions, we also wanted entertaining ones, so we visited the Water City water park. A lot of slides for every taste, both for children (for both the smallest and older ones), and not at all for children. We especially liked the attraction called "Turbocyclone", where you fly on a double bun in a closed pipe and fly out into a centrifuge, where you are spinning! I really liked the red and black slides, also closed, you fly on buns. Multihills, Сrazy River, as well as a lazy river, an overturning barrel, a sharko shower, a bungee, a turbocyclone are cool! It was scary on the hill, which we conditionally called the swing. A very steep descent, and then sharply up, then down again, and slowly blows you into the pool. On the Kamikaze roller coaster, we did not dare to ride, because we heard how loudly people were rushing on it. We rode on big high slides, very cool. Had a great time!

In the last 3 days, the weather has worsened, there are clouds in the sky, waves on the sea, because of which they were not even allowed to swim. Therefore, we walked more along the promenade, along the beach, “ran away” from the waves, frolicked, and on the last day we got caught in a downpour!
Such adventures were with us on this unforgettable journey!